Update Task #3

Our task from the last meal was to read four books - The Princess Bride by William Goldman, Carry on Jeeves by PG Wodehouse, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Blessed Miguel Pro by Ann Ball. We completed the task and talked about the books during the meal, which led to some lively discussion. While a new task was discussed, nothing was finally agreed.

Meal #4, Quaglino's Dundalk

As Broken Wing has already brilliantly reviewed our evening out on the 2nd of October, I will make my comments brief. We went to Quaglino's over the Century Bar in Dundalk's town centre. I have been there a few times before but never with my fellow S.R's. As on previous occasions, it was very quiet. It is not accessible for those with mobility issues as it is at the top of an old, narrow flight of stairs, but for those who can climb, the decor is pleasant and there is a nice view of Dundalk, especially St. Patrick's church. The menu is extensive and high class, with the prices being at the higher end of the scale. Because we arrived at an early hour, we were eligible for the early bird menu which included starter, main course, dessert plate and coffee for only €26. This was exceptionally good value, especially when one of the main courses on the menu - the medallions of Angus beef - was €25 on the Ala carte. The service was efficient, although perhaps not as speedy as Gonzalez would have liked, and our waiter was extremely nice and attentive without being obtrusive. The early bird menu had a good choice of starters and main dishes. I chose vegetable soup followed by medallions of Angus beef. The soup looked terrible, but tasted quite nice, although I couldn't stomach the veg pulp at the bottom of the bowl. I had asked for my beef to be well done, as always, but it was very pink in the middle when it arrived. I was hungry so I didn't send it back and decided to eat it, but I would consider it medium rare rather than well done. It was served with mashed potatoes and a Diane sauce (which I asked to be served on the side) and there were vegetables for the table, which included carrots, mange tout and cauliflower. Potatoes also came with the meal, but Dancer and Gonzalez asked for chips instead. The beef and vegetables were very tasty and made a good combination. The helpings were large, I would consider them country helpings, and the food was well done, if simple. For dessert we all got a selection of four different desserts, which was a lovely idea and it was nice to try them without filling up too much on any of them. We finished our meal with coffee and, totally satiated by our meal and happy with the value, we returned home. On a minor note, the bill came with chocolates, which was nice, except my chocolate had mould growing on it, which was not so nice. My rating is 8/10 Highly Recommended.

Quaglinos

It has been 6 weeks at least since the last blog entry and I am sure fans of this site(!!!) must have been disappointed in the intervening period. The stardust gang were just too busy doing other exciting (!!!) things to go out for a meal together. Even todays entry owes more to the fact that it was the Dancer's birthday than the obligations that the stardust team has to their reveiwing duties.

Qualinos is in Roden Place in Dundalk. It used to be in Clanbrassil Street and I had gone to it many years ago in that location and really liked it. I am not really sure if there is much overlap in ownership or personal between the old and the new. ITs new locality is over the Century Bar and you have to climb up some steep over the century old staircases to reach it. Its decor is understated but pleasant. I think there are 2 room, in our room, there were only 4 tables with seating capacity for 12.

We were served by one waiter throughout and he was very friendly pleasant and attentive. The food arrived without any undue delay. It was a little bit cold but that could have been because we were the only diners.

We all choose from the Early Bird Menu which was €26 for 3 courses and coffee. I thought it was excellant value and there was a good choice in courses.

I had vegatable soup for my first course which was ok but certainly not appetising to look out. I choose it mainly to leave room for the rest of my meal and I guessed (correctly) that helpings would be large.

I had madellions of beef for the main course. They were served with vegatables (carrots, mange tout and cauliflower ), a sauce and potatoes. The medallions themselves were on some sort of potatoe as well. THe meat was delicious as were the vegatables. My only quible was that the helping was way too large for me and I asked for well done and it was medium rare (although still delicious).

Desert was a medley of cheesecake, ice cream, toffee pudding and cake with marzipan. I love medleys. They are my favourite kind of desert and indeed I would love starters and even main courses on that principal.

I think that Quaglinos is suited to people who like quiet unpretentious but quality food and surroundings. There was nothing flashy or novel about anything but everything was really pleasant . The value was excellent. Overall I would give it an 7-8.

