Why spend a fortune on dessert? They’re rarely spectacular, especially in some Chinese, Indian, and Italian restaurants, where they’re often pre-bought and formulaic. One regular offender is cheesecake, which can and should be one of the most delectable of sweets – but mostly isn’t. I used to feel a meal out wasn’t complete without dessert, [...]

I’m determined to eat pancakes all day, or until I explode, whichever comes first. This week, you’ll find specials on pancakes in Dunnes, Lidl, SuperValu, Tesco, and Superquinn. SQ are selling five pancakes, freshly made in-store, for €2.99. But a big part of the fun is heading out to breakfast or lunch; I wonder if [...]

Last week, I was all set to make this trout recipe for a pregnant friend, so I went to Sea Pearls on Richmond Street (just between Camden St. and the canal). Sadly, it appears to have closed down. It may have been a warning that my fear of poisoning pregnant women with fish – not [...]

Like many people, I’ll be looking to buy a few bottles of sweet, sweet booze for Christmas.  I only need to pick up a few for gifts and for the house, and don’t have a large enough order to warrant a trip to the North.  While doing some shopping in Dublin city yesterday I was [...]

By Catriona McGrath I just never know what to do.  How much do you tip a waiter?  Should you tip the poor man who has driven in the pouring rain to deliver your dinner?   Do you tip if you’re just getting a tea or coffee in the coffee shop?  I mean, they have those tip [...]

Another interesting email about Tesco, this time from CheapEats reader Bill Gunter: “I noticed more than a month ago that the Tesco at the Omni Park in Santry, Dublin was selling Epicure organic cannellini beans for €10.30 per tin. When I asked about they told me “if that’s what the price tag says then that [...]

Payday, oh payday. So I’ve finally got that tyrannical bank manager off my back and it’s time for a well-deserved break. I know that Discover Ireland have some incredibly good deals, which you’ll find here (it’s a large file, beware!), but I’m torn, so I turn to you guys for advice. Both Delphi Mountain Resort [...]

Many of us who love Asian food have probably had the experience of using chopsticks around Asian natives and slowly realising that we use them like big ham handed fools.  The Guardian has an interesting post about it in the Word of Mouth blog, pointing out that the people who cringe when others ask for [...]

By Catriona McGrath Since Peter is ‘ill’ with what he claims is swine flu, I will kindly fill space on CheapEats.  Fortunately for him, I’ve been looking for a forum for my sandwich rant. Like many people I’m a fan of the sandwich. Stick pretty much anything between two slices of bread and I’m fairly [...]

Our reader Ciaran emailed us recently to ask if we’d seen frozen strawberries anywhere. I’ve seen frozen berries in numerous supermarkets, but they’re usually cranberries, blueberries, raspberries or bags of mixed berries that only include a few strawberries at most. However, I was in Fallon & Byrne yesterday buying some middle-class treats and saw that [...]