It’s true that we don’t eat out as much as we did in Austin. Before we moved to Texas in 1998, we read that Austin had one of the highest restaurants per capita in the U.S. We certainly lived as though that were true–and Austin’s cuisine offerings continue to grow. Raheny’s restaurants per capita is a bit on the low side, but Dublin city centre has plenty of dining options and we recently tried a couple new places.
The Green Hen
On a recent unassuming Monday night, Bill and I met for dinner at The Green Hen, a French bistro on Exchequer Street. I liked this restaurant immediately–the walls covered with French movie posters, shelves full of wine bottles reflecting glowing candles, and a lovely iron stair railing. We settled into our table and started on a tasty bottle of Aranleón Crianza, a youngish wine from Spain, which happened to be organic. Bill started with a rabbit terrine and I had the Pickled Pear and Walnut salad. The rabbit terrine was served with a plum relish that was a perfect match with the wine. I was quite happy with my salad–I’m a sucker for blue cheese, pear and walnuts and even more so when pomegranate jewels are thrown in. I pondered my entree choice for a long time and finally settled on the Plat de Jour, a Navarin stew of lamb. I thought I should get something with a longer description, like Bill’s Roast rump of lamb with boudin noir, rosti potato spinach, parsnip pureÌe and jus, but I could not have chosen better. The rich tomato flavor of this stew continued to delight until the very last bite. It was delicious. Bill’s lamb with boudin was lovely as well; he particularly liked the boudin, but thought the rosti was perhaps a bit too much extra flavor. Mash would have worked fine. A shared cheese plate was the perfect ending for the meal.
The Hen was hopping on a Monday night, so much so that our server apologized several times for slow service. “It’s busier than we expected,” she said. “Well, that’s a good problem to have.” “I hope the customers think so!” I did notice a dip in the happy diner buzz when I accidentally swiped the metal dish containing our bill onto the floor, producing an amazing, resounding gong, which I stopped with my foot. Well, Goodnight, I said in the silence.
I look forward to returning, and also would like to try a couple other places I noticed on Exchequer. Has anyone eaten at Cornucopia or Gibson’s?
L. Mulligan. Grocer.
When my parents were here and we were on our way to the Cobblestone, I called a friend for suggestions for a place to grab dinner nearby. He directed us to Mulligan’s on Stoneybatter, which unfortunately was fully booked when we arrived. While standing on the sidewalk considering our options, some helpful smokers from the pub next door asked if we were lost. No, I replied. We know exactly where we are. We chatted with these fellows for a bit and one of them said, You know, you’re in one of the worst parts of Dublin. I really don’t think so, I replied. We’re outside a gastro pub, not a crack house. But his comment did add some spice to the evening.
We were eager to return to Mulligans, so last weekend I booked a table for Saturday. After seeing an amazing movie with friends at The Lighthouse in Smithfield–Of Gods and Men, a beautiful and affecting film about French monks–we made our way back to Stoneybatter. Lots of fun touches at Mulligan’s–the menus are slipped into hardback books, the chocolate mousse served in a teacup. I loved that every menu item had a beer or cider pairing. Bill’s scotch egg starter stood out as the most amazing dish of the evening, decadent and delicious–a creamy egg surrounded by pork with Dijon mayonnaise and salsa-like relish. The flavor combo is a bit reminiscent of aioli and spicy tomato sauce served with patatas bravas and worked with the scotch egg. I think we’ve had Leffe Blonde before but I don’t remember it tasting so spicy. I had an India Pale Ale with my blue-cheesy mushrooms on sourdough toast. We shared a bottle of Galician cider with our entrees. Bill enjoyed his pork belly with lovely cracklins. I love moules frites and Mulligan’s version served with Hoegaarden mayonnaise did not disappoint, and again the mussels were charmingly served in a sauce pan accompanied by a paper cone of chips. These touches work because they are supporting good food, not trying to outshine it. A sea salt ice cream was a happy surprise with apple crumble.
L. Mulligan. Grocer. opened in July and is part of the growing focus on Irish ingredients. (And they really like beer and whiskey.) On Mondays and Tuesdays Mulligan’s serves a Bangers and Mash menu featuring sausages from Irish artisan producers. The menu changes every week. Last week I saw this delectable post in my Facebook newsfeed:
Bangers and Mash Menu for this week: Ardrahan Cheese and Smokey Bacon with Mossfield Cheddar Mash; Glamorgan Vegetarian Sausages with Mustard Champ; Black Pudding and Apple with ‘heaven and earth’ mash; Garlic Italian sausages with herby mash.
