One of the things I was most excited about with getting my Nikon 50mm prime lens was shooting more...FOOD! Whenever I'm back home in La Jolla, I try my best to cram all of my favorite restaurants and all of my favorite home cooked meals into the few days I'm back. While I went straight from the airport to In-N-Out (animal style fries and a cheeseburger with grilled onions, please), my post-Christmas lunch with my little sister, Kiersten, had to be at my all time favorite restaurant George's at the Cove!
As a native La Jollan, I have two favorite restaurants in the village: Don Carlos Taco Shop for that authentic Southern California style Mexican food, and George's at the Cove's for delicious new American lunches with a view. The restaurant is technically three levels, and I've admittedly never gone to the "actual" restaurant for dinner, because I'm too obsessed with the Ocean Terrace's views during midday. In years past, you had to wait at least an hour or two to get a lunch table on the weekends, but the world rejoiced when they finally took reservations on Open Table (hallelujah!). The view from the terrace looks out upon a phenomenal view of La Jolla Cove on the left and La Jolla Shores on the right - it's truly breathtaking. The weather was unbelievable at a hot 79 degrees, but our very wonderful waitress kept us cool with endless water and ice teas.
This picture really doesn't do it justice - I almost creeped in between two tables to get a better shot, but decided I better not.
We started with the chips and salsa ($6) which is a huge plate that can really be shared by 4-5 people. I ordered the Blackened Seasonal Fish Sandwich ($13.5) which was so flavorful and spiced the perfect amount. The bread is often one of the key parts of a sandwich and I was super happy with it's perfect crunchyness. Also, it had avocado and who doesn't love avocado? I opted for the side salad which was surprisingly tasty with a tangy champagne dressing (I say surprisingly because so few restaurants actually put effort into the salads or fries that come on the side!)
Kiersten ordered the Grilled White Shrimp with Tabbouleh Salad which was much different than what we expected, but in a good way. The shrimp was plentiful and the presentation showed a lot of attention to detail.
So there it is, one of my favorite things: George's at the Cove! 
I don't think this blog is popular enough for a disclaimer of any sort, but I'm not affiliated with George's or any other establishments. All opinions, however, are highly influenced by my taste buds.
Photographic Thoughts/Critique: Sometimes with photographing food at restaurants, I feel the need to choose between embarrassing myself/everybody else at my table and getting a good shot. I'm hoping getting good shots will become easier and easier as I practice, but there are some imperfections with my photos that definitely drive me crazy. For example, I think the chips and salsa photograph would be more interesting/stronger if the salsa were more in focus rather than the chips. One thing I've found particularly difficult with the 50mm prime lens is being too close to my subject and not being able to focus easily on the right spot. I often have to back up more but then I don't get the close up cropping I want. As for the sandwich, I think I could have rearranged it a little bit to show the inside details (the fish, avocado, etc.) to let the photograph describe itself. Again, how much do you want to look like a fool at a restaurant? And finally, I think the shrimp salad could have benefited from including the end of the bread stick on the left to make a balanced photo. The end is cropped off and a little distracting to the eye.
Photography Comments / Critiques:
