Food filled Saturday

Sean's little brother came to stay with us this weekend. Sean and I done some wandering while he was getting his hair cut at The Butcher Barber. 

First stop was Fallon & Byrne. We got some venison haunch steaks, sweet potato and Irish rainbow carrots for our dinner on Sunday evening. We also picked up some Llewellyn's Apple cider vinegar. We had to because the bottle we got at the People's Park market met an unfortunate end :(? 

Then we had our usual stop at The Cupcake Bloke. 

Picked up some cupcakes for us - Oreo, Caramel Macchiato & a gluten free Banoffee.

Also got some lemon and carrot cake cupcakes and one of the Earl Grey, cranberry & orange tea bracks for Sean's parents.

After he was finished getting his hair did I brought him to try out Ugly Duckling in the Epicurean Food Hall. He ordered the Pittsburgh (BBQ pulled pork, coleslaw, tomato and fries on a bun) and I ordered my usual no tomato Prawn Po'Boy... Delicious as always. Sean's little brother had considered keeping some for Sean but he enjoyed it so much there was no left!! I think he was a fan :) 

Got home. Spent some time with the dog then got ready to head out for the evening.

First stop of the night was Oktoberfest Dublin. We got there early enough so thankfully we didn't have to queue too long to get in - about a 20 minute wait. 

The place was pretty busy. Queued about 10 minutes for drinks. Got 2L of erdinger and a German white wine. 

Total cost including the deposits for the glass steins was something like €40. As long as you keep hold of your token and the stein though you get your €5 per stein deposit back.

Not a bad atmosphere but am not entirely sure how traditional Love is in the air as music goes??? 

Like I say we got there early enough but it was already starting to get a bit messy. We didn't stay long and then headed to Brew Dock.  The signs that are upstairs gave me a giggle. 

Here I had a Founders Breakfast stout. Lovely strong coffee flavour. 

By the way to the lads playing Jenga near us I think we've only just recovered from the fright ;)

We had a table booked for Bull & Castle and, as it was a nice October evening, we decided to walk it. Certainly walked up an appetite!! Have been here before but didn't enjoy the experience. What a transformation since our last visit. 

The last time we we're here was on a cold & miserably wet evening. I found the restaurant to be very cold and the seats were hard. I'm so so glad we decided to come back. The restaurant has had a make over. We were seated in a booth. It felt so so cosy and the leather covered seats were so comfortable!! 

 

Here's the food menu... 

I ordered a half bottle of Sangiovese / Merlot red wine. 

We shared the breads n dips and the charcuterie board for starters. That hummus is immense!!! The pesto was really nice but for me the star was the white soda bread. 

For my main course I ordered the steak and seafood - a 6oz fillet steak cooked medium rare with some prawns. Lovely char on the steak from the type oven they use. Perfectly cooked and the prawns were delicious too. Fab Bearnaise sauce to dip them all in too! 

I am not a potato fan and I asked if I could swap the spring onion mash for the Mac n cheese. This was done without issue although the waiter wasn't sure it could be done. Very impressed! 

Sean and his brother ordered the porterhouse for two. This is a double cut t bone steak served up with chips, mashed potato, sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms, maple roasted carrots and a selection of sauces. 

The Mac n cheese was creamy and had a lovely crust on top. Am sure it was calorific but so so worth it.

For dessert I ordered a French Martini cocktail. Lovely way to finish. 

Brilliant choice of whiskey, craft beer and cocktails. They're serving up great food that is well worth the price tag. Really loved the feel of the place this time. 

After there we walked to Beer Market as Sean was in search of a particular sour beer - Gods Speed. To my delight they had Founders' Rubaeus on tap but not the beer he was after so we only stayed for one and then headed to our last stop of the evening, Against the Grain. 

They had the beer Sean was looking for so they had two glasses of that each while I finished off my evening with a Macivors cider :) 

Late September weekend

We attempted to go to Oktoberfest on Friday but the queue was absolutely mental!!! 

Our first stop of the night was Brew Dock on Amiens Street - the place was absolutely hopping and had a great atmosphere. We managed to grab two stools at the bar. I had some Macivors cider which they have on tap. The Keogh's salt and malt vinegar crisps I ordered went down well too... Sean had some 8 Degrees Ochtoberfest and some dunkel I can't recall. 