Bill I decided that Bangers and Mash Monday would make the perfect Valentine’s dinner, so we’re headed there tomorrow night.
We’re really excited that places like Mulligan’s are focusing on Irish ingredients. Ireland is really waking up to its culinary identity and many farmers, food producers and chefs are working to make Ireland a cuisine destination. Bring it on!
We ate this amazing platter of mussels, clams and razor clams, along with a pile of pimientos de Padrón and a bottle of wine, in Santiago de Compostela at an outdoor cafe. Our server even brought us a glass of Orujo, a traditional Galician liquor, to end our feast with. Spain is a whole lot of Awesome!
To combat the Winter/Software Testing doldrums, I am implementing a Week of Something Awesome.
Something Awesome Day 1: Lunch in Lugo
Last June in Lugo, Spain, Bill and I happened upon a festival celebrating the Roman history of this Galician city which has the only fully intact Roman walls in the world, forming a circle over a mile (2117 m) in circumference around old town. After a snack of empanada (the Galician variety which is baked like a large pie) we found a huge grill covered in ribs. We snagged a table and obtained the following items.
A bottle of white wine with shallow pottery bowls to drink it from
Ribs
pulpo a feira–boiled octopus sprinkled with Pimentón (paprika) and olive oil, a traditional Galician dish
Padrón peppers–another Galician specialty, these green peppers are fried and sprinkled with salt
The Padrón peppers popped into my mind tonight as I was pondering Awesome. We loved the simple preparation that highlights the earthy combination of mild spice and salt. We ordered them at every opportunity on our trip. I didn’t like Galician octopus as much as I did Barcelonian Squid, although I would eat it again if given the opportunity. The ribs were as close to BBQ as we’ve found this side of the Atlantic. Gnawing on bones, quaffing wine, surrounded by folks in Roman garb of togas, animal skins, and gladiator armor, we were having a feast indeed.
I’ve decided that having a bottle of wine at lunch is one of my favorite markers that we are truly on holiday.
She loves book club. He reads cookbooks. They fell in love at The Cookbook Club.
Okay, they were already in love, but they fell in love with The Cookbook Club.
Started in September, The Cookbook Club hosts a monthly dinner that celebrates a cookbook, serves recipes from said cookbook and allows the diners to meet said writer of said cookbook. Bill had read about the Cookbook Club dinner featuring Clodagh McKenna, but the event had already sold out. He kept watch and snagged two tickets to the December Domini Kemp dinner. Domini is a food writer for the Irish Times, and along with her sister Peaches, owns several restaurants in Dublin. Domini has a new cookbook, Itsa Cookbook, published in October.
When the evening arrived, Dublin was still deep into its freeze, but we slid out to Ely Bar and Brasserie (which is ridiculously easy to get to from the DART, now that I know about the side exit from Connolly station). Ely is located in a renovated wine and tobacco warehouse built in 1820. Bill and I learned about this warehouse on a Docklands tour we took last July–it’s one of the few remaining structures of its kind, as most similar warehouses in the UK were bombed in wartime. Our dinner took place in the brick, arched rooms of the basement–a cozy place to spend a winter’s eve.
Diners chose from three starters, mains and desserts. Ely’s sommelier provided wine pairing suggestions, which were all available by the glass. The dishes were prepared by Ely chefs from Domini’s recipes. Bill spied a familiar item in the dessert offerings–the ginger and blackberry pudding. He had printed this recipe when it appeared in the Irish Times and has made it many times. It’s his Go-To dessert, and it works great with mango and pineapple if you don’t have blackberries around.
We ordered the following:
Sharon
Potato and Jerusalem artichoke soup
Duck dal supper served with moong dal
Fig tart with apricot jam
Bill
Crabcakes with lemon and caper salad
Blackened salmon with spiced aubergine
Ginger and blackberry pudding
The Duck dal was really tasty. The cumin and mint of the dal are lovely with the duck, which was served with a dollop of chile paste. I tasted the chile paste first and got a serious blast of spicy heat. Which of course Rocked! Sadly, the recipe doesn’t mention the chile paste. You could use harissa quite effectively. I liked the soup, but would have liked a herby garnish. Parsley would work, and chervil might be interesting. I adore figs and the fig tart featured them well.
I had seriously considered the crabcakes, so I was glad Bill selected them so I could have a taste. There was very little binder, so the cakes were very crabby, but fell apart easily. They were very lemony. In a good way. I was surprised to see Bill order salmon. I had pegged him for the duck, but he was intrigued by the aubergine sauce, and with good reason. It was terrific. The aubergines are spiced with Szechuan peppercorns, garlic, ginger, chiles, and coriander.
