Musing about my own Christmas memories!

Everyone has their own fond memories of Christmas time; a time spent with loved ones, friends and family and a time for people to relax, unwind and enjoy the festive cheer.

I’m sure my own memories are similar to many others’. Nervous anticipation as a child the night before Santa came with his squadron of reindeer to deliver a stocking full of presents which were seemingly always exactly on the money – what a wise man he was. When I then learned thereafter that my mother had purposefully mis-spelt my name in a bid to dis spell any thoughts that it was my parents that were buying the presents, I had to applaud the creativity that she showed, for it certainly extended the Santa tradition for a year or two longer than when most kids my age found out that it wasn’t this magical bearded man traversing the nooks and crannies of the globe to deliver to children worldwide the gifts and toys they sought after. Surely my own mother couldn’t spell my name wrong? Santa had to be real!

I remember fondly sneaking down with my brothers and sisters to find out what Playstation games I’d received, or if I’d been good enough during the year to warrant the latest remote control car or Scalextric car set. The latter present was really a staple for any 9/10 year old boy at the time. It probably played some early part in establishing my neurotic competitiveness over games in general as I fought out with my brothers race after race.

Then into the teens it was the phase of early Skating-mania as I figured myself to be a buddy Tony Hawk. In all honesty, the £150 custom skateboard (state of the art at the time) was wasted expenditure on my parents’ behalf – bloody knees and sore ankles were the only by-product of the board, and my dreams of the X-Games alongside Tony and Bob Burnquist were short lived. Still, the imagination lived on as I gave every rendition of Tony Hawks Pro Skater the gaming time that they were surely due.

Of course, interspersed with all this were countless pairs of novelty socks and festive jumpers which, like so many other kids, I baulked at the thought of wearing. But it’s the thought that counts (or so I’m told).

As time went on and the novelty (or charade, for the eternal pessimists of this world) of Santa faded, I look forward to Christmas less now. This is likely due to the fact that I previously hadn’t a care in the world, life was stress-free from any real adult decisions, and I could count on Santa to execute my wish-list with 100% accuracy. Now, the real joy in Christmas lies in consumption of hearty meals to the point long past Gluttony, and I’m just as satisfied by sitting down with a cup of tea and a novel to read. How very mature and cultured I’ve become.

But as we get older, it’s no surprise that the focus of Christmas changes. It’s a fortnight or so spent catching up with old friends who we haven’t had the ability to spend meaningful time with, and a respite from the looming busy-period in work after the turn of the New Year. Giddy excitement has been replaced with serious conversations about “the future” and “promotion opportunities”. The 10-year old me would scoff at such a reality as he’d went square-eyed from 6 hours in front of his latest console.

In any case, Christmas is and always will be a lovely time of year to look forward to, for most. I myself try to be mindful of the fact that, while I’m in a very lucky position to have the material goods I like and in general don’t want for much, there are many others who simply can’t say the same. It’s important to give a thought or two to those less fortunate than ourselves. Charitable donations may just give you the satisfaction now that those presents many moons ago heralded.

I wish everyone reading this a Merry Christmas. Surprisingly, it’s pissing rain down here in Ireland. With morning Mass already visited, I can safely say I won’t be leaving the house, and that I will be testing the physical limits of my own human body with an examination of just how large my appetite currently is. Wouldn’t change it for the world. ~CMC

Musing about and ranking Celebrations

With work and other engagements in the run up to Christmas, myself and EM haven’t had a huge amount of time to blog. But while sitting here on Christmas Eve with an extreme dearth of decent television on, I figure I’d bring a light-hearted look at something almost everyone will have nibbled on over the past few weeks – Celebrations.

If these haven’t appeared in your place of work or at home over the run up to Christmas Day, I’d be hugely surprised. They’re not the greatest box of chocolates to get, but they’re most certainly not the worst – off the top of my head, I’d reserve that not-so-sought-after award to Quality Street. A box of chocolates who’s name is misleading beyond words. But anyway, let’s get to the nitty gritty of the ordering from best to worst of this cacophony of common place confectionaries.

