Saturday, July 14, 2007

Back from Ireland

Apologies for the delay in writing. School finished up in May, I headed off to Ireland in June to participate in a Penn State Study Abroad program in art and literature, and got back July 5. So much to update on! First off, the cuisine of Ireland...you really have to search for the good stuff. Ireland isn't the best country for foie gras or the perfect crabcake. I'm sure if I had about five thousand more Euros I could have dined to my heart's content at any place on the Liffey that struck my fancy, perhaps finding the ultimate in dining experiences in Dublin. But I'm a college student, loaded down with loans already, so I declined on that front. The thought of maxing out a credit card on a certain il pomo d'oro in Dublin crossed my mind more than once, well, more than ten times, but I don't own one. And that's a good thing.

First off, Galway. Galway is located on the North west coast of Ireland, on the ocean. The food is mostly pub grub. I've yet to encounter as many pubs as I did in Galway. Mostly fish and chips, but a fine selection of Irish stew and of course, Guinness. It's everywhere throughout the island. To the Irish, Guinness might as well be water. Our first night in Galway, our profs took us out to a place called Monroe's Tavern. It was near the water (Galway Bay?) and I ordered the Irish stew, a thick and hearty concoction of beef, Guinness, celery, carrots, onions and more potatoes than I could swallow. Paired with a pint of Guinness, it was more than enough food for one person. I believe bread accompanied the stew, to sop up the leftovers. The helping was too big for me, as I was chugging Guinness for the first time (I'm no beer afficionado) and my stomach just couldn't handle it all. What I found in Ireland was that the portions are always heaping, unless you're at a bistro or cafe in Dublin, where the sandwiches can be petite. And Dublin is VERY expensive. There are sections, like Parnell Square, where I could get 10 mandarin oranges and 10 kiwis for 2 euros total, but at Dunnes Stores near where we were staying, a couple kiwis were 3 euros. And forget about five course meals in Dublin, unless you are the restaurant critic for The New York Times... where they pay your way. I do not hold Frank Bruni's position...yet, so I treat myself to places like il pomo d'oro where I can order a Salmon with Martini Blanco and saffron sauce preceded by bruschetta and followed by tiramisu, with Merlot of course (my wine of choice, regardless of what the film Sideways said about it. I am forever a fan of Merlot) for a mere 30 euros. Now that was a course worth the splurge. Out with a friend, we were able to go halvsies on the bruschetta and nibble on each other's main courses and desserts. Not a bad idea when in Dublin.

Allihies food was nondescript. The people and the village were both charming. The locale was breathtaking, with gorgeous sunsets over the Atlantic at 10:30-11:00 pm, elongating the day for literary and artistic pursuits (namely, photography). O'Neill's, one of the three pubs in the village, and the only one serving food, dished up a subpar Open Crab Sandwich with coleslaw, salad and a pasta salad. I took two bites of the open crab sandwich, which consisted of shredded crabmeat with bits of cartilage over a piece of wet brown bread. I asked for worcestershire sauce, a favorite of mine over a crabcake sandwich at home, and the server languidly brought out a little tartar sauce-sized dish of it, half full. I doused the crab with the little bit of sauce which ended up sinking into the brown bread, which, combined with the already water-soaked bread from the crabmeat, mixed to be just...yuck. The crab wasn't fresh, despite the location of Allihies...right on the ocean. No other fish selections were on the menu and there were no specials. A disappointing crab dish for my craving.

Dublin food which I already went into a little, was the most appealing. Obviously for a large international city there is more variety. What stood out to me most about Dublin's food scene was the ethnicities that were represented. You cannot go 2 blocks without running smack into a kebab shop or an authentic Indian cuisine. Also, Italian and Chinese places abound. And there's always that fish and chips (cod and french fries, to me) dive almost everywhere in Dublin. Not a big fried food person myself I opted for the fresh fish either grilled or baked, like at il pomo d'oro.

