Beeftro – Lunch At The Right Price

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The name Beeftro has been on the lips of many so I figured since they were opening a new branch on Balfe Street I’d make it my business to visit. They opened to the public Monday. A soft opening I’m told with still a few bits and pieces to iron out. I visited Wednesday lunchtime.

I really like the interior I have to say. It’s classy but reminds me of an old style butchers at the same time. It might be the tiled walls that has put that in my head. Either way I like it.

The grill is open for all to see so you know the chefs are confidant in their food. There is a large upstairs with luxurious leather seating around the sides. Downstairs there are two further dining areas which I believe our host said will be available for private parties in due course.

As it was lunch and we only had an hour the focus was on the lunch time specials.

I opted for the open steak sandwich while R went for warm lemon roast chicken.

Mine was served on toasted bread with sauté mushrooms, red onion, rocket, garlic butter and fries. The steak was tender and cooked exactly the way I asked which was medium well. The mushrooms were juicy and the chips a slight crisp which I would expect.

The lemon roast chicken was succulent and full of flavour. It was served on a grilled flat bread with avocado and sour cream. Deliciously light but quite filling.

The service was excellent, the surrounds were comfortable and the welcome was warm. While it was not very busy with diners when I was there I suspect Beeftro will fast become a popular lunch spot once word gets out the doors are open. I don’t doubt that I will be returning to Beeftro and am very much looking forward to tucking into their dinner menu.

Merrion Square Market

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I had heard great reports about the Merrion Square Market from plenty of people. Even though its only a ten minute walk from work I only recently managed to visit. The market is run by Irish Village Markets (Twitter:@LunchtimeMarket) which run markets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in various locations such as Eastpoint, Stillorgan, Grand Canal and Spencer Dock.

Merrion Square is run on Thursdays between 11.30 and 2.00 p.m. It was in full swing when I arrived about 1.30 p.m. and I can’t help thinking it might be worth their while extending the opening hours to 2.30 p.m. instead. That extra half hour might be quite lucrative as there are plenty of people who take staggered lunches and are looking for something tasty and differant to the usual plain sandwiches.

Irish Village Markets

There are plenty of market stalls to choose from at the market with something to cater for everyones taste. I didn’t get a lot of time to sample the foods unfortunately but have a run down of some of the stalls below.

Kerala Kitchen serving Authentic Indian Streetfood

Kerala Kitchen / Twitter: @Kerala_Kitchen

Pasta Box – Italian Homemade Pasta

Pasta Box / Twitter: @PastaBoxHQ

GrubHub Authentic Street Food

Twitter: @Grub_Hub

Mr. Noodle – Serving Noodles of course

Bratwurst by Nils Catering – German Sausage

Sayfish – Fish & Chips

SayFish / Twitter: @Say_Fish

Bryans Coffee – Clearly Popular !!

Pie Man – Look Into My Pies – Pies Pies and More Pies

The Pieman Cafe

Le Petit Camion – Grilled Cheese Experts

Twitter: @lepetitcamion

The stand out for me was the Boeuf Bourguignon from The Arch Bistro. I have never seen a market stall serve it with such massive chunks of tender beef. It was melt in the mouth delicious and great value at €18 for two servings along with two drinks.

Boeuf Bourguignon from The Arch Bistro

There was even entertainment provided throughout lunch in the form of a very talented saxophone player. Well worth a visit for a little something special at lunch.

Jazz

Fire Bar & Lounge – Back For More Cocktails

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I’m a big fan of cocktails and I have to say I’m never let down when I visit Fire for an after work cocktail. Great location, great service and great choice. The most recent visit for pre dinner cocktails included the following.

Toast and Jam. Chivas Regal, Martini and homemade strawberry shrub. It had quite a kick. Buried inside that glass is a booze soaked cherry that will make your eyes widen.

Toast & Jam

I like gin based cocktails and was recommended the Rubicon as a light and refreshing pre dinner drink. Green Chartreuse, Beefeater 24 Gin, lemon juice, maraschino (comes from cherries) and a sprig of Rosemary. It didn’t last long in the glass and I think it would be a great post dinner cocktail too.

