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The view from Diep At Home

Grim... the view from Diep At Home

There’s a street in Dublin 8 that runs from South Circular Road at Dolphin’s Barn down to the canal, that has to be one of the most desolate stretches of retail I’ve ever seen anywhere. This street has a closed-down hair salon, a closed-down cobblers, a closed-down butchers, a closed-down shop that looks like it once sold scented candles and dreamcatchers, a closed-down cabbies, an open but scary chicken takeaway and a funeral home.  It’s a depressing reminder of how there are plenty of parts of Ireland which were untouched by the boom and are still left forgotten.

diep-at-home-logoSome signs of life appeared recently when a Tesco Express opened, but like most small Tescos, it’s so badly stocked that it’s not much of a draw.  A couple of takeaways then opened, and I did an actual double-take when I saw that one of them was Diep At Home.  As in, a spin-off of Diep Noodles of Ranelagh, a very Ranelagh-type establishment - hip, robustly  priced and frequented by yummy mummies.  And of course, Diep Le Shaker, the ludicrously posh Thai restaurant on Pembroke Lane.  Not at all the kind of brand that you expect to see springing up around these less fancy parts.  I was genuinely surprised, but I assume that Diep would not take such a step at such a time without having a healthy customer base in the area, something that would be easy to establish based on calls to their other branches.  Maybe it will kickstart the street’s business life again, and that would be really great to see.

Now that there’s a swanky takeaway in my hood, I had to try it out.  A friend and I ordered one starter of Tom Kha Gai (€5.50), the chicken soup with coconut and lime that is one of my favourite dishes of all time; the Koh Samui noodles with seafood and Asian greens (€11) and the Phi Phi fried rice with beef (€10).  Everything was good, there were no quibbles about the tastiness of the food.  The rice and noodle dishes were both tasty, and the Tom Kha Gai was delicious.   The only disappointment lay in the level of spice - both the Koh Samui and Phi Phi were marked with two chillies on the menu, but neither had any discernable heat.

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30 Jul, 2010

Another amazing Locatelli recipe

Posted by: rercy in: Chefs | Main Meals | Recipes

To save time you can use ready-made fresh pasta sheets for the ravioli

To save time you can use ready-made fresh pasta sheets for the ravioli

Last week I gave a gushing review of ‘Made in Italy - Food and Stories’ by Giorgio Locatelli and my admiration for this Italian recipe book has not waned. In fact, since trying out a few more recipes, I have not stopped banging on about it to friends. I think they’re still my friends.

The only problem I have is the dishes are so tantalising, I can’t decide what to cook next - I’m the kid in the proverbial candy store.

I already made a batch of the incredibly delicious Walnut sauce so I thought I would use up the rest of that and serve up ‘Herb ravioli with walnut sauce’.

It is a very thorough recipe and takes patience and time. It incorporates Swiss chard which is in season at the moment and growing in abundance in my vegetable patch. I also have parsley, basil, rosemary, sage and spinach growing in the back and the nettles were not hard to come by so this worked out to be a very cheap meal indeed.

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leaflet_8b_1Ah Superquinn, Superquinn, Superquinn. They really are super. Their special offers are even more super. And I may be about to move in just across the road from a branch- but I’m only going to buy the odd exclusive Superquinn treat, like Crabbie’s alcoholic ginger beer, or all their special offers.

The current set includes:

  • Any 3 of 7 selected meats for €7.97
  • 50% off selected summer fruits
  • Half price freezer deals

The offers are valid until August 10. Click here for details.

Superquinn have just launched a brand new online club for customers who want to learn more about wine and how to choose it. Members will receive a monthly newsletter plus offers which they can buy online. Anyone can join. Click here for details.



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marks-and-spencers-logoThe M&S dine in for two for €12.50 offer is back - just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend!

The selection of mains includes ginger, lime and coriander chicken, ready to roast honey glazed gammon, and seabass with a roasted pepper dressing. The full menu can be seen on the M&S website.



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aldi-logoCurrent specials at Aldi include:

  • Adventure set for kids - €19.99
  • Natural extracts (vanilla extract in particular can be really hard to track down; I’m going to stock up) - €2.79 per pack
  • Organic whole almonds/ walnut halves/ cashew nuts

Click here for details.

The current Super6 at Aldi - a selection of fruit and veg for just 79c - includes asparagus, pineapple, and tomatoes.

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lidlSo maybe I was a little harsh on Lidl last week. Then again, I probably wasn’t.

Food offers

This week is more appealing. You can pick up ten veg items, including aubergine, lettuce, and onions, for just 50c each - click here for details.

Other current food offers include price reductions on bread, ice cream, and selected beers and wines. There’s a new set of food offers every Saturday. Click here for details.

This coming Saturday’s one-day only offers include reduced price Hellmann’s mayonnaise and fresh pork BBQ spare ribs. Now there’s an idea.  Click here for details.

