ITALIAN FOODIES

                  

Alessandro has been in Italy for the last month so has only seen the new place through email and excited descriptions from us, so he flew back yesterday!! We decided he should fly into Dublin and we’d pick him up and stay up for the night and do a little bit of “food and wine” research - oh life is good:) There were a couple of new places that I wanted to try like Carluccio’s and the Cornerhouse Grill so we made a day and night of it!! We decided to stay in the Trinity Capital Hotel which just had a complete refurbishment last year and I have to say I highly recommend it. It’s so cheap compared to other city centre hotels, is in a great location and I love the new decor so it’s my new place of sleep when in Dublin.

As usual we tried to pack as much food and drink in as one’s body can physically handle, Carluccio’s was first on the list but only for a sandwich as we were going for steaks so we only wanted something small for lunch. I’v eaten in Carlcuccio’s in London lots of times and I really like it!! Ok, so it’s not Italian food like “mama would make” but it is a chain at the end of the day and the quality is very good for a chain. The Dublin outlet is pretty impressive I think, very modern, fresh and absolutely spotless, everything shines. The presentation in the deli is excellent as you can see from the picture above and I wanted to buy everything but we just settled on 3 very good panini. I think it will do very well but if you’re looking for more traditional Italian food I suggest Dunne & Crescenzi around the corner, they even use tazza d’oro coffee which anyone who has been to Rome would have heard of, it’s the most famous spot for coffee in Rome!!

                                  

I’ve spoke of Fallon & Byrne in my last post on Dublin so this time we went down to the wine cellar and had a couple of glasses of vino and some oysters as an ”aperitivo” which were delicious and the boys loved!!

            

Dinner was booked in the Cornerhouse Grill at 9pm and I was interested to see what it would be like as it has had some pretty bad reviews recently. We started with the spicy chicken wings, lamb skewers and the roast beef salad.

For mains we had 3 rib-eye’s, chips and a side of broccoli

 

I wish I could tell you it was a great meal as I love the concept and think we badly need this kind of dining option but it really wasn’t up to standard and is pretty expensive. We all agreed the quality of the steak was really good with lots of flavour but that’s where it stopped!! The service was good with really friendly waiting staff but other than that it was a big disappointment. We tried to get in there the last time we were in Dublin on a Tuesday night but it was packed but last night it was fairly quiet which is such a shame as it has everything going for it but at the end of the day no matter how nice the place is, it’s all about the food!! 

                                          

There’s lots of discussion lately about the best steak so my question to you today is what’s your favourite???

 - fillet
 - sirloin
 - ribeye
 - striploin
 - t-bone

I’m loving ribeye at the moment, would love to hear your favourite, it’s a little bit of market research for the new place!!

Ciao!!

                                                            
                                                                                               

So everything has calmed down and returned to normal, I had to do a phone interview with a local paper this morning regarding the win which was pretty cool and any press we get from the award is great for the shop. The princess is still sick so there hasn’t been much cooking going on and the only reason I’m posting now is because of that bloody “champions league”, I lose all rights to the remote on Tues and Weds(proper order I hear Bruno shout) so I’m all yours:) I wanted to do another post on London as we ate in a few other good places and had some tasty cocktails along the way as you can see above.

We stayed in the Cumberland Hotel which turned out to be in a great location, it’s at the top of Oxford St at Marble Arch so it’s right beside the tube station. It’s a pretty cool and funky hotel as you can see from the photo and seems to be used mostly by business people, there were lots of conferences going on. The rooms are a bit disappointing especially when both the safe and the heating don’t work but in saying that when staying in London you are only using the room for sleep and although they are small and decorated in a strange turquoise Ikea style they are perfect if you are in London for a short break, Gary Rhodes restaurant is located in the hotel and Locatelli’s is just around the corner.

I love London and the variety of food on offer always amazes me, there is every type of cuisine possible. As usual we tried to fit as many eating establishments into 1 day which resulted in complete savagery and over-eating which in turn resulted in no room for dessert in Locatelli’s and I soooo wanted the Amedei chocolate tasting selection, I will live to regret this until my dying day!!!  The day of overindulgance went something like this

 - arrived on Oxford st and had a very good cappuccino and croissant at Fratteli cafe down one of the side streets near Topshop!!