The mains were all served with Gratin potatoes and Char-grilled broccoli. If you’ve been holding back on your dreams of blanching broccoli, grilling it in a hot skillet and then tossing it with lemon, chile and garlic, take the plunge. Totally worth it.
The ginger pudding was delicious, just like when Bill makes it. (Not an American-style pudding of course. Speaking of which, have you ever tried the ginger pudding at Zen. That stuff is the bomb.) Bill told Domini that he loved the ginger pudding and had made it several times, and we also gave her the tip about the mango! Domini and Peaches were both super friendly, and so is Elaine, the Director of The Cookbook club.
In addition to a delicious dinner we had delightful dinner companions. We met Eleanor, aka Brownieville Girl, and her friend, who I’ll call Annemarie, as I’m pretty sure that was her name. Annemarie is a dog and Austin-music lover, so we had plenty to talk about. Eleanor has reviewed several recipes from Itsa Cookbook on her blog and also provides her take on the evening.
A lovely snow was falling as we walked back to Connolly and even though were were sick of ice by then, the snow did its thing and made the moment magical.
Bill and I flew from Chicago to Austin on April 6, arriving at dinner time–el perfecto! Bob and Debbie picked us up at the airport and took us straight for a Tex-Mex infusion. Stat! (Although we could have found local Tex-Mex and BBQ at the airport, that’s beside the point.)
I recently saw Chuy’s on a list of over-rated Austin restaurants, and I get some of the reasoning. Chuy’s is very popular in the way that makes it crazy busy. Flashing coaster busy. Chuy’s is a chain, albeit a local chain that started in Austin several decades ago. Chuy’s is undeniably not the most authentic taco joint in Austin.
But Chuy’s is an institution that is still worth a visit. Chuy’s food is consistently good. That steak in the steak burrito is why we eat cows. The boom boom sauce is spicy and luscious. The bright, fresh flavors in the green chile rice stand up to the rich entrees. (I usually consider rice superfluous on a Tex-Mex plate.) The jalapeno ranch is delicious and drinkable.
More importantly, Chuy’s updates its menu every year during the green chile festival. All Chuy’s dishes are identifiably Chuy’s, just as all Chuy’s restaurants have the Chuy’s quirk. Maybe Chuy-Mex & Quirk are starting to feel a bit manufactured to some (and the franchising across the South has required Chuy’s to be packaged, no doubt), but as long as Chuy’s delivers on taste (and super service I should add), I’ll keep flying across the Atlantic to eat there. Austin has a dizzying array of Tex-Mex and Interior Mexican dining options, and we all should try all of them! (Check out Taco Journalism for suggestions.) But, pick a time when the wait is less than 20 minutes, and go to Chuy’s.
Maybe Chuy’s doesn’t typify Austin Tex-Mex, but Austin is what bred Chuy’s, and that’s good enough for me.
Bill and I are featured here with the Steak Burrito with Green Chile Sauce and the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom enchiladas, respectively.
immediately–the walls covered with French movie posters, shelves full of wine bottles reflecting glowing candles, and a lovely iron stair railing. We settled into our table and started on a tasty bottle of Aranleón Crianza, a youngish wine from Spain, which happened to be organic. Bill started with a rabbit terrine and I had the Pickled Pear and Walnut salad. The rabbit terrine was served with a plum relish that was a perfect match with the wine. I was quite happy with my salad–I’m a sucker for blue cheese, pear and walnuts and even more so when pomegranate jewels are thrown in. I pondered my entree choice for a long time and finally settled on the Plat de Jour, a Navarin stew of lamb. I thought I should get something with a longer description, like Bill’s Roast rump of lamb with boudin noir, rosti potato spinach, parsnip pureÌe and jus, but I could not have chosen better. The rich tomato flavor of this stew continued to delight until the very last bite. It was delicious. Bill’s lamb with boudin was lovely as well; he particularly liked the boudin, but thought the rosti was perhaps a bit too much extra flavor. Mash would have worked fine. A shared cheese plate was the perfect ending for the meal.
When my parents were here and we were on our way to the Cobblestone, I called a friend for suggestions for a place to grab dinner nearby. He directed us to Mulligan’s on Stoneybatter, which unfortunately was fully booked when we arrived. While standing on the sidewalk considering our options, some helpful smokers from the pub next door asked if we were lost. No, I replied. We know exactly where we are. We chatted with these fellows for a bit and one of them said, You know, you’re in one of the worst parts of Dublin. I really don’t think so, I replied. We’re outside a gastro pub, not a crack house. But his comment did add some spice to the evening.
food, not trying to outshine it. A sea salt ice cream was a happy surprise with apple crumble.