Rubicon

This creamy looking snack is the Monks Milkshake. Vanilla ice-cream and raspberry sorbet with frangelico and Havana rum topped with an Oreo. Perfect alternative to cookies and milk before bed!

Monks Milkshake

Monks Milkshake

This one was a heavy hitter in terms of alcohol kick. The Fashioned by Fire. Rum, Hennessey Cognac, Makers Mark Bourbon, Angostura bitters, orange bitters and bourbon syrup. Lets just say it was strong!

Fashioned by Fire

Fashioned by Fire

You can never go wrong with a glass of Prosecco with a plump fresh strawberry bathing in it.

Prosecco

Prosecco

We also got chatting to Amy and Stuart, two of the staff from Fire. Staurt looks after all things beverage related. They are actually in the middle of redoing their cocktail menu with some interesting choices coming up.

I have to say after talking to Stuart I have a new found appreciation for the behind the scenes work that goes into creating a cocktail and sourcing the right ingredients for it. It’s not just a case of popping down to the wholesalers and picking up various bottles of booze and some mixers.

Stuart was telling me all about visiting some of London’s top hotels and working with world renowned cocktail makers to get their new cocktail menu just right.

The unassuming looking cocktail below is actually Fire’s new take on the classic Bloody Mary. As you can see not a stick of celery in sight. The celery element is that wonderful frothy head of celery foam which ensures you get a kick of celery with every mouthful. The tomato juice I’m told (if I remember correctly) is sourced from an Austrian company who in turn get it from Italy. Now that’s a lot of effort gone into creating a bloody mary. I’m told that will be on the new cocktail menu they are launching soon.

I managed to get a quick sneak peak at the listing and I look forward to trying some (all) of them. The new menu also has pictures of their actual bar staff shaking and stirring things up which is nice to see and adds a personal touch.

Fires Twist on a Bloody Mary

Dublin Half Marathon 2014

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Saturday September 20th was my third half marathon. It was part of the Dublin Race Series. The series consists of the Irish Runner 5 Mile, the Fingal 10K, the Frank Duffy 10 Mile and the Dublin Half Marathon. It’s a great way to begin your journey towards completing a Half Marathon and putting the full Dublin Marathon in your sights.

Despite my good intentions to train really hard and beat my last half marathon time of 1.56 which was in Wicklow, the lure of good food and drink kept me far too occupied to get any training in. Given that I had already signed up to do it and received my race number in the post, I figured what the hell I’ll give it a bash anyway. Besides I had told people I was doing it so the shame of not competing would be too much.

Race Number

I think I managed to do about two runs in prep for it, which is not something I would recommend. Pushing your body to run 21k should be taken a bit more serious than that. If you don’t train properly you are leaving yourself wide open to injury, some of which can take a long time to recover from. So if you do want to run that distance, build up to it and train properly for it. Ignore the part where I’m telling you I went against my own advice.

On the morning of the race I drove to town, parked in Trinity College and got the Luas to Heuston Station where the organisers had a shuttle bus to take runners into the centre of Phoenix Park to the start line. It was probably only a twenty minute walk and the wait time for the bus was about the same. The irony of the situation was not lost on me. There were thousands of people signed up to run and plenty more out supporting family, friends and strangers alike.

Start Line

Runners Dropping Off Their Bags

Runners Getting Into Place

There was a great atmosphere at the start with runners broken into waves based on their intended running time. This gives everyone the chance to come off the start line and start running rather than waiting for thousands of people in front of you to move first. Despite my lack of training I joined the group with pacers who were aiming to complete in two hours. I knew this would be a fairly good guideline for me having already completed my first half marathon in 2.07 and my second in 1.56.

The course covered quite a bit of the Phoenix Park with one small stretch running outside the grounds along Chapelizod Road and back in Chapelizod Gate. The Phoenix Park is an absolute pleasure to run around I have to say. The majority of the course was quite flat as well which is always a good thing.

Course Route

As it turned out a friend of a friend was running with a group of girls beside me and managed to snap my picture a couple of times along the way.

Snapped Along The Way

There were of course also the usual professional photographers along the route. I don’t think its possible to look your best when you are running as you will see from the pretty awful looking pictures of me below. As it got quite sunny I’m also donning a pair of shades.