 - lunch at Tootsies, although this is a huge chain in the UK the quality of food is pretty good. It’s simple casual dining focusing on breakfast,  light bites like chicken wings and nachos, burgers, steak sandwiches etc. Gourmet dining it isn’t but it’s great with a group of friends for a casual bite with a couple of beers. I wish we had more options like that here in Ireland, casual dining is really lacking.

 - an espresso and limoncello at Bar Italia in Soho which were a little bit disappointing but then I think people just go there because it’s so famous so it’s still worth a visit for Italian foodies.

                                                  

 - a couple of really good mojitos as pictured above at Meza bar in Soho, Floridita is also located here.

 - at this stage you would think we would have stopped and saved ourselves for Locatellis but no there was sushi to be had!!! We’ve never had sushi, I know we probably lead a sheltered life but it’s not readily available this side of the country so we couldn’t leave London without doing so! We headed into Yo Sushi which is a very popular chain in the UK, the staff are really friendly and ask if you’ve been before and would you like some help so you are instantly put at ease. Luckily my sister is a regular so she took the reigns with great pride, makes a big change for us to know nothing about the food we are about to eat so she loved it!! I don’t know how good this chain is compared to “authentic” sushi bars but I really enjoyed the whole experience. You basically pick either hot dishes from the menu or choose cold dishes from the conveyor belt, deciding what to have was the most difficult decision as there is so much choice. The plates are all colour coded and you pay by colour, we had a few different plates to try as many as we could and really enjoyed everything.

                    

                     

 - Locatelli’s for dinner, a couple of bombay g&t’s at the hotel bar and then rolled myself and my 5 bellies into bed.

We had a few hours to kill the next morning before our flight back home so more “food researching” was done!!

 - breakfast at Napket which turned out to be the coolest deli I’ve ever been to. It’s design is “boutique chic” with a fantastic selection of take-away sandwiches, salads, desserts. It is really small but is so well thought out it is definitely worth a visit. Their slogan is “snob food” and even the plastic knives and forks are black and very posh!! I loved it!! Sorry about the pics but they even had a sign up that no cameras allowed!!

 

 - lunch at gbks for the best burgers ever!!

 - flew home and haven’t eaten since;)

                                               

Ok, I think we just ate one of the best restaurant meals of our lives last Monday night!!! We have wanted to eat in Locatelli’s for so long and were worried that we had built it up too high and that we were going to be seriously disappointed but I’m happy to report it was everything and more!! We had booked about a month in advance but still could only get a table at 9.45pm on a Monday night but we had eaten so much that day trying out every cuisine possible in London it was just as well. We actually ended up being late(what’s new) as we never checked where the restaurant actually was and jumped into a taxi outside the hotel presuming he knew where he was going but of course we would jump into a cab with the craziest taxi driver in London who headed off towards Covent Garden which was the completely wrong direction. My sister questioned him and he then realised where it was and it turned out to be a 2 minute walk around the corner from the hotel, he thought it was the funniest thing ever but still charged us £3 for our 10 min detour:) It’s basically situated at the top of Oxford St at Marble Arch so it’s only a 5 min walk from the tube station.

On arrival we were greeted with a lot of “buona sera” from the “all” Italian staff which really gives it a very welcoming feel and an air of authenticity even though it is a very modern contemporary restaurant - no red and white check table cloths here:) Throughout the meal the staff speak Italian (buon appetito, grazie, prego) which I love as you feel you could be eating anywhere in Italy! The one thing that really struck me was how unpretentious the place was, it has a very relaxed feel to it and there was a great atmosphere, the room was buzzing with chat. I love the decor of  the room, warm creams and beiges, crisp white tablecloths, soft lighting and although there was no music it wasn’t an issue. The service is excellent and very professional, I was amazed at how many staff there were and of course my business brain was totting up how much it costs to run a place like this, actually my brain didn’t stop a minute, every time I go to a new restaurant or a different city I come back buzzing with ideas - more about that later;)

