Chapter One - Michelin dining in Dublin

This weekend is a Bank Holiday here in Ireland so we decided to visit Chapter One for lunch.  Located next door to the Hugh Lane Gallery we popped in for a visit before lunch.   I love looking at Francis Bacon's pieces on view here.  I find them hideously fascinating.

As we walked down the steps to the restaurant we both commented how nice it was and that we were in for a treat.

We chose the tasting menu and and also decided to have the wine pairings. 

Fresh cherry tomato jelly with salted cherries, sweet basil yogurt and cherry blossom vinegar.  This first dish was very surprising and an amazing entry way in to our meal.  However, I felt it was let down by the plate ware - I think a white dish would have been better to see the food and it also would have looked more appetizing.  A rosé wine was served with this dish.

Seared Blue Fin Tuna with black olive, green tomato, caper sprouts and pickled quail egg with onion and mustard dressing.  I thought this was a delicious dish but didn't eat the olive as I am not a fan.

Wood Pigeon Terrine with salted radish salad, fermented horseradish cream and foie gras parfait.  This was a controversial dish for us!  I loved the earthy pigeon and foie gras parfait but was not a fan of the radish salad.  Ciaran didn't like his food at all so I ate it for him!

John Dory with sprouting broccoli and pickled anchovy, shallot and mustard dressing, cured pink jowl.  Yum! Yum! Yum!  This was quite possibly my favourite plate.

Roast Salt March Duck Breast with burnt lemon puree, caramelised bonito flavoured sesame seeds and buttered leaf spinach.  The duck was extremely tasty and I think it was at this point that they finally served red wine which I was very much anticipating.

Gin palate cleanser - this was a big hit with both of us!!

Fresh Irish Strawberries with buttermilk ice cream, caramelised soda bread crumb, strawberry and apple balsamic vinegar gel and elderflower cream soda all served with a sparkling rosé wine.

So what's going on here?

Well it's only the server flambéing an Irish Coffee for the table behind us!

Pros:  Perfect amount of food was served - we were not hungry when we left.  The wine servings were extremely generous.  The time given to our meal meant that we had a very leisurely afternoon in the restaurant.
Cons: The smell of the heater from the flambé set up overpowers the area it is in and is quite unpleasant - they should consider an alternative heat source to what is currently being used.

A reader left a comment below where they ask would we go back and the answer is a definite Yes!  But not until we have tried a few more of the other top restaurants in Dublin!!

Dog Friendly Dublin - MartCade in Rathmines

Bones and I visited Martcade in Rathmines on Friday while I was waiting for my bike to be fixed by Think Bike.  If you are looking for a bike repair shop I don't think you can go wrong with this crowd.  They have friendly staff and seem to be very efficient at what they do.  They took my bike in and had the puncture fixed within 40 minutes on a Friday afternoon.  I was delighted - I had thought that I would have to pick it up in a few days.  And then to top it all it cost a very reasonable €13.  Happy days!

I was going to chill out along the canal while waiting for my bike but on my way passed by Martcade.  Ciaran had told me about this place and it sounded pretty cool so I decided to go here instead.  When I ordered my toasted sandwich I discovered I could bring my dog inside.  I was really pleased about this as even though there was a nice seating area outside it was extremely hot and I was afraid Bones was overheating.  When I brought him in the staff very kindly pointed out a water bowl for him.

Options to eat seem to be pies or toasties.  And seating is very ad hoc and casual!

I chose "Le Petit Melt" which was pulled pork with caramelized onion and melted cheese - very good indeed!

When Ciaran returned on Saturday he had the Petit Melt too!

And in other good news, friends have offered us their dog carrier as they no longer use is due to their dog getting too large for it - I can't wait to use it, I am beyond excited!

It saddens me to see how sanitized and dog unfriendly Ireland has become.  In the past there was always dogs in bars and there was no issue.  Dogs are great company for old people and as we ban dogs from pubs, restaurants (and now even parks!) we limit opportunities for old people to socialise and mingle with others.  Very sad indeed.

No one puts baby in the corner!