Snapped Along The Way From: http://www.finisherpix.com/home.html

Even with the lack of training I managed to get a chip time of 2hrs 3 mins and 45 seconds. Not too shabby at all. I have to admit that my legs were a little tender for a day or two after the race so I won’t be stupid enough to skip training before a half marathon again.

Across the Finish Line. From: http://www.finisherpix.com/home.html

Official Chip Time

Next on my race list is the Clontarf Half Marathon which takes place on November 29th 2014 and I’ll definitely be making a point of training for this one. I might even try beat my personal best time.

Wine Tasting with Masi Wines

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The diningroom.ie had a great offer recently for admission to an Italian Wine Masterclass with Masi Wines in the Shelbourne Hotel plus a €10 O’Briens Wines voucher for the baragain price of €15 per person. Absolute steal. Naturally I picked up a couple of tickets.

Masi Wines

The room was all set on arrival and jam packed with eager wine lovers. So packed in fact that it was impossibe to stand up and walk behind someones chair without the entire row having to move. They may want to rethink that level of closeness for furture events.

Room Set Up

Our host for the evening was the very entertaining and engaging Sandro Boscaini. He is the company president and managing director of Masi Wines and works hands on in the company with his son daughter and two brothers. Sandro is not just a figure head, he actually makes wine. He is passionate about it and that comes across clearly when he talks about the wines his company makes. We had six wines to try that evening. One Rose, two whites and three reds.

Sandro Boscaini

We started with the Rosa Dei Masai 2013 made from the Refsosco grape. A light salmon pink colour. According to Sandro the wine is best served at 10 degrees which will no doubt come as a shock to the Irish considering we chill our wines until they taste of nothing but cold. I have to admit I do like my wines cold but having it as per the wine maker’s instructions does actually enhance the flavour and taste. It was a lovely taste of ripened berries. There can be a sense of snobbery about Rose wines among the wine world but Sandro described this one as Armani offering T-shirts for Summer. The same great quality of anything else he would produce but more suitable for Summer. Quite a nice comparison I thought. RRP €19.49

Rosa Dei Masi 2013

The first of the whites was the Levarie 2011 which was a mix of Garganega and Trebbiano Di Soave grapes. Described as one of the classics. Sandro compared it to an elegant lady with no make up, entirely pure. Again to be served at 8 -10 degrees. Pale straw colour with a hint of green. A burst of citrus fruits and very refreshing. RRP €16.99

Levaríe 2011

The second white was the much more impressive Masianco 2013 made with Pinot Grigio and Verduzzo. Served best at 8 -10 degrees. Light yellow in colour with taste of lemon and peach and some impressions of honey. The Verduzzo grape gives the longer taste where the honey comes from. RRP €19.49 This was my choice of white for the night, typically the more expensive one and considered a ‘Supervenetian’.

Masianco 2013

The reds were up next, starting with Bonacosta 2012 a mix of Corvina, Rondinella and Oseleta grapes. Cherry red. Sandro described it as simple but not stupid. Cherries are the dominant flavour here. Served best at 18 degrees. Hemingway praised it as “a light dry red wine as friendly as the house of a favourite brother”. I think we we can safely say he liked it. RRP €16.99

Bonacosta 2012

Our second red was a Campofiorin 2010. A mix of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. Known as the original ‘Supervenetian’ from 1964. Dark ruby read and almost black at the bottom of the glass. Cherry the overriding flavour on this one. Best served at 18 degrees. Masi say it combines simplicity and grace with strength and majesty. RRP €19.99.

Campofiorin 2010

Last but by no means least we had the Costasera 2010. Again a very dark ruby red. High alcohol content at 15%. Best served between 18-20 degrees. Made with Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes. This one has a storage life of 30-35 years and a RRP of €46. So perhaps one for a special occassion. Fruity with a hint of chocolate. It was a bit too rich for my palate. Masi call it their ‘Gentle Giant’ and consider it part of the aristocracy of the Italian wine world.

