Dining offer in the capital of the Republic of Ireland is somewhat wider than Belfast, but just because Dublin is a bigger and more economically developed city. On the other hand, a bigger and wider offer doesn’t always mean it’s better, but it’s definitely worth a visit.

If you come to the Republic of Ireland with the prejudice that the potato is the main food, you won’t be wrong, but together with the traditional fish ‘n’ chips and Irish stew try the fine dining cuisine, as well. But always start your day with – breakfast.

Wuff is a small bistro in the Arran Quay part of town whose owner is probably big lover of canine pets 🙂

The bistro offers morning and evening meals along with lunch, for a slightly higher price than Belfast, but we had to eat, right?

Debeli opted for the full Irish breakfast while I decided to try some eggs Benedict.
Although Eggs Benedict originated in the 19th century New York, there is still too much discussion about who created the first dish. But one thing is certain – Benedict eggs are great cure for a hangover and the best way to start the day.

Eggs comes in a variety of combinations of the same subject, which is egg. The eggs are poached and placed on an English muffin topped with bacon or ham and a hollandaise sauce.

The supporting role of Eggs Benedict is spinach, which can be replaced by ham (Egg Florentine), bacon (Eggs Blackstone) or salmon (Eggs Atlantic / Hemingway / Norvégienne), while the béchamel sauce (Egg Blanchard) can be used instead of hollandaise sauce. The variations are infinite. Moreover, very delicious just like my eggs that I had to boost a bit with some ham from Debelis plate.

This time Debeli got both white and black sausage or pudding as they call it, but before diving in let’s clear the situation with the puddings.

While the majority of us thinks of a pudding as a sweet dessert, for the Brits and all those close to them, the pudding is any type of meal eaten after the main dish. So the pudding can be either sweet or savory. The word pudding is believed to come from the French boudin, originally from the Latin botellus, meaning a “small sausage”, referring to encased meats used in medieval European puddings. Contemporary use of the word means that any type of the dish made similar to making sausages where the meat and other ingredients in a mostly liquid form are encased and then steamed or boiled to set the contents, can be called a pudding. Black pudding, Yorkshire pudding, and haggis are few survivors of this tradition.

The sausages are usually made of sheep or pork meat, oatmeal, bread crumbs, pork liver or some other innards. Black sausage has animals’ blood as well, while the white one does not.

Whether you are keen on the blood in your meal (think of the steaks as well) or not, the blood sausage can taste really good but only if well baked and spiced.

WUFF BISTRO, 23 Benburb Street, Dublin

 

Third Space Smithfield is located at the corner of the building where our Airbnb was, so we had breakfast there before returning to Oslo. This coffee shop was opened six years ago and serves as a small gathering space, a place where you can eat something, drink a cup of coffee, hang out with your friends or work with your colleagues.

We had the breakfast somewhere around 8 am when there was still no one inside, but soon as we got served, the area was already filled. Obviously, the Dubliners start their Saturdays begins with a big breakfast and a coffee 🙂

Debeli, you have guessed, had the full Irish while my crazy and wild side took a breakfast brioche with egg, bacon, sausage and home-made relish. Rather nice combination and a very filling breakfast that was a great base for a whiskey tasting (stay tuned, it’s going to be in the next post :))

THIRD SPACE SMITHFIELD, Unit 14 Block C, Smithfield Markets, Smithfield, Dublin 7

 

While sightseeing it’s always good to make an occasional break with a pint of Guinness and Irish coffee that I had the chance to try at The Bankers Bar for the very first time.

Irish coffee is actually a cocktail, and it’s made up of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar and whipped cream on top. Although this type of warm drink existed in the 19th century in France, as well as in in Austria and Germany through various variations, the first Irish coffee was made sometime in the 1950s.

A story says that the first Irish coffee was made by Joe Sheridan, the head of the restaurant and a cafe bar in County Limerick somewhere between 1942 and 1943 during the war years, when he served some coffee with whiskey to the exhausted passengers, whose journey across the Atlantic was postponed due to bad weather, to warm them up.

Whoever invented Irish coffee, bless them, because it’s a refreshment for the soul and energy for the body. Mine. Debeli needed something more than that so he ordered black bread with Guinness.

THE BANKERS BAR, Trinity street, 2 Dublin

 

Since Dublin is the birthplace of Guinness, no wonder we drank this wonderful, creamy, dark beer all-the-time. With occasional gin break in between.