Da Robertos

Reading my last 2 blogs I realise that I have a tendenacy to ramble on and, in consequence, they are a bit on the long side. So this one will be shorter. A crisp guide to Da Robertos. It wasn't the S.R. team's first choice for the evening. It had been recommended to me but not by a totally reliable source so I was a bit dubious.

Da RObertos is in Dundalk and is fairly small and unpretentious in appearance. THe service was second to none. Although it was busy, we were shown a table immediately. A candle was lit and the menus were presented. We were given small appertiffs (I think rose but I'm not sure- it was very nice anyway) as we studied the menus. And I mean studied as they were very long! So absolutely loads of choice. A quick aside. I think the free apertiff is a wonderful idea. Firsty we all like something free. Secondly, it got the mood going and was a perfect accompaniment to menu reading.

After we had ordered, we were given free bruscetti like things. A small very tasty snack. This second freebe was totally unexpected. The starters arrived fairly soon. I hadn't ordered one but the bits I sampled from my companions were very nice. Then the third freebie - truly an embarrassment of riches! It was a small lemon sorbet to clense the palette.

I had ordered spagetti bolognese. I have avoided doing this for years as it never lives up to my expectations and I don't know why I broke with tradition this night but it was an excellant inspiration. It was truly delicious. My mouth is watering even now thinking about it. I took the starter size helping which was sufficient for me but it was so nice I might have squeezed the main size portion in. (I usually find the pasta helpings are very big so I was pleased you had the starter size option.)

For desert I had tirimirsu. It was tasty but not up to the standard of the rest of the meal.

I will give DaRobertos a 9 because of its lovely food, wide choice, warm and excellant service, reasonable prices and all round excellance. If the seating was a little more cosy or if an amaretto biscuit was served with the coffee or it the desert menu was half way decent I would have easily given a 10.

Food in the North east

As I roll over in bed on Sunday morning, I think to myself, mmm, to-night I will be going out for some fine food. Sunday, I think is an apical day for dining out; something to reward ourselves for the week behind, while also barricading ourselves to face the inevitable Monday of the following week. At the moment I live in the North east of Ireland, so I with my three companions are going systematically through all the restaurants in the area, except of course the ones we are barred from due to idiomatic reasons, such as we refuse to wear evening dress; nothing of course of social condemnation. So far I have sampled food from three places, McBrides, La Cucina and Da Robertos. Well what will I comment on, the décor, the atmosphere or what I found most tantalizing. I think I start with the last, the ice-cream at La Cucina is delicious, mouth-watering, soul fulfilling, an item I heartily recommend. I also noticed that La Cucina does take out pizza, something to note down as a change from the usual Domino’s, not that I criticising American food; as all my friends know I am a great advocate for American food, and nothing is better for a quick snack, than a portion of fries at MacDonalds. However though I should avoid clichés, I can’t help saying, that a change is as good as a break. McBrides, I found had a very spacious atmosphere, the waiter here certainly couldn’t overhear your conversation, a point worth noticing if you were on a romantic meal, La Cucina and Da Robertos unfortunately were negative in this aspect, though both had a friendly and unassuming atmosphere. The pasta at Da Robertos was very nice, I had carbonara and it went down very well, the helpings were generous and I must say extremely filling. Da Roberto’s also had little extra touches, such as a small lemon sorbet between the starter and main course to cleanse the palette, and an aperitif to start the meal off which put us all in rollicking form. In all, so far, I have being pleasantly surprised, by the district’s quality of restaurant.

Meal #3 - Da Robertos, Dundalk

There is a funny story about tonights restaurant. It almost didn't happen. I'm afraid to say Da Robertos was not our first choice. We drove all the way to Ardee to sample one of its many eateries, only to find it closed, so we returned to Dundalk and tried Da Robertos as we were in the mood for Italian.

As an aside, the building in which Da Robertos is housed has also been the home to two previous Italian restaurants, and I have eaten in both former establishments. Neither of them were particularly nice, so I was somewhat nervous about trying Da Robertos, but third time lucky, or so they say!