Ranking any set of chocolates can tend to be a contentious issue even at the best of times. However, my sorting will be based entirely on logic and not at all on bias. Well maybe a small amount of bias. Anyway, from worst to best I see it as follows:

Bounty – worst because coconut – these are the serial offenders when it comes to hanging around the end of the box like a bad smell. Generally agreed by the majority of the Irish population as the also-rans of the Celebration box.

Snickers – second worst because peanuts. Not quite as bad as a Bounty, but still fairly atrocious.

*note – the above two are in their own league of appalling chocolate. The following couple are at least somewhat enjoyable and would produce utility gains for the consumer, at least in the initial phase before you get sick of them.*

Twix – inter-changeable with Mars and Milky Way really, but considerably better than Snickers. An OK chocolate, but who wants to consistently eat things that are just OK?

Milky Way – just below Mars in the pecking order. Slightly above average – an Everton if you will.

Mars – getting closer to the promised land with Mars but just not quite there yet. In fairness, I’d prefer a Mars ice cream over a regular Mars bar. But I digress.

*if you’ve gotten this far, you’ve reached the contentious point of the debate. Without further ado, let’s assign the podium rankings….*

Galaxy Caramel – in third place, it’s done well. There’s something about plain Galaxy which is more endearing to me. But all in all, a solid choice. Don’t be surprised to see these being sniped in the early stages of the opening of the Celebrations.

Galaxy – slightly more preferable than its Caramel counterpart. Goes exceptionally well with a cup of tea. Good, honest, hard-working chocolate.

Which leaves the winner….

Maltesers – if you’ve read this far well done. But can you say you were surprised at the top spot? Maltesers are by far and away the King of the Celebrations box. Highly sought after, think of them as a current Manchester City. Or a Barcelona. Reigning supreme with no signs of stopping.

I have a couple of friends who rank Bounty as one of the best. I’m not sure what’s caused this warped perception of chocolate rankings in their heads. Let us know your thoughts? Should we be wary of Bounty lovers? It’s surely a potential indicator of a worrisome mental state. Perhaps they need to be quarantined and we can feed them the leftover Celebrations of all the sane, rational thinking Homo sapiens. It may sound drastic, but a necessary action I’d think. Merry Christmas all. ~ CMC

Canal Bank Cafe – (short) review

Various restaurants in Dublin would challenge to sit atop the Iron Throne and rule the chicken wing empire. Among these would be Blue Bar, Elephant and Castle, Farmer Browns and Tribeca. I recently tried the wings in the Canal Bank Café, owned by the same crowd who run Tribeca.

As far as wings go, these are about as good as it gets. Following the same standard set by Tribeca with the traditional Frank’s hot sauce coating, they were large, crispy and tasty, all in equal measure. The portion was fairly big too, which I’d come to expect when forking out close to 15 euro. But all things considered, I’d recommend this to any chicken wing fan. Myself and a friend got a portion each, and shared some skinny fries, which were lovely also. For dessert, it was a chocolate brownie accompanied by cinnamon ice cream (first time for everything, and it was delicious!). This did not disappoint.  My friend’s cheesecake was almost comically big by modern dessert standards.

The restaurant itself is quaint and cosy, and the waiter was extremely attentive also. Good service, good choice in the menu and even better wings, what’s not to like? ~ CMC

TLDR – go here. The wings are awesome.

My Birthday meal – News restaurant, Vilamoura

Celebrating your 26th holiday in Vilamoura, especially at this time of year when the weather is awful in Dublin, is a real treat. The choice of restaurants on the Marina is widespread so it was difficult to ascertain which we’d plump for the birthday meal. However, having been to a restaurant called News on the corner of the Marina a couple of nights previous, and having been treated extremely well, we knew it wouldn’t let us down again.

There aren’t sufficient superlatives in the Oxford English Dictionary to do this restaurant justice. The decor inside is simple, subtle and elegant, and facing out onto the water the views are superb. The waiters and waitresses are engaging and helpful to the degree that it’s almost ridiculous. And then there’s the food.

The starter was a selection of breads and tuna pate accompanied by 7 huge tiger prawns in a garlic and chilli sauce. The prawns in most of the places we’ve frequented have been top-notch, but these were a cut above the rest again.