Special buys and bargains

Current special buys include garden items and household furniture - click here for details. Next Monday, you can pick up some good value kitchen items - click here for details.

This Bank Holiday weekend, there’s a Lidl warehouse sale, where you can “bag a bargain” on sat navs, vacuum cleaners, digital camcorders, and more. Click here for details.

A taste of Spain

There’s some tempting Spanish treats from next Monday, including gazpacho, manchego cheese, olives with anchovies, anchovies, and did I mention anchovies? Ommmm…. Who doesn’t love Spanish food? Click here for details.

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Photo: The Thre Q's on Facebook

Photo: The Three Q's on Facebook

One of our loveliest and most favourite regular commenters, Sarah Breen, sends in this recommendation from Dublin city centre:

Hi guys! I enjoyed a v tasty and cheap meal last night and I thought I should let you know about it. It was in Cafe Alponte, a little Italian on Duke St, directly across from Carluccios. They were offering two starters, two main courses and a bottle of wine for €39. The interior is a bit dingy but the food was great value and very tasty. I ordered bruschetta, which (weirdly) was a very thin pizza base covered in tomatoes, olives, capers and olive oil. Sounds unlike any other bruschetta I’ve ever tasted but it was really nice. For my main I had big vegetarian pizza. I was so full I took home a doggy bag at the end. Other items on the menu included pepperoni pizza, lasagne al forno and a veggie lasagne. I don’t know much about wine but the house red was fine by my (low) standards. I’d definitely go back.

Meanwhile, our friend Penno sent in this (enthusiastically drunken) recommendation for a restaurant on Gweedore Church Road in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. Thanks Jane, hic!

Just back from an excellent meal in The Three Qs. Super value - starter & main for €21.95. Everyhtinng on the menu sounds delicious and the food we had really was. I had a Moroccan hake which was really fresh and full of lovely spices and he had steak a nd chips. both deliciois. Highly recommend to anyone in North Wicklow. Far superior to other restaurants and their ‘early birds’. Forgive the spelling, the wine was v nice too!



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hellmannsMy good friend Jimmy Dalton sends us this handy guide to excess mayonnaise. Specifically, Hellmann’s mayonnaise: umpteen moons ago, Snackbox snubbed his nose at a fancy organic mayonnaise I picked up in some snooty Dalkey shop. He then proved a point by eating  Hellmann’s straight from a jar, with his hands. In fairness, he was half right. The organic version genuinely didn’t cut the mustard; unless you’re making your own mayonnaise - and even then I’m dubious - it’s hard to beat this gigantic brand. In a similar vein, many top chefs serve the mushy peas straight from a tin: sometimes processed is perfect. Over to you Jimmy…

Last week while having dinner with Peter, Catriona and a few other friends in the deliciously excellent Swai, he mentioned receipt of an odd culinary consignment to Cheapeats HQ. Peter opened the door one morning to find several gallons (well near enough) of mayonnaise and tomato ketchup from Hellmann’s waiting for his perusal.

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27 Jul, 2010

Drinks: Please plenty with punch

Posted by: rercy in: Drinks | Good Value | Recipes

Image from the Guardian

Image from the Guardian

When the words ‘cheap cocktails’ are uttered, I’m sure most of us have some terrible memory of some rancid ‘hold your nose’ concoction served to us at an indecent hour and state.

Well, not all cheap cocktails have to be muck; punch is the ideal way to treat your guests to a delicious cocktail without it costing the price of a small oil rig.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall had some delicious summer drink recipes in the Guardian at the weekend including a refreshing German punch called ‘Erbeerbowle’ and a lovely looking Ginger lemonade that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser. You can check out these recipes below and a couple more here.

If you are after something a bit more adventurous, how about a meat-based cocktail? As bizarre as it sounds, the modern mixologists, or bar tenders to you and I, are tampering with meat-infused drinks.

Taken from the book ‘The Modern Mixologist: Contemporary Classic Cocktails’ by Tony Abou-Ganim, some of these concoctions include a ‘Meat & Potato Martini’ which includes; vodka, Worcestershire sauce and Peychaud bitters and a ‘Wingin’ It’ which features; chicken stock, lime juice, carrot juice, a bloody mary mix, tequila, tabasco, ginger syrup and garnished with a celery stalk stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese!

Well if you are tempted by meat-infused cocktails; why not start with the good ol’ ‘Irish Bacon Sour’. Otherwise why not try a less mind-blowing tipple. All recipes are below. Read the rest of this entry »

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27 Jul, 2010

Review: Lennox Cafe Bistro

Posted by: peter in: Restaurants | Reviews

lennox1It’s always a good idea to check out the neighbourhood before you move in. Some Sundays ago, I went to look at a house on Lennox Street, close to Portobello. With an hour to kill before I met a friend, I stumbled across Lennox Cafe Bistro, a very attractive, busy, and bustling little spot in the middle of a residential city centre street.

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