Carluccio's in Dublin

Since I am of fan of Antonio Carluccio, the London chef and T.V. personality, I couldn't resist trying his restaurant in Dublin. I own several of his cookbooks and think he has classic recipes down pat, so I was expecting authentic Italian food, especially since there is a large Italian community in Dublin and Italian imports are easier to come by. I was underwhelmed and very quickly realized it was a franchise restaurant, or at least I hope so.

The menu was cute, and the dining room was bright and cheery. If you click on the menu to enlarge, you may be able to see what was on offer. To be clear, my selection could have been better and may have contributed to my disappointment.

My partner in crime ordered the suppli, one with a meat filling and one with a cheese filling. Both were quite good now that I think about them again. My panzanella was good but not great. A vine ripened tomato would have made all the difference, But they may be few and far between in Ireland.

The mushroom soup was a bit flat, but the menu listed wild mushrooms, so perhaps they are less flavorful on the Emerald Isle. The focaccia was over baked and dry. The spinach gnocchi seemed inside out to me. I expected a gnocchi made of spinach, silly me.

http://www.carluccios.com/caffes/default.asp?func=where&caffe_id=37&region=49

52 Dawson Street

Dublin 2

Tel. +353 (0) 1 6333 957

Fax. +353 (0) 1 6708 612

Open: Mon-Fri 7-10, Sat 8-10.30,Sun 9-10

O'Neill's Irish Pub in Dublin

No matter what angle you use to look at this place, it reads Irish Pub all the way. Inside or outside, stained or merely cut glass windows, dark wooden interior, loud talking, crowds; this is Irish pub central and what better place to find a predictable pub lunch than O'Neill's with its rabbit warren of rooms and attentive staff. The lines looked long but I was cold and needed to sit for awhile so I tried it.

As in most pubs, the lunch is made in massive quantities and set out on steam tables. They do a decent job of keeping the food warm, but do not add to the ambiance, nor do they bode well for extraordinary nor inventive cuisine. This is bare bones hot food at best, but it is plentiful and affordable. No gastro pub pretense, this is the real deal, pub grub.

As you stand in line, you pass the blackboard with the daily specials listed, and then within a few minutes, if things go well, you have placed your order and are walking by the bar where you may choose to add "a pint" to your selection. You are also trying to find an empty table, a difficult feat at lunchtime.

My selection of roast pork was accompanied by a potato gratin, I use the term loosely because I detected no cheese, nor anything else to liven up the bland potato, not even salt. The peas and corn were overcooked as expected, and the gravy was from a tin no doubt. On a cold and wet day, this could pass as a decent lunch if you added two or more of those "pints" to it. After this pedestrian lunch and my return home, I noticed that the pub is also a restaurant and the linked menu indicates that I walked into the wrong door if I was looking for good food. It's worth trying again.

http://www.oneillsbar.com/

Suffolk Street
Dublin 2
(01) 679-3656
Fax: (01) 679-0689

Monday - Thursday 10.30am to 11.30pm
Friday & Saturday10.30am to 12.30am
Sunday 12.30pm to 11.00pm

The Malt House in Galway

A small establishment but big on style, the Malt House in Galway was a breath of fresh air. The interior was modern, light and refreshing, but already filled to capacity by the time I stumbled upon the restaurant. Located in a small courtyard just off the main road leading into downtown from the small bridge, it was not easy to find. The less than traditional menu is what made me decide to give it a try.

As you can see from the menu, there are some traditional offerings, but they are sprinkled with some international options that use spices more liberally than traditional Irish dishes would. The inclusion of an Asian style dish was rare indeed.

Since I was outside and wanted an uncomplicated lunch, the napkins were already blowing off of the table, I selected the lamb burger. Failing to notice that it was served open faced, I couldn't simply pick it up and eat it, but I didn't take much time at any rate. The arugula did not a satisfying salad make. If I had been given a second piece of bread, I would have included it inside the burger.

The mint and tomato chutney was almost the best part of the meal, but the juicy lamb and rosemary bread were also good. The chips cooled off rapidly outside, so I didn't enjoy them as much as I may have, had I been seated indoors. I would try this restaurant again if I ever headed back to Ireland.

Olde Malt Mall, 15 High Street, Eyrecourt
Galway City Ireland

Telephone:
091 567866
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat 12.00 - 22.30

Diwali Indian/Nepalese Restaurant

It might have been tempting to try the Nepalese dishes, but this was the very first Indian menu I had ever seen that offered Balti cooking. India has so many differing cooking styles that whenever I get the opportunity to try one I jump at the chance. There was no disappointment in doing so this time. the restaurant itself was modern, spotless and quiet, as we arrived very early.

Instead of the usual 3 condiments, there were 2, but both were excellent. I particularly liked the tamarind sauce, probably because it is not as hot as the other (sorry, I have no recollection of what it was called). The only odd thing was the texture of the naan. It was crispier and had an uncharacteristic shine to the surface. Usually naan is a favorite, but not this time.


The Balti Lamb was succulent, rich, and mildly hot. It was a pleasure to try and a perfect introduction to the food of that state in India, or so I hope. As soon as I find another restaurant that serves Balti style food, I know I'll be delighted to try more of it. We also ordered the Lamb Vindaloo which was very hot, at least hotter than what we have been served at home. Some like it hot and luckily my dining companion is one of those people.

As many people know, the way to tame heat is with something fat or creamy, so ice cream was the perfect dessert, or it could have been if it were not served in it's plastic container. We may have been fooled with the pistachio ice cream, since its paper cone had been removed, but the "sundae" was unmistakably a frozen concoction that should have been bought directly from a grocer's ice cream novelty freezer instead of being served by a fairly good restaurant.

http://www.menupages.ie/Restaurants/Diwali_Indian_Restaurant/Menu.aspx

Unit 1, Castle House
South Great Georges St.
Dublin 2
Tel:+ 353 (1) 4750091

The Oval Bar, Dublin

Lovely to look at, but this pub exemplifies the old adage that you can't believe everything you read. I'm a big fan of Knopf City Map Guides. They easily fit into your pocket and offer information on museums, churches, other attractions, dining and shopping. Best of all they provide fold out maps for each section of a city with locations of everything written about. Occasionally I'll find a typo but usually they're invaluable to me. Not even close this time and definitely no cigar.

They claim that Oval Bar has the best Irish stew in town. I don't believe it. It was a filling stew, it was lamb (potatoes, carrots and onions too) but if it was the best, sitting in a tasteless broth, I'm dumbfounded. I should have known something was off as I sat down in an empty room. If this is the best, where were the locals or the other tourists for that matter? The brown bread saved the day for me. It was the first I had eaten on the trip and my favorite part of the Irish culinary tradition. Perhaps a whiskey at the beautiful bar (straight, not oval) would have helped this dining experience.

http://www.ovalpub.com/

78 Middle Abbey Street

Dublin 1
P: 01 8721264
E: info@ovalpub.com

Gallo D'Oro

Of all the restaurants we have stumbled upon during our travels, Gallo D'Oro (Gold Rooster) in Parma has to be our favorite. So good in fact, we have made daytrips there just to go to dinner. If our memory fails and we arrive on a day they are closed, we make do at their sister restaurant, Trattoria Ai Corrieri that also serves Tortelli di Zucca and a pretty good Spaghetti and Meatballs too. But nothing tops Gallo D'Oro.

The first thing one notices upon entry is the large and rather impressive, red prosciutto slicer. The owner would look so proud as he sliced off pieces for the antipasti platters. We believed he set it in the center of the room so everyone could see it in action, it was elevated to theater with him at the wheel . In the photos above one can also see a rather grand mortadella, pancetta and culatello, the most exquisite of prosciutti.


Culatello is generally much moister than prosciutto, perhaps because of the marbled fat in the cut of pork used to make it. At Gallo D'Oro it is served with a fried bread called piadina that puffs up and holds the heat long enough to melt the fat on your salumi of choice. One bite and you know why they are a perfect compliment to one another. If for no other reason, piadina and culatello combined are reason enough to bring fame to Emilia Romagna culinary tradition.

Another heavy hitter on the culinary team is the tortelli. Gallo D'Oro has a sampler plate of tortelli made of squash, ricotta and herbs, and veal; each and every is one delicious on its own. You can also order them individually. I especially love the crushed amaretti cookie crumbs in the squash version. A butter sage sauce completes the dish and goes perfectly with each flavor.

Colle Piacentini wines are the wines Emilian recipes were developed to compliment and my favorite of them is Gutturnio. It is a big, fruity, but dry, red wine that is frizzante (sparkling). Nothing like the cold duck produced in the U.S. or Lambrusco, the most common sparkling red imported here. It is not a sweet or semi dry, but a true, dry wine. It works well with everything except dessert. When I was a child my Italian grandfather would add sparkling water to his red wine. I was always curious as to why he would water down his wine. The minute I tasted Gutturnio I understood that is was the closest he could come to a dry, sparkling, red wine in the U.S.

Another Northern Italian classic dish is the roasted, stuffed breast of veal. My grandmother made it once, but I failed to ask for a recipe. It doesn't seem that difficult to figure out. The stuffing is made primarily with bread crumbs, egg, and parmigiano cheese. It makes for an excellent "secondo". After a meal like this, we just could not find room for dessert.

http://www.ristorantidiparma.it/old/gallo/index.html

Borgo della Salina 3
Parma
0521-208846
Mon-Sat noon-2:30pm and 7:30-11pm

Insomnia....Coffee Anyone?

Jet lag usually hits me halfway through the day when traveling to Europe. My antidote is to find a nice cafe and drink the largest size cup they offer. Walking or any exercise helps, and staying up until at least 9 p.m. before sleeping will usually reset my circadian rhythm. It was an appealing thought to try and find a cafe other than Starbucks, something local, and it would be doubly good since walking was the best way to find one. As it turns out, Insomnia has many locations in Dublin so finding one was relatively simple.

Not being a great fan of burnt tasting French or Italian roasted coffees, I was happy to find their coffee, rich, but mellow. The feathered milk froth was a visual treat and drinking the large cup took a bit of time and gave me a needed break from walking. These are modern shops with style, that have a good looking selection of pastries too.

http://www.insomnia.ie/index.html

Cafe En Seine, Dublin

The name of this establishment, spoken out loud, makes me giggle, but this restaurant/watering hole was a fun find in downtown Dublin on Dawson Street. It's overdone, French elegance was quite foreign to the standard pub fare, as it should be, but sitting in one or another of its rooms was comfortable and quite satisfying. It's one of those places that inspires one to linger. As in most establishments serving cafeteria style food, the vegetables were overcooked thanks to the steam tables and the roasts were served mostly well done too, but the price was right for such an expensive city and I would go there again, especially for cocktails and during the evenings for the bar scene.

Being transfixed by the interior, I completely forgot to take a photo of the exterior that has sidewalk dining.

We selected entrees of beef ribs, which were merely boneless slices of roast beef by anyone's definition, and sausage in onion gravy. Chips and mashed potatoes were available, but we both selected potato croquettes for our starch. Tasteless, overcooked vegetables were also provided to round out the meal. This was a lot of food for 10-11 euros.

40 Dawson Street

Dublin 2 Ireland
Tel: +353 (0) 1 6774369