Also in Dublin a friend and I (the same one who went to il pomo d'oro with me, Alex) checked out The Purty Kitchen located in the Temple Bar section of Dublin, 2 streets parallel from the Liffey. A huge disappointment, food and service wise. I was scouting out Dublin for good crabcake places, but not one person I asked in the grocery stores/department stores knew of one, so it was off to an internet cafe to research. 2 euros later, The Purty Kitchen seemed the only place that even served crabcakes within my budget. I was looking forward to this dinner all week. Alex and I had planned for 6 pm, but ended up getting there at 8. We had walked from Mercer Court where we were staying, about 30 minutes' walk from Temple Bar. I had even mentioned the restaurant to the art professor on our trip, and she and her family showed up, to my surprise. Sadly, the crabcakes that a food blog on the internet had recommended, were awful. The chef went pepper-happy on this 2-crabcake appetizer, there were bits of what I could only describe as shrapnel throughout the one crabcake I had, and the crab was so slaughtered that I could not taste the lump crabmeat that I love. What followed was a meal of crab claws, 5 of them, garlicky and tasty, but very difficult to get to. I felt like a surgeon, prying the crab out with my tongue and fork. When I asked for a pair of crab crackers (you know, the nutcracker-looking things), the server I tapped walking by briskly stated that she's seen difficulty in getting to the crabmeat in the past, but the restaurant didn't own any crab crackers, but she could bring out a toothpick. I said sure and she proceeded to the kitchen, where she emerged with a glorified foot long toothpick; she wasn't kidding on the toothpick bit. I tried nonetheless to free some meat from the claw, but succeeded more with the bottom end of my fork. After much sucking and prying and tongue action (ok get your head out of the gutter) the crabmeat emerged shred by shred, to my sadness. Ahhh, where can you get good lump crabmeat these days? Obviously not in Dublin.

Well, this post ended up longer than I anticipated. I am sounding so negative and cynical right now and food is meant to uplift so I'll close.

Keep cooking and be merry,
Shannon

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

a little bit about myself

My name is Shannon and I am a senior at Penn State University, majoring in English. My 5 year plan is to be a freelance writer and restaurant critic, living on the East Coast. My passions are of course faith and food, so I thought the title of this blog was accurate...it's taken from one of my favorite Scripture passages from the Bible... "So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun." ~Ecclesiastes 8:15

As a foodie, and a person of the faith, it is my joy to eat fresh, delicious foods and give thanks back to God for his bounty. So let that be the purpose of this blog.

Be blessed,

Shannon :)

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Back from Ireland

Apologies for the delay in writing. School finished up in May, I headed off to Ireland in June to participate in a Penn State Study Abroad program in art and literature, and got back July 5. So much to update on! First off, the cuisine of Ireland...you really have to search for the good stuff. Ireland isn't the best country for foie gras or the perfect crabcake. I'm sure if I had about five thousand more Euros I could have dined to my heart's content at any place on the Liffey that struck my fancy, perhaps finding the ultimate in dining experiences in Dublin. But I'm a college student, loaded down with loans already, so I declined on that front. The thought of maxing out a credit card on a certain il pomo d'oro in Dublin crossed my mind more than once, well, more than ten times, but I don't own one. And that's a good thing.

First off, Galway. Galway is located on the North west coast of Ireland, on the ocean. The food is mostly pub grub. I've yet to encounter as many pubs as I did in Galway. Mostly fish and chips, but a fine selection of Irish stew and of course, Guinness. It's everywhere throughout the island. To the Irish, Guinness might as well be water. Our first night in Galway, our profs took us out to a place called Monroe's Tavern. It was near the water (Galway Bay?) and I ordered the Irish stew, a thick and hearty concoction of beef, Guinness, celery, carrots, onions and more potatoes than I could swallow. Paired with a pint of Guinness, it was more than enough food for one person. I believe bread accompanied the stew, to sop up the leftovers. The helping was too big for me, as I was chugging Guinness for the first time (I'm no beer afficionado) and my stomach just couldn't handle it all. What I found in Ireland was that the portions are always heaping, unless you're at a bistro or cafe in Dublin, where the sandwiches can be petite. And Dublin is VERY expensive. There are sections, like Parnell Square, where I could get 10 mandarin oranges and 10 kiwis for 2 euros total, but at Dunnes Stores near where we were staying, a couple kiwis were 3 euros. And forget about five course meals in Dublin, unless you are the restaurant critic for The New York Times... where they pay your way. I do not hold Frank Bruni's position...yet, so I treat myself to places like il pomo d'oro where I can order a Salmon with Martini Blanco and saffron sauce preceded by bruschetta and followed by tiramisu, with Merlot of course (my wine of choice, regardless of what the film Sideways said about it. I am forever a fan of Merlot) for a mere 30 euros. Now that was a course worth the splurge. Out with a friend, we were able to go halvsies on the bruschetta and nibble on each other's main courses and desserts. Not a bad idea when in Dublin.

