Neil Sedaka's old song, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, applies here. https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=neil+sedaka+breaking+up+is+hard+to+do&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfOUNllswJgY .
On the left, above, you have the old Georgian Room. A grand, opulent, two-story high Euro-renaissance place that was easily a four-star experience in our opinion. That is something we have done many times over the last forty-plus years.
On the right, you have the new The George, complete with booths and western-feeling chandeliers that invite the Crocs, sandals, and clogs crowd. We're not judging, just suggesting there's a new vibe.
The original Georgian Room was part of the century old historic building now in the hands of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel folks. It's still a grand hotel, but The George restaurant is no longer a place to lose yourself in the world of the Vanderbilt family for an evening. You can find the same noise, nonchalant service, and moderate amenities in the new George at dozens of Seattle restaurants.
December 24, 2024, we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. We talked about where to go, and we agreed we wanted to go to what is now called The George, or George Room, I'm not sure which; the Hotel bills it as The George, an American Brasserie. I jumped on Open Table (another online operation we're not thrilled with), and made a reservation for 7:00pm, noting that it was our 50th.
We arrived at the grand entrance and were promptly met by the valets to take our car - if you're dining, valet is comped by the restaurant. We worked our way through what used to be the grand lobby and is now a large, quite nice bar that you circumvent on the way to the restaurant.
We were escorted to our table, nothing special even though I had mentioned it was our 50th. The maître d' didn't offer to take Gale's coat and barely pulled out her chair and was gone before we could sit down. I took Gale's coat and hung it on the back of her chair, Denny's-style. Later, almost when we were finished, our waiter saw that her coat had been knocked to the floor and possibly walked on and offered to put it in check - by then, there was little point.
The room was quite noisy with a couple of tables with rambunctious children. We have nothing against kids out with the family, but in a fine dining establishment, we would hope the parents would have more control.
We sat for some time before anyone came around to ask if we'd like a drink before dinner. We said yes, and asked for Prosecco. No, they didn't have that (I bet even Denny's has that), and offered us Cava, which is okay. They laid the menu on the table and left.
That was when we discovered we were getting the Christmas Menu and eating family style. The large groups with ADHD kids became clear. At this point, I need to take some blame. I rushed through the reservation process without checking to see what they were serving or how they were serving it. In my defense, I was depending on the old Georgian level of dining and quality. Normally, I like to call the restaurant directly, but I went to Open Table. I understand that's easier for restaurants - they must be paying a fee - but we've had problems more than once with that service.
The prix fixe menu, which we learned later was a complete meal with two entrées, was limited in options. We sipped our Cava and decided on a bottle of red wine as we read the menu which I share with you here.
When our waiter, Bertram who was terrific by the way, came with our Cava, I had a question about the turkey entrée; I saw citrus brined breast but also turkey leg. He explained that it was both, and that we also would be getting the beef entrée, and that it was served family style, something I had failed to notice at the top of the menu, in small print. And so it went, one surprise after another.
Under the "To Start" menu, you will see oysters, for a price. So much for prix fixe. We had a half dozen and they were excellent.
Bertram brought the wine we ordered, a nice Barolo, and we went through the cork-smelling and tasting ritual without a problem.
The milk bread and Ahi Crudo came. The milk bread was a small loaf, about the size of softball, accompanied by butter with honey on it. The bread had also been spread with honey on the crust. No bread knife. You either tried to cut it with your table knife, or pull it apart with your hands. Either way, you ended up with very sticky hands. The bread was fine, nothing special
The Ahi Crudo was nice, but one of the reasons we don't care for prix fixe dinners is choice. Gale is not a fan of crudo which is Italian for raw, like sashimi, and would never order that for herself - I, on the other hand, love the stuff. I served us both on the plates provided. Fortunately, I've had some experience as a waiter and do a decent job of serving. The crudo was fine. Gale ate a small portion and survived.
The citrus beets were hidden under a rather large pile of very nice greens. Gale passed on the greens because they are usually so large and stringy that it's difficult to eat without looking like a lizard eating a grasshopper. She did have some beets, and I had some of both, again, doing my job as a server.
Time for the main course or courses. Again, one plate had enough turkey, stuffing, and yams for two people who aren't over-eaters. And, the beef tenderloin Oscar was similar. I served us both with the two types of turkey, a dollop of dressing and some yams.
Gale passed on the beef but we each got three spears of asparagus and I had a taste of the crab.
The ingredients of all the dishes were top shelf, but the entrees were cold. They might have been tepid when they hit the plate, but the plates were cold and sucked whatever heat might have remained in the food right out.
The bourbon spiced cake was amazing. The even stuck a sparkler in one of them. We actually received two separate slices of the cake - I didn't have to serve this course.
The overall experience was almost an upscale Denny's holiday dinner served family style. It was a major disappointment for us. I'm not faulting George for making changes that hopefully keep them afloat.
We may dine out in fine establishments like this four times a year, or so. We do understand more about the restaurant business than perhaps the typical diners. It's expensive, and if you can't fill the seats with butts almost every night, an operation like The George is going to struggle. You need more than a loyal group that visits four times a year. If that place can seat two hundred, and you need at least two turns on five nights a week, that means you need over 100,000 people a year to dine in your room. We get it, but we're still depressed.
I chose the title of this post, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, because that's how we felt. I told Gale it was like an old girl friend had dumped you. You know it happens, and life goes on, but it hurts to remember the good times.
In our years together, Gale and I have survived many things worse than a favorite restaurant changing its menu and format, and we'll survive this as well. I don't think we'll celebrate another 50 years of anything at our age, but what we do have left will have to be at a different venue.
Merry Christmas (yesterday) and a Happy New Year to all our food loving friends, and everyone else.
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