Seasonal Sandwich Search - Two Fifty Square, Juniors Deli and a shout out to the Lidl Sandwich!

Our Christmas Sandwich competion continued with 3 more sandwiches.

Christmas Sandwich number 7 was in Two Fifty Square (Rathmines) and it included the "moist maker" which was an extra slice of bread in the middle of the sandwich smothered in gravy.

It was a good sizeable sandwich that came with salad on the side and a dipping jus. But with a price tag of €16 it was always going to lose on price.

The scores for the Two Fity Square were 

1. Price.                                     Enid 3/5      Ciaran 3/5
2. Ingredients                            Enid 4/5      Ciaran 4/5
3. Construction / aesthetic.      Enid 4/5      Ciaran 4/5
4. Atmosphere/ Experience       Enid 2/5      Ciaran 2/5
5. Tradition                                Enid 4/5      Ciaran 4/5

With a total of 33 out of 50, Two Fifty Square achieved a good score,

Sandwich no. 8

It was then on to Juniors Deli for sandwich no. 8. 

We had high hopes for this one as Ciaran had talked it up, having enjoyed Juniors sandwiches before. Both of us removed the rocket which we felt over powered the sandwich and In think the score reflects how it was over all.

The scores for Juniors were 

1. Price.                                     Enid 4/5      Ciaran 4/5
2. Ingredients                            Enid 3/5      Ciaran 3/5
3. Construction / aesthetic.      Enid 3/5      Ciaran 4/5
4. Atmosphere/ Experience       Enid 2/5      Ciaran 3/5
5. Tradition                                Enid 3/5      Ciaran 3/5

With a total of 32out of 50, Juniors got a score lower than anticipated.

An honourary sbout out goes to the Lidl Sandwich which is on sale for €2.99 and is a great sandwich for this price point.

We didn't score this sandwich becuase we ate it at home unlike all of the other sandwiches which we ate inhouse. I reckon it would have scored well!

So that brings an end to the Annual Ciaran & Enid Christmas Sandwich Competion.

I'll announce the winner in my next blog post - but you can can read about the other sandwiches here.

"We will park your bike for you"

Vegfest!

It was a fun day today at Vegfest in Rathmines where I was volunteering with the Dublin Cycling Campaign. We were offering a bike valet service where we parked attendees bikes in a safe convenient space at the entrance.

It was a fabulous sunny September day (I came wrapped up in two jackets but that was probably overkill!) and there was a big crowd at the event.  We were kept busy parking bikes all morning and we also got to talk to people about the work of the Dublin Cycling Campaign too.

All in all a fun day out - check out a few pics below

Vegfest is open again tomorrow (Sunday 24th) so get on your bike and make a visit to it!

Friday Funday!

Friday was a fun day and it also followed a fun Thursday night where I met up with my bestie Alice where we toasted our missing gang member Amy of Dublinia blog fame.

After wings in Elephant & Castle we then went on to the Omniplex in Rathmines and watched, as part of the "Bring it Back" series, my favourite film.....yes you guessed it....."A Star is Born" (which I may or may not have seen in the cinema a total of 4 times!).

Alice had never seen the film, and safe to say, she LOVED it!! But I do hope she was able to drive home safely and was not too teary eyed ;-)  

Friday was my day off so my mother called over and helped me clear out my wardrobe. 3 big black bags (these will go to St Vincents shop in Rathmines) later we were ready for brunch!!

I had made a booking at Layla's in The Devlin Hotel which is a short stroll away.

It was my mam's first time in The Devlin and she really liked it. I've been a few times and generally order a steak but on this occasion I ordered mussels - which were amazing!!

And then it was nearly 3pm......wow time flies when you are having fun!  And it was time for me to pick up Bones from the groomer where he had spent the day.

An awesome day in all, and made up for having to work today!

Friday meet up....

I met up with Cousin Kasey this morning and we had a lovely breakfast in The Pot Bellied Pig in Rathmines after a walk from Ranelagh. 

After breakfast we went for a coffee across the road in Insomnia where we chatted further. It was all very relaxed.

And then after that we had a browse around the Swan Centre where Kasey helped me select a hostess gift for a dinner date in a friends house tomorrow night - see below, I got a nice balsamic vinegar in
Fallon & Byrne.



Edit 5/01/2020
Fallon & Byrne Rathmines closed on the 31st of December 2019

Super Saturday & Sunday

I had a super weekend. I got up to loads of great things. Both days started well with 10am Bikram which I cycled to. I had a great practise on both days and it felt good being back in the hit room after a break of a couple of days.

We had made a plan to go for wings on Saturday afternoon but beforehand we called in to Campbell Jewellers in The Designyard on South Frederick Street to discuss ring design with master jeweller Ronan Campbell as I am in the market for a new wedding ring (more to follow on this in a future blog). After meeting Ronan we then went on the hunt for wings. We ended up in Wishbone where we had some great wings!

 So after Sunday Bikram we went to the charity shop to drop off more cast offs (yes we are still working our way through the Marie Kondo programme) And then on for brunch in Pot Bellied Pig. I had been dreaming of Shakshuka during yoga!

And then after brunch I went and got my nails done. It was lovely and relaxing and I'm happy to have my nails done for the week ahead.

Weekend Wrap Up!