Allihies food was nondescript. The people and the village were both charming. The locale was breathtaking, with gorgeous sunsets over the Atlantic at 10:30-11:00 pm, elongating the day for literary and artistic pursuits (namely, photography). O'Neill's, one of the three pubs in the village, and the only one serving food, dished up a subpar Open Crab Sandwich with coleslaw, salad and a pasta salad. I took two bites of the open crab sandwich, which consisted of shredded crabmeat with bits of cartilage over a piece of wet brown bread. I asked for worcestershire sauce, a favorite of mine over a crabcake sandwich at home, and the server languidly brought out a little tartar sauce-sized dish of it, half full. I doused the crab with the little bit of sauce which ended up sinking into the brown bread, which, combined with the already water-soaked bread from the crabmeat, mixed to be just...yuck. The crab wasn't fresh, despite the location of Allihies...right on the ocean. No other fish selections were on the menu and there were no specials. A disappointing crab dish for my craving.

Dublin food which I already went into a little, was the most appealing. Obviously for a large international city there is more variety. What stood out to me most about Dublin's food scene was the ethnicities that were represented. You cannot go 2 blocks without running smack into a kebab shop or an authentic Indian cuisine. Also, Italian and Chinese places abound. And there's always that fish and chips (cod and french fries, to me) dive almost everywhere in Dublin. Not a big fried food person myself I opted for the fresh fish either grilled or baked, like at il pomo d'oro.

Also in Dublin a friend and I (the same one who went to il pomo d'oro with me, Alex) checked out The Purty Kitchen located in the Temple Bar section of Dublin, 2 streets parallel from the Liffey. A huge disappointment, food and service wise. I was scouting out Dublin for good crabcake places, but not one person I asked in the grocery stores/department stores knew of one, so it was off to an internet cafe to research. 2 euros later, The Purty Kitchen seemed the only place that even served crabcakes within my budget. I was looking forward to this dinner all week. Alex and I had planned for 6 pm, but ended up getting there at 8. We had walked from Mercer Court where we were staying, about 30 minutes' walk from Temple Bar. I had even mentioned the restaurant to the art professor on our trip, and she and her family showed up, to my surprise. Sadly, the crabcakes that a food blog on the internet had recommended, were awful. The chef went pepper-happy on this 2-crabcake appetizer, there were bits of what I could only describe as shrapnel throughout the one crabcake I had, and the crab was so slaughtered that I could not taste the lump crabmeat that I love. What followed was a meal of crab claws, 5 of them, garlicky and tasty, but very difficult to get to. I felt like a surgeon, prying the crab out with my tongue and fork. When I asked for a pair of crab crackers (you know, the nutcracker-looking things), the server I tapped walking by briskly stated that she's seen difficulty in getting to the crabmeat in the past, but the restaurant didn't own any crab crackers, but she could bring out a toothpick. I said sure and she proceeded to the kitchen, where she emerged with a glorified foot long toothpick; she wasn't kidding on the toothpick bit. I tried nonetheless to free some meat from the claw, but succeeded more with the bottom end of my fork. After much sucking and prying and tongue action (ok get your head out of the gutter) the crabmeat emerged shred by shred, to my sadness. Ahhh, where can you get good lump crabmeat these days? Obviously not in Dublin.

Well, this post ended up longer than I anticipated. I am sounding so negative and cynical right now and food is meant to uplift so I'll close.

Keep cooking and be merry,
Shannon

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

a little bit about myself

My name is Shannon and I am a senior at Penn State University, majoring in English. My 5 year plan is to be a freelance writer and restaurant critic, living on the East Coast. My passions are of course faith and food, so I thought the title of this blog was accurate...it's taken from one of my favorite Scripture passages from the Bible... "So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun." ~Ecclesiastes 8:15

As a foodie, and a person of the faith, it is my joy to eat fresh, delicious foods and give thanks back to God for his bounty. So let that be the purpose of this blog.

Be blessed,

Shannon :)