One of our earliest events together as a couple was going to see The Weeknd at Bumbershoot in Seattle. This was back when he was just starting to blow up, and the concert was electric. So, when the opportunity arose to see him again this Summer at Lumen Field for his After Hours Til Dawn tour, we had to take it!
We decided to stay in downtown Seattle at the Rennaisance Hotel to avoid a late-night trek home after the concert, so we walked over to The George, a restaurant in the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Apparently it had recently undergone a $25 Million renovation, and it looked like it was money well spent. Vaulted ceilings and extraordinary lighting look upon rich green and rose colored furniture, all adorned with gold accents.
With a night of dancing ahead of us we opted to stick to small shareable plates. We started off with the House Made Nori Sourdough Bread. This sounded strange to us, but after taking our first bite it all made perfect sense. The sea-like salty flavor of nori throughout the bread was brought to life by the nori salt and artisanal butter. It was so good that we plowed right through it before even remembering to take photos!
We are huge oyster fans, and living in the PNW we are blessed with some of the best - we often pick them off of the beach near Hood Canal year-round. So, when we saw the Seasonal Local Oysters on the menu, it was an easy choice. Ross was especially excited to hear that they had two of his favorites - Kusshi and Shigoku oysters. The cucumuber vinegar with Sichuan pepper was an interesting but happy twist on a mignonette, and the Calabrian chili cocktail sauce was excellent, but we reverted back to the basics of soley adding lemon juice. Incredible oysters like these really don't need much to make them shine.
Next up was the Salmon Belly Crudo sitting in a pickled ramp nuoc cham. This was the star of the night. The salmon belly melted in our mouths and the nuoc cham provided wonderful richness - we truly savored every bite. Diced watermelon radish topped the plate and added a crisp texture and slight sweetness to balance the butteriness of the salmon belly.
The Pacific Octopus a la Plancha with sea beans was a great way to end our dinner. The octopus tenticle was cooked to perfection and slightly charred, adding amazing flavor that partnered well with a hint of jalepeno. Smashed fried Butterball potatoes were placed about the plate and tasted just as they sound they would... scrumptions, buttery, with just enough crunch.
And what night out is complete without a cocktail... or two? Ross went for the Little Hollow which consisted of Maker's 46, Hennessy VS, SennzaFine Autumn, and Honey. It ended up being an excellent old-fashioned adjacent drink - sublimely layered with the bourbon on the front end, the herbaciousness of the amaro in the middle, and then it finishes with the comforting flavor of orange and honey. Ross could have put down Little Hollows all night! Kara chose Alki Point, made of sazerac rye, vermouth, lucano, and benedictine; this hit the spot and tasted like light summery version of a Kara's favorite drink, a Manhattan.
The George... You definitely did take our breath! We couldn't have had a better time and look forward to visiting again in the future!