Dylan McGrath has recently expanded his ‘wining and dining’ empire and opened a cocktail bar above his Rustic Stone restaurant.
Interior – Image from Rustic Stone website
The interior is essentially split by the stair case into two areas. The right has a classy luxurious feel with dark wood tables, black leather seats and exposed brick work. The bar is also on the right towards the back.
The left side, to me, feels a little more cut off from the feel of the cocktail bar and more corridor like. It also has more booth type seating. My preference would be a table on the right.
Cocktails range in price from €8.50 to €11.00 which by city standards seems very reasonable to me. I do have to say however some of the ones I tried did seem a little shallow in the glass, but I suppose that is reflective of the price.
Irish Honey
Rhubarb liqueur, Glendalough Poitin, honey syrup, marmalade and lemon juice served over crushed ice (€10).
Blackberry & Apple Crumble
Martin Millers gin shaken with gingerbread liqueur, blackberry jam, lemon juice, apple syrup, with egg white and served in a glass with a gingerbread rim (€10).
Salted Caramel
Grand Mariner, caramel liqueur, lemon juice and egg white with a pinch of rock salt (€9.50).
All of the cocktails were excellent I have to say. The service did seem a little slow, but I suspect that is down to the staff using good fresh ingredients, which takes longer to produce a quality end result so I can’t complain about that.
The only downside was the smell of the restaurant below was quite strong. Usually that’s not a bad thing but everything smelled of burgers which was less tantalizing and more unpleasant. No doubt it will become a popular place and is of course perfect for a pre or post dinner cocktails.
I recently had the pleasure of attending a fantastic event in Cooks Academy called Pixels and Palates. It was a brilliant fusion of food and technology. They are celebrating 10 years of turning the nation into confidant cooks. I spent a week with them myself so can certainly vouch for their expertise. I’m now a master of filleting a fish. You can read about my experience here.
They have very kindly given me a discount code which you can use to book any of their short courses. A whopping 20% off!!!!!!! The offer is valid for all courses booked up to 31st of March 2015. The course itself can take place after this date provided its booked in advance. The code to use is eatdri365and you can use it for online bookings or quote it over the phone if making a booking that way.
A full list of the short courses can be found here and there is something for everyone.
The evening itself was really great fun and I had the chance to meet many fellow bloggers from the worlds of food and social media. We were fed and watered to within an inch of our life and they also had a great competition on the night to win a one month cookery course (valued at €2,950). The task was to turn some turkey and ham based dishes into a credible portion of street food. There were some great creations I have to say. Here is mine.
I called it Christmas Summer
Christmas Summer Street Food
Alas I didn’t win the prize but it was great fun taking part. The winner created a festive nativity scene out of food.
Nativity Scene
The owners of Nobo Rachel and Brian who produce dairy and gluten free ice cream gave us a fascinating insight into their business and of course samples to taste. Delicious. You can find them in your local SuperValu.
Salted Caramel
There was also a Molecular Gastronomy Taste Test which I failed miserably at. It was a great night from Cooks Academy and I look forward to many more, and of course trying some more of their courses.
Molecular Gastronomy Taste Test
My horrendous guesses but I got two right (I think)
I ran one marathon last October and have been banging on about how great I was to complete it ever since. In fairness it is a great achievement to push your body for 26 miles and still be able to manage a few pints after it. That feat as tremendous as it was (I am of course taking the p!ss out of myself here) pales in comparison to what two Irish men have achieved.
Ken Whitelaw and Gerry Duffy teamed up to take on the challenge of competing 32 marathons in 32 consecutive days. Yes you read that correctly. They were running to both encourage others to get out and run but also to raise awareness and funds for Autism Ireland. A commitment like this to any charity is truly remarkable. Their journey is recorded in a forthcoming documentary called Marathon Men.
You can watch below an interview Gerry and Ken gave TV3 after they completed this incredible challenge.
To undertake the challenge Ken and Gerry spent two years in training. A tremendous commitment in itself. They also set themselves a goal of raising a six figure sum (€500,000) for their chosen charity. These men clearly aim high. You can catch a teaser for the full documentary here. (or below depending on your browser setup)
Ken is currently studying in the college I work in and was kind enough to answer a couple of quick questions for me about the challenge he and Gerry set.
Why did you and Gerry choose running marathons as a way to raise funds? It was the natural thing for us as we both love running; the longer the better! I had been running since I was 11 and Gerry had c. 15 of running in his legs before we decided upon this challenge. And we both love a good challenge!
How many hours and km/m a week did you train? At the start of our training plan, circa 12 months before the start of the event, we were running c. 40 miles per week. Training ramped up from there with a peak mileage week of 120 miles. Those big weeks would see us running 10 miles before work and 15 miles after work some days. And back-to-back marathons at the weekend. Training, organising the event, work, sleeping and eating was all we did for a year!