We were seated straight away due to being “delayed” so unfortunately there was no time for an aperitivo at the bar and we were handed a very simple one page menu divided into the usual antipasti, primi, secondi and dolci!! We were dining with my sister and her partner so I was looking forward to trying every one’s dishes - yes I am one of those:) Myself and Bru decided to pass on the antipasti as we both spotted “risotto al Barolo e Castelmagno” which we had seen Giorgio make on the Market Kitchen a while back so we both opted for that to start, they informed us it would take 20-25 mins but that suited us perfect as we were munching on the tastiest parmesan grissini and a basket of bread with home-made focaccia accompanied by some excellent Tuscan olive oil for dipping so they could have taken an hour for all we cared!! When the risotto arrived it was served with a spoon of barolo on top which the waiter then drizzled over the risotto at the table which was a really nice touch even though I got the new boy with the shaky hand of course:). The risotto itself was cooked perfectly with a lovely bite to the rice, lots of flavour from the barolo wine which I love anyway and then a really strong salty flavour from the castelmango cheese which is like a small, young, semi-hard parmesan cheese. My sister opted for the scallops with a saffron vinaigrette served on a celeriac puree which were absolutely devine, they just melted in the mouth. The beef carpaccio served with rocket and parmesan shavings was the best I have ever tasted, the quality of the beef was amazing, it was so tender and full of flavour.

Expectation was high for the mains and we had chosen a variety of dishes so we could get a real taste of the menu, Bruno chose the rabbit wrapped in parma ham and served with polenta which was delicious, I went for the stuffed sardines served with a fennel salad which I loved, it was light and full of flavour after my risotto. I have to say the winning dish had to be the oven roasted rump steak, it was the most amazing piece of meat I have ever tasted. It was cooked perfectly rare and had been infused with rosemary, I have never seen a piece of meat so tender, it really was like cutting through butter, we probably spent the whole meal discussing how good it was. I’ll never be happy eating a piece of steak again:) Us ladies passed on dessert as we were just too full but the boys had a marsala zabaliogne and a chocolate fondant which were both delicious, ladies are never too full to taste though much to the annoyance of the boys  - this drives Bru mad like all men I think:) I wasn’t too fond of the grappa truffles but I don’t like grappa anyway. The biggest dissapointment if I was to try and find fault were the espressos, they were only average which we were quite surprised at, they were lacking the “crema” and definitely didn’t pass the sugar test!!

The wine list is very extensive covering the different wine regions of Italy and covering the different price ranges too,   the most expensive bottle we saw was an Amarone priced at a very affordable £495 - maybe next time;) We opted for a more affordable bottle of Barbera d’Alba which was nice but nothing too special, I think the temperature probably affected the taste as it was quite cold which was surprising as they have one of those wine temperature controlled rooms. The customer at the next table complained about the temperature, he was a very “well to do” gentleman dining alone, at first I thought he may have been a food critic. I think the staff thought so too by the way they attended to him as he asked for his wine to be decanter-ed and really knew his food and wine( yes I was listening to everything). I love watching wine being decanter-ed as you never see it here, it really is a science and this guy knew how to swirl and taste it properly. He probably wasn’t too impressed by the table of Irish sitting beside him pretending not to watch but not saying a word to each other and all eyes going in the same direction!! It turned out he was some big business man from Austria( he really gave off an air of importance) but I didn’t catch anymore as my sister started speaking to me while I was eavesdropping and he had finished after she had been “shushed”:) There was no celebrity spotting to report except for one of the chefs I’ve regularly seen on Ready Steady Cook, don’t know his name though, older guy with grey hair and a tash??

We had 3 limoncellos and a mint tea to finish off even though we were quite shocked when we saw the price of the limoncellos £7 each - OMG, now that is way too expensive for a limoncello and it wasn’t served at the proper temperature either. It should be served from the freezer but it was served from the fridge, now I know this sounds fussy but at this level and that price the best is expected!! The bill came to £262 sterling for the 4 of us which I know is expensive but besides the limoncellos it was definitely worth the money, it was definitely the best meal we’ve had. The best way to describe the food is sophisticated Italian cooking but still staying true to the Italian ethos of focusing on the best ingredients. The food is served nicely but not too “fancy” and the servings are big, you definitely won’t be hungry when leaving. Afterwards we we headed back to the hotel and had a couple of g & t’s and a very contented night’s sleep:)

If you want to read 2 more Irish opinions you can do so here and here.

p.s. the pics aren’t great as I really need to invest in a new camera, me and my sony cybershot are about to part company!! I looked a bit of a twat taking the photos anyway but I didn’t care!!

