Side notes, Taste in Dublin + Balfes and Dilllingers...

*Side note* 

It's been a while right since I have blogged....and I did think I was going to do more writing once my teaching work died down, but I think I have just been enjoying my time off. Doing absolutely nothing. Serious slothness. But again my laziness didn't last for long, as I usually get itchy feet and urge to do something with my 'me' time (we have a love/hate relationship!- I love the idea of relaxing but then feel totally guilty when I engage in it!), and was blessed with four weeks of camps that will keep me going till my Summer holidays in Morocco in August.  Yippee!

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Myself and Ev did a whole vlog of our weekend- so if your more of a visual person then see our youtube video here (click please!). 

Taste of Dublin (located in the Iveagh Gardens- see here)

What a load of horse sh***e! I've been wanting to do it for years- it was my idea of heaven. Trying out tapas style meals from places all around Dublin in one venue. Drool! We received complimentary tickets (I think the value of them was €15!) so saw this as a saving and it meant more money towards buying food.... but the weekend's weather (it's currently Summer in Ireland!) was possibly the worst it could be for an outdoor venue situation- and this definitely affected the experience. We were advised to buy florins (a booklet of tickets that you exchange for food at each vendor so there is a cashless environment!). We bought a booklet worth €50. An amount we would usually spend on a brunch sitting. Excuse my french- but we literally pissed through the booklet, I was still starving and that was without having drinks. And I wanted alcohol. We spent another €20 on three drinks with about €3 left over and you couldn't really buy much for €3. Most of the vendor stalls we had tried were places we had yet to go to eat in Dublin- Pichet, Klaw, Amuse to name a few...and we were so excited about the idea of a new place- but what they served didn't necessarily entice me to go book a meal there.  Wouldn't that be the whole purpose? There was a lot of dishes that were served purely for convenience- I swear i'd seen brisket about five times over! Boo! The concept is a great idea- but it just cements rip off Ireland and it could be so much more.

Balfes (located just off Grafton Street- see here)

Balfes actually happened on the same day as Taste in Dublin...purely because we were still so hungry and I was dying to try out the Instagram-worthy eatery I heard so much about. Balfes is located just under the Westbury. Think marble tables, chic Parisienne style outdoor tables and a simple (and health conscious too!) menu. We had oysters on the brain, so went for a plate of Carlingford Oysters, the Tuna Tartare and bread basket with dips. Desserts were a parmesan and fig cheesecake (yes you read that right and it was so good!) and a pepper grilled pineapple with vanilla ice-cream. Now that's food. And good food too! We will be back. 

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Dillingers (located on the main street in Ranelagh- see here) 

It's become a tradition within my family that we all go out once my stage schools conclude. I decided to try Dillingers. It was my first time going- well it actually should have been my second (I won their #Brunchtastic competition which was a free meal including drinks for two- but was busy so I gave it to my parents instead and they didn't stop raving about it...kudos to a brilliant twitter competition!). The food and drinks were amazing- we went for steak and eggs, the nachos, the Scandinavian, the chicken and waffles, a cheeseburger and brioche soft roll filled with Shrimp. All mains came with a generous side of fries, potatoes or greens. The drinks were good and strong too- check out the breakfast stick on the Bloody Mary. We shared dessert amongst the seven of us- creme brulee with clementines, a chocolate mousse with almond ice cream and a baked New York cheesecake. Special highlights were the steak (smokey and juicy!), my Mimosa (I love bubbles obviously!), the Nachos and the chocolate mousse. If I was to be a bit picky, I'd stay away from the  chicken + waffles- the southern fried chicken was quite dry- purely because I think they chose fillet pieces as oppose to a piece on a bone (maybe to cater for the majority of people, I'm not too sure!). We will be back- if not for their brunch, then for their steak Wednesday's which sound super. Ps- Ranelagh is one of my favourite places in Dublin- maybe because my mum's childhood home is there, or I love...ok, dream about owning a terrace house there one day!

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE!

Dining in Malahide: Bon Appetit

We heard a buzz about Bon Appetit a while back, and with Oliver Dunne's stance on effectively handing back his Michelin star, we were curious as to why someone would do this?! Was it the necessity to cater for it's Northside Dublin clientele?  Was the pressure too hard? Or was Dunne not fussed about the hype that surrounds a star and his philosophy was to cook just good food? But the reviews after it's handing back continued to be positive and so we were eager to try it out.


Bon Appetit is located in trendy Malahide, its a multiple storey restaurant that features a tapas bar, a brasserie- they also do Brunch, Lunch, Afternoon Tea and cooking lessons.


Maybe we chose the wrong option on the menu. I don't know. We went for the option titled 'Surprise Tasting menu'- and all we knew was that it was six courses long. As a fan of tasting menu's, I expect good cooking, exciting tastes and a flowing rhythm throughout the courses. The Amuse Bouche was lovely- foie gras in a cone with caramelised onions- the bar was set. Bravo. But it all headed South from there. Up next, was the goats cheese and beetroot starter. I'm a huge fan of goats cheese. I love it, but this was very mild- almost as if there was very little cheese within the panna cotta purée.  And it was served on a slate plate. Slate plates do not actually annoy me as much as they do some people, but because the dish was quite purée based, aside from the chunky bits of beetroot, it made it almost impossible to get everything on to a fork. Up next was the black pudding, on a bed of mushy peas topped with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. I have poached eggs at least three times a week. Poached eggs should never be hard. Ever. I was so disappointed because it meant my food was either sitting to be serviced for ages, even though it wasn't busy at all. Or the chef didn't care. Ugh. Next was a surf and turf served with mashed potatoes, a red wine jus and a stem of broccolini. The meat was actually very good. I just would't normally pair a strong red wine jus with prawns. There were two desserts- a deconstructed vanilla cheesecake- which was ok, but again served on slate mean't the biscuit base crumbs went flying of the plate every time I took a spoonful. The cheesecake itself was quite bland. No punch or tartiness from the fruit purée. The final dessert- a coconut brownie served with coconut ice-cream topped with white chocolate wasn't surpirsing either and was quite large compared to the last dish and just didn't seem to flow from the last few dishes. I even left some which is saying something because I never EVER leave food on my plate. I really wasn't wowed. 

Value for money was fine- it was €50 for the menu- but they really couldn't charge any more then that anyway because it wasn't up to scratch with other tasting menus in Ireland. I had a glass of red wine that I asked to be paired with my food, and the waiter failed to introduce what it was. It's little things like this that usually add to a service. I've chosen to eat out instead of eat at home and I expect my meal to be of a certain standard. Our espresso's were good. Overall, it could be so much more. It was very quiet for a Saturday night- max 5 tables in use at 7.45pm, but the tapas bar above was busy. Was that what we should have opted for? The menu itself looked decent with the a la carte options- our table next to us shared a lovely beef cut that smelled divine. There meal came out exactly as I cut into my hard poached egg and I couldn't help but feel cheated...

Did we choose the wrong option? Was it just a miss that day?! I would love to hear about your experience there!