The main event I had been pining for and anticipating for days – a Chateaubriand steak (pictured) which was served to us by the chef. Cooked medium, it could only be described as sublime. This came along with sautéed spinach, chips, and three sauces (all of which I’d go for with steak) – chimmichurri, pepper sauce, and the fabled garlic butter. The steak fell apart upon the touch of the knife, and I would dare to say it’s the best I’ve ever had.

From there we ordered the apple pie and ice cream for dessert. However, with my girlfriend having informed them it was my birthday, they threw in an extra cheesecake (as well as two complimentary glasses of champagne at the commencement of the meal). Both desserts again were outstanding; the cheesecake in particular being exquisite.

I couldn’t recommend this restaurant highly enough for anyone staying in Vilamoura. Even if you were in a different resort such as Albufeira, the taxi ride there and back would surely be worth every penny. The food is of an impeccable standard, the service could not have been better, and we left the restaurant grinning like two thoroughly stuffed Cheshire cats. ~CMC

Counter – Dublin’s forgotten burger?

Any search regarding Dublin’s best burger will usually only lead you in one direction, and that’s Bunsen. Aside from this, the other main pretenders to the throne are Five Guys, and more recently, the burger at Featherblade has garnered some acclaim (though is not on the dinner time menu – this is reserved for their steaks). One contender though which I think holds a reasonable challenge to Bunsen is that of Counter, located on Suffolk Street, opposite Superdry.
There’s a lot of reasons I like Counter, but the main one is the colossal amount of sauces and toppings to choose from. The burger can be topped with extra bacon, crispy tobacco onions, as well as a multitude of other choices, while side sauces vary from sriracha, to good ol’ fashioned BBQ, to my own personal favourite, hot wings sauce (this is a match made in heaven with their sweet potato fries)!

The premise of Counter is “custom built burgers”, and it’s in this freedom of expression when it comes to designing your own memorable burger that the magic lies. Burgers aren’t the only option though (they are however the standout) – their wings also stand up to the test.

So if you’re looking for a new burger experience and something which matches up to Bunsen, give a customised-creation in Counter a shot – it will certainly not disappoint. ~CMC

Tossd – IFSCs hidden gem

What better what to redeem last nights shocking Indian with a Thai for lunch? 
Luckily, with Tossd in the CHQ building in the IFSC, I know I’m not taking a chance on quality or price. Having been stationed in the same spot for many a year now, they were running when the CHQ was in its infancy and wasn’t the popular lunch destination for workers in the IFSC that it is now. Back then, Tossd and maybe one or two other coffee shops (Starbucks was there and still is) made up the entire building – now it’s packed to the rafters each day with hundreds of IFSC workers picking up their daily lunch from a variety of places. However, Tossd, for me, still remains as the gold standard within the CHQ building.

Each day they do 3 specials – typically a wok-based chicken dish with rice, a duck-based stir fry, and a daily curry. The quality of the food is second to none, and while it comes in at around 10 Euro for most (their custom salads are a little cheaper), it’s worth every penny. Their specials are posted daily around 11am on their Twitter page.

Today’s special is a blackbean chicken, one of my favourites – it contains plenty of veg (the aubergine in particularly tastes awesome), and the sauce is to die for. However, there’s something on the a la carte menu to please all tastes and inclinations.

I’d easily rank Tossd as the best and most consistent Thai restaurant that I’ve eaten in in Dublin. The portion sizes are huge also; it’s not uncommon for it to serve as both a lunch and dinner! With great quality food, reasonable pricing and a wide selection of dishes, it shouldn’t definitely be tried at least once by any Asian food enthusiast. It’s just a shame that they don’t have other outlets within Dublin, as I’m sure the acclaim wouldn’t be long forthcoming. Although, perhaps it’s because they’ve focused on one station in the IFSC that keeps the quality so high. It truly is the hidden gem in the IFSC! ~ CMC

Bombay Pantry (Fairview) – Dublin’s “best Indian takeaway”

So this evening I thought I’d try beat the Sunday blues by going for some takeaway. The most common option is Tuk in Fairview, but having had Thai for lunch on Friday, Indian and Bombay Pantry appeared as a possibility.