What a great Saturday night with my twin sister.  We started our evening in Tribeca in Ranelagh with a glass of Malbec and a burger (cooked perfectly rare).  For a low key dinner you can not beat this place.  I love the atmosphere, the decoration and the ambiance in Tribeca and the burger is the best!

After Tribeca we got a taxi to the Bord Gais Grand Canal Theatre which is only a short ride away.  Amy took this great pic out on to to the docks.  Dublin looks so good!

A snap of me checking in on Facebook.

And then in to the auditorium for the last night of the Dublin run of Dirty Dancing!

The obligatory selfie with the stage in the background.  Our seats were very far back but completely centre.

I think we definitely look like twins in this picture!

What a show!
Dirty Dancing is one of my favourite movies - don't laugh!!  There is so much more to this film than the music and dancing.  It is a coming of age story where Baby discovers what it is like to fall in love and in essence discover herself as an independent woman who can be a person in her own right with or without acceptance by her beloved father.

And then you also have to consider the social issues that this movie highlights such as race inequality, abortion and even hints at feminism and the changing role of women through the foil of the two sisters.  Lisa the older sister aspires to be a doctors wife while Baby gives hints of her feminist ideals by speaking of her desire to go in to the Peace Corp and live as in independent women that is not reliant on a man for her livelihood.  Set in 1963 a time of great change, Dirty Dancing tells of these changes through the stories of the campers and the staff.  Scratch below the surface of this movie and it will surely become one of your favourite films too!!


However for pure entertainment this film was made to be turned in to a stage musical.  From the beat of the first song we knew we were in for a treat.  The dancing and music had us hooked - sure the acting was highly theatrical which was hard to get used to knowing how good the acting is in the original film (Jerry Orbach put in quite the performance as Dr. Houseman).  However hearing the iconic and memorable lines live on stage brought me out in goosebumps and brought me right back to watching the film in the late 1980's as a young girl - "I carried a water melon" said in a goofy manner by Jennifer Grey.  However the crescendo of the night was Johnny Castle entering through the audience uttering the now famous line "Sorry for the interruption, folks, but I always do the last dance of the season. This year somebody told me not to. So I'm gonna do my kind of dancin' with a great partner, who's not only a terrific dancer, but somebody... who's taught me... that there are people willing to stand up for other people no matter what it costs them" I think it made the whole audience feel that they were there in Kellerman's on that night!!  What a great ending!

Pat Kenny on Newstalk in The Shelbourne

The other day as I listened to Pat Kenny as he presented his show on Newstalk 106,  I heard that the Friday show would be broadcast from the Shelbourne Hotel.  As I was off work on Friday I texted in to see if I would be lucky enough to get a ticket.  A few days later the show made contact with me and offered me a ticket which I was pretty excited about!!

The show started out with Irish Music Legends "Bagatelle" singing their well known (and 34 yr old) song "Summer in Dublin"  I love this song and it fitted so perfectly to hear it on a gloriously sunny day in a Dublin City Hotel.  

The first of Pat's guests was Karl Deeter who spoke about the rapidly rising property prices in Dublin.  From what Deeter said, it made the ever witty Kenny quip "You'll start a property boom in Longford"!!!

Next up was Dr Tierney Thys who told of her research involving the Mola Mola fish.  This lady is passionate about her work and very funny too.  You need to look up images of the Mola Mola it is one crazy looking fish - basically it is just a big giant fish head!! 

Further guests included Daire O'Briain, singer Jack Lukeman (previously known as Jack L) and Denis O'Brien Head Concierge from the Shelbourne Hotel - and they even had a report on the Poolbeg Chimney stacks with audience interaction and discussion.  Boy do they fit a lot in to this two hour slot.  It all made for a very interesting morning and was great to see the behind the scenes of a radio show. Pat Kenny is the ultimate professional and makes the job of presenting look like child's play but I can only imagine the preparation and work that goes in to his show every day.  

I was interested to see what refreshments would be offered by The Shelbourne Hotel.  I have been avidly watching the RTE TV show that features the hotel and is currently being aired.