p.p.s. italianfoodies was 1 yesterday so happy birthday to us!!!!!:)

                         

We decided to take a last minute trip up to Dublin on Tuesday to do a little bit of shopping and lots of eating and drinking of course;) I always get quite excited when we go up as there is such a varied choice of food compared to Limerick but then it is the capital!! We only went up for 1 night so we tried to fit in as much as we could so I’m sitting here with the biggest belly - the diet starts tomorrow:)

We always stay in the Morrison hotel mainly for it’s location and it’s close proximity to the Italian quarter which of course is our favourite place to pop in for a pasta or a quick espresso while out shopping! I loved the Morrison when it opened first, it was so stylish and chic and THEE place to stay! We had a pretty bad experience on our second stay a couple of years ago with the restaurant manager but I wrote a letter of complaint and we ended up staying in a suite with dinner for 2 and wine free of charge as a result - it pays to complain people;) But I had a genuine complaint to be fair!! We were debating this time whether to stay in the newly revamped Shelbourne but we went with what we know. We were a bit disappointed though as I don’t think the Morrison has stood the test of time and the decor looks quite dated especially in the rooms. I do recommend the hotel for it’s location though and it is probably cheaper now than a lot of the higher class city hotels so it is perfect if you are just using it to shop, drink and sleep:)

So, here’s where we ate and drank:

Fallon and Byrne - we arrived up around lunch time and I had planned to eat in the Winding Stair as I had read loads about it and it was near the hotel but we had a look at the menu and it was a little too Irish for the “Italian” and me “the wannabe Italian” so we passed. We always have difficulty choosing somewhere to have lunch in the city centre, there seems to be loads of small sandwich bars or restaurants with full on lunch menu but very little in between. We decided to have a sandwich in the food hall in Fallon & Byrne, they have a great big deli counter with lots of different sandwiches but we couldn’t decide what to have!! We just wanted a simple ciabatta with parma ham and cheese or similar but all the sandwiches tend to have lots of different fillings and dressings which does cater to the Irish market so I can’t really complain. We ended up having a ham and cheese toastie, a roast beef sandwich and 2 soups which were quite good. The food hall itself is fabulous, they seem to have everything you would require in relation to food!! My best purchase there was The Dubliner 100 best restaurants book which will be used on many an occasion in the future - it’s a little gem of a book for anybody not over familiar with the restaurant scene in Dublin.

Cafe on Seine - We popped in here for a quick drink while shopping, I know it’s probably not as popular as it once was and has a reputation for being pretentious but it still is a fantastic bar. Pure opulence and luxury is what best describes this place and the interior never fails to impress, it’s a perfect stop for an afternoon coffee or alcoholic beverage;)

The Port House - This was our biggest find, when we spotted it first it was empty and we were worried that it wasn’t that popular but then another couple went in while we were looking at the menu and we said we might as well give it a go!! By 6pm the place was packed and full of atmosphere, it’s quite small and intimate with a lovely cosy relaxed feel to it!! The food which comprises of both hot and cold tapas is quite good but I don’t think people go there just for the food but for the rare chance to relax with friends and have a glass of wine, a chat and a few nibbles without having to go to a restaurant. I think more Tapas bars or Italian Enotecca are needed in Ireland as this is what people are looking for especially during the week when you don’t want to go to a restaurant and have a full dinner.

Chez Max - believe it or not after all this eating we went out for dinner, we tried to get into the Cornerhouse Grill but it was packed which is always a good sign especially on a Tuesday night, the menu looked great and I love the idea of a grill, the more Ireland moves in the direction of casual dining the better. We really didn’t feel like a huge dinner after our day of gorging so we happened to come upon Chez Max and liked the look of the menu. The place is simple, authentic and of course French!! We both had the french onion soup - god I love the melted cheese in that soup!! I have to say we were  spoilt in Limerick for a couple of years as we had a French restaurant that served the best French Onion soup so we are a bit fussy!! We both went for a hearty stew, Bru had the beef stew and I had the Cassoulet which was a bean stew with duck and Toulouse sausage - the portions are huge in this place, I could only eat half but it was really good - rustic, simple and full of flavour! The desserts looked very tempting focusing on creme brulee and a selection of tarts - lemon merengue, strawberry and pear and almond tart. I was too full so I bought some to take away and of course didn’t eat them!!

