20 Mar, 2012
Special offers at supermarkets, March 20
Posted by: peter in: Bargains & Special Offers
Special offers at Aldi
Special offers at Lidl
Special offers at SuperValu
Special offers at Dunnes
Special offers at Superquinn
Special offers at Centra
Special offers at Londis
Special offers at Mace
Special offers at Spar
Special offers at Tesco
Dine In Dublin Week is coming up soon: this biannual event takes place from Monday 26th March to Sunday 1st April and will happen again in October. It’s organised by the Dublin City Business Improvement District and aims to showcase Dublin restaurants by encouraging them to offer specially priced set menus. For either €20, €25 or €30 you can eat in popular restaurants including La Stampa, L’Gueuleton, 101 Talbot, Dada, Fallon & Byrne and many more. It’s a great opportunity to give somewhere new a try and support local independent restaurants at the same time.
However it is worth checking the usual pricing at your restaurant of choice, just to make sure you’re not getting grifted. For example, Fallon & Byrne do a three course for €28.85 (it’s described as pre-theatre but is available all night Mon-Fri), which is slightly less than the €30 they’re charging for Dine In Week. It seems odd to charge more given that the purpose of this initiative is to attract new customers, but I guess it’s working for them (plus their food is great of course). There are definitely bargains available – check out Peter’s Feckload of Beef or whatever from last year.
As part of the week’s incentives, there are also special offers on Dublin city centre parking – see www.dineindublin.ie/parking for details.
Have you tried Dine In Dublin, and what are your tips for the best deals to try out?
15 Mar, 2012
M&S Dine in for Four offer for Mother’s Day, March 2012
Posted by: jean in: Bargains & Special Offers
M&S generally bulk up their very popular Dine in for Two offer for special occasions. Their Valentine’s offer was €25 and included a bunch of flowers as well as the kind of rich food that makes you both amorous and bloated (scallops, etc).
For Mother’s Dayl they’re offering a family meal for four, which contains a roast, a large side, a large desssert and a bottle of wine for €20. The full menu is available on the M&S website, and the offer runs from today until Sunday 18th March.
Years ago, I left a rather uninformed comment on this site about the sameyness of Mexican food. After having my pig-ignorant ears clipped, I stand by my statement that Tex-Mex food – basically, things wrapped in bread, such as burritos, fajitas, the hideously stodgy monster that is a chimi-changa – is quite samey.
Proper Mexican food is quite different indeed, but it’s been sadly lacking in Ireland. That’s why it was so delightful to hear about 777, a real, proper Mexican place on George’s Street from the people behind Dillinger’s and The Butcher Block in Ranelagh. The initial feedback suggested a slick marketing campaign and a hipster vibe. But what of the food?
Damien and I headed there a few weeks ago on the way to a Delorentos gig in the Button Factory, for which we’d acquired free tickets after some friends dropped out. Eating was kind of an afterthought, something we’d only remembered to do when it was 8.45pm, we were nearly at The Button Factory, and we were hungry. We figured we’d miss the first half hour or so of the gig.
08 Mar, 2012
Recipe: Italian Vegetable Bake
Posted by: rebecca in: Main Meals | Recipes | Vegetarian
Back in late 2011, I decided that I was going to eat less meat. So far, so good; I’ve been having two completely vegetarian days a week for the past while. There’s a wealth of delicious vegetarian recipes out there, we really are spoiled for choice so cutting out meat every now and then is no great sacrifice.
This is my take on the classic Italian dish Melanzane al Parmigiana. By adding extra vegetables and the mozzarella it made a hearty and tasty dinner for two with some lunch-sized leftovers. This could easily be stretched to a dinner for a family of four with the addition of a big salad and some garlic bread.
A Blog About Crisps does exactly what it says on the tin – their mission statement is: “Reviewing as many different types of crisp as possible until we run out of varieties or die from doing so” – but it also does quite a bit more. I’m really enjoying the dry humour of their writing and laughed out loud at deadpan tips like: “instead of spending money on expensive olive oil or rapeseed oil why not use crisps as a healthy, cheap alternative”.
They recently reviewed the exciting-looking new King/Burdocks Salt and Vinegar crisps, and they also scooped many other food writers by securing this exclusive interview with Gregg Wallace of Masterchef:
A Blog About Crisps is highly recommended, especially if you want to spend loads more time thinking about crisps.