Costasera 2010

A thoroughly enjoyable evening I have to say. The €10 vouchers were put to good use in O’Briens where we bought some Masi wine which was also on sale so it was a double win.

Mulberry Garden Tasting Menu

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Hidden down Mulberry Lane in the grounds of a cottage dating back to 1911 you will find the unassuming but brightly coloured doorway to Mullberry Garden.

Taken from www.mulberrygarden.ie

The restaurant opened in 2011 and is only open to the public Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6p.m. for dinner. It is also available for private hire outside of these times. I was invited as a guest to try out the Tasting Menu on a Thursday evening. The chef, a very talented Tom Doyle changes the menu every week. Tom emails the new menu out to customers in advance (subscriber list), and it’s not just a five line email either. He takes the time to describe each dish, the inspiration behind them and where the ingredients are sourced, all locally I might add. I don’t know of any other restaurant which has a chef going to that level of detail. Having met him during my visit, his passion for his menu’s comes across very clearly, not to mention his friendly and engaging nature. He loves food and every dish is laced with that love.

On arrival we were greeted by Claudio who settled us in the outdoor area of Mulberry Garden. It happened to be a lovely evening out and garden area which is courtyard style with the restaurant wrapping around it was the perfect place to sit back relax and unwind before dinner.

Garden Space

Pit Fire

Ornamental Details

Seating Area

They have an extensive cocktail menu, so if you do visit, go early so you can enjoy a few before dinner in the alfresco surrounds.

Drinks Menu

I opted for the Green Pear which is made with Chartreuse, fresh basil, lemon juice and fresh pear. H opted for the Mulberry Kick which is their signature cocktail, made of infused vanilla vodka, fresh lemon, pomegrante and blueberry juice served in their glass within a glass. Both were refreshing and a great way to start off the evening.

Cocktails

Something quite nice about how they welcome guests is the fact that you are not rushed in and out. You can visit early and relax with drinks and then be shown to your table for dinner and you are also welcome to retire back to the courtyard after dinner to continue your evening. It didn’t have that feel of just filling a time slot for two hours before you are sent on your way. It’s leisurely dining.

Taken from Tripadvisor – I had no interior shots.

Taken from www.goodfoodireland.ie

Tasting Menu

After cocktails we were shown to our table to begin the indulgence that would be our culinary journey for the evening. We kicked off with some fresh baked bread with herb butter which was excellent.

Brown Bread & Herb Butter

Then came an off menu extra of baked potato skins with piped chicken liver parfait which was delivered to the table on a stone. Bite sized crips skins with rich creamy parfait.

Baked Skins – No Filter

The first dish on the official tasting menu was described as Local Cabbage. I’m not sure the name done it justice. The Art of Cabbage may have been more suitable. The dish was a variety of types of cabbage coupled with Oysters. I have to admit I’m not an oyster fan and having a farming background I’m quite familliar with a few varieties of cabbage. Let me tell you, this was not cabbage boiled to within an inch of its life. It was fresh, tasty and the differant textures worked very well. The roughness of the savoy was offset nicely by the sweetness of the Kohlrabi. Who knew cabbage existed without being accommpanied by a lump of salty bacon.

Local Cabbage

This was followed by Glazed Ox Cheek with local beetroot, tarragon, spiced bread crumbs and beet leaves. The Ox cheek, if I remember correctly was slow cooked for hours to make it melt in the mouth tender. I know it was a tasting menu but I absolutely wanted more of this. It was delicious.

Glazed Ox Cheek – No Filter

Not to be out done by those on land, representing the sea we tucked into Roast Cod Loin with potato, brown shrimp, trompettes (mushrooms), chard leaf, baked potato and bacon foam with a citrus herb oil. Again some great textures. Soft flaked cod with the more chewy nature of the brown shrimp. I actually could taste the bacon off the foam, but I’m not a big fan of the whole foam movement I have to say. At this point it was one all between the land and the sea. Both great dishes.

Roast Cod Loin – No Filter

Next came Free Range Chicken with smoked potato mouse, tarragon oil, confit wing, grilled leek and roasting jus. In fairness chicken sounded a little dull against the ox and cod but I’m happy to report it was not the case at all. Perfectly cooked. Extremely tasty. That wirey looking creation in the middle was actually fried leek root and quite nice. Never thought I’d be saying that. The smoked potato mouse was soft, creamy and not overly filling (in a good way).

