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Food archive artilces

Restaurant Review: The Chef’s Table at The Pig’s Ear, Dublin 2.

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Stephen Mc Allister is a talented boy. I’ve known him since the days when I was making his tea as a runner on ‘The Restaurant’ series for RTE, back in 2007. He was, like the other kitchen team chefs Gary O’Hanlon and Louise Lennox, essential to magic of the show and making the guest chef feel relaxed. So I made good tea. Fast forward, and while I was lucky enough to get to produce and direct the show, he went on to open the wonderful ‘The Pig’s Ear’ restaurant on Nassau Street. It is my brother’s favourite restaurant and a place where I have had many a treasured evening. Stephen is very good at keeping his supreme talents hidden. He is modest and any compliment is met with a ‘Ah go ‘way,’ but his food won’t let him away with that humble nonsense. He’s recently opened the very special ‘Chef’s Table’ at the top of the restaurant. It seats eight people in a gorgeous room overlooking Trinity College. I have had the good fortune to …

There once was a trip to elBulli

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I was recently reminded of how lucky I was to get to dine  in elBulli restaurant. Although it was over three years ago, I can still taste every dish. It was one of the most spectacular nights of my life. Here are some words I wrote about it shortly after returning: elBulli Some people are so determined to eat in Spain’s elBulli restaurant that they’ll book a table four years in advance – like a chap I met last year who planned a table for his wife’s 40th birthday. Others, like me, create 11 new email addresses and enter the annual lottery for reservations. Since there are around 400 applicants for each available cover, we usually don’t hear anything back. But there’s always the chance of a Christmas miracle. In late December 2008, my friend Ciarán called me, breathless. “Guess where we’re going next October 17th?” I had bullied (pardon) him into entering the lottery too; if either of us got in, we would take the other person. elBulli is housed in a plain, unassuming …

Restaurant Review: Mishkins, Catherine Street, London

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I love birthdays. I love the delicious fluttery feeling in your tummy on the morning of it. I love the cards, the messages of love from my parents that make me cry, the breakfast, the lunch, the bubbles, the dinner, the karaoke where possible, the candles and the cake crumbs. I’m cheeky enough to stretch it into a birthday week. But this year, my best friend Niamh, knows me well enough to give me a gift that would turn it into a birthday season. While my birthday is at the end of June, she booked us a trip to London to visit our friend a few months later. After a gorgeous weekend trip, the last stop was to meet a friend for lunch at Mishkins, opposite the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane, before heading to the airport. It’s owned by Russell Norman, proprietor of quite a few achingly hipster spots in London like ‘Polpo’ and ‘Polpetto.’ Mishkins describe themselves as a ‘kind of Jewish deli with cocktails.’ It’s not kosher, but the menu is laden with …

Restaurant Crush: Isabel’s

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When restaurants are called by a girl’s name, I like to imagine it must be in honour of the heroine of a magnificent love affair, or an ode to a romantic encounter or some other grand and heart breaking tale where  you can almost hear Maria Callas sing ‘O Mio Babbino Caro.’ Isabel’s is so called, indeed from love, but not from any heartache. It is named after the owner, Ian Keegan’s daughter, which is immediately heart warming. It’s on the corner of Lower Baggot Street and after taking the few steps down to the basement entrance, you find a softly lit, warm and sensuous  restaurant and wine bar that’s tiny and perfect. I often have misgivings about wine bars with food, as  the menu can sometimes present a world of shocking misunderstanding. Cajun wings and a delicate Pinot? Yum. Thankfully, Isabel’s are tiny and perfect with their menu too. Ian and head chef Niall O’Sullivan have created a delicate, exciting, and delicious menu whether you want to nibble on lighter bites, a cheese board, …

Farewell to Alexis.

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When I remember meals, precious meals worth remembering, I see the delicious glow of the candle on the person across from me. Or the way my father can tell a joke and laugh so hard he uses the posh linen tablecloth to dab his eyes and we are all mortified and delighted at the same time. Or how the waiter would look after the mini people at the table especially well. It’s when you feel loved,and at home. That’s when a restaurant succeeds. I’m saddened to hear that the wonderful Dublin restaurant Alexis, in Dun Laoghaire, closed its doors. This was a place you felt loved. I first went there last summer when my housemate decided to let me know he was moving out. He was French. He had taste. Alexis was the kind of place you sat down with delicious expectation on what could possibly be presented. Eyes widened and hearts swooned on reading of the menu. It was always a conundrum. The wines always soothing and beautiful, and the food then sublime. On …