The restaurant was plying a lively trade for a Sunday evening. We were welcomed into the restaurant and seated immediately. The room was very small, with large windows facing the street, and our table was at the back in a corner near the till. Access to the building was up one fairly thick step, however the toilets were situated at the top of quite a steep set of stairs, which might make things awkward for people with mobility issues. The decor was colourful, cheerful and pleasant, although the proliferation of pictures clustering the walls was a tad chaotic. The tables all had real table cloths and genuine linen napkins, which added a touch of class. The waiter was extremely pleasant and welcomed us with a free aperitif, which was a rose coloured liquid with a sweet smell served in a shot glass. I didn't taste it, because I believe it was alcoholic and I was driving, but it set the evening off to a good start.

The menu was very varied for an Italian, with plenty of pasta, meat and fish, however I noticed a distinct lack of pizza. Chips were also not on the menu, and the wide variety of potatoes available as side orders did not contain one type of wedge, fry or crisp that could substitute. However, our waiter offered to get some from the nearby chippie when we asked him about it.

After we had ordered, we were presented with a plate of little cheesy bread things, two for each of us, which were quite tasty.

Before I continue, I just want to let you all know that I like mushrooms. I like mushrooms a lot. I think I might be half hobbit (well, a quarter anyway, I don't like pipe weed, but I have hairy feet and a penchant for coloured waistcoats).

My first course was mushrooms with bacon, onions and cheese, and was very nice. After the plates had been cleared away, we were served with shot glasses of lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate. I had always heard that sorbet was good for that, but I had never tried it before this evening - and you know what? It works! I was also very impressed with this touch of class from the restaurant. My main course was mushroom risotto (I thought I would take a change from steak). I know this is not an Italian dish, but it was a perfect risotto - creamy, yet with a bite, tasty without being too rich, flavoured without being oily or overpowered with wine. I also sampled some of Broken Wing's bolognese and even though I only got a string of saucy spaghetti, it was delicious. Likewise were Gonzalez's potatoes, which I also tasted. On a side note, the main courses were brought to our table covered with large silver warmers, which were whisked off with a flourish by our waiter. I thought it was a nice touch.

Having sampled such culinary delights, I had high expectations for dessert. I was a little disappointed there were no more free goodies between the main course and the dessert, but that was because I had already been spoiled by such good service. Isn't that the terrible thing about human nature? If they hadn't provided the aperitif, appetisers and sorbet I would never have missed them, yet because they had, I expected something between each course. The dessert menu provided further disappointment. The prepackaged choices popped up again (whoever makes those things must be a millionaire) but there were also two homemade dishes - Tiramisu and Creme Caramel. Not being the biggest fan of Tiramisu and not having a notion of what Creme Caramel was, I went with the latter over the former. I am sure it was a delicious example of this dessert, however I have discovered that I dislike Creme Caramel quite a lot. I also had cappuccino, which was nice, and mints came with the bill.

I would like to give Da Robertos ten stars out of ten because the service was as near perfect as humanly possible, the atmosphere was pleasant, the menu extensive, the food delicious and the price reasonable, not to mention all the extras that made me feel very special. However, the lack of a decent dessert menu and no pizza reduces its score to a mere 9/10 - almost perfect

Update Task #2 and Task #3

Task #2 - Each member of Stardust Ratatouille had to do something new that they had never done before.

Result: Broken Wing spent an afternoon in the A&E of The Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Rapheala spent an afternoon in the woods of St Anne's Park Raheny and Dancer & Gonzalez declined to complete the task.

Task #3 - Each member nominated a book for S.R to read before the next meal. The nominations are -

1. Rapheala - The Princess Bride by William Goldman

2. Broken Wing - Blessed Miguel Pro by Ann Ball

3. Gonzalez - Carry on Jeeves by P G Wodehouse

4. Dancer - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

(click on the names of the books to find out more about them at amazon.co.uk)

LaCucina

On 7th July, in our continuing request to establish the definitive guide to eating out in County Louth, the S.R.'s headed south west to Smarmor- a few miles out from Ardee. LaCucina is situated in the courtyard of Smarmor Castle, which in turn is situated in a lovely rural spot. The sun was shining as we walked through the courtyard to what was once stables or tack rooms and which had been converted to an Italian restaurant. The pretty surroundings confirmed my anticipation of a good evening as LaCucina had come well recommended. Alas this happy mood was not to last.

We had booked (unusually) so when we arrived and were left stranded, it was a little upsetting. No seats, drinks, menus or apologies were offered as we stood and watched empty tables been given to people who arrived after us.

