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.