Elephant & Castle, Dublin

If you type "Elephant and Castle Dublin" into Google, it will automatically prompt you to add "chicken wings" to your search, such is the popularity of the house dish.

Elephant & Castle, in the centre of Dublin's bustling Temple Bar tourist hub, has been open since 1989. It differs from most other eateries in the area in that the majority of the clients are local, it is always busy and it is extremely rare to walk in and get a table immediately.

We arrived at about 3pm on a Friday afternoon and were lucky to be seated within 5 minutes. The waiting staff were busy to the verge of being overworked but took our drinks orders immediately.

I ordered an Elderflower Cordial, whilst Leo plumped for the "Home Made Ginger Beer" while we perused the extensive and unusual menu. It was immediately noticable that most of the customers just ordered "the wings", some not even needing a menu to make their decision! I ordered the Pear and Stilton Salad, with toasted walnuts (€12.75), while Leo went for the Smoked Haddock and Gruyere Omelette (€10.75) and we agreed to the likeable waitess' suggestion that we "share a side of fries".

The omelette was cooked to perfection and the two ingredients complimented each other perfectly, whilst the salad was fresh and crisp. Suffice it to say, all plates were cleared with many shared nods of approval and an unusual (for us), lack of conversation!

The bill came to €33.00 and as as we left, our table was reset and had two new occupants about to be seated. I only hope they ventured beyond the ubiquitous chicken wings and enjoyed some of the almost hidden gems on the Elephant & Castle's menu...

Elephant & Castle
18 Temple Bar,
Dublin 2,
Ireland
(+353) 1 679 3121
www.elephantandcastle.ie

Musa

Following Scotland's much welcomed three-day summer, I thought I'd celebrate by heading to the granite north. Actually, this trip had been in the diary for a while, as I was heading there for my friend Arlene's 40th birthday celebrations.

Tweed-clad and thoroughly hungover, I emerged on the platform at Aberdeen station looking rather bewildered. I soon got my bearings and headed for the little station cafe with a merry band of fellow revellers. I took coffee, in attempt to waken-up my liver bile.

Once joined by the birthday girl, we headed out in to the big bad world, alighting upon Musa, after a little wander.
Musa is a Brewdog house, featuring their unusual brand of super-strength beers. Aside from these alcoholic 'delights', it features a quirky two-tier layout, and a simple menu augmented by a good array of daily specials.

I needed comforting sustenance, so opted for their soup of the day, the currently ever-presented celeriac, this time married with courgette, followed by a plate of risotto. My fellow diners, Heather and Ravi, opted for liquid refreshment in the form pinot grigio and a twig-water concoction called 'zeitgeist'. Alistair joined me in a risotto adventure, with the birthday girl opting for an interesting sounding dish comprising smoked haddock and a poached egg.


My soup was fair, but the flavour combination didn't realise particularly satisfying results. The effect was a non-specific savoury taste, which though pleasant enough didn't really excite. It had texture trouble, too, as it hadn't been blitzed to a smooth velvet, but equally didn't retain enough of a rustic coarseness.


The risotto fared much better. I opted for the smoked haddock and crayfish from their specials menu, rather than their main menu's wild mushroom. It was beautifully suffused with smokey sweetness, and although the rice was a touch underdone, it was a satisfying plate of goodness, highlighting some quality local ingredients.



Arlene's main course wasn't a looker, but it had an alluring aroma. I think she was pretty happy with her choice.


Musa struck me as reliable but unspectacular. Next time I'm in town, I'll probably try somewhere else, but it did the job of restoring me to something approaching a reasonable sense of wellbeing, so for that I will remain thankful.

Scores

Blythe scores Musa:
3/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 12/20

Today's Lunch Questers were: Arlene, Alistair, Heather, Ravinder, Blythe.

We ate: celeriac and courgette soup, risotto, smoked haddock with poached egg.

We drank: Brooklyn lager, pinot grigio, something called Zeitgeist, unleaded coke, leaded coke, water.

We wore: the simple weeds of frustration at the lack of a Scottish St Luke's summer.

Total Bill: c.£50

Musa
Exchange Street
Aberdeen
http://www.musaaberdeen.com/