While this was not the best start, all of the S.R. gang are professionals and we quickly put this bad impression out of our minds when we were (eventually) seated. Perhaps due to its popularity that Sunday evening or perhaps due to a physiological problem, the seating was arranged for maximum capacity rather than for the enjoyment, privacy or comfort of the diners. It was arranged like a school room refectory and had the acoustics of the school room refectory as well. It was also cold. Despite these drawbacks, we maintained our high spirits.

I had garlic mushrooms for starters. They were slow to come but were delicious. Simply cooked in garlic butter but very tasty. I also tasted some of Gonzales' garlic bread. It was the nicest I have ever had. Again very simple- some garlic butter on really heavenly pizza type bread. Doesn't sound much but was really tasty and greed inspiring. (They do take out pizzas and if you are in the vicinity of Smarmor - get one.

At this point I have to talk about the service. It was the worst I have ever come across. Firstly the waitresses were pretty horrible. They were sullen, surly, inefficient and clearly indicated that they better things to do than wait tables. Not one pleasant word or smile was squeezed out of them the whole evening. Here is an example; Rapheala asked for water (probably twice) and eventually a jug was plonked on the table. She then had to get the attention of the girl and asked for a glass. She came back and plonked out one glass! So we had to ask for glasses for the rest of us. In due course, they were thrown at us. I don't know how many times we had to ask for more water. I can't remember if we ever got it!. And the temperature was getting colder!

So after waiting maybe 10 minutes plus to be seated and perhaps another 15 minutes plus for our starter to arrive, we were estimated it might be another 20 minutes for the main course. We had been optimistic! It was about 45 minutes and an hour and half after we arrived. At this stage even the most cheerful companions are wilting. I was also starving. It was now freezing and my jacket was back on.

I had ordered lasagna. It came in an oval dish without anything else. (Yes, I know that seems to be an Italian thing). It would have needed to be pretty good to have counteracted the wait. Sadly it was almost inedible. The tomato sauce was nice, there was a bit too much cheese but that was OK, the pasta was well cooked. The missing ingredient was the meat - it was virtually missing ie non existent! I don't know if they just ran out of mince or forgot it or what but cheesy pasta gets a bit stodgy after the first few mouthfuls - also it was not very warm. So a big thumbs down there.

The desert was mostly those generic things that Italian restaurants have so I didn't bother. The service remained slow and rude. The price was reasonable and some of the other dishes were very tasty so I guess I shouldn't be totally negative about LaCucina. On a very quiet night (and avoiding the lasagna) it could be quite nice and I think the pizzas could be amazing but on a Sunday evening - a definite no! Rating 2

Task #1 update and Task #2

Update on Task #1 - finding out entertaining alternatives to eating out that we would all enjoy.

Result: Broken Wing looked into horse riding, spa treatments and cookery courses in the Castle Leslie estate, Monaghan. Dancer looked into movies at the local cinema. Raphaela looked into Powerscourt, Straffan Butterfly farm, the Irish National Stud and plays. No conclusion was made on whether to take up any of these outings.

Task #2 - Before our next meeting, each member of Stardust Ratatouille has to do something new and different that they have never done before.