Bar Italia - As I’ve mentioned before we’re not big breakfast lovers, just a quick cappuccino and a croissant and the Caffe Cagliostro is perfect for this even though I didn’t think the coffee was as good as the last time we were up and they use Suicra sugar sticks “gasp”;) but like everything in the catering business it depends on who makes it, it’s the same in our place as much as we try to attain consistency it can be difficult!! We decided it was time for a little Italian and had lunch in Bar Italia. It was so nice to be able to order a pasta even though the “too cool for school” waiter put me in my place when I asked for it “al dente”. The food was good though, we had a bresaola and rocket salad and an antipasto to start and a fresh egg spaghetti Amatriciana for Bru and a fettucine with porcini for me cooked “perfectly”;) This little area is great as you have the restaurant, a taverna, an enotecca, a coffee shop, ice-cream parlour and a little deli, well worth a visit for Italian foodies!!

                                  

p.s. in order to avoid walking around Dublin like 2 tourists looking for food, I’d love to know your favourite spots to eat whether it be for a sandwich or a full dinner!! Thanks in advance:)

We haven’t had any holiday this year so we decided to pack up ourselves and the princess and head off to the Sheraton hotel in Cork. I mentioned in a recent post about her travelling issues so we just timed it around her morning sleep and she slept the whole way, we couldn’t believe it, she woke as we drove up the driveway of the hotel - 2 hours after leaving Limerick. This was her first “holiday” so we were looking forward to doing the whole family weekend away. I was a little worried that the Sheraton would be more suited to golfers and couples rather than crazy Italian princesses but I have to say we were welcomed with open arms. 

I have to say this is one of the best hotels we have stayed in, the service was excellent, the rooms were spacious with huge bathrooms, the restaurant was child friendly, the food was very good and the staff did everything they could to make your stay more enjoyable. The location of the hotel is great as there is a fabulous golf course on the grounds of the hotel, Fota Wildlife Park is a 5 min drive away, Cork city is about 20-30 mins and Cobh is about 10 mins drive. We visited Fota the day we arrived and it is such a wonderful place for families, there is loads to see and there is a great picnic area in the centre of the park with a cafe where you can eat surrounded by the ducks and penguins. The princess loved it as a lot of the animals roam free so it is much better than the zoo as all the animals are in a natural environment.

We ate at the hotel the first day for lunch and dinner, we had 2 excellent fillet steak sandwiches for lunch with really tender and perfectly cooked (medium rare) meat served in crunchy ciabatta bread served with portobello mushroom, red onion relish and a blue cheese dressing and washed down with one of the best pints of Heineken we’ve had in a while - bring back the pint the way it used to be in Ireland!! We decided to have room service that night as the princess was tired from all the excitement even though she probably got more excited by the birds on the patio of the hotel more than the giraffes etc at the park:) Room service was very good, my expectation is always quite low so we were pleasantly surprised, we had a parma ham and fig salad and a tuna nicoise salad to start followed by a t-bone steak and a grilled swordfish with a chocolate fondant and 2 spoons for dessert and a couple of bevies from the mini-bar!!

The breakfast buffet at the hotel was excellent with a great selection of hot foods, cold buffet of salami, cheeses etc, cakes, fruit, cereals and they even had waffles and maple syrup. We headed over to Cobh for lunch and a stroll, it’s a really nice town but not a “foodie haven” by an means, the food offering seemed quite limited to be honest.

We ate in a bar called the Quays which had great views and beer garden and good bar food if you are just looking for a sandwich - have the open smoked mackerel sandwich. The hotel also recommends the Watergate Lodge hotel which looked really nice but was more suited to “ladies who lunch” than the “italian foodie famiglia”:)

 

We ate in the hotel restaurant that night, well we ate one at a time as the princess decided she wanted to walk around the restaurant pushing her little car about 100 times. The staff were great especially when her new game is throwing everything off her highchair - spoons, wine menu, napkins, my mobile phone, my keys, yes we will give her anything just to keep her entertained while we eat. The dinner was excellent, we both had the lamb chop which was really tender and succulent and was accompanied by “fat chips”, the presentation was really impressive!! There is a fine dining restaurant also which had a very impressive menu - Lobster anyone???