Free Range Chicken

Moving onto the dessert section of the menu we were presented with Poached Plums, plum jelly, vanilla cream, biscuit crumb and star anise ice-cream. You can from the picture below it was presented beautifully. I’ve never had a poached plum before and while I did absolutely enjoy them, I probably wouldn’t count them among my must have again desserts, but that is a personal choice. The star anise ice-cream I’m happy to say was not too overpowering and the smooth cream vanilla with the biscuit crumb worked exceptionally well.

Poached Plums – No Filter

While working our way through the menu we shared a bottle of Chilean Sav Blanc (€24). By share I mean I drank most of it as H was designated driver. I’m no wine connoisseur and tend to stick to white wine myself but the wine list appears to have been chosen carefully and has a red and white selection to suit every taste and wallet.

El Caminador

To finish off the evening we chose from the selection of hand crafted Irish cheeses. They were served on a large wooden board with honeyed walnuts, mustard pickled vegetables, caraway crackers and the biggest pot of honey I’ve ever seen.

Cheese Board – No Filter

Honey & Caraway Crackers Beautifully Presented

To sum it up I would describe Mulberry Garden as fine dining without the rigidness that often accompanies it. We spent three and half hours in the surrounds of this restaurant. That is leisurely, enjoyable dining without question. The service was impeccable. Anna described every dish to us as she delivered it to the table. Claudio was an excellent host and Tom who took the time to visit around the various tables and have a chat with the diners. The tasting menu is priced at €60 per person, and I consider that great value considering the range of food on offer, the service and the enjoyable atmosphere. I will be returning again without question. This is probably one of my most positive reviews (and I am a newbie blogger) to date and well deserved.

*As we were guests for the evening food was complimentary, the drinks we covered ourselves. The review is fair and honest of the experience I had*

Brookwood – A New York Style Steak House

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I was recently invited to try out the new Sunday Roast menu at Brookwood on Baggot Street. As it turned out the Sunday Roast was such a roaring success that by the time I arrived at 6 p.m. they were completely sold out. That’s probably a really good sign. I did get to see it being delivered in all its finery to the table next to me which happened to be Carol from Gin & Griddle. You can read her review here. It’s also really good value at €32.50 for a half roast which serves 2 people or €60 for a full roast which will serve 4/5 people. It does of course come with all the trimmings, mash, roast veg, gravy etc. I’ve already booked to return and try it out.

Getting over that little hurdle was eased by the arrival of some wonderful cocktails which are half price on Sundays. H had the amazing looking creation below which is their signature cocktail which is incredibly refreshing and served in quite a novel way. It’s Hendricks Gin, Cucumber Syrup and black pepper.

The Terry
Hendricks, Cucumber
Syrup, Black Pepper

I opted for the Champagne Mag which was an equally tasty mix of champagne with cherries.

Champagne Mag
Champagne, Cherry
Bitters, Maraschino Cherries

The menu at Brookwood is a whos who of steak and seafood. They heavy hitters like fillet and rib eye mixed with the more delicate prawns and mussels are all present and correct.

For starters I opted for ‘Posh’ Potato Skins which were three very ample potato skins with a mix of fillings including bacon and cheese and salmon. The were served on a marble slate with an accompanying garlic mayo dip. While the flavours were excellent and very tasty, they were very slightly over done on the outside.

Potato Skins

H had the Brookwood Salad which was light and tasty with a zingy dressing that was just perfect for a starter. I suspect I’ll try it myself on a return visit.

Brookwood Salad

For main course we both opted for the 10oz Rib Eye steaks. H had his served blue which is just a bit too much alive and kicking for me. I opted for medium. Both were cooked exactly as requested and were excellent. Mine was the right amount of pink and very tender. H’s, well it was still alive so I wasn’t trying that. The steaks are served very simply with just some roast tomatoes to the side.

10oz Rib Eye

We ordered some hand cut chips and seasonal greens to accompany the steaks. All of which were extremely tasty. The greens not over done and still having a nice bite to them. H had garlic butter with his while I opted for Béarnaise sauce.