Brew Dock are currently celebrating Docktoberfest...

From Brew Dock we walked to Mao on Chatham Row. 

Here's the menu...

I'm Mad for Mao... Isn't that the radio ad? Well I'd totally agree with that! We had decided we'd try somewhere we hadn't been before and why not choose somewhere that's been around for a couple of decades?? 

Great menu. For starters I chose Wasabi prawns - butterfly prawns in a spicy wasabi sauce served with a mango salsa. It had a little kick but not overly spicy. Really yum!

Sean had the chilli squid and he let me try some so I had my first taste of squid here. It was OK but much better when dipped in the accompanying sweet chilli sauce.  

For my main course I had the Thai green chicken curry. This has got to be the best one I've had yet - the sauce was spicy, plenty of chicken and I actually liked all the veg etc they added to the curry (yellow peppers, red peppers, red onion, fresh chilli, spring onion & button mushrooms) 

Sean popped his ramen "cherry" ha! He chose the Chilli Chicken Ramen which was spicier than he expected - to be fair the server warned us about this and it has three chillies on the menu!

For wine we chose a Pinot Grigio - lovely peachy flavour and I loved the glasses.

There's a very nice feel to the place. Awesome tuneage from the DJ in the corner :) 

The only reason drawback about here was that I was far too warm!!! 

After there we stopped in at P. Macs for one drink after dinner. Place was hopping as I think it is most weekends.

I was delighted to find they were serving Lindemans Framboise - it's rare enough in Dublin itself but they have it on tap! Brilliant :) 

Yes it is a little dark and quite hipstery but so what? If you're after a decent beer selection, great vibe, nice friendly staff & good service then this is the spot.

Will definitely have to try another visit!!!

Saturday morning we went to Dundrum Centre for a search for a new winter coat. Stopped at Frango's world cuisine for breakfast. Huge selection of food here but I chose a Nutella crepe at their La Creperie... Served with mini marshmallows this was decadent and delicious!!!

For dinner on Saturday evening I had chicken Wellington and Sean had veal croquettes served with yams. All from Fallon & Byrne. So so good! 

Sunday we took a trip to the People's Park Farmers market in Dun Laoghaire. 

Loved wandering around in the late September sunshine. Picked up treats at The Baking House stall - got six muffins for €5 because we couldn't choose flavours to buy! 

After that we stopped at the Llewelyn's orchard produce stall. Here we bought some apple cider vinegar and a bottle of their medium cider to try that.

We didn't get any of it but you could have got "Christmas in a cup" here - warmed apple juice with spices and a shot of whiskey!! 

Took a quick coffee break at Fallon & Byrne. Sat outside and enjoyed the coffee. Such a nice day.

After there we explored the market some more. Got some hummus and sundried tomato pesto from the Lilliput Trading Co. 

Last purchase here was sourdough bread from the piece of cake bakery.

This is a great spot to while away a Sunday afternoon. Great choice of produce and craft products from all the vendors. The smells are incredible!! 

Once we left Dun Laoghaire we drove to Farmleigh Estate and visited the farmers market there. The only thing we bought here was some Compte cheese but it was lovely to have a wander around here too in the Autumn sunshine. 

A sweet Saturday morning

Parked at Arnotts to get some walking in the sunshine :)

Sean went to get his hair cut... 

First stop was Abercrombie & Fitch to get my future brother in law's birthday present (He wanted Fierce because he unfortunately smashed the last bottle he got!) 

Then I visited The Cupcake Bloke to pick up some of their 4th of July cupcakes. I chose Boston Creme and Peanut Butter & Jelly / Jam. 

From there I went to Kaph on Drury Street to get some new beans. 

I got myself an iced Americano and a Madeleine and sat down the back which is a great spot for people watching. Iced Americano was so nice I ended up getting a second one to take away!!!! 

Met Sean and we stopped in at Fallon and Byrne to get food for dinner that evening. 

Then we went to Parfumarija where I spent quite a while choosing my birthday present (an incredible place!) before going to Krust Bakery. 

I managed not to give in to getting a cronut or donur and tried their Nitro Cold Brew which they launched last week - really v good but might be considered a bit of an acquired taste! 

Just a v sweet sunny July Saturday morning! I'll leave you with this street art I spotted on Abbey Street.