Arthur Guinness started producing Guinness back in 1759 when he signed a lease contract for the next 9,000 years! Although no longer the largest beer factory in the world, Guinness remains the largest stout manufacturer with over 850 million liters a year. Around 272 Olympic pools full of Guinness 🙂

Although Guinness is produced in over 50 countries worldwide and is available in 120 of them, this wonderful and low-calorie beer (only 120 calories per glass), it’s recommended to drink exclusively in Ireland. Why? Because Guinness travels bad, and because you need to master a specific pouring technique. Guinness is actually poured twice: first time, 3/4 of a glass at an 45 ° angle. After allowing the initial pour to settle, the server fills the remainder of the glass until the head forms a slight dome over the top of the glass. It takes 119.5 seconds to do that, but it’s worth of wait 🙂

Ha’penny gin got its name by the name of the bridge where, 150 years ago, the Dubliners gathered to see steam barges laden with 240 hogsheads of Guinness sail under the bridge along the Liffey River all the way to the sea where they were shipped overseas.

 

Fish and chips is one of the traditions that you just have to try when in England or Ireland and since we didn’t want to stand out from a typical tourist we went for some fish ‘n’ chips in a small Fish Shop in Smithfield quarter, very close to our accommodation. The bistro barely fits 30 people all at once so they tend to serve take away also, but it’s only fish products.

The fish, fried hake, was quite nice, nothing special though, but I would definitely prefer more crunchier chips. But since we came 20 minutes before closing and the staff was so nice that they let us stay until we finished the meal as they were cleaning the bar and preparing for tomorrow, we were more than happy to have a warm and decent meal. Crunchy chips or not.

FISH SHOP, 76 Benburb St, Smithfield, Dublin

 

Human connection with nature and all its living creatures, whether of plant or animal origin, comes together in the traditional and praised Irish stew. Although this type of meal is considered dish for the poor, no tourist today will travel to Ireland without having it at least once.

The main ingredient of Irish stew was meat from old sheep, those that no longer were used for milk or wool. Since this type of meat is quite hard, cooking used to last for couple of hours in an open fire.

Purists consider that you only need a few basic ingredients for the stew, such as mutton, potatoes, onions and water. Anything else like carrots, celery and barley, according to them, will only ruin the original flavors, but the majority of the restaurants serving Irish stew uses all of the above.

I tried my first Irish stew in Ireland on our way to the Cliffs of Moher in a small place called Doolin, at Cervil Restaurant.

The restaurant is intended exclusively for travelers and tourists who come in with a  twenty-minute break for a meal or pinto f Guinness. We got in first, ordered food, and as we sat down at the table, the rest of our bus came along for some fish ‘n’ chips and stew. Only Debeli ordered a fish soup with dark bread.

CHERVIL, Rivervale, Teergonean, Doolin,

 

A small restaurant, with only 50 seats and a fairly simple interior, Etto, was awarded best restaurant in Ireland in 2018! The winning restaurant also took the best customer service award in Dublin, and head chef Barry Sun Jian was named the best chef in Dublin. Enough for us to get a lunch there 🙂

Etto offers a seasonal menu subject to daily change, with an emphasis on home-made products sold by small, independent farmers and suppliers.

The restaurant is not abundant in Irish wines, which is understandable because there are none, so we decided to have a black and white wine from Sicily. Rather good ones.

The restaurant, along with three types of dishes for each course, offers a “workers lunch” for a small amount of 16€, but we decided to take only two courses, because the dessert has already been planned elsewhere.

My first meal was carrot, while Debeli opted for mussels. A quite unusual mussels, I might say.

The unusual mussels were served with corn and nduja, a very hot Calabrian sausage. Preparation of mussels is always a sure thing. You make them either in a white or read sauce maybe with pasta but to combine it with sausage….well that was bold. And GOOD! The mussel sauce got the spicy flavor which made it quite playful, because you had sea and the land together. Plus corn. Kind of Mexican, don’t you think?

On the other hand, while my Mexican man was slurping his mussel sauce, I felt like a goat, crisping on the endivia salad with sweet roasted carrots with drops of aceto balsamico and crispy walnuts. It there was more fresh goat cheese, I would stop right there and at that moment. Ok, maybe, a piece of bread would do good as well 🙂 Fantastic sweet, acidic and crunchy combination. Loved it!!!!

