Corinna Dunne

No Rias de Galicia was the more upmarket restaurant that we skipped which had been recommended on another thread. It looked very good. Plenty of great looking live seafood in the window. Have you tried it? I can't remember the name of the one we went to (something Gallegos?), but it had much more of a rough and tumble Rafa's look to it and was further down towards the port end of the street. We had given up on the queue in Carballeira in Barceloneta earlier in the day. That looked really good too. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has tried it. Apologies to your friends who missed the Cinc Sentits experience.

We had a wonderful meal in Cinc Sentits on Saturday. Roser, Amelia and Jordi pulled out all the stops to host a private function for 25 people. It was a surprise birthday party, and yes, my friend was very surprised to see her friends and family in Barcelona (thanks to Silly Disciple for his advice by PM on this). The food was beautiful, and let me add to the chorus of fans raving about the maple syrup shot... what a great start to the meal. It pains me to mention the utterly delicious foie gras dish... it was so good I am in complete torment about the miles between my greedy palate and Barcelona. Much has been said about the people at Cinc Sentits, and sometimes this can even be off-putting. You think, they can't be that nice, it must be a bit smarmy. But I cannot say enough. They are the lovliest, most gracious people. Amelia did a great job describing all of the dishes before they were served and we had a most incredible evening. It was particularly good because there really isn't anywhere like this in Dublin (with the exception of one new place which promisees great things, but at Dublin prices). We had a fantastic meal in Hisop, a brilliant little spot (I mentioned a bit more on the Hisop thread), and some really good suchi and sashimi at Shunka. For anyone who didn't pick up on this place, chef Santemaria mentioned it in his Q & A session with Pedro and I immediatly added it to my list. You need to book a few days in advance, and specify the sushi bar. The service is a bit erratic but the fish is velvety fresh. Quimet i Quimet was close to our hotel and is a charming little spot. Quirky and great value. But seriously quirky is Silly Disciple's cava spot in Barceloneta, with bottles of cava from 2.80-4.80 euro and the provisio that you must buy two snacks, which are surprisingly good. This place is a load of fun. We also tried a Galician restaurant which was OK. We got a big platter for two with lobster, crab, mussels clams langoustines and prawns for 68 euro. It wasn't the place recommended on another thread which I must try next time (it looked a little formal and was quite expensive). The place we went to was down the road off the Parrellel, it had a Rafa's look to it, but it was not near as good. A great trip... but way too short.

We had dinner in Hisop on Friday, and I agree with SgtPorkExplosion, the food is absolutely delicious and there's really nice use made of avant-garde techniques, which support the overall dish rather than take centre stage. Very resolved. We had the tasting menu which with a wine pairing, cost 60 euro... incredible value. The cep ice cream was out of this world. I booked by email and had no problems. Quick responses and very helpful. Their service was excellent too.

I prefer to use butter as well as buttermilk. It's not just about the texture, it's about the flavour. Don't think about the fat, butter is calories well spent. Some salt and sugar also.

I found Valette in the mountain village of Gordon very good.

Great post, thanks Simon. I plan to get there very soon, so I'm very interested in your views. Did you notice if there was a wine pairing option or many wines by the glass? As you mention, it does seem like the chef is a bit exuberent with his profusion of ideas. And a lot of work for such a tiny kitchen. Apart from the foams and avant garde approach, would you compare it to elBulli, Alinea, The Fat Duck or even SnackMar? Delighted to hear that you will be taking your camera next time. Cool!

Thanks so much... I'm heading that way soon.

I look forward to more details when you've got a chance Rob. Doc, thanks for the link. On a BBC programme some time back, Adria went to, or mentioned a restaurant in Barcelona that sounds like the one in this article. I scribbled the name down at the time, but of course, lost it. Does anyone know the name of it?

It's out in November. It's the same format as last year, so magazine style and available in newsagents, as opposed to the guide book style of the Dubliner, Bridgestone and Georgina Campbell which sell through book stores. Rather than a top 100, it is pretty all encompassing and covers a range of places. They are not just my opinions, but those of the team at Food & Wine.