Long-standing Irish family restaurant Captain Americas have launched a Twitter giveaway – all you have to do is tweet them @CaptainAmericas with the tag #tagNdine, and you’ll be entered in the draw to win a free lunch for four. Full details available on Twitter; there’s a giveaway every day.
It’s along the same lines as the Crackbird and Skinflint ‘tweetseats’ giveaways – and I’m surprised that more Irish restaurants aren’t using this approach given the runaway success of Joe Macken’s various establishments.
I haven’t eaten in Captain Americas since I was a youngster and have fond memories of knickerbocker glories and so forth. What’s the food like there now?
Photo: facebook.com/yogismfrozenyogurt
Spring is here! The weather’s getting warmer, there’s a stretch in the evenings and the flowers are blooming! Actually, I haven’t noticed any of the above if I’m being perfectly honest but now that winter is behind us, it’s time to talk frozen yogurt. More specifically, Yogism, a new frozen yogurt store in George’s Street Arcade. It’s a healthy alternative to the very popular 99 and has been a hit on the other side of the pond for decades.
I popped in earlier in the week to check it out and I was very impressed. With it’s sleek minimalist interior and self-serve stations it feels like you’ve just stepped in to a shop worthy of Manhattan’s most hip neighbourhoods. First stop in the self-service is the yogurt, where you can choose from four different flavours, I’m all about the natural, but had a little of the chocolate flavour too. Then it’s onto the toppings counter, where there’s more choice than you know what to do with. Ranging from fresh fruit to chopped nuts to Oreos to mini-marshmallows, I decided on crushed Oreos, strawberries and kiwi fruit. You pay for it by weight and two small (which are actually rather big) tubs cost us €7.40, which isn’t strictly cheap, but definitely worth it and if you guess the weight it’s free!
My little tub of frozen yogurt was mouth wateringly good and tasted far bolder than it actually was. The owner, Stephen, happened to be manning the till when we were there and he couldn’t have been more affable and helpful if he tried. Definitely one to check out, regardless of the Irish weather.
29 Feb, 2012
Reader’s Recipe: Katia’s Curried Parsnip Soup
Posted by: jean in: Healthy Eating | Recipes | Starters, Salads & Soups
Our reader Katia shared this healthy recipe with us recently. For those who have an aversion to parsnips (you are legion!), you could substitute carrots, sweet potatoes or turnip.
Ingredients
- dash of oil
- 1 large onion (or to taste) peeled and roughly chopped
- 2/4 cloves of garlic peeled and roughly chopped
- a nice piece of ginger (at least the size of your thumb) peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 table spoon garam masala
- 6 parsnips peeled and roughly chopped
- 500 ml milk
- 1 litre veggie stock
- 1 chilli chopped and seeded
Directions
Sweat the onions until soft with the ginger, garlic and spices (about 10 minutes on medium heat). Add the parsnips and stir together so that everything is coated. Add the milk and stock. Bring to the boil and then cover and let simmer for about 30 min. Whizz together in the blender.
Optionals: You could add fresh chopped coriander at the end. Katia adds some black pepper and a few drops of sesame seed oil in the bowl. A real treat!
28 Feb, 2012
Behind the Scenes at the Museum – Fundraiser with Bite of Life
Posted by: jean in: Charity | Food Events
Image from www.nationalgallery.ie
I was in the delightful Bite of Life cafe on Patrick St this morning when I heard them telling some regulars about a fundraiser event – so I got the details to spread the word here, as it sounds just lovely.
Bite of Life, DIT and the National Gallery have come together to raise funds for the Conservation Department of the National Gallery of Ireland. They’ve arranged a special evening this Thursday, 1st March. For only €30, guests will get to:
- visit the Conservation Dept (never opened for the public before) and receive a guided tour from the Head of Conservation, Simone Mancini
- get a guided tour of the highlights of the permanent collection of the National Gallery
- attend a canape reception with live music, wine, finger food, cakes and a raffle
- visit an exhibition of paintings and photographs from Irish artists and art students – all for sale
Doesn’t it sound like a fantastic evening? There are limited places still available, so contact Daniela Macrai on 087 693 9217 or email mackraydani@yahoo.com.
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