After a light appetizer you should always go for a light main course. But only if you’re me. Debeli took the suckling pig with apple, baby turnip and morcilla or blood sausage. He stated that the pig was very delicious with crispy crust and matching apple sauce. I trust him.

I had a grilled hake with coco de paimpol or beans in French with cockles, celeriac and a cider soup. Again, rather bold combination because who would in his f*** mind combine fish with beans? I mean, who? Nobody, right? But think twice because it was very good. The fish was baked perfectly, and the beans gave light sweet note, while cider soup/sauce gave that acidic flavor. Cockles were for decoration and another taste of the sea.

All in all, we clearly understand why Etto deserved the title of the best restaurant in the country, and although our dishes didn’t took us by surprise we enjoyed them. We were thrilled by the individual ingredients like goat cheese and nduja, but there was always something missing and we don’t know what. A dessert maybe? 🙂

ETTO, 18 Merrion Row, Dublin 2

 

Murphys Ice Cream was launched by Kieran brothers, eighteen years ago when they started producing ice cream using milk from local Kerry dairy cows where the brothers grew up. They don’t use any artificial colors or ingredients when making the ice cream, only domestic products from local farmers, whether we are talking about the eggs, milk or sugar. They are so dedicated to their work that they even make sea salt from Dingle’s surroundings or distil domestic rain for their sorbet. Crazy people! And a great ice cream!

As soon as I heard that they have ice cream with gin, it was all or nothing for just that type of ice cream, but we also tried ice cream with sea salt and black bread ice cream that swept us off our feet. I knew that the gin ice cream was going to be fantastic, but I wasn’t expecting for the one with the brown bread to be brilliant! Sweet and crunchy, because that’s all that you need. And a bit of salty sea salt ice cream, of course.

MURPHY’S ICE CREAM, 27 Wicklow St, Dublin 2

 

Faid street social is just one of the projects run by a renowned and award-winning chef Dylan McGrath.

The restaurant has three parts, each serving different type of food. There’s a tapas bar at the entrance, a cocktail bar on the first floor and a restaurant in between. It’s actually a huge room, with high ceiling and an open kitchen. The tables are set very close to each other so you have a feeling that everybody’s at the same dinner party as you. Kind of student canteen thing. Very noisy and loud, fun and interesting but only for occasional visits.

The restaurant offers several types of meal preparation so you can choose between baked steak and a cooked stew, but we opted for pizza. A different kind of pizza. First let’s start with the appetizers.

Among the nine offered ones we took one third of it. We wouldn’t be able to fit more on the table 🙂

When I’m thinking now, we liked appetizers way more than the rest of the meal. Funny, but the scallop Muirin studded with smoked salmon baton and bread crumbed with colcannon and egg butter mousse was close to perfection, together with fluffy roasted duck liver, with crushed turnip, chestnut purée, and smoked egg yolk. Oh, what a rhapsody of flavors and textures. Perfect. As well as crispy lamb tongue with mint gribiche sauce, a warm pea and a broad bean salad and a lamb stock.

All of the dishes had something ordinary and something extraordinary you don’t eat on a daily basis, but everything was perfectly selected and matched to fit together. Hands down!

Main course was two large flatbreads (pizzas), so big we had barely place to move our drinks around. By the way, we had Guinness and a whiskey based cocktail.

Although we both looked forward to the lamb pizza with anchovies, olives and fennel seeds, we liked more the autumn version with pumpkin puree, pork, Parmesan and chestnuts. The anchovies completely took over the lamb and even the fennel seed, so it wasn’t very tasty, but pumpkin and chestnuts combination was much smoother in all of the tastes.

I was barely breathing after this, but there’s always room for some chocolate coated in a chocolate and covered with chocolate.

Chocolate, caramelia and citrus sphere is a caramelized chocolate ice cream centered with Lemon purée and broken chocolate crumble inside a chocolate sphere melted with hot chocolate and mandarin sauce.

It was so chocolate that not even a bit of citrus lemon helped. It needed more. Way more. But it wasn’t left untouched. No way 🙂

 

FADE STREET SOCIAL RESTAURANT, 4 Fade St, Dublin 2

Our last food stop in Dublin was the best gastropub in Ireland 2018 called Legal Eagle. After a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher, the traditional Irish peasant food with a pint of  Guinness was a perfect ending to the day.

