Adventures in Dublin Dining.
Jul. 19th, 2006 10:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bzarcherSo, for dinner tonight, Alex and I found ourselves at loose ends, and decided to experiment.
We went up the road to a relatively new place that proudly declares itself "Mary Kelly's: A Restaurant and Bar." We'd discussed possibly hitting it the other day as a group, but Alex and I decided it'd be best to recconoiter first, and report.
Needless to say, I had some preconceptions about what we'd find, and the decor didn't dissuade me.
The menu, however, did. Rather than being a faux-Irish pub, MKs makes itself into an Expatriate place. There's a lot of Irish stylings, but you start to notice that the chairs and tables almost certainly came from Amish country, and the art on the walls mixes a lot of middle America with pictures that tell immigrant tales.
But, I was going to talk about the menu.
Aside from the daily specials, there's really no stereotypical Irish food. There's a lot of Irish stylings, particularly in some of the side dishes (mmm, Colcannon. But why does it taste like German potato salad?), but most of the dishes are middle american fare. And I seriously doubt you can find a real Irish publican offering "Kosher's best hotdogs, Fries, and a milkshake" as a lunch plate.
We went for some very tasty, if very standard dishes (fried chicken, sides, salad), and some truly awe-inspiring dessert (strawberry shortcake served on a dinner plate, not a smaller dessert plate, and it takes up the whole plate quite nicely), and found the service very pleasant and cheerful. The only thing that raised my eyes during the meal aside from the size of portions and the generally high quality was their honey mustard sauce for the chicken - it's made there, fresh, and it's much more honey than mustard, with a few hints of other things that make it absolutely delightful.
It's a family place, and every table has inbuilt leaves that can be expanded to include your expanded family, and much more restaurant than bar. I think it goes on the list of somewhere to take my parents or grandparents for dinner, and I look forward to going back.
We went up the road to a relatively new place that proudly declares itself "Mary Kelly's: A Restaurant and Bar." We'd discussed possibly hitting it the other day as a group, but Alex and I decided it'd be best to recconoiter first, and report.
Needless to say, I had some preconceptions about what we'd find, and the decor didn't dissuade me.
The menu, however, did. Rather than being a faux-Irish pub, MKs makes itself into an Expatriate place. There's a lot of Irish stylings, but you start to notice that the chairs and tables almost certainly came from Amish country, and the art on the walls mixes a lot of middle America with pictures that tell immigrant tales.
But, I was going to talk about the menu.
Aside from the daily specials, there's really no stereotypical Irish food. There's a lot of Irish stylings, particularly in some of the side dishes (mmm, Colcannon. But why does it taste like German potato salad?), but most of the dishes are middle american fare. And I seriously doubt you can find a real Irish publican offering "Kosher's best hotdogs, Fries, and a milkshake" as a lunch plate.
We went for some very tasty, if very standard dishes (fried chicken, sides, salad), and some truly awe-inspiring dessert (strawberry shortcake served on a dinner plate, not a smaller dessert plate, and it takes up the whole plate quite nicely), and found the service very pleasant and cheerful. The only thing that raised my eyes during the meal aside from the size of portions and the generally high quality was their honey mustard sauce for the chicken - it's made there, fresh, and it's much more honey than mustard, with a few hints of other things that make it absolutely delightful.
It's a family place, and every table has inbuilt leaves that can be expanded to include your expanded family, and much more restaurant than bar. I think it goes on the list of somewhere to take my parents or grandparents for dinner, and I look forward to going back.
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-20 02:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-20 03:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-20 10:58 am (UTC)The theme of the place really seems to be American food, flavored by Irish seasonings or traditions. It's less about "Being Irish in America" and more "Being American Irish."