Restaurants

You are currently browsing the archive for the Restaurants category.

As we always do in Ireland, we did our fair share of eating and drinking on our last visit. Food in Ireland is really good; people who think otherwise are missing out!

Below are just a few of the bites and sips that we enjoyed in County Galway just a few weeks ago.

O'Grady's on the Pier Seafood chowder, brown bread, and pints of Guinness at O’Grady’s in Barna, a must visit every time I am in Galway

 

champagne and strawberries

Champagne and a board of Irish seafood at Gaslight at the Hotel Meyrick in Eyre Square Galway – this was the perfect spot for a little rest from the crowds during the Galway Races.

Irish seafood board Irish coffee

Irish coffees with a view in Roundstone, one of my favorite County Galway towns

Roundstone Ireland

bank holiday in Galway Plenty of Jameson and ginger ales on a Sunday Bank Holiday

Connemara Red Ale Irish craft beer! I loved this Connemara Red Ale from Independent Brewing Company of Ireland. Years ago I wondered why Ireland didn’t have many craft brewers, and now the scene is full of great craft beer. I wish I had opened a brewery then!

goat cheese salad Goat cheese and local veggie salad at An Cruiscin Lan in Spiddal

 

99 ice cream cone 99 ice cream cones with a Cadbury Flake – Irish soft serve ice cream is the best!

 

 

queen cakePink Queen Cakes – Queen Cakes come with many different colors of frosting, but mine has to be pink. I love these delicate little sweets at tea time.

 

Ard Bia Galway  A romantic date night at Ard Bia, dripping candles, local fare, and a great wine list included

Ard Bia Ard Bia has some of the best food in Galway, and I stuck to my seafood theme with the crab cocktail and mussels with a lovely grapefruit topping.

mussels

baked Irish oysters

Galway oysters baked with a creamy roux, made by my mother-in-law – the oysters were so fresh and briny, and we gobbled them  down right out of the broiler.

Vindaloo

Veggie Vindaloo from Kahsmir Galway, my favorite Indian restaurant ever – my extra spicy meal is always the topic of conversation, but truthfully I don’t find it that bad at all!

 

G Hotel Galway

Drinks and a cheese plate in the fancifully-decorated G Hotel in Galway – always a favorite spot for a cocktail and to people watch, and to admire the decor

Tags: Dining out, Food, Galway, Ireland, Irish coffee, travel. Travel Tuesday, wine

That’s Massachusetts for you. Just when you think you’ve discovered all of your favorite MA beaches, seaside towns, and waterside watering holes, friends have suggestions for more, and locals lead you in new directions. The possibilities of summer in Massachusetts are endless; why is the season so short?! Next year, we are taking a week off for a staycation. I long to have extra days to sip and linger at Westport Rivers Sunset Music Series and trips to Horseneck Beach and to camp at Spectacle Island or hike at World’s Endto take the ferry to Provincetown, not to mention to indulge in the bounty of the sea and local farms. It is summer, and I am in my annual love affair with Massachusetts.

 

Our July 3 truly felt like a holiday. We got together with friends and headed North to the sweet town of Ipswich where we were introduced to Salt Kitchen & Rum Bar and instantly saw why it is a local favorite. And it’s not just because they offer so many different types of rums, including local option Privateer. The interior is adorably  coastal and rustic, staff is friendly and warm, and the food was delicious.

Salt Rum Bar

I loved my Big Foot cocktail, which included Ragged Mountain Rum, Chipotle Maple Syrup, and Lime, for a sweet and spicy kick.

 

Big Foot rum cocktail For lunch I indulged in the Lobster Wellington, which was amazing, with its tender sweet lobster and corn in a flaky puff pastry, served with a salad to balance it out.

Lobster Wellington During lunch we learned that our destination, Crane Beach, was at capacity, which 1) made it impossible to go there but 2) made us not really want to even attempt it if it was that crowded. Luckily, bartenders and bar patrons always have the best knowledge, and we were on our way to a hidden gem of a beach nearby that turned out to be even better than our first choice. The water and sky were perfectly blue, and it felt so good to be on the hot sand. The water, on the other hand, was a little chilly, as you can see from my bracing below. Still, it was all so perfect, the quintessential New England summer day, so very welcome after a hellish winter.

beach in Ipswich

Since laying at the beach works up quite an appetite, we stopped at CK Pearl on our way home. This was another new-to-us spot, and it is a new favorite. The deck is right on the water, providing great views of beautiful nature and boats.

CK Pearl

CK Pearl The filter for this photo is sunscreen. I love it.

 

Our waterside feast included Octopus Carpaccio and oysters, paired with bubbly, of course. CK Pearl is an amazing spot to relax, and it’s right across the street from the famous Woodman’s if you also need a fried clam fix. We’ll definitely be back this summer.

Octopus Carpaccio    oysters  I took a little over a week off from blogging to visit family, get lots of work done, and enjoy a holiday weekend, and I am now excited and refreshed and looking forward to catching up on all of your blogs and updating my own.

Cheers to the best month of the year!

Tags: beaches, cocktails, Food, Ipswich, Massachusetts, oysters, rum, staycation, summer, vacation, wine

Just order everything, is the advice that I would give for those thinking about visiting the newly opened Townshend restaurant in Quincy. Its location is a little odd; it’s in the same building as my doctor, so my arrival brought back less-than-stellar memories of having malaria this winter and feeling wretched, but once inside the actual restaurant, the space is bright, rustic, and lovely and lacks that doctor’s office smell.

Our group of four was seated at a table next to the window, where we could view the comings and goings of Quincy, which is a busy place! We started with cocktails, mine the Brooklyn: a simple and delicious mix of rye and orange bitters, served nice and cold.

Rye and Orange Bitters

We were all hangry and decided we needed appetizers in addition to entrees.

beet salad

The beet salad with whipped ricotta was one of my favorites. It was so simple but so well done, and it made me feel healthy after constant indulgences of late.

arancini

Arancini nestled in a flavorful tomato sauce were stuffed with peas and guanciale, a delightful, rich pairing.

grilled asparagus

Roasted asparagus with bacon cream was heavenly. Seriously, I always want my asparagus this way.

burrattaBurrata with spiced honey and toast was another crowd favorite, and our server kindly brought us extra bread for the burrata and all of the other bits of sauce left on the appetizer plates. We weren’t leaving a drop of anything behind!

trout

For  my entree I went with the seared trout with fingerling potatoes, grilled spring onion, and chorizo. It was perfectly cooked, just falling off of the crispy skin, and so full of flavor. It was exactly what I wanted.

I also had a few bites of the hanger steak my husband ordered. It was tender and garlicky, served with a crispy potato rosti, which was like a really crispy hash brown.

hanger steak

We shared a bottle of Gruener Veltliner with our dinner. I am normally a big fan of Gruener, but this one was very acidic to me.

landhaus mayer gruner

 

amaro digestif

Before we left, we were treated to little splashes of Amaro as a digestif. It was just another small touch in already excellent service to end the night. We really loved our experience at The Townshend; it was one of the best meals we have all had in recent months, and since all four of us eat a lot, that’s saying something!

Did you try any new restaurants over the weekend?

Tags: cocktails, Dining out, new, Quincy, Restaurants, wine

« Older entries § Newer entries »

new restaurant
WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera