I love food! I don't cook well, nor do I eat at fancy restaurants, but I KNOW something good when I taste it-Ross always chuckles at me because my mouth changes into a little smile and my eyes close. There's no other way I know except to LOVE my food!!! In Dublin I really enjoyed everything we did, including the multiple amazing restaurants we ate in and the new meal ideas we came across. So here are a few...
On O'Connell street we found our way into a pub serving Irish Breakfast. The menu made it clear, to the Irish, what that meant, but to Martha and I the ensemble still made no sense. When our plates arrived the term ' irish breakfast' came to life, but we still didn't exactly know what we were about to put into our mouths. The confusion came from the use of Irish terms on the menu. Then when the food arrived there were a couple of little cakes our plate that looked like sausage rounds but tasted like oats. I suppose it didn't matter what the technical terms were for the yummy things we ate because we both cleaned our plates. Tomatoes, ppotato wedges, beans, two different sausage-oat cakes, a sausage link, eggs, toast, and mushrooms all mixed together (AND I HATE MIXING FOODS which is a testament to how good the combo was) for a wonderful meal!
What is a boxty? Even after eating boxty or a boxty I still couldn't quite describe it except to say it's in between and crepe and a pancake which is then filled like a burrito with anything you want. Since before we went to Dublin, I had been telling Martha that we must visit Gallagher's Boxty House. We finally made it there on our last night, thus finally learning how fantastic boxty is! We ordered a meat and vegetable boxty which ended up looking like a large chili filled pancake roll and, while it sounds disgusting, it tasted wonderful. Perfectly cooked carrots, delicious lamb, little chunks of potato, and a chili like sauce filled our tummies with warmth. If I go back to Ireland and I see boxty offered at a restaurant I will most definitely be entering to dine.
Lumpy Bumpy was a dessert encountered in Bewely's on Grafton. We were in such a hurry before a pub crawl to get in a good dinner and almost didn't get in dessert. I am SO GLAD we did. The name is a bit odd and there's no lumpy or bumpy in the cake, but perhaps if you eat enough you will become lumpy and bumpy. Lumpy Bumpy, now that I have been blessed to eat it, is a caramel and vanilla layer cake with buttercreme and caramel icing on top and whipped creme. It was light and sweet, but not too sweet, and so creamy and ....just GOOD! Oh and the food at Bewley's was scrumptious as well, but I am all about dessert!
Gogarty's for lunch on the last day (as if to prolong the good times had the night before at the same location) left me loving Dublin food and sad to leave the city. Martha dug into a little pot pie served in the same dish it was cooked in; the plate it was sitting on was heaped with side items. I devoured my seafood chowder, enjoying each and every mouthful. Again, as always, we were running a bit late but decided to chuck our set schedule and enjoy the Irish cheese platter we'd ordered. I can't honestly list the cheeses but my goodness they were yummy! To be honest, I was fearful of a deep yellow wedge streaked with a dark green almost black veins...Despite it's horrid appearance, the cheese turned out to be less strong than a blue. It was kind of sweet in fact. The amount and quality of food we were served was worth so much more than our bill demanded. Gogarty's drinks, food, and music are something I can't wait to get back to my next time in Dublin!
Ah the Queen of Tarts - not hearts - TARTS! I found the little bakery/restaurant online on every top ten restaurants list I came across, and I knew we HAD to go. If there was one restaurant in Dublin that I would walk forever to find or pay whatever to eat at, it was going to be the Queen of Tarts. The day we spent in cathedrals and the castle we were obliged to walk past the little restaurant just at the perfect time...LUNCH. So, pushing open the award littered door, we stepped into a fifteen foot by fifteen foot eating area with a counter brimming with pastries at the very back. Maybe a dozen tiny tables filled the space. I wanted to eat everything in the restaurant. Savory soups, hearty sandwiches and wraps, pastries and pies and mouth watering baked goods.... I debated overstuffing my self and also getting things to go since I knew we wouldn't be coming back (it was a bit far from the city center). Our tea arrived in a cute red teapot. The teacups seemed to be real china - the fact that they were mismatched added charm. The 'tart' that I got, actually more of a quiche, was filled with cheese and vegetables that I would never eat on my own (carrots and eggplant) but they were fantastic together. Martha loved her sandwich on homemade bread. Finally and, you guessed it, running late, we ordered dessert scones! We briefly talked about taking our scones to go, but neither of us wanted to pass up a few more minutes in the calm tea-room atmosphere and sacrifice the butter and cream that came with our little treats. (Even as I sit here writing about the scones I'm feeling suddenly desirous of visiting the bakery on my block). The scones were huge and dense and filled with raspberries. The Queen of Tarts gets credit for serving me the best scone of my life! I can't even describe that goodness, and most assuredly I was completely full from the meal, but the scones were so good I wanted at least 5 for the road. I didn't order 5 for the road unfortunately but when I visit again I shall!!!
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