My Goodness! No Guinness!
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March 17, 2008, 10:37 pm
Filed under: Neither Here Nor There, Restaurants, Travel | Tags: dublin, guinness, ireland, meat pie, oscar wilde, steak and ale pie, steak and guinness pie, stout
Filed under: Neither Here Nor There, Restaurants, Travel | Tags: dublin, guinness, ireland, meat pie, oscar wilde, steak and ale pie, steak and guinness pie, stout
I spent the weekend in Dublin for a job interview, and unfortunately, I was disappointed by the city – although the above statue of Oscar Wilde, smirking at you in flamboyant colours from a top a rock, is pretty amazing. I was also travelling with a picky eater, and my patience wore thin after the city left me unimpressed, and then I couldn’t indulge in interesting restaurants to make up for it. We ate one meal in a franchised global pizza chain, and lunch the next day in a famous global fast food syndicate who’s name begins with an M. Not the best weekend of my life.
Now I did think of visiting the guinness brewery in Dublin when the city sights proved a bit of a letdown… but unfortunately, I don’t like guinness. In fact, the closest I came to consuming guinness during my visit to Ireland was to eat this underwhelming Steak and Guinness Pie at a pub before my interview – it is normally served as a pie with chips (fries) and gravy… giving a strange double gravy double starch combination I rectified (in a somewhat sacrilegious way) by adding salad in lieu of fried potatoes.
Now, I feel in general English cuisine has a really undeserved bad reputation, as on a cold rainy day, you can’t asking for anything better than a delicious strong stew encased in pastry. It was an unfortunate choice for me, despite it being a cold rainy day in Dublin, as I was on my way to a job interview and it sat heavily and comfortably in my nervous stomach. Lesson learned.
Anyways, I can’t write much in this entry except use it as a eulogy to my weekend in Dublin that could have been… had there not been legions of Welsh rugby fans in town accompanied by requisite skanky girls I may have had a peaceful pint… had I not chosen to travel with a picky (and snobby) French citizen I may have made up for the lack of atmosphere with a delicious meal… had I been a little more articulate in the interview, I may have gotten the job.
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What a shame! I am also in Dublin for a break and know the city well. There are wonderful places to eat, but, like London you just need to seek them out.
Comment by Niamh March 21, 2008 @ 12:33 pmI know exactly what you mean! As Niamh says, you do need to know where to eat because there are some lovely restaurants. I think you should have taken the brewery tour, they don’t force you to drink the stuff!
Have you been told that you didn’t get the job, or are you just assuming? Well, if you didn’t get it blame the French contingent and if you did – Well done!
Comment by Toffeeapple March 21, 2008 @ 5:13 pmToo bad you found Dublin to be uninspiring.
While I am not an “expert” on the city, my wife and I been there several times, and we have always found it exciting and alive (although usually cold and dreary, weather-wise).
Like anywhere (even here in the area surrounding DC), there are bad and there are good places to eat. It’s in learning how to separate the two.
We have had some fabulous (although expensive) meals in Ireland. On the other hand, we have had some “pub food” that was less than tasty.
Perhaps you should have consulted some of the locals. They are, for the most part, WONDERFUL people, unlike some of the “snobby” French citizens we have encountered.
Comment by DocChuck March 22, 2008 @ 4:40 pmMy husband is disabled (mental) and, sadly, we have been unable to travel for many years now.
He does find joy in his vicarious adventures on the internet, though. Ireland, Peru and France are some of his favorite internet “travel destinations.”
Thank you for such a lovely blog! It helped keep him stabilized over the weekend.
P.S. Apologies to the fine people of France, the City of Lights.
Comment by MrsDocChuck March 24, 2008 @ 4:46 pmThe poster above (MrsDocChuck) . . . note the IP address . . . is once again Louise (”chiffOnade”) in Clearwater, Florida who apparently gets off on disrupting other people’s BLOGS, and attempting to imitate the real DocChuck.
Louise (”chiffOnade”) has not been the same since her fourth divorce, her second suicide attempt, her daughter’s incarceration for selling drugs, and her mother Aida’s death.
Kindly do NOT confuse ChiffOnade’s remarks with any normal, intelligent person’s comments.
Comment by DocChuck March 25, 2008 @ 1:07 pmSorry. He seems to have chewed through his restraints again.
Comment by MrsDocChuck March 25, 2008 @ 6:04 pmUm.
Whoever you both are, please take this elsewhere. Let’s keep the focus on food. Thanks.
Comment by N March 25, 2008 @ 7:05 pmWhat is wrong with people that they have to disrupt perfectly lovely blogs? Well done on telling them where to get off!
Comment by Toffeeapple March 27, 2008 @ 5:03 pmIf I read the post correctly, it sounded as though DocChuck was simpling describing his experiences in Dublin. Then his “comment” was bombarded with thinly-veiled sarcasm.
Perhaps your blog should not requests comments, OR should check the IP addresses of the “commenters” if you feel there is a problem with someone leaving legitimate, requested “Responses.”
[Note from H to M: Perhaps you should check your own IP address, Dr. "DocChuck" Elizabeth. We're now going to block you if you comment again. Ciao!]
Comment by Dr. Elizabeth March 27, 2008 @ 6:51 pmthanks for this sharing
Comment by mustafa May 11, 2008 @ 10:01 pmMy goodness, no way! That’s when you marshal all your powers of persuasion and say, “I will not set foot into those vile establishments! We will find you food to eat at a better restaurant”, and refuse to budge until it happens.
Comment by jayloo June 23, 2008 @ 5:33 pmHow creepy… I thought that was a real person in the picture, not a statue. Eek!
Comment by Oatmeal Coookie Guy July 11, 2008 @ 1:26 am