Enoteca Torino

Hi, this an invited guest post.

A big thank you to Mick Wallace, the developer who made pucks of money (what developer hasn't !), and then gave a little back. I'm referring of course to his little Italy district on Bloom's lane in the city center AND Enoteca Torino just down the road from us here in Inchicore. I can imagine you thinking ... oh, no, not another restaurant recommendation... but this IS DIFFERENT !! Why you might ask? Well, where else in this city can you get a meal for two, with a few glasses of wine, coffee, great atmosphere, and mainland europe-type service for 50-60 euro. The answer is Enoteca Torino.

Recently the whole place has been done up, now doubled in size, and so we headed down last Friday to see if it was still up to scratch. Typical of this place was the big loud hello we received on entering the restaurant.. a nice start. We had a bruschetta starter with buffalo mozzarella - simple but delicious. Pasta mains were equally tasty - both of us went for a thick spaghetti-like pasta we'd never tried before (can't remember the name but it sounds like shagatelli !!) , wth mine accompanied by porcini mushroom & toulouse sausage, and my other half choosing walnuts, sausage and radicchio. Wine-wise we went for glasses of Barbera D'Alba and an unusual Ciro Rosso. The Ciro was from Calabria, really delicious and quite full bodied. Dessert consisted of a sweet Verduzzo from Friuli, which knocked both our socks off - really good balance of sweetness and acidity, with surprising richness. Coffee to finish. Final bill 50 euro !!! Our service was fantastic, with a nice liveliness, mostly provided by a charismatic Italian head waiter, who may well sit down beside you while taking you order !

Why is this high quality place such rediculously good value ? Well, the reason is that it's owner, Mick Wallace loves Piedmont and Italy and wanted to provide a proper Italian dining experience at a reasonable price in Dublin. He also imports all his own wine (all Italian of course), which remarkably you can buy from the restaurant without the usually prohibitive restaurant mark-ups.

So thanks again Mick.. if only there were more Enoteca Torino's.... so come down to Inchicore and experience our little piece of Piedmont. I guarantee you'll love it.

Canoe Trip

It's the best feeling, when you pack up the car, leave your mobile phone behind and head upstream for a week into the unknown, two days away from civilisation. We rented a canoe for seven nights and packed it full of provisions for the week and set off. We were in the Clearwater National Park, British Colombia, travelling up two lakes each about 20 miles long. The quiet and stillness was unbelievable, almost spooky, the brilliant sun shone down upon us. We moved up the lake, just the noise of our paddles hitting the water in tandem, surronded by miles upon miles of wilderness - incredible, enlightening, almost frightening. Most of the day was spent in the canoe and we would stop off on the shore and have a bite to eat for lunch. Around 5pm we would arrive at our evening destination and set up camp for the night. Our behaviour was quite primordial, I would always gravitate to the cooking, whilst my husband would light the fire and set up the tent. After supper we would sit around the fire, telling each other stories and drinking hot chocolate. When darkness set in, we climbed into our cosy sleeping bags and fell into deep slumber, listening to the sounds of the deep forest. Quite the best holidaying experience I have had, quite calming and reflective. One feels so far removed from modern day life and just a little closer to our nomadic ancestors.

Expat Life

I have just taken a trip down memory lane, something I do every few months, I find it kind of comforting. In July 2002 I set out for Vancouver without a care in the world, just turned 25, looking for a north american adventure with my boyfriend. A return flight was booked for christmas of that year, I didn't make a visit home until November 2003! Its that north american buzz, which I experienced frequently for the entire three and a half years. Is it the accent, the lifestyle or the whole newness, I don't know, perhaps a combination. Vancouver, the gateway to North America from Asia, a cultural melting pot. This has to be the most cosmopolitan and happily mulitcultural city that I have experienced. Imagine it, summertime, get back from work, pick up the bbq and head down to the beach which is a 5 minute walk away. The temperature is a balmy 25 degrees centigrade and is like this all summer long, nut brown people are playing volleyball, frisbee and generally chilling. There's that beautiful smell of meat cooking on the barby. Wintertime, get back from work on a friday night, check the snow report for Whistler for saturday moring, 20 cms fresh snow expected, up at 6am ski-ing fresh tracks by 8.30am. Weekends in July are spent roaming the wilderness of BC. Leave the craziness of the city on a Friday evening, 5 mile hike into a remote camp, meeting black bears on the way. The accessibility to such extemes is quite incredible and only sinks in when you return to your native homeland. 60 days of rain this summer, we only visited our beautiful park, Phoenix park, for the first time yesterday evening, due to the miserable summer, just in time to see the leaves starting to change colour, Autumn!!
Lifestyle guys, the west coast of North America has got it totally right!

Rest assured!

Last Sunday coming back from London, I sat beside a lady on Ryanair who had recently purchased a holiday home near Carcossone in Southern France. She told me the main reason for doing so, was; Ryanair flies to Carcossonne and this has enabled her, her children and grandchildren to visit frequently at little expense. This is certainly commonplace now. I pray to god that my husband and I are next on the list and can buy somewhere in Burgundy! This impromtu meeting spurred me to contact the man himself, and so I sent a letter to Michael O'Leary congratulating him on what he has done for all of us or those who wish to avail of his inexpensive flights to all of those wonderful hidden gems all over Europe. This was his reply!


"I thank you for your card and for your frequent flights on Ryanair. Rest assured we will keep trying to reduce the cost of air travel throughout Europe and I hope we will have the pleasure of welcoming you on many more Ryanair flights over the coming months."

Best wishes,

Yours sincerely

Michael O'Leary"

Here are a list of gems to visit from Dublin:

Algerho - Sardinia
Sardinia is wonderful. Wild and Rustic. It is very like Sicily in the sense that most locals completely disown mainland Italy. Saying that, this beautfiul island is frequented by the Romanese and Milanese, frightfully chic! It's still quite off the radar though.
Food and wine is wonderful. Look out for their Vermentino white wine, Cannonau red wine and Seafood! Head north west to Stintino.

Milan - Italy.
Frightfully sophisticated and glam! Head here for you shopping weekend and people spotting.
Great for access into the Dolomites for ski-ing holidays. The Dolomites are still very much undiscovered with us Irish and English. We went to Arabba last year near Cortina. Ski-ing was amazing and did not ski the same run twice in a week. Lots of pit spots for coffee. Queuing for lifts taught me a thing or two about fashion, sunglasses, and what to wear on the slopes. Check out Val Gardina as well. Very swish!!!

Paris - France
Ohhhh amazing, I simply adore Paris. My husband and I are true francophiles at heart. We visited paris in Spring this year. Simply wonderful, so romantic. I could rave about this wonderful city for hours and have decided that at some stage we will have to go and live there for a year. My dream is to become a french fashion aficionado - french women really know how to dress! We had a long weekend there and ate and drank for a third less than Dublin. We hung around the left bank mainly and visited all the wonderful galleries, watched the parisians walk their dogs and drooled at flower and interior design shops on Rue Jacob,7eme.
If you do plan to go I have a great file on a very parisian visit, thanks to a friend who lived there for a while.

Hann - Mosel Valley
A hot spot for Riesling wine. This part of Germany produces the finest in the world.
The mosel is extremely traditional and a beautiful spot to visit; try and go in during autumn tine when all the wine festivals are on. The village streets are taken over for the day and all sorts of delicious foods and wines are served. They love their pork! The region is also fab for wild river trout. To work it off you can hire bicycles and spend the day going downstream to Bernkastel. Fly into the regional airport of Hann, no hassle and very straightforward, within 15 minutes you are in the heart of the mosel wine region.


Pisa - Italy
Toscana - the heart of wine in Italy. Everyone that visits this wonderful part of the world, cannot resist the pull of all the beautiful hill top towns of Montalicino, Volterra, Montepulciano and Volterra or roam the streets of hisorical Sienna, Lucca and Florence. We had one of best meals ever here. We were staying in Chianti Classico and went off one evening to find supper. We came to a funny little cafe in a rather non exciting town. A good sign for the best food. We both had a teabone veal steak costing €5.20 each - wow I will never forget it, washed down with some delice Chianti Classico. Simple is best.

Trapani - Sicily
This is probably my number one destination to visit. Sicily is old Italy, trapped in a wonderful time warp, filled with tradition and history. I feel filled with a warm love when I think about this fascinating island. Never have I seen a culture so rich. We had the best time, staying in Agriturismo's dotted around the island, visiting working farms where the hospitality was top notch. Little English was spoken, a lot of "Alora". The food was heavenily and I can honestly say that in 17 days of eating out 3 times a day, we did not not experience one bad meal. The best dining experiences were always off the beaten track in small hidden away coastal towns, where we were always the odd ones out and no english was spoken. A favorite spot was Castellamare di Golfo on the north west coast, where we had supper in the port. A wonderful people watching experience, I was fascinated by all the sicilian americans, literally straight out of the sopranos, children dressed in Polo Ralph Lauren with thick New York accents which then conversed in strong regional sicilian when needed. Sicilians are just like us Irish, strong to their roots.
We ate a delicious seafood dinner and strolled around this seaside town in the dark, watching the auld biddies sit in the street underneath their streams of washing, with the occossional sound of a passing vespa in the distance.

Easy guide to Naughty Raspberry Icecream

In need of some indulgence. We must always tend to naughty cravings once in a while! Decadent raspberry icecream made with double cream is the way to go!
Take a punnet of raspberries, add a few cups of cold water, and a few spoons of sugar depending on how piquant or sweet you would like it. Bring to the boil and simmer for no more than three minutes. While this is happening whip the double cream until it is floppy. Take the raspberries off the heat, cool and then fold into cream. Straight into the freezer, and leave for a couple hours and then stir. Make sure its stored in a well sealed container to prevent crystals forming. Delicious! Try with other fruits such as, blackcurrants, rhubarb, strawberries and gooeseberries.

A Hidden Gem in Kilmainham

If you are a country lass or lad and feeling in need of some rural pints, take a walk down Kilmainham lane in Dublin 8 and you will find your fix for the evening. Enter the royal oak and you are transported back to maybe Mullinahone. This is a real pub. The owner, stands behind the small bar pulling delectable pints of Guinness, which is no more than half a mile down the road. The chat is local, lots of country accents. The scene is rea,l with plenty of talk about politics and houseprices. This is defintely a place for Kieran Hannrihan of the Ceili House!. A true local.
www.dublinpubscene.com/thepubs/theroyaloak.html

A Fine Rare Wine Experience

Despite being a member of the wine trade, it is not often that one gets to drink fine rare wines. One of my brothers very kindly gave my husband and I three bottles of Paul Jaboulet La Chapelle Hermitage as a wedding present, '82,83, 85. Last Saturday night we took the plunge and cracked open the 82 , chez my parents in County Tipperary.. Wow is all that I can say, a sublime experience. We drank it with simply cooked roast pork with a sprig of rosemary, roasted veggie and roast potatoes. " A masculine and muscular wine, brown with a rusty hue, quite opaque. medium plus intensity on the nose with lively notes of brown sugar, caramel and christmas cake. Sweet and ripe smelling - a joy! Good acidity, with notes of sour cherries and well integrated tannins. Impressive long length. This wine has another ten years, incredible seeing that the critics say it should be drunk now! Excellent".

Oh dear, I can see yet another expensive habit forming!