Dublinfoodies

Great deal at the Clarance Hotel …

chefsathome — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:11:58 +0000

3 courses from the daily Market Menu & half a btl of Wine pp €34.. this also includes a glass of Champagne on arrival,

Available until the 19th July..

Tuesday-Thurs between 7 – 8

Friday-Saturday – 7-8.30

Ridiculously good value will have to check it out next wk..

Best Early Birds Southside…

chefsathome — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:33:27 +0000

Valparasio Monkstown… just gone through a revamp.. new head chef in place – Paul Regan – ex head chef Hartleys Dun Laoghaire & Town Bar & Grill

€18.95 for 2 courses

€23.95 for 3 courses

Alexis Restaurant Dun Laoghaire

€16 – for 2 courses

€20 for 3 courses

MMMMMM Cupcakes..

chefsathome — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:54:43 +0000

A rare sight until recently in Ireland – now several companies specialising in them across the country.. they seem to also be replacing the ” traditional Wedding Cake”

check out www.sweetcupcakes.ie

Pichet Restaurant..

chefsathome — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:43:06 +0000

Nick Murnier of Hells Kitchen & Stephen Gibson ( x L’ecrivan ) have joined forces to open Pichet on Trinity St..

Personally I can’t wait to try it.. ” A modern take on the classic Bistro “…. & lets hope that Nick adds a certain Panache to Front of House that is severly lacking in Dublin Restaurants these days…

How has the economy affected restaurants??

chefsathome — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:34:33 +0000

Personally we took a walk around Dublin City Centre last week & there wasnt much sign of a recession!

Anywhere offering a well priced early bird was very busy – but lets hope that just because an early bird is priced well the quality isn’t suffering.

Celebrity Chef Restaurants

chefsathome — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:33:35 +0000

We have seen an increase in these opening in Dublin but is it enough to put your name to something & never having a presence in the Kitchen??

I don’t think so – it may be enough to draw you in in the first place but long term if the food doesnt live up to the name it could be more damaging in the long run

Current Celebrity Chef Restaurants in Leinster include

Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill – www.fitzers.ie ( we are booked in for next wk )

Gordon Ramsey @ Powerscourt – www.ritzcarlton.com

Gary Rhodes Capel St venture Rhodes D7 closed for a revamp and was meant to re-open on St.Patricks day however it still remains closed & website inactive so I dont think we will see it reopening

Service Charge…

chefsathome — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:32:50 +0000

From having worked many yrs in the industry I am very anti restaurants automatically putting a 10% service charge on the bill for anything less than a group of 6..
In alot of instances how many of you are aware that the staff don’t always get the service charge …

Our Buffet Menu from the weekend..

chefsathome — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:54:04 +0000

Our Buffet Menu from the weekend event -

Braised short rib of Beef – Port Jus.

Roasted Organic Salmon – Beurre Blanc -

Roast Red Pepper, French bean & Rocket Pesto Salad.

Mediterranean Salad with Plum tomato, Red onion, Chickpeas & Feves dressed in a sweet balsamic dressing

Berry Cheesecake with a Baileys cream

Meringue with Mascapone & fresh strawberries.

Twist on traditional Lasagne..

chefsathome — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:16:39 +0000

We always add some chopped Bacon, Broccoli, Carrots & Peas to ours.. Goes down a storm & great way to get veggies into kids..

Post Match Food at the Hop House Parnell St.

chefsathome — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:11:21 +0000

Well after a well deserved win for Leinster at the Heineken Cup Semi Final in Croke Park on Saturday we were starving & on the hunt for something different to eat. Paul had raved about the Hop House from a previous visit so decided to give it a try.

The Hop House serves both Korean & Japanese style food & a nice relaxed environment..

The restaurant was pretty busy when we arrived but we managed to get a table for 3 in a little dinky corner right up the back.. The Menu is diverse & we had a fussy eater with us whom managed to find plenty of options he would eat which is great.. They have little buzzers at every table which you press anytime you need anything which is clever but must get frustrating for the staff with people over using them.

So on to what we had – 2 start we shared 2 orders of Spring Rolls & an order of Tempura Prawns & Onion Rings. Portion size here is very good & the 2 portions of spring rolls had 6 on each plate & were very nicely cooked – The Tempura prawns were superb – probably the nicest Tempura I have ever had – nice & light & cooked perfectly..

For Mains we ordered Volcano Rolls & 2 Chicken Katsu.. unfortunatly this is where things started going a bit downhill – the crowds were poring in & the staff just couldnt keep up.. The Volcano rolls arrived first followed by one of the Chicken Katsus 15 minutes later… no sign of the second chicken Katsu so we had to overuse the bell system a bit – 10 minutes later we were approached & they had made a mistake so decided not to wait any longer & just shared the chicken katsu that had arrived. The Volcano Rolls were fine but a bit more care could have been put into the presentation – The Chicken was exceptionally overcooked & tough..

Bill came to €83 including a couple of beers & glasses of Vino..

Will go back but probably mid week as when they get busy things slide….