For dinner, if you’re talking about quality, the best three are: - Thornton’s, see this thread - Guilbaud’s - And either L’Ecrivain (thread here) or Chapter One (thread here) You can pay a lot of money for an excellent steak at Shanahan’s if that is your thing, or you could pay quite a bit less at The Town Bar & Grill, which does a lot more than steak and does it extremely well. But the best price to quality ratio, in my opinion, is to be found at Chapter One (the charcuterie trolley is a must). Great service too. L’Gueuleton is good for solid French bistro style cooking. It is a heck of a lot more casual than any of the Michelin places, so bear this in mind. It doesn’t take bookings, so you have to put your name down at 6pm when it opens. For lunch, again the first two choices are easy from a price/quality ratio point of view because of their lunch menus (although L’Ecrivain and Chapter One are obvious options too): - Thornton’s - Guilbaud’s My third choice would be Caviston’s, a small unfussy fish restaurant in Glasthule, in South County Dublin by the sea. Very fresh fish at affordable prices, and a nice afternoon out (although they do 3 sittings, so go for the 3pm one if you want to be leisurely, the first one if you want a choice of what’s on). If you want to stay in the city, I would suggest L’Gueuleton, as it’s easier to get a table for lunch than it is for dinner (Carlingford oysters are in season and on the menu now). .Venu (despite the room… and the music) is good value for money. My experience there was good (great bread), but opinions are divided on both the food and the service. As Caitriona mentioned, everyone hates the lighting, and I wouldn’t fancy Jimmy Choo’s on the steps. The Mermaid also does a good mid-Atlantic lunch menu. For something even simpler, La Maison des Gourmets is a little French treat; the café is upstairs over the deli/patisserie. Gruel is just about as casual as it gets, but the food is great and it’s really cheap. And of course there are some interesting little Chinese places in the Moore St/Parnell St area. Really, it depends on your taste and budget. There’s plenty more advice on the Eating in Ireland thread. I’d better get back to work… I’m in the middle of editing the Food & Wine Eat Out guide for 2007!

Caitriona, that sounds like fun. Let us know where you end up. I agree that the lunch menus in Guilbaud’s and Thornton’s are brilliant value. A La Carte is big money though, so needs to be top-notch. I prefer Thornton’s for the food and Guilbaud’s for the room, (although Venu, the brasserie child of Guilbaud offers stiff competition for most soulless room in town). And yep, they are in no way comparable to Bang, which is a fashionable spot with some good cooking, but nothing outstanding.

El Raco de Can Fabes has a cheaper option, Espai Coch. The dishes are cooked in the same kitchen, but a bit simpler and using less expensive ingredients. There are some very positive posts on it on the Forum. It sounds like a bargain. I didn't get there this year, but second Doc's recommendation. On our elBulli trip we included Snack Mar (great fun and I love the large screen), Can Roca, Rafas and Masana, a restaurant in Girona recommended by vserna (thanks) which we really enjoyed. It's Catalan food with a bit of a twist. The pigs trotters were sublime. His "up-and-coming" recommendation sounds good too.

Thanks so much... Unfortunately I can't link to the piece as the Irish Times requires a subscription for most stories. I particularly enjoyed Eddie Lin's live octupus tentacle eating in Deep End Dining and mentioned Gastroville's elBulli v Can Roca post as a terrifying example of culinary constructive criticism. Naturally Pim got a mention. edited to add: A bit off topic, but I should mention that Suman’s very flattering enthusiasm may be partly influenced by our recent meeting for a piece I did on Indian food. I had been impressed by her knowledge on eGullet, but she is unbelievable in person. I had an incredible lesson in Indian cooking! Now we sound like a pair of sycophants!

We were there earlier in the summer, so here are a few more places for your list: - Shaws at New Harbour (a ferry for Monhegan goes out from this harbour too). - Muscongus Bay Lobster Pound at Round Pond (my favourite place) - Lobster Pound at Pemaquid Point. - There's good sushi in Portland (see Portland thread and johnnyd's recommendations) - Another vote for Primo. We shared the pizza for starters and it was fantastic, the best part of the meal. The bread was wonderful too. The mains weren't quite as good as I expected. I had scallops, my husband had veal. Not enough scallops, and just a bit too plain... I like food where the wonderful ingredients are allowed to sing through, but I expect a little attidional spark, which I didn't get. Veal the same. I'm only saying this to be even handed in my criticism, because I do really rate Primo and will be going back on our next visit. Dessert (which was a trio of something) was cute. Our table was for 7.30, so we did have to wait a short while. We didn't mind. The owner is so gracious and our service was spot on. There were too very loud "food warriors" from LA sitting at the table beside us, dropping actors' and directors' names at a loud sickening rate. The waiting staff were so nice about their arrogance and even brought them in to see the wood burning oven. Of course, they may have chucked them in it when no one was looking!