What was the greatest challenge for you? Initially, it was convincing ourselves that we could do this. That took some months and lots of training but we did get to the stage where no amount of naysayers could convince us otherwise. During the 32 days my greatest challenge was dealing with injuries, keeping focused and positive despite severe and constant pain.
Why did you choose Autism Ireland as your chosen charity? Irish Autism Action is a wonderful charity, doing great work. We were lucky to have been aware of some of their great work as they are based in Mullingar, our home town. This proved to be their biggest fundraiser to date and provided much-needed funds for both early diagnosis and support in their schools.
Would you do it again? No. I will be forever thankful for the experience but it is not something I would try again. I don’t think my ankle would allow me! But hopefully it will stretch to a 100 miler some day. And another ironman. And a new marathon PB
The documentary version shown on TV will be about 50 minutes and is shown on Sunday 21st December at 8 p.m. on RTE 2. There is also a 70 minute version which will be screened in the IFI (Irish Film Institute) on Sunday December 14th at 1 p.m. You can, and you should, book tickets for this remarkable documentaryHERE
I would ask all that happen to read this to give it a share on whatever social media platforms you are a member of. It is a very heart warming story from two very inspirational people.
I recently took a visit to the Irish Whiskey Museum on College Green. They had literally only opened a few days before I visited. I’m actually not a whiskey drinker at all myself but went with Whiskey Boy who is quite taken with Uisce beatha.
Café Bar Area
Just beside reception there is a nice café bar area where you can enjoy a drink before or after your tour. They do also serve coffee.
Tours depart every 20 – 30 minutes depending on demand. We had a tour with just the two of us. The standard is €15 for an adult and the VIP is €18. With the VIP one you get to taste the 10 year old single malt Bushmills and get a souvenir glass to take away so personally I think it’s worth the extra, especially if you like whiskey. Our guide for the tour was James. Very personable chap and by God did he know his history of whiskey.
The tour winds through a number of different rooms with each one telling a tale about a certain period of Irish whiskeys history. How it began. How the war affected it etc.
Video Stills
There are short videos depicting the various era’s which compliment the story the tour guide tells. There was actually quite a lot of content to take in, all of which was very interesting and James was open to us asking as many questions as we liked.
Video Stills
One of the rooms is laid out like an actual pub but alas I didn’t get any pictures of it as I was far too busy absorbing the history.
The tour takes you right up to the present day with Irish Distillers which was formed in 1966 and includes John Jameson & Sons, established in Dublin in 1780; Powers & Sons, who were founded in Dublin in 1791 and the Cork Distillery whose origins date back to 1825. Irish Distillers is now part of the Pernod Ricard family and Jameson is their flagship brand.
Whiskey Tasting
The final stop on the tour is all about the whiskey tasting. The various whiskeys are beautifully presented on a piece of an old oak barrel. They don’t sell them as a set which is a bit of a shame because it would be a perfect present for a whiskey lover.
Powers, Teeling, Irishman & Bushmills
We had the pleasure (I say that lightly, whiskey is not my friend) of tasting Powers, Teeling, Irishman and Bushmills 10 year old single malt. Funnily enough tasting whiskey is very similar to tasting wine. There is lots of smelling it to work out the notes and swirling it to see the colour. Whiskey can be aged in all manner of barrels so you may have a whiskey which was in a sherry barrel or a rum barrel and those flavours will remain in the wood and seep out into the whiskey over time to give them a new depth of flavour. I was getting hints of vanilla and caramel and apparently there is no wrong answer which is great.
Then comes the tasting. As a non whiskey drinker I got BURNING followed by less burning followed by a glass of water, much to the amusement of Eoin the absolutely brilliant tasting guide. Funnily enough after trying a few of them I did begin to appreciate different tastes (or levels of burning).
Whiskey Tasting Glasses
Souvenir Whiskey Glass
The VIP tour included a really nice souvenir whiskey glass which now proudly sits along side my cocktail shakers at home, waiting patiently for the day when a real whiskey drinker will use it.
Whiskey
All in all I have to say I did enjoy the tour. I learned a whole lot about whiskey which I never knew. I also confirmed that I am most definitely not a whiskey drinker. I would imagine that the tourists, once they know it is there will flock to its very central location and thoroughly enjoy the banter with the Irish tour guides. The tour itself lasted about 45 minutes and then the tasting instruction about 15-20 but you are in no hurry to leave once you have been talked through the various brands at the tasting. €18 for essentially an hour of entertainment, four shots of whiskey and a souvenir glass seems like good value to me.
Irish Whiskey Museum
37 College Green
Ph: 01 525 0970
The Hen Houseis in DunLaoghaire. It’s chicken lover heaven. I’d picked up a GrabOne voucher back in September for it. Two courses from their A La Carte menu for €24. Pretty decent offer I have to say. It’s quite a large space and has quite a good variety of table configurations including banquets and circular booths.
