The three Aran Islands are dotted across Galway Bay and beyond them, before the next stop America, is the tumultuous Atlantic Ocean. I visited the middle island Inis Meáin (population approx 200) yesterday, it’s said to be the least visited and the least commercial of the Aran Islands. (Inis Meáin is reached from the mainland by plane or foot-passenger only ferry).
Category Archives: Restaurants/Cafés
♥ Coffee on an Island
Filed under Coffee, Restaurants/Cafés, Travel
♥ Coffee in Dublin//Four: Sixty Four Wine
It’s always good to know where to find a decent cup of coffee, so when I am in the Sandycove, Glasthule or Dun Laoghaire areas of South Dublin and in need of a caffeine pick-me-up, I head to Sixty Four Wine. The owner Gerard Maguire has woven together three different but related strands to come up with a successful business. Sixty Four is principally a wine emporium, so the front of the shop carries a large selection of vinous treats at every price point, in the middle there’s an artisan food section and at the back an interesting café (serving coffee, teas, breakfast and lunch) and a fine wine cellar.
The coffee is good and always arrives with a wedge of Valrhona chocolate on the side. The decor of the café is eclectic; a tiled floor, table tops made from the sides of wooden wine boxes, seating replete with comfortable cushion, quirky antiques, a bust of James Joyce in one corner and artificial lighting augmented by flickering tealights. The mix is curiously appealing and the café has a post-modern feel (I mean that in a very good way); the sort of place you wouldn’t be surprised to come upon a skilled scribe scribbling by the glow of candlelight.
The owner Gerard is living the mantra ‘do something you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.’ He started his working life as a policemen and then became a lawyer with his own practice. He is a long time lover of wine, so when he had a health scare several years ago he decided, as he waited a week for his test results, that if all was well he would work from that day on at something he loved, the news was good and Sixty Four Wine was born. Gerard is studying to become a Master of Wine; he is entering the third year of a seven-year long slog.
When I was talking to Gerard I couldn’t resist asking a would be Master of Wine to recommend a couple of wines at the €15 level and here’s what he suggested; a Godello (that’s a white wine, Godello is the grape variety, like clothes grapes go in and out of fashion and Gerard reckons that Godello is the coming thing) by the Spanish producer Rafael Palacios and Clos des Trias a bio-dynamic Grenache dominated red from the Ventoux.
Note: Sixty Four Wine is at 64 Sandycove Road, Glasthule, Co. Dublin and the web address is http://www.64wine.com
Filed under Coffee, Dublin, Food/Wine, Restaurants/Cafés
♥ Cornucopia
Cornucopia is the answer; the question was where do you eat in Dublin when you are detoxing. I only discovered it a few years ago but Cornucopia has been around for a quarter of a century, starting off as a health food shop with a few tables to the back for eating at, then morphing into a café/restaurant. Cornucopia has expanded over the years and now occupies the ground floor space of two building on Wicklow Street and there are plans to open the first and second floors of the buildings, later this year, for dining, catering and arts events.
Filed under Dublin, Food/Wine, Healthy Living, Restaurants/Cafés
♥ Coffee in Dublin//Three: Bibi’s Cafe
The culinary deities have been kind to the denizens of Dublin 8, as there is a delightful café called Bibi’s in the neighbourhood, which serves breakfast and lunch on weekdays and brunch at the weekend.
Filed under Coffee, Dublin, Food/Wine, Restaurants/Cafés
♥ La Fontaine de Mars
On Monday the President and the First Lady of the United States of America Barack and Michelle Obama will arrive in Ireland on a brief visit. When the couple are at home in Washington they often eat out on a ‘date night’ at one of the capital’s restaurants. As they are in Ireland for a short visit, it is unlikely they will visit one of Dublin’s restaurants. Almost two years ago when they were on a trip to the French capital they ate with friends at a Parisian bistro. This was somewhat controversial at the time, as the US president, had turned down an invitation to dine at the Élysée Palace with President Nicolas Sarkozy while he was in Paris.
Filed under Food/Wine, France, Paris, Restaurants/Cafés, Travel
♥ Sotheby’s Café London
If you are close to New Bond Street in central London and looking for somewhere to have a coffee (or lunch), I would strongly recommend Sotheby’s café. In fact even if you are not nearby, it is well worth a detour.
Filed under Coffee, London, Restaurants/Cafés, Travel
Books for Cooks
If a trainee fairy maniacal working her way through ‘Bewitchment for Dummies’ were to cast a spell which meant I had to eat lunch in the same place everyday for evermore, I hope that place would be the Books for Cooks café in London.
♥ Mother’s Day
Early tomorrow morning children will be beavering away in kitchens preparing breakfast-in-bed for their beloved Mamas. Culinary concoctions made with love and care will be placed on trays along with steaming pots of tea or cups of coffee. Perhaps a home-made card showing off nascent artistic talents will be presented with the breakfast tray.
Filed under Celebrations, Dublin, Restaurants/Cafés
Just Add Attitude
Just Add Attitude 