Hand Cut Chips & Seasonal Greens

As if we weren’t full enough we decided to give dessert a shot. H went for the mouth watering sticky toffee pudding which was just gorgeous with a very generous serving of rich toffee sauce.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

I went for a firm favourite of mine which was Banoffe and the slice was so big I wasn’t even able to finish it. It had a nice thick base and lashings of cream on top.

Banoffe

We also opted for a scoop of ice cream to accompany our desserts. Little did we know that a scoop of ice cream in Brookwood is actually a dessert in itself. It came with a little jug of syrup and small bowl of hundreds and thousands which I hadn’t seen in years and thought were a really great detail.

Ice Cream

While our dinner was complimentary it doesn’t sway my review. The positives of Brookwood I felt were many. The food could not be faulted. It was cooked as requested and delivered by staff who I can only say were exceptional. From Sophie who greeted us at the door to Anna who served our food and the friendly bar men who made our cocktails. Good service in my opinion should be recognised and I have seperately complimented Brookwood via email on their staff.

The surrounds are comfortable and a lot of attention to detail has gone into them. It has the swagger of being Gatsbyesque without being over the top. I do have to say however the tables were too close together and it was difficult to get in and out from my table. Also on the Sunday I was there a group were playing and while they were excellent I felt the upstairs dining room was too small to have such loud music as it was difficult to have a conversation at times. That feedback again was given to Brookwood via email who welcomed it graciously and confirmed they were trying a number of musical options until they found the best fit for the space.

From www.brookwooddublin.com

Dining Room Details

Bathroom Details

Private Dining & Meeting Room

Upstairs Dining Room taken from www.brookwooddublin.com

Downstairs Dining Room taken from www.brookwooddublin.com

Brookwood Dublin

141 Baggot Street Lower

Dublin 2

Ph: (01) 661 9366

Havana Tapas Bar – Brunch with Pink Mimosas

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On Sundays I’m usually too hungover to get out of bed. Following a fairly dry Saturday night I woke up early, refreshed and eager to do something. Bored of the usual fry up for breakfast I opted to take advantage of a Dining Room voucher I had bought a few weeks back. For a mere €20 Havana on Georges Street were offering Sunday brunch for two with a choice of Mimosa or Pink Mojito to wash it down. I booked a table for 1 o’clock and made my way in.

It was fairly quiet when we arrived, but then again I suppose 1 is early enough for kicking off brunch. First things first we were offered a choice of Mimosa or Pink Mojito. Two Pink Mojitos were ordered and promptly delivered while we browsed the menu. The Pink Mojitos were very refershing and just screamed Summer is not gone yet. As you can see they were pimped out in cocktail brollies and slices of lime. Delicious.

Pink Mojitos

The brunch menu was split into five differant sections. Eggs & Tortilla, On Ciabatta, Salads, Steak & Wings and Paella. I opted for the striploin steak sandwich on a warm ciabatta with sundried tomato pesto, mixed leaves and hand cut fries.

Striploin Steak on Ciabatta

It looked great and was served on a wooden chopping board. While it was very tasty I would have liked the steak to be a little more on the rare side to really bring the flavour out. In saying that I ate everything.

H went for the Eggs Benedict with hollandaise, crisped serrano ham, pequilo sauce and hand cut fries. His was certainly the better dish of the two. The pequilo sauce had a pleasant sweet taste without being too spicy. The poached eggs themselves were cooked perfectly and made me declare that I was going to start poaching eggs. That hasn’t happened of course.

Eggs Benedict

Delicious

The restaurant has a very nice relaxed feel about it with lots of nice interior touches and has been around since 2000. It originally was housed in Camden Market but moved to Georges Street in 2005.

Interior Detail

For the bargain price of €20 we were both stuffed after our meals so didn’t opt for anything resembling dessert and satisfied we made our exit. I probably would return to Havana and try a few of the other brunch items, so thats a good sign.

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Havana Tapas Bar

Georges Street

Dublin 2

Tel: (0)1 400 5990

Twitter: @Havanatapasbar

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