It was a Bank Holiday weekend here in Ireland and as weekends go it was a pretty good one ending with some great new about Pigsy.

On Saturday morning, our plumber came and finished off the installation of a new heat regulating system for our underfloor heating. We now have the Heatmiser system and can control our heating on an app on our phones which is pretty nifty.

In the afternoon, I cycled in to the city to meet my mother and sister at the Bewleys Cafe Theatre. Amy was treating us to a show. We saw the play "Wringer" which was very enjoyable - well acted and a gripping story.

Sunday morning brought us to the Pot Bellied Pig in Rathmine for brunch. I had a delicious shakshuka and a glass of prosecco (noice!) and Ciaran had a full irish breakfast which he said was really good.

After brunch it was off to the Omniplex to see the new Freddie Mercury movie "Bohemian Rhapsody". Wow what a film. So sad to see that he was so young when he died. What a loss of talent.

Speaking of talent, I should mention that we went to see David Byrne in the the 3 Arena (will always be The Point to me) on Wednesday night. This was quite possibly the best gig I have ever been to in my whole life. It was eye opening as to what can be done live on stage with a 12 piece band. I've been singing his songs since then along with thinking about the performance. It was a terrifically choreographed performance with a powerful ending of "Hell you Talmabout". Just phenomenal in all senses.

And so to the great news that ended our weekend:

The Pigsy documentary will next be shown in London!

Come see it at the Irish Film Festival London which runs from the 21st to 25th of November with Pigsy being part of the Irish Film Shorts being shown on Thursday 23rd of Nov at 5.30pm. 

Just brilliant - I've already booked our flights!

Easter Monday Brunch

My Easter break came to a lovely end with a brunch in Pot Bellied Pig. It was an impromptu brunch. We were just passing by the restaurant after dropping items that I was clearing out to the charity shop in Rathmines. Rain was bucketing down and it was a miserable day so we decided a nice brunch was a good idea!

Pot Bellied Pig is a cute place with friendly staff and great food. I had Pulled Ham and Eggs with Benedict. Ciaran went off menu choosing poached eggs and black pudding. He was unsure what type of pudding it was but reckoned it tasted as good as Clonakilty.

The restaurant was not busy probably due to the rain and also because it was the last day of a very long weekend. Our food was made super fast but was cooked to perfection and very tasty. It sure hit the spot.

Afterwards, it was back home to more house cleaning and clearing out. I am happy to report that my the house is clean from top to bottom!

Swan Centre - Dead Mall coming back to life!

On Thursday morning, I visited Starbucks in the Swan Centre before dropping Bones to Mutt Ugly to get groomed at 10am.

I was surprised to see how changed the Swan Centre was in the two weeks that I was in the States. The whole place is going through a refurbishment with white tiling throughout along with all of the shops getting smart white consistent store fronts fitted.

What most surprised me was this new shop that is being fitted. It's a Popcorn shop. Ciaran and I always remark how, when we are in USA, that we don't know how whole shops dedicated to one product survive. Examples of this that we have seen is a popcorn shop in Chicago, Peppers in Key West that just sells Hot Sauce and also Towels of Key West that just sells towels. Along with numerous Sock shops that obviously only sell socks. Feel free to tell me about any more in the comments section!

Anyway what is opening new in the Swan Centre is a Popcorn Shop!! Here is a photos of the place being fitted out. It looks nice and is in a great location where SWALK used to be.

Another new shop is this Belarmine Dry Cleaner which is in the spot where Planet Candy used to be. I saw on the window that they were ironing shirts for €1 (which is what I used to pay Northside) so after dropping Bones, I went home and picked up 20 shirts and left them in to be ironed. I chatted with the owner and he told me that they were charging €1.60 across the road for shirt ironing. I agreed with him that his prices were cheap and said he will get a lot of business.

And then as I walked down towards Dunnes, I saw another new place being fitted out. It's a Jewellers in a spot where I think there had been a Jewellers there about a year ago.

Other things to note are that there is a fairly new Butcher next door to Dunnes food and that Dunnes is also getting an overhaul with new flooring being put in. All in all the whole place is looking much improved and I hope all of the new businesses will do well. I particularly hope that the Popcorn shop does well as I reckon they are taking the biggest risk.

Rathmines Post Office

Needed to get a small packet in the post this morning so I visited Rathmines Post Office before work.

I like the post office in Rathmines - it was built in 1934 and it's got an old atmospheric feeling in it.  Oh and it also has a Starbucks close by so I knew I could go for a coffee after I got my package in the post.

As you enter in the door there is a name plate to the left of the post office.  The Irish version is written in the old Irish alphabet.

They have slotted in a modern stamp vending machine in the space where presumably an older stamp vending machine used to be.

This is what it looks like inside.  It had old features that are sort of masked by the modern fixings needed to operate the post office such as the security screens on the counter.

The front door is great!

And  I noticed this funky looking vent cover.

Outside there are two postboxes - green of course!!

I blogged about the Rathmines Post Office before - click here to see what the external building looks like.

Some more pics!

The floor has been installed in the bedrooms (it will be stained and varnished.  The coving and skirting boards have also been installed.  And don't worry - we will be painting the yellow fireplace!!!!

                             Here are the plaster ceiling roses.

This is the glass that will make the ceiling of the bathroom and the floor of the studio.