Brunch at Alma is always a winner, especially if you can get there early and beat the queues. The Choripan Argento (Argentine chorizo on sourdough with aioli, chimichurri, salsa criolla, fried eggs,onions, and sriracha) was packed with flavour. Let’s face it though, we're here for the pancakes - all in the name of research. When the bowl of buttermilk pancakes with grapes, blood orange (we told you they’re everywhere), orange and brandy mascarpone arrives, your first thought is that you’ll never be able to get through all of tha thomemade dulce de leche but, by the end, you’ll be wondering if you can get away with licking the plate without being too obvious - Helen
After a fair bit of hype about the pizzas at recently opened 30 Church Street in Howth we took a trip to try it for ourselves. The base is very good but the toppings on The Buffalo disappointed, with overly salty olives, cheap tasting ham and bland tomato sauce. The 'nduja with sweet peppers and picked red onion was better, but both pizzas were very wet. It's probably still the best pizza on the Northside, but more effort could be made with the toppings (and in seasoning the sauce). Or maybe we're just spoilt by Pi.
The rain wasn’t enough to keep the midweek crowds away when we found ourselves in an unexpectedly busy Cirillo’s on Baggot St. While the lighting wasn’t photograph-friendly, the great pizza, anti-pasti, and excellent service made for a very enjoyable evening.
We were guests at Eatyard's Taco Battle at Jampark last weekend, and voted for Blasta Street Kitchen's 'quacko', so were delighted to see them win. It was a riot of crispy Silver Hill duck, fruity pineapple salsa, spicy jalapenos, pickled onion, carrot and coriander, and was like a party in your mouth. If they started making their own tacos we reckon they could actually take over the Irish taco scene - Lisa
Killing time before a movie in the café of The Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield, we were very impressed with this buttery, salty, chocolate and pecan cookie. Any cinema that has fresh cookies and a lack of nacho “cheese” gets the thumbs-up from us - Helen
A disappointing breakfast trip to Jamestown Social in Finglas, which looked so promising online. The porridge (at €4.95) was very dull with (unseasonal) berries, pumpkin seeds and honey, not really worth leaving the house for. Jam came in individual plastic packs (why?) and coffee from Java Republic was so bitter that neither of us could finish it.
A long overdue trip to Nightmarket in Ranelagh confirmed that's it's a world away from your local Thai takeaway - it's on a different planet altogether. If you want to eat Thai food like they eat in Thailand, this is where you come. We loved the Miang Kham which you roll up and pop in your mouth (below) and the prawn and pork belly with glass noodles, but go easy on the chilli symbols unless you have a very high heat tolerance. Applause too for the non-dumbed down children's menu which is basically adult dishes without the spice - Lisa