Meal #2 - La Cucina, Smarmore Ardee

For tonight's evening out we ventured further afield to La Cucina, the restaurant in Smaremore Castle, a short distance outside Ardee town. The road to Ardee from Dundalk is quite windy and bumpy, and those who are prone to travel sickness might find it difficult. It was a very busy evening for the restaurant when we arrived with most of the tables occupied. The restaurant is situated in the old barn of the castle stable block and there isn't much room for tables to begin with. There are a few shallow steps that have to be negotiated to access the restaurant so it might be difficult for wheelchair users, but shouldn't be too difficult for those merely unsteady on their pins. Despite booking and arriving on time, we were made wait for our table. This was understandable, as they were busy, but we got no apology for having to wait and several groups who came into the restaurant after us were seated first, which set the evening off on a bad foot. Also, if we had been given the menu to look at while we waited or if we had been offered something to drink, it might have made the wait sweeter. However, instead we were left standing in the entrance to the restaurant, in view of all the diners and in the middle of the route to the kitchen with lots of waiters walking past us, which was not pleasant. The overall impression was that the establishment was stretched beyond capacity and no one could cope. I have been to La Cucina before and was pleased with it then, so I think this is an unusual situation rather than the norm. We were finally seated. The tables were very close together to make maximum advantage of the limited space. The barn had been nicely converted and the decor was pleasant, with bright colours and plenty of black and white prints and soft lighting. However, the chairs were not very comfortable, especially for long lingering meals, and there were spider webs around the edges of the rooms. The menu was typical Italian with a range of pasta, pizza and meat dishes. I shared a starter of garlic mushrooms with Broken Wing and sampled some of Gonzalez's garlic bread (vampires beware!). Both the bread and the mushrooms were delicious, although the presentation was non existent. For my main meal I chose steak, and once again there were no objections to serving it well done. The meat dishes came with a choice of potatoes, but I asked for a side order of vegetables instead and got more garlic mushrooms and extra onions. The meat, mushrooms and onions were really delicious - good, unpretentious food - however, the lack of presentation again let it down. The only home made dessert on the menu was Tiramisu, although there were a selection of packaged desserts which seem to be available in restaurants all over Europe (in my limited travel experience, anyway). I am not a fan of Tiramisu, but chose to sample it and shared it with Broken Wing. It was sweet, gooey and pleasant and my only criticism of it was that I don't like Tiramisu. I also had a cappuccino, which was pleasant, and helped myself to the basket of mints near the till on the way out (not the whole basket, of course).

Now, I cannot fault the food, and I liked the decor and the relaxed, friendly atmosphere of the other diners (at one point, nearly all the people at the tables around us were talking to the other people at the different tables around them) but the service was another matter entirely. The waiters were sullen, unfriendly and gave the impression of people called in on a favour to help with the crowd but would rather be anywhere else but there. When we ordered drinks, I ordered a jug of water for the table. The drinks came and I got a jug of water and a single glass. I had to ask the waiter twice for another glass before she brought one and even then she didn't bring extra for my other two fellow diners. We also had to wait a long time for our food. Well done steak always takes a while, but we were waiting for a lot longer than usual. I would have put up with this if we had at least got a smile or an apology from our waiters.

I liked La Cucina the last time I visited and I would certainly highly recommend its food, but on this performance I regretfully rate it 3/10 - OK, I suppose.

McBrides cont...

To get back to what i was trying to say; our blog group set off to McBrides on a rainy Sunday evening. The restaurant was upstairs over a pub but- and i will emphasis this for those who are always a little wary of restaurants over pubs- it is a real restaurant with not a trace of pub grub about it. Not that I'm knocking pub grub but its a genre of its own. I always think that food is only a small part of a good night out, an extremely important make or break part but still only a part. The most important ingredient, in my opinion, is the company- but the company can only shine and sparkle when it is comfortable (warm but not hot, airy, nice seats, no overcrowding, not over loud but not empty etc etc), when the service is pleasant (polite, attentive, not in your face) and when waiting does not take the edge off the appetite or put the edge on the impatient. I have to say, McBride's gave my lovely company plenty of opportunity to shine and sparkle. We were given a lovely round table in a corner, the temperature was pleasantly warm all evening and all the staff couldn't have been nicer. A little aside, regular readers of this blog will soon discover that I have a bit of a thing about the temperature in restaurants. For some reason I often find them quite cold and it always ruins the evening for me. Sometimes I think that I am cold because of the bad evening and at other times I think it is the cold that ruins the evening. To digress further, I once saw an episode of The Outer Limits where hell was portrayed as freezing cold (an unusual concept i know) I could relate to it as I always see cold as not only painful and uncomfortable but as alienating and distancing as well.

Enough of my ramblings. Our maitre'd took our drinks order while we pursued the menu. I went for vegetarian. The bad news was that there was only one vegetarian dish (i am not a veggie but i think they should have a choice)- the good news was that it was delicious. It was vegetables in a pastry case. An awkward one to get right and they got it perfect. The vegetables were tasty and the pastry light and crisp. Nothing soggy and no heavy creamy sauce(which can be lovely with pasta or meat but never with pastry). The helping was just about the right size and i had no trouble eating all of it with relish. I would certainly have it again although I probably would try one of the other tempting dishes.