What a complete travesty it turned out to be. The restaurant is a 2 minute drive away, and the food took over an hour to arrive. For myself and my girlfriend, it came to 30 euros. I’ve had much better Indian takeaways for around 20. I was willing at this stage to accept the wait and the price had the food been up to the standard of “Dublin’s best Indian takeaway”.

This proved to be a complete fabrication. Bestowed upon us by the kind chefs was a lukewarm garlic and coriander naan, a portion of rice that wouldn’t have fed a toddler, a prawn bhuna which was comparably small to maintain consistency with the fun-sized portion of rice, and a chicken tikka masala which could be described as throughly average. Oh, and our bhuna had an accompanying hair in it, just for good measure.

We came away feeling throughly unsatisfied. I would strongly advise against getting food from here – shocking service, shocking prices, and shocking food. ~CMC

My musings on GBBO 2017

So tonight saw the conclusion of 2017’s Great British Bake Off, with Stephen, Sophie and Kate battling it out for the crown. Sophie proved triumphant, and in my opinion, deservedly so. She was consistently excellent each week, and while one might argue Stephen had a little more flair, his final Yin/Yang bake let him down a touch. He’s my concluding thoughts on the first season under the guise of Channel 4:
– Noel and Sandi did a fine job at replacing Mel and Sue. I initially thought Noel would be totally unsuited for the role, but he grew into it and I thought the pair of them took to their respective roles well throughout the series.

– I’m also a big fan of Prue Leith, though her tweeting of the winner due to apparently not accounting for the time difference when she was in Asia on the day of the final is a little silly. But that was her only blip, and thankfully her mistake didn’t spoil the final result for me!

– While Stephen appeared as the early favourite, Sophie was a deserving winner, especially on the balance of play throughout the final.

– Liam should probably have had a spot on the final over Kate (if they do indeed look at retrospective performances when deciding who to get rid of) – but that being said, Kate did very well in the final given the pressure.

Now that Tuesday evenings are freed up, I’ll have to find something else to occupy the void. Though I don’t think it’s long until Masterchef is back, while should satisfy the cookery show craving for another while once it returns! ~CMC

Homemade Pizzas

Over summer we treated ourselves to a Roccbox pizza oven, gas fired or wood chips, managing to reach a whopping 500°C. A bit of practising later and we managed to perfect this beauty, homemade dough (easier than you’d think), simple passata, topped with grated mozzarella and canned corn. Served with a light rocket and sweet potato salad. Although pizza isn’t a traditional Sunday night dinner, this dinner easily scales up if serving the family & friends. I’d highly recommend investing in a pizza oven, which can also be used for steaks & seafood (anything that you want a beautiful sear on, and cooks quickly). This pizza took 15 seconds, rotated 3 or 4 times, so fully cooked in less than a minute – devoured in a similar amount of time. ~EM

Chapter One Review

Chapter One, situated in Parnell Square, offers one of the best value pre-theatre menus around. We started with ox tongue, gribiche (cold mayonnaise like egg sauce), white reddish and brown butter. It was a delicate yet delicious combination of ingredients I would never have put together myself. This was followed by a seasonal main of venison, crown of pumpkin, black pudding, pickled walnuts and a deep red wine & chocolate sauce. The venison was presented as 2 thick seared discs with a deep red centre (you can request them to be cooked more but we followed the chefs reccomendation). The entire dish was fantastic, big meaty flavour, black pudding was almost light in texture in comparison, complimenting the flavour with saltiness, and the sweetness of the pumpkin completed it. One thing I’m always reserved of in fine dining restaurants is the portion size, but this wasn’t a problem at all. Finally, we finished with the chocolate mouse and an Irish coffee (a must have if it’s your first trip to CHPT1). All this, plus excellent table service for the price of €40 (plus €12 for the optional Irish coffee). I would highly recommend for anyone who fancies treating themselves midweek. Pre-theatre runs midweek, table bookings from 5.30-5.45, order before 6 and table back by 7.30.  ~EM