It was three of us at the dinner so we decided to try as much as we could. Because we could 🙂

Before the appetizers we had the traditional Irish meat platter with Mick Bermingham’s corned mutton, pig’s on the Green homemade haslet and hay-smoked ham, Kate Mac’s Irish pastrami, Tom Durcan’s spiced beef, pickled eggs, mustard pickles, bread & butter.

A lot of food to start, but so much good food. Meat to be precise. Very good dried and preserved meat as well as some pickled eggs that I have never tried before. They were fantastic, if you like pickled stuff, of course. And I do.

The real appetizers were, from left to right:
1) beef tongue scotch egg, beef heart tartare, cornichon, fermented mustard, watercress and toast
2) roasted bone marrow, braised oxtail, Gaelic Escargots, garlic butter
3) Monkfish liver pate, ruby grapefruit, seaweed sauerkraut, toasted sourdough

Before making a face while reading this, I assure you that all of the dishes were unbelievably delicious, starting with sour sea weed and incredibly aromatic fish pate, over a bone marrow that I  tried just a bite, all the way to my first ever snail (very normal taste, kind like a Marshmallow cookie texture). But the highlight was definitely a scotch egg. In Ireland 🙂

Although the original scotch eggs were made of fish meat, today they are made from ground pork or beef meat wrapped around a hard or soft-boiled egg, coated in bread crumbs and baked or deep-fried. Delicious, absolutely delicious! And so full filing that we didn’t have to eat more. But we did.

After the appetizers there was just a bit of room for the main courses. We had three different, but typical variations of traditional Irish dishes that revolve around meat and potato.

Everything was very, very heavy, but extremely delicious. Great combinations of local seasonal ingredients showed us that, no matter how poor Irish traditional cuisine might be considered they make their way around. Especially when it comes to the old school type of dishes eaten by the villagers and fisherman’s. It left us speechless and with full bellies!
Sláinte!

THE LEGAL EAGLE, 1-2 Chancery Place, Inns Quay, Dublin 1

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ŠTO SMO (PO)JELI U DUBLINU

Kulinarska ponuda u glavnom gradu Republike Irske nešto je šira nego u Belfastu, ali samo zato što je Dublin veći, posjećeniji i ekonomski razvijeniji grad, no šira ponuda nužno ne znači i bolja, ali svakako je vrijedna posjeta.

Ako u Republiku Irsku dođete s predrasudama da je krumpir glavna namirnica, ne varate se, ali uz tradicionalni fish ‘n’ chips i irski gulaš probajte i fine dining kuhinju, ali dan, obavezno, počnite s doručkom.

Wuff je mali bistro u Arran Quay dijelu grada koji nudi jutarnja i večernja jela skupa s ručkom, ali po nešto većim cijenama nego u Belfastu, no jesti se mora tako da se nisu gledale cijene već ponuda.

Debli se odlučio za nepogrešivi full irish dok sam ja, ovaj put, odlučila probati eggs Benedict.

Jaja Benedikt jelo je koje podrijetlo vuče iz New Yorka 19. stoljeća, a previše je diskusija tko je zaslužan za prva jaja, no jedno je sigurno – eggs Benedict odličan su lijek za mamurluk i dobar početak dana.

Jaja dolaze u ogromnom broju varijacija na istu temu, a to su poširana jaja na komadu tostiranog kruha ili peciva s holandez umakom.

Glavni sporedni dio Benediktovih jaja jest špinat koji se može zamijeniti šunkom (eggs florentine), slaninom (eggs blackstone) ili lososom (eggs atlantic/Hemingway/Norvégienne) dok se umjesto holandez umaka može korisiti i bešamel umak (eggs blanchard). Varijacije su beskonačne. I uvijek vrlo fine kao i moja jaja koja sam ipak morala ”podebljati” komadićem šunke s Debelovog tanjura 🙂

Debeli je, za razliku od doručka u Belfastu ovaj put dobio i crnu i bijelu pečenu kobasicu ili tzv. pudding, ali prije recenzije prvo riješimo nedoumicu ŠTO je zapravo puding u engleskom govornom području.