Interior
Dining Area
Host Stand Area
We visited early (5 p.m.) on a Thursday evening. As they only open at 5 it was extremely quiet. We were promptly seated by the window, perfect for some people watching as it’s on a busy walk way facing out to the harbour. The menus of course have their cute little chicken logo.
Menu
We both went for the Hen House Wings (usually €6.95). Mine the honey sesame which were exactly how I expected them to be. Tasty and sticky and quite a decent portion size too.
Honey Sesame Wings
The other wings were described as Fiery Hot. Alas they fell far short of the mark and instead of being fiery hot they were only luke warm. Again a good size portion but if heat is your thing in a wing then these will leave you out in the cold.
For drinks we opted for a bottle of Chilean Sav Blanc called El Caminador keenly priced at €22.50. I’d had it before in Mulberry Garden and loved it. It was equally good here and actually €1.50 cheaper too.
El Caminador
Chilean Sav Blanc
For main course he went for the Hen House take on chicken supreme (€18.95). It was wood grilled in citrus and served on herb crushed baby potatoes. It came with two different types of sauce. Butternut squash and carrot puree and mustard and tarragon along with some (very) crispy pancetta and green beans. It was quite a large plate of food, but it also came with a size order of seasonal vegetables too. It would have been ample enough on its own but who is going to turn their nose up at extra food!
Both sauces were very tasty. I particularly liked the mustard and tarragon one and kept dipping my chips into it. The chicken was tender and moist and the citrus flavours had really seeped into it so every bite had a nice tang off it. The herb baby potatoes, which I’m a fan of were just gorgeous.
Chicken Supreme
Chicken Supreme
I went for the Fried Buttermilk Chicken (€15.95) for my main course. It was marinated in thyme and served with chive coleslaw, chips and Jalapeno honey dip. I love buttermilk chicken. I could eat it by the bucket load (and may have before). It was perfect for me. It had a nice crisp to it without being crackling in nature. With buttermilk chicken the longer you marinate it for the better it comes out. I’m going to go out on a limb and say they marinated it for quite a while because it was gorgeous.
Fried Buttermilk Chicken
The chips while perfectly fine and edible did let it down a bit. They were the usual frozen chips you see in so many places these days. I can’t help but think hand cooked ‘real’ chips would accompany the chicken so much better.
Fried Buttermilk Chicken & Thyme
The sides were a triumph for me. I very rarely eat coleslaw. This one however was a feast for the taste-buds. I loved the addition of red onion and chives to it. The Jalapeno honey dip was nice and fiery and probably should have been the sauce for those Fiery Hot wings I mentioned earlier.
Chive Coleslaw
The Hen House has lots of little touches that make it a nice place to dine. It’s inviting and the service was excellent. It has the potential to be a really great hangout kind of place which caters to all types of people. I think I would like to go back maybe a little later in the evening when its busier and see what kind of buzz it has then.
Even the gents is aptly named
Artwork on the walls
Chicken perched over the bar area
The Hen House
The Pavillion
DunLaoghaire
http://www.thehenhouse.ie/
I’m quite partial to a bit of Jazz. Even more so when it’s themed with some good food and drinks. With that in mind for this weeks post I’ve put together a list of places around the city where you can enjoy some Jazz while you eat and drink.
The Kilkenny Shop Cafe offer a live Sunday Jazz session between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and also a live Bluegrass music set between 2.30 p.m. and 4.30 p.m. So whether you prefer brunch or lunch they have you covered.
Kilkenny Cafe
On the last Sunday of every month between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The Cill Airne boat on the River Liffey over a live jazz session. I’ve been a couple of times and have to say the band are excellent as are the surrounds.
Taken from http://www.mvcillairne.com
Over on Pembroke Street you can find Pedal Pushing Monkey and on Saturday nights they have a live jazz band playing from 9 p.m. They are also serving up some enticing looking cocktails such as the Absinthe Sour shown below.
Photo from their Facebook page.
Absinthe Sour – photo from their Facebook page
Between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Thursdays in House Dublinthey have live jazz playing in the garden. A fantastic venue with lots of themed areas to choose from. They also have the Camembert Quartet playing in the Glasshouse on Sundays between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Garden Area. Photo from http://housedublin.ie/
Glasshouse Area. Photo from http://housedublin.ie/
Most Wednesdays in Olesyas Wine Baryou can enjoy live jazz in their main dining room from 7 p.m.
Olesyas Wine Bar
No doubt there are many more venues around the city offering live jazz so do please feel free to let me know of any you are aware of.
My friend R had been to La Mere Zou to try out their early bird menu before and gave a glowing report of the value to be had. We were both heading to a wine tasting event in Ely IFSC so decided to call into La Mere Zou for a quick bite before hand.