Thanks for the link ravelda. This is good news. It looks like Ireland is in the frame. Does anyone know any more about this?

... I just love the blue plaster! GR is great TV.

They had no bleeps on the first series as far as I can remember, and GR was every bit as passionate and energetic. The last thing I want is for things to be dumbed down to accommodate one little 6 year old. That's not my point. I know there are cooking programmes targeted at children, but the F Word was the one that grabbed her, I think because she recognised GR and HFW from the cookbooks in the kitchen.

Of course chefs swear. I've no problem with real life. And I love the inside a restaurant angle. My view about wishing that it was kid friendly is a personal one. It just seemed that the show lost nothing by running before the watershood in the first series (which is basically kid zone, after 9pm swearing is allowed).

Hmmm… his swearing is just old hat now. Perhaps he’s angling for a cameo role as a coq au vin sucker in Deadwood. I just think that the series worked much better when it went out before the watershed. And I take back what I said about him not being the right person to get people back in the kitchen. He’s well able to do it, if he would just leave the angry, swearing caricature behind. Yelling at ordinary people trying to cook in his professional kitchen is missing the point completely. The first series had all the ingredients for family viewing; a magazine style with something for everyone, and my 6 year old loved it. If they are going to exclude younger viewers by going out after the watershed, they are missing an opportunity and I question whether this chimes with GR's "back in the kitchen" mission statement. When I was a kid, I loved to sit up and watch the few cooking programmes that were on with my mother. It was a special moment shared and it made me feel grown-up. My 6 year old loved Gordon, his kids, Hugh and the animals. But this time round, I couldn’t let her watch them. A minority audience yes… but a very important one I would have thought. And that really annoyed me. It may not sound like it, but I’m a big GR fan. There are few people who can be equally great as a chef, restaurateur and TV personality, and he’s got passion, which makes him compelling viewing. Just not for a 6 year old this time round.

That is impressive! Thanks for the great post Salty.

Somehow this series lacked the energy of the first one. And I'm sick of GR swearing. The kitchen brigade thing was very contrived. You could tell immediately what group and individuals were going to incur his wrath and who the winners would be. Invariably, the teams that did well, got to serve crowd pleasing dishes, so of course they were going to score higher. That said, I thought the doctors were great. And listening to the diners describe their dishes was excrutiating. I'm sure that much of what they said was absolutely true, but I personally have heard enough about flavours blending, bending, being underwhelmed, overwhelmed, massacred or otherwise. It all sounded so self conscious. No wonder people are terrified of going into their kitchens. They'd need a degree in food criticism before they even picked up a knife. It just feels like it's all got too serious and competitive. If the objective was to get people back in their kitchens, I think he failed. GR is entertainment and from a cooking perspective, he appeals to a mid skills market. If you want to get people into the kitchen (because for many it's a case of the first time, and not "back in"), you need someone with more empathy. Someone like Hugh FW. And anyway, TV is not going to achieve this on its own. Cooking should be a compulsary subject in every school. I thought the last episode went out with a bit of a whimper.

Hmmm.... I thought he over did the grief bit. After all, he didn't kill it himself like poor Jamie did in Italy. I liked Janet Street Porter's piece on veal.

Thanks Adam. An interesting piece. I think that this is more the direction we should be looking at. The impact of too much farming really worries me.

Thanks so much for the report Rogelio. Was the caviar with the goose barnacles real caviar or an El Bulli interpretation?

I recorded most of the shows, so I’m just catching up. Last week, when they featured crayfish, they also did a segment on farmed cod. Janice Street Porter strongly advocated that we all spend more to support sustainable fish ie farmed. But isn't there an issue with farmed fish? I understood that they actually consume considerably more fish than their own species in the wild, and the fish used to feed them are being stripped from the top layer of the ocean… so yet another ecological problem in the making? Am I wrong in this? Adam, you can possibly clarify. Giles Coren did his “pimp my snack” bit with a large Jaffa Cake, which was quite funny. But apparently it tasted awful!