Dok mi puding smatramo slatkom delicijom Englezi i svi oni koji imaju veze s njima, puddingom nazivaju bilo koju vrstu jela koja se jede nakon glavnog jela, pa pudinzi tako mogu biti slatka ili slana jela. Riječ puding dolazi od francuske riječi latinskog podrijetla ”boudin” što bi značilo ”mala kobasica”, a odnosilo se na komadiće ”učahurenog” mesa unutar pudinga koji se pravio i jeo u srednjem vijeku. Suvremena uporaba riječi puding dovela je do toga da se danas ovim imenom mogu zvati i slana jela, posebno ona čiji je proces nastajanja sličan pravljenju kobasica gdje su meso i ostali sastojci primarno u tekućem obliku zatvoreni te potom kuhani ili pareni da bi postali kruti. Crni, jorkširški puding i haggis neki su od jela koja pripadaju ovoj vrsti.

Kobasica se, dakle, najčešće pravi od ovčjeg loja ili svinjske slanine, zobene kaše, krušnih mrvica, svinjske jetre ili nekih drugih iznutrica. Crnoj kobasici dodaje se krv (krvavica), dok bijeloj ne.
Gnjušali se vi krvi ili ne, krvavica je, po mom mišljenju, čak bolja od bijele kobasice doduše samo ako je dobro začinjena i ispečena.

WUFF BISTRO, 23 Benburb Street, Dublin

 

Third Space Smithfield nalazi se na uglu zgrade gdje nam je bio Airbnb pa smo tu smo doručkovali prije povratka u Oslo. Coffee shop je otvoren prije šest godina i služi kao prostor za mala okupljanja, mjesto gdje možete pojesti nešto, popit kavu, podružiti se s prijateljima ili raditi s kolegama.

Na doručak smo došli negdje oko 8 ujutro dok još nije bilo nikog u bistrou, ali dok smo dobili doručak prostor se već lagano napunio. Očito subota počinje velikim doručkom i kavom 🙂

Debeli je naručio, pogađate full irish dok sam se ja, sva divlja i neobuzdana odlučila za brioche s jajetom, slaninom, kobasicom i domaćim kečapom. Sjajna kombinacija i vrlo zasitan doručak koji je bio odlična podloga za kušanje viskija (čitajte u sljedećem postu :))

THIRD SPACE SMITHFIELD, Unit 14 Block C, Smithfield Markets, Smithfield, Dublin 7

 

Razgledavajući grad uvijek je dobro napraviti povremenu pauzu uz čašu Guinnessa i irske kave koju sam prvi put probala u The Bankers Baru u samom centru grada.

Irska kava je zapravo koktel, a pravi se od vruće kave, irskog viskija, šećera i tučenog vrhnja na vrhu. Iako je ovakva vrsta toplog napitka postojala još u 19. stoljeću u Francuskoj, i kroz razne varijacije u Austriji i Njemačkoj, prva irska kava napravljena je negdje pedesetih godina prošlog stoljeća.

Jedna priča kaže da je prvu irsku kavu napravio šef restorana i kafića Joe Sheridan, davne ’42. ili ’43. ratne godine kad je izmorenim putnicima, kojima je putovanje preko Atlantika bilo odgođeno zbog, a čega drugog, lošeg vremena, poslužio kavu s malo viskija da ih ugrije. Tko god da ju je izmislio svaka mu čast, jer irska kava je odmor za dušu i energija za tijelo. Moje. Debelom je trebalo još malo energije, pa je naručio porciju tamnog raženog kruha napravljenog s Guinness pivom.

THE BANKERS BAR, Trinity street, 2 Dublin

 

Budući je Dublin rodno mjesto Guinnessa, naravno da se ova divna kremasta, tamna piva pila non stop. Uz pokoji gin, naravno.

Guinness je vrsta tamnog piva koju je počeo proizvoditi Arthur Guinness još davne 1759 godine kad je Arthur potpisao ugovor o najmu za narednih 9000 godina! Iako ne više najveća tvornica pive na svijetu, Guinness je i dalje najveći proizvođač stouta s preko 850 milijuna litara godišnje. To su recimo 272 olimpijska bazena puna Guinnessa 🙂

Iako se Guinness proizvodi u preko 50 zemalja diljem svijeta, a dostupan je u njih 120 u ovom divnom i niskokaloričnom pivu (samo 120 kalorija za čašu) preporuča se piti isključivo u Irskoj. Zašto? Zato što Guinness loše putuje i zato što treba znati posebnu tehniku točenja. Guinness se zapravo toči 2 puta: prvi put napuni se 3/4 čaše pod kutom od 45°, a nakon što pivo malo odleži toči se po drugi put da se stvori kremasta pjena na vrhu.