I was impressed by all their offerings!

Here are cute little chocolate cones and there was also macaroons filled with chocolate ganache which were quite delicious.

At the back of the photo are triangle wedges of moist brownie which were served with chocolate milk in little bottles.  How cute!

The view was fantastic out on to Stephens Green - it was incredibly sunny in Dublin so the city looked amazing.

When I arrived about 9.30am I got coffee and a scone with clotted cream (yum!) and also sipped a home made lemonade - the perfect start to a sunny Dublin Day.

Paddy Casey and Kim Hayden sang their new duet on the show - wow Paddy Casey is a right belter!  I really enjoyed listening to him live and wouldn't mind going to one of his gig.  I hope this song does well as I thought it was great.  In the flesh Kim looks younger and very pretty too.  Good luck to the pair of them!




After the show I had hoped to stay in town and wander around a few shops but my plans were thwarted by a call from the dishwasher repair man to say he would be at my house shortly.  So it was on to a Dublin Bike and home to let him in. 
Back to the mundane!

The Butcher Grill, Ranelagh

I had been at a Wedding on Friday night and had a rather late one. When I arrived home at 3pm on Saturday I was in the mood for a big meaty burger.  On a whim we chose to eat in The Butcher Grill.  I wish I took a picture of the inside of the restaurant.  Its a really well designed tiny atmospheric place with a super bar facing in to the kitchen.  In total it seats about 32, which I estimated by making a rough count.

Ciaran had the ribs while I chose the burger with smoked cheese(!).  Both were excellent and really hit the spot.  I had a glass of wine while Ciaran had a Sierra Nevada Lager as he was in the mood for beer rather than wine.

There are some nice touches and they have thought of the little details in this place - below is a picture of the branded hand wipes for clean up after eating ribs.  So much nicer than a cheap generic wipe I think!

After eating we strolled back home (picking up a Rhubarb Tart in The Natural Bakery to bring to friends later that evening).  I was a bit sleepy at this point so I had a quick snooze and then had a shower and was in perfect form for a BBQ in friends house near by. What a great Saturday!

Mason Jar Sippy Cup

Look what I am drinking my Vodka & Diet Coke in!!!

A Mason Jar insulated cup I bought on my recent trip to the States.  I love it!!

Feels like I am still on holiday ;-)

Salt lick Ranelagh - Japanese Month

When we heard this months food was going to be Japanese inspired in Salt Lick (which pops up in Hobarts in Ranelagh every Friday and Saturday night) we decided we would go again.

The concept is very simple - there is a vegetarian and a meat option for starter and main and then a choice of two desserts.  Two courses costs €25 while three courses costs €30.  

The restaurant is BYOB (bring your own bottle of wine) and BYOC (which is bring your own liquor which they will add to their cocktails).  What a fun concept!

We popped in to the Wine Buff and picked up bottle of wine before making our way to Salt Lick.  We got an Argentinian Malbec which the Wine Buff Ivor said was similar to the French Malbec.

For started we both chose the chicken tempura with Tofu Tempura and pickled mushrooms.  All were just delicious!  I particularly liked the mushrooms which, although had a slug like appearance to them, tasted divine.

For main we had the pork ramen which was very good.  I asked for a spoon for the broth but I was happy to sup from the bowl when our server invited us to do as is the cultural norm so that we could immerse ourselves in the experience!

For dessert we had huge bowls of lemon posset and cold rice pudding with strawberries and seseame brittle.  I adore rice pudding so I was in heaven but Ciaran was not a fan of his posset as it was too liquid.

Most people hand over a naggin or shoulder of vodka for drinks throughout dinner.  We just have 1 after dinner cocktail so we handed up these little baby vodkas.  They only used about two thirds of each bottle so they returned the rest to us - which I promptly poured in to my coke so I could taste the vodka.  Ciaran had a Moscow Mule which he anounced was delicious. 

When I mentioned the name of the restaurant to friends, they sent me a picture of this.  Lol!

Can't wait to hear what next month's theme will be in Salt Lick!!