While there was no hovering around or intrusive spying, our plates were removed and the desert menu proffered at just the right time. I was recommended the creme brulee but went for the sticky toffee pudding. As everything was so lovely up to now, I was more than usually disappointed with the desert. The pudding was a small dry muffin type thing with a bit of toffee sauce. The sauce was delicious but not sufficient to moisten the hard dry little muffin. A pity

I had cappuccino- which was fine as was the glass of house white.

Overall I would give McBrides an 8 out of 10. The ambiance, service and (mostly) great food over weighing the dodgy desert and price (it was quite expensive). You could bring anyone there and be fairly sure of a good evening out as everything did combine to relax the company and get the conversation flowing.

P.S. I hope you like the pictures- I always think a good picture improves a blog and I have no pictures of either McBrides or food.

P.P.S. All the main dishes came with a choice of potato type and vegetables. You know the little dishes with carrots, mange tout and sweet corn. Well the maitre'd asked everyone if they wanted their veggies (no one did). I liked that touch. So many times I have seen those little dishes remain untouched for the whole meal and I always think 'what a waste'.

McBrides

The inaugural Stardust Ratatouille Outing (SRO) took place on 23rd june in McBrides Castlebelingham.

Task #1

Not only are we four adventurous food critics, we also set ourselves tasks at each of our gastronomic outings that have to be completed before our next meal together. For our inaugural meeting our tasks are to look into alternative outings that we can go on together as a group - such as plays of interest, concerts, movies, ornate gardens and other entertainments that discerning people like ourselves might be interested in. Check in after our next meal to see how we get on.

Meal #1 - McBrides, Castlebellingham

Ah! The inaugural meeting of the Stardust Ratatouille superheroes! For this evenings refreshment we headed to Castlebellingham, a small hamlet not 8 miles away from Dundalk. McBrides is a pub on the main street, with a long history as a drinking establishment. It serves hot meals all day in the pub downstairs (it is basic pub grub, but of a high standard. Gonzalez and I tried it out a few weeks ago) and more high class meals in the restaurant up stairs in the evening. The outside of the pub is attractive cream and black and it looks newly painted. Parking is a problem, however, and you are lucky if you get a spot along the pavement in short walking distance to the venue. Entrance to the restaurant is via a small porch and up a steep flight of stairs, which is not very friendly to those with mobility issues. Once in the restaurant, the decor is very pleasing with nice decorations and touches of rustic charm. The chairs and tables are wooden and comfortable. The atmosphere is created with soft light and soothing music and is relaxing. We were greeted by a very friendly woman who showed us to our table and took our drinks order (always a good sign when a restaurant takes a drinks order while you peruse the menu imo). The menu was quite restricted, but all the meals sounded very tempting. I chose Steak for my main course, which they cooked well done without a quibble (I know technically steak should always be pink in the middle, but I hate when a restaurant refuses to do your steak well done. You are the one eating it - and paying for it - so what are they complaining about?). It came complete with onion marmalade and potatoes and was delicious. For dessert I had been advised to try the Creme Brulee, but I found none of their desserts particularly tempting (although they all sounded nice) and decided to just go with a cappuccino, which was warm and frothy but a little too bitter for my taste. The staff were very attentive and pleasant throughout the meal, without once rushing us or being obtrusive. A good place to dine, I would give McBride's 7 stars out of 10 - expect a good evening out.

Stardust Ratatouille

We are on a mission. A mission to find the best food, the best service and the best night out in the restaurants of Dundalk and its environs. Who are we, I hear you ask? Who are these four daring individuals? Well, we prefer to keep our identities secret. Think of us as four super heroes, super heroes in search of good food for the betterment of mankind. We are not gourmets, but we have good taste (and we know what tastes good) and we want to pass on the results of all our research to you, the public. What I will tell you, is that we are four females and we span four different age brackets and we look rather natty in spandex tights and capes (well, I'm sure we would if we ever wore spandex tights and capes - actually, no capes, they can lead to serious accidents). More than that, I cannot say. Wait - you have one more question. What is with the snazzy name? What does Stardust Ratatouille mean? Ah yes, that question has puzzled philosophers for centuries. Suffice to say, it has become known as the epitome of a good restaurant, combining delicious food (ratatouille) with pleasing attentive staff, a diverse menu, clean comfy surroundings and all the other ingredients to make the evening sparkle (stardust). A Man Without Love is optional.