Prženi ječam zaslužan je za karakterističan čokoladni okus i tamnu crvenu, a ne crnu, boju kakvu svi mislimo da ima Guinness.

Ha’penny gin dobio je ime po istoimenom mostu na kojem su Dublineri stajali, prije kojih stopedeset godina, i gledali kako teglenice pune bačvi s pivom prolaze od Guinnessove tvornice rijekom Liffey do mora gdje su se slale dalje u svijet.

Naš prvi fish and chips (riba i krumpirići) kušali smo u razvikanom Fish Shopu u Smithfield četvrti, vrlo blizu našeg smještaja. Mali bistro, u koji jedva stane 30 ljudi odjednom, nudi razna morska jela od kojih im najbolje ide prženi oslić s pečenim krumpirićima. Ništa posebno ni ekskluzivno, ali vrlo jednostavno i politički korektno – bezveze. Nije to do jednostavnih sastojaka, ni skučenog interijera nego do slabo hrskavih krumpirića i neslane ribe. Ne bi se vratili kad bi morali.

FISH SHOP, 76 Benburb St, Smithfield, Dublin

 

Ljudska povezanost s prirodom i svim njenim živim sastojcima, bilo biljnog ili životinjskog podrijetla najbolje dolaze do izražaja u tradicionalnom i hvaljenom irskom  gulašu. Iako su ovo jušno jelo nekoć isključivo jeli siromašni seljaci, ni jedan turist danas ne putuje u Irsku bez da ga kuša barem jednom.

Glavni sastojak irskog gulaša bila je ovčetina, i to od starih ovaca, onih koje više nisu služile ni za mlijeko ni za vunu. Budući je takvo meso dosta tvrdo kuhanje je trajalo i preko dva sata na otvorenoj vatri.

Moj prvi irski gulaš u Irskoj, bio je na putu do Moher stijena, u malom mjestu pod nazivom Doolin, u Cervil restoranu.

Restoran je namijenjen isključivo putnicima namjernicima i turistima koje vodiči puta iskrcaju na dvadesetominutnu pauzu za jelo ili Guinness. Ušli smo prvi, naručili klopu, a dok smo sjeli za stol za nama je ušla polovica busa. I svi na fish ‘n’ chips i irski gulaš. Jedino je Debeli posaugao i riblju juhu s crnim raženim kruhom.

CERVIL RESTAURANT, Rivervale, Teergonean, Doolin

 

Mali restoran, sa svega 50ak sjedećih mjesta i vrlo jednostavnim interijerom, Etto, pobrao je ove godine nagrade ne samo za najbolju uslugu i glavnog kuhara već i nagradu za najbolji restoran u Irskoj 2018. Sasvim dovoljno razloga da odemo na ručak tamo.

Etto nudi dnevni, sezonski meni podložan svakodnevnoj promjeni, ali s naglaskom na domaće proizvode koje prodaju mali, nezavisni farmeri i dobavljači.

Restoran se ne razbacuje irskim vinima što je razumljivo jer ih baš i nema, tako da smo se odlučili za crno i bijelo vino sa Sicilije od Cantine Paolini (bijelo Grillo i Nero d’avola crno grožđe). Vino ko vino….pitko ….

Etto, uz po tri vrste jela za svaki slijed, nudi i ”radnički ručak” za siću od 16€, ali mi smo se ipak odlučili za predjelo i glavno jelo, jer smo desert već isplanirali na drugom mjestu.

Moje prvo jelo bila je mrkva, dok je Debeli posegnuo za dagnjama. I to dosta neobičnim dagnjama.

Dakle, neraskuhane dagnje, što je uvijek plus, bile su poslužene s kukuruzom i ndujom, vrstom jako ljute Kalabrijske kobasice. Napraviti dagnje nekako drugačije osim na guzaru ili bijeli umak, a pogotovo ubacit kukuruz (?!) je ne samo domišljato nego i odvažno. Miješati surf and turf treba znati i umjeti, ali glavni šef Barry Sun Jian je, očito, uspio jer su Dagnje bile izvrsna kombinacija ljutkastog i slatkastog (kukuruz), morskih i zemljanih plodova, krutih i tekućih sastojaka.

Debeli je posrkao ljutu juhicu zadovoljno umačući skurenu krišku kruha u ostatak dok sam ja brstila po svojoj zelenjavi.