Image stolen from the Web
It’s a basement restaurant on Stephens Green and the early bird runs Monday to Saturday from 5.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. It’s fantastic value at 3 courses for €25. It’s a cosy space in the style of a French bistro and clearly very popular as it filled up quickly.
Taken from www.lamerezou.ie
We were greeted warmly by Gosia and shown to a great table with plenty of space. Usually if I know in advance where I’m going to eat I have a look at the menu online. On arrival the very friendly French waitress (from Paris) pointed us to the blackboard above our heads which had a list of additional dishes which were on offer. Some had a small surcharge to be included in the early bird offer. All very reasonable I have to say.
I opted for the watercress and bacon soup. Quite a large bowl arrived and it was rich and creamy and tasty. After a few spoonfuls I realised there wasn’t a hint of bacon off it. I wasn’t sure if it was due to my tastebuds being dulled by the cocktails I had before dinner or not. I did mention it to the waitress who promptly relayed it back to the kitchen. There was an error with the order and the bacon was missing.
They could not have been more apologetic for the mishap and I had eaten so much at that point there was no need to replace it. In lieu of a replacement two glasses of Prosecco appeared on the table. I really couldn’t have asked them to handle it any better. It was a minor blip and who on earth would choose bacon over Prosecco anyway.
Watercress and Bacon Soup
R had the chicken liver parfait. Beautifully presented and quite an ample size. Served with sourdough bread on the side. I’ve never liked chicken liver I have to say but R ate it all, including a second helping of sourdough which was quickly made available when asked.
Chicken Liver Parfait
For main course I went with roasted chicken supreme which was served with pearl barley and vegetable broth. Tender moist chicken and plenty of it. The vegetable broth was warming and flavorsome A very Autumn/Winter dish.
Roasted Chicken Supreme
R had the slow cooked venison shank with honey roasted root vegetables, pomme purée and red wine sauce. I really wish my picture was better because the dish was gorgeous to look at and even better to taste. The venison was so tender and the red wine sauce thick and rich. Out of the two mains this one was the clear winner and I’ll be having it when I return.
Venison Shank
Desserts were next and I opted for warm carrot cake, orange curd, and ginger bread ice cream with walnuts. I love carrot cake and this didn’t disappoint. Moist enough with a slightly crisp top. I would have liked a bit more ice cream with it though.
Carrot Cake
R had the classic crème brûlée served with a sugar snap tuile. Crisp caramel top with creamy vanilla custard. I would expect it to be hard for a French restaurant to get it wrong. They didn’t I’m happy to report.
Crème Brûlée
La Mere Zou has plenty to offer. It’s a great location. It’s great value. The staff are friendly and welcoming and they change their menu to suit what’s available seasonally. I’d be happy to return.
I seem to be drinking a lot of cocktails lately. Thats no bad thing I suppose. There are just so many to choose from. On a Tuesday after work I found myself sitting at the bar in Dandelionwith my buddy R. We had a couple of groupon vouchers for three cocktails each to use up.
They have quite a decent cocktail menu I have to say. As it wasn’t that busy we had the pleasure of talking to two of the loveliest bar staff I’ve ever met. Eveleen and Darragh. She was Polish and he was Irish and they had a great bit of banter trying to out do each other making us cocktails. I’d return just for them alone.
The Classic Martini (€10) was first. A classy drink which is pretty much just pure alochol and some olives. Apparently a ‘dirty’ Martini is made with adding a little of the juice the olives are resting in. I never knew that. It was a bit strong for me but R wolfed it down.
Classic Martini
The more refreshing Rosy Cooler (€10) was next. Vodka muddled with strawberries, fresh mint leaves, lime wedges, syrup and topped with apple cider. Now that was a tasty cocktail I have to say. Full of fruit from the strawberry and a nice little tang off the apple cider.
The Rosy Cooler
The big girl in me ordered the Skittle Martini (€5) next. Made with Skittle infused vodka, orange liqueur shaken with orange juice and topped with Grenadine in a Martini glass. Delicious but a little sweet. I’d probably only be able to drink about three of these in a row !
Skittle Martini
R opted for the more manly Whiskey Sour (€8) next. Made from, as you can guess Whiskey, fresh lemon juice and egg white. I’m not usually a fan of Whiskey based cocktails but this one was an exception. Quite a kick but very drinkable.
Whiskey Sour
To finish off we both went for a Honey Comb (€8). Baileys and Mickey Finns butterscotch, fresh cream, milk and finished with sprinkled chocolate flakes. Our lovely bar girl also threw in a bit of fruit and the chocolate flakes in a heart and star shape. Sinfully good but like the Skittle Martini I wouldn’t be able to manage too many these. It’s like drinking a box of chocolates. Overall a great visit I have to say.