 

We had a great couple of days but of course nothing ever goes smoothly with the italian foodies, we were bringing the princess to the pool for her first time so we got her ready in her little mini mouse swimsuit, took all the photos and then she goes and falls off the bed which was much higher than your average bed. She banged her mouth on the way down and was pumping blood so we had to call the doctor- the poor thing, there she was in her little swimsuit with her face covered in blood, even the doctor felt sorry for her:( Anyway she was fine just a little bruised but she did not enjoy the pool one bit!! She did enjoy being transported around in her little car and being told by everyone how cute she was in it - today this little car, tomorrow a Ferrari:)

 

  Since the princess arrived 5 months ago our social life has become non-existent to say the least so we decided to treat ourselves to a night in www.theghotel.ie  in Galway. (someday I’ll figure out how to use the links) 

So we booked the G, packed up the princess and more or less the whole house and dropped her off to Nonna. My god, babies have so much stuff!!!  We were supposed to leave at 3 but of course as usual nothing ever goes according to plan in our lives. La Cucina was up the walls and they had so much to do, meatballs, bolognese etc. Meatballs take forever by the way, they don’t magically make themselves unfortunately especially when you have to roll about 200 of them by hand!!

We eventually got on the road at about 5pm and of course the little oil picture pops up on the dashboard. even though we had just got it serviced. Now I had told a certain Italian about this a couple of weeks ago but had anything been done??? So we pulled into the garage on the Dublin road and there was no dipstick bla,bla,bla( I was in the car reading the latest edition of olive)while 4 of them stood looking into the bonnet, it was all computerised so we had to go to the mechanic. It was 5.45pm at this stage and my mood was beginning to turn towards bad but luckily Danno the mechanic sorted it all out. Personally I think he was afraid of the look on my face and felt sorry for Bru!!! 

Anyway the mood changed, the weather was lovely, the Mews was on the stereo and I hadn’t been for a drive in a while and was looking forward to my few bevies. The g turned out to be fantastic, it’s very chic, very funky and very cool!! The staff are very friendly and quite young so there is nothing pretentious about it at all. We booked dinner for 9 and had an aperitif beforehand and guess what they give you free nibbles. So already they were in my good books. They also serve prosecco which I love before dinner!

The menu is quite Italian and quite expensive but we hadn’t been out in so long we went all out. I had the foie gras to start and Bru had the carpaccio of beef. Both were lovely and the french sommelier offered me a glass of sweet wine to accompany the foie gras. Now I love my wine and I know what I like but I haven’t a clue how to describe it, what goes with what, what it smells like, new world, old world etc etc! So when the french waiter asks me so politely and calls me madame, who am I to refuse. He knows what he’s talking about and I’m just a big sucker trying to pretend I know.

When we were being seated the maitre’d informed us that they had no lobster left, of course this was what I was going to have. He came back a couple of minutes later and told me he had one left and would put my name on it. I think it must have been my new mac eyeliner!!

I have to say I’m a bit partial to lobster, I love it!! Bru’s brother in law goes fishing in the summer and brings back bags of them. Nonna cooks them in a lovely cream sauce with brandy and mustard. Like all Irish people I was a bit shocked when I saw her cooking it for the first time. I never knew they were black and that they are cooked alive and scream. It didn’t help that she put one on the bbq alive and it went on fire!! All hell broke loose with a gang of Italians trying to put out the lobster fire!!! ah the memories!!

The only problem with lobster is that there is never enough, but I have to say it was so tasty in the g, Bru had the fillet steak served with spinach and portobello mushroom which was really nice but not cooked rare like he asked. We have a big problem getting our steak cooked rare, it’s always medium!! It drives us crazy because we like it really rare.

For dessert I had the mascarpone rice pudding, Italians don’t get rice pudding, rice is for risotto not dessert. There’s nothing like a good rice pudding and this one didn’t disappoint. Bru had the chocolate tart which was served warm - one word “yummy”

Now the only thing that didn’t deliver was the coffee. We had two espressos and they were so bad we didn’t even drink them and they weren’t cheap at €4. We had a couple of limoncellos after not cheap either at €6.50 but it’s rare to see them on a menu so we had two each. They have a great cocktail menu which is very rare in Ireland anymore and the cocktails were quite good. Bru loves his mojito and I just have anything that sounds good. We had a few nightcaps and headed off to our super king bed for our first full night’s sleep in a long time.