Osjećala sam se kao koza, ali zadovoljna koza, grickajući salatu od gorkaste endivije i slatkaste pečene mrkve s kapljicama kiselog aceta balsamica i hrskavih oraha. Još da je svježeg kozjeg sira bilo više, gdje bi mi bio kraj. Ova kombinacija jako izraženih slatko gorkih i kiselih okusa koji se skupa neutraliziraju bila je toliko dobra da bi još samo jedna feta kruha bila dovoljna za cijeli obrok. Majke mi!

Lagano predjelo zahtijevalo je lagano glavno jelo. Ali samo za mene. Riba. Debeli je uzeo odojčića s jabukom, repom i krvavicom, dok je moj grilani irski oslić došao u pratnji francuskog bijelog graha i pretpostavljam irskih školjkica, celera i jabukovače.

Mislim, generalno ako pogledate sastojke, sigurno ih na prvu, ma ni na drugu ne bi kombinirali zajedno. Grah i riba? Nikad. Jabukovača i riba? Bože sačuvaj! Ali, ali…..kad bi probali, promijenili bi mišljenje.

Oslić je bio izvrsno pečen, lagan, ali puninu mu je davao grah, dok je kiselina dolazila od umaka od jabukovače, a hrskavost od celera. Školjkice su tu bile više radi dekoracije, ali vrlo ukusne.

Sve u svemu, jasno nam je zašto je Etto zaslužio titulu najboljeg restorana u zemlji, iako nas osobno jela nisu oduševila da smo izašli bez daha. Možda bi radije nagradili pojedinačne sastojke nego sama jela, poput nduje ili kozjeg sira koji je bio sjajan….ne znam…malo nam je nešto falilo, a ne znam što. Možda desert? 🙂

ETTO, 18 Merrion Row, Dublin 2

 

Murphys Ice Cream su pokrenuli braća Kieran prije osamnaest godina kad su počeli proizvoditi sladoled od mlijeka domaćih krava iz okruga Kerry odakle i sami dolaze. U proizvodnji sladoleda braća ne koriste nikakve umjetne boje ili sastojke, samo domaće proizvode od lokalnih farmera bilo da se radi o jajima, mlijeku ili šećeru. Toliko su predani u svom radu da čak sami proizvode morsku sol iz okolice Dinglea ili destiliraju domaću kišu za svoje sorbete. Ono, ludi ljudi! I odličan slajo!

Čim sam čula da prave sladoled s ginom, bilo je sve ili ništa ide se samo na sladoled s ginom, ali probali smo i sladoled s morskom solju i crnim kruhom koji me oborio s nogu. Koliko je god sladoled s ginom bio očekivan (i izvrstan), a sladoled s morskom solju neobičan, toliko je crni kruh dao nekakvu neutralnu, ali hrskavu notu slatkom sladoledu.

MURPHY’S ICE CREAM, 27 Wicklow St, Dublin 2

 

Faid street social samo je jedan od restorana cijenjenog i nagrađivanog chefa Dylan McGratha, a koji se zapravo čini kao projekt. Društveni, kakvo mu je i ime.

Restoran ima tri dijela od kojih svaki služi zasebnu hranu; na ulazu je tapas bar, na katu cocktail bar, a između ogromna prostorija, visokog stropa s otvorenom kuhinjom i stolom do stola tako, ako je restoran pun, a redovito jest to je kao da jedete u menzi….buka, žamor, galama i dojam kao da ste svi skupa na istoj zabavi, ali generalno gledajući i jeste 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iitt6gMNjxg&feature=youtu.be
Mislim da ovako ne bih mogla objedovati na dnevnoj bazi, ali probati, vidjeti, iskusiti svakako je bilo vrijedno.

Restoran nudi nekoliko vrsta pripreme jela tako da možete birati između pečenih odrezaka ili kuhanih gulaša, no mi smo se odlučili za pizzu. I to kakvu pizzu. Ali krenimo s predjelima.

Između devet predjela što se nudilo mi smo se odlučili za jednu trećinu, ali samo ono što nam je izmamilo zazubice, ništa više. Ni manje 🙂

Probali smo, dakle,
1) pohane jakobove kapice s dimljenim lososom i mousseom od jaja i maslaca,

2) pečenu pačju jetru mekanu kao duša, s repom, pireom od kestena i dimljenim žumanjkom te

3) pohani janjeći jezik s gribiche umakom, salatom od graška i graha te janjećim umakom.

Riječima se jela ne mogu opisati, slika dojam ne može prenijeti, mogu samo reći kad bi se sad trebala vratiti u taj kaos od restorana, vratila bih se samo zbog predjela.

Za glavno jelo uzeli smo dvije pizze tj vrste tanko pečenog tijesta s nadjevima kao što su janjetina, inćunini, masline i sjemenke koromača te bundeva, svinjetina, parmezan i kesteni.

Iako smo se, oboje, veselili janjećoj kombinaciji na kraju nam se jesenska verzija s bundevom i kestenima više svidjela. Okus janjetine, pa čak i komorača u potpunosti su preuzeli inčuni, dok je jesenska pizza s kestenima bila puno ublaženija u svim okusima. Definitivno je odnijela pobjedu.

Slatko na kraju večere, koju smo obilno zalijevali pivom i koktelima, bilo je nepotrebno, ali desert od čokolade s čokoladom u čokoladi nikad se ne odbija, pogotovo kad vam ga prezentiraju u punom svjetlu.

Caramelizirali sladoled nalazi se unutar čokoladne kugle koju vam otope polijevajući čokoladni umak. Prilično dekadentno i vrlo zasitno, a toliko čokoladno da ne pomaže ni kiselkasti okus pirea od limuna i umaka od mandarine. Mrvica više možda, da lakše preživite borbu.

FADE STREET SOCIAL RESTAURANT, 4 Fade St, Dublin 2

 

Naša zadnja gastro postaja u Dublinu bio je najbolji gastropub u Irskoj 2018 Legal Eagle. Nakon cjelodnevnog izleta na Cliffofe tradicionalna irska seljačka hrana uz pintu Guinnessa sjela nam je kao budali šamar.

Obzirom da nas je išlo troje, Debeli, ja i frend, raspištoljili smo se pa smo uzeli jela za petnaest, jer vrijedimo za toliko, a jel’ da?

Za početak smo uzeli mesnu platu sa sušenom ovčetinom, svinjetinom, sušenom šunkom, ukiseljenim jajima, gorušicom, kruhom i putrom. Da smo tu stali bilo bi dobro. Jer mogli smo i tu stati. Kao prvo kruh i maslac! Mislim da nema do domaćeg maslaca na svježe pečenom kruhu. Dodaj tu malo šunkice, jajca (ukiseljena jaja, ako se pitate i volite ukiseljene stvari, nešto su najbolje na svijetu), pa onda kuglice od gorušice što se valjaju preko zuba….kažem, da smo tu stali bilo bi dobro.

Ali nismo. Uzeli smo još i predjelo. I glavno jelo. 

Prije no što se namrštite čitajući ovaj opširan popis osobno vas uvjeravam da su sva jela bila nevjerojatno ukusna, počevši od morske trave i nevjerojatno aromatične riblje paštete, preko premekanog goveđeg repa (srž sam kušala, ne i guštala) i mog prvo puža (puž ko puž, teksture poput maršmelov kolačića) do tartara. No, vrh je definitivno bilo škotsko jaje. U Irskoj 🙂

Iako su se originalna škotska jaja radila od ribljeg mesa, danas se ovi mali zalogaji najčešće rade od mljevene svinjetine ili govedine omotane oko mekokuhanoj jajeta koje se potom uvalja u brašno, jaja, mrvice i ispoha. Divota i milina od jela! Tolika divota da nismo trebali nastaviti dalje. A jesmo.

Naručili smo (i pojeli) tako goveđi odrezak s pudingom, ali ne onim slatkim nego slanim (sjećate se da sam o tome već pisala? :)), pitu od mesa i pive s graškom, krumpirićima i umakom te puding od ovčetine i karameriliziranog luka s repom, potočnicom i umakom.

Eh, sad, ako vam je pozlilo ili vam cure zazubice od svega nabrojanog vjerujte i nama je tako bilo. Definitivno se isplatilo naručiti i probati od svega po malo, a jela bogata sezonskim i lokalnim namirnicama pokazala su nam koliko je irska narodna kuhinja bogata namirnicama i raznim varijacijama. I kalorijama. Ali to se ionako potroši radeći u polju ili dižući utege od Guinness pive!
Sláinte!

THE LEGAL EAGLE, 1-2 Chancery Place, Inns Quay, Dublin 1