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Eating and Drinking Our Way Through Galway

March 14, 2019 in cocktail, Food, Restaurants, wine by traveleatlove | No comments

It seems that St. Patrick’s Day week is the perfect time to look back on our most recent trip to Ireland and to share some of the incredible food we ate while in Galway. Our eating (and drinking!) included a mix of old favorites and places that we hadn’t tried before. I am currently craving all of the below!

Curious about our past travels to Ireland? Visit my travel posts page!

We visited Galway during the annual Christmas market, one of my favorite times of year to go. The market features shopping, entertainment, rides, and of course food and drink. Mulled wine and hot dogs made on a massive round grill, topped with onions and mustard, are two market favorites we indulged in more than once!

We got away for a date night in Galway, and we decided on Ard Bia, an old favorite, cozy and romantic, with the wild River Corrib emptying into the sea alongside it.

The menu is focused on Irish ingredients, and we indulged in dishes like potato and tarragon gnocchi, Burren smoked haddock bake, local salad with Galway goat cheese, and a beautiful trio of dips, including a vibrant beetroot one.

Ard Bia is simply beautiful, bathed in candlelight, and adorned with dried flowers and greens. The walls are lined with Irish treats for purchase, including the Achill sea salt I bought to brine our Thanksgiving turkey!

One of the spots that was new-to-us, but a Galway favorite, was Papa Rich, which has several Galway locations. We ate at the Newtownsmith location which had beautiful river and cathedral views and incredible street food style meals.

Spicy Sambal Goreng and a crisp beer made especially for Papa Rich made for the perfect lunch. I wish we had Papa Rich in Boston!

Also new-to-us was Xi’an Street Food, where we shared some incredible dishes including Amber Fire Szchuan Style (With chips! I love that this is an option in Ireland!) and a hand-ripped noodle dish, which they are known for.

We celebrated my in-law’s anniversary at a beautiful special occasion spot the Park House Hotel. A long and lovely lunch included the smoked salmon platter, complete with veggies, salads, mashed potatoes and bread, and a to-die-for Toblerone cheesecake for dessert.

Last but certainly not least, we made it a point to visit one of my favorite cocktail spots, Tribeton, for a couple of their beautiful gin drinks in their stunning setting. Tribeton is also a great date spot, though we went early enough that it was baby-friendly as well!

We’re looking at our travel calendars to see when our next trip to Ireland makes the most sense. . . baby flies free until he is two, and we plan to make the most of it!

Tags: cocktails, Food, Galway, Ireland, Travel, travel blog, wine

Leunig’s Bistro, Burlington, Vermont

March 9, 2018 in Restaurants, Travel by traveleatlove | No comments

In case you missed it, I blogged about our stay at Sonesta ES Suites Burlington, Vermont here.

Our weekend in Burlington was a cold one, but it sure was cozy, and one of the restaurants we found (and visited three times!) really helped to make it special.

On a very chilly morning, we needed a place to get out of the cold and stumbled upon Leunig’s Bistro, which not only occupies a corner of the Church Street Marketplace with its adorable cafe and bistro, but also has a pastry kiosk right across the pedestrian street.

I was instantly smitten with both, and while we needed heat most, I knew we would be back to visit Leunig’s Petit Bijou at some point during our stay.

A rich and delicious hot chocolate at Leunig’s bar was the perfect respite from winter, and the lovely staff made us feel at home and unrushed as we enjoyed our chocolate and read the paper. The pace and the warmth of the space was so nice; it definitely felt far from the hustle and bustle of our Boston lives.

Isn’t it just beautiful? It’s rare that we spend an hour just sitting and enjoying a hot drink early in the day, and this was the perfect start to our Burlington wandering.

We loved it so much, in fact, that when it came time to find a place for dinner, we made our way back to Leunig’s to see if there was any possibility of getting a table without a reservation. While the restaurant was full, we were in luck that they keep some tables for walk-ins, and the hostess happily let us know that there was room for us.

We got settled into a cozy table and looked at the extensive menus, unsure how we would decide. We wanted mussels and fries and all the salads and truffle fries and onion soup. . . and all of the entrees.

While we decided, I also noticed that they had a nice menu of non-alcoholic drinks like the refreshing pineapple sage sour that I went with for my “cocktail”.

In the end, after devouring a basket of fresh rolls and Vermont butter, we went with the petit portions of steak frites (with truffle fries, of course) and Beef Bourguignon. I rarely finish anything, so I love when smaller portions are offered, and the size of these was perfect.

This was amazing comfort food at its absolute finest. Perfect fries, a delectably medium rare steak, creamy horseradish. . .

And my Beef Bourguignon was a melt-in-your-mouth feast. It must have cooked all day. The rich and incredibly tender meat was complemented by onions and crisp green beans and the creamiest garlic mashed potatoes. I need to make this at home when I am able to drink wine again. I know it’s a time-consuming dish, but it is so worth it!

After dinner we took a nice walk around Burlington before heading back to Leunig’s Petit Bijou for hot chocolates with French vanilla whipped cream, paired with one of their homemade chocolate croissants, which we decided to save for a cozy breakfast the next day.

We fell in love with Leunig’s and found it the perfect date day and date night spot. If you are visiting Burlington, Vermont, I would highly recommend this spot for any time of day.

Tags: Burlington, dining, Food, Travel, travel blog, Vermont

Wanderlust Wednesday: A Few Last Glimpses of Italy

February 21, 2018 in Travel by traveleatlove | No comments

There are so many incredible regions of Italy to choose from when planning a trip; you could really easily spend a year there and not spend enough time seeing and tasting all that this beautiful country has to offer. While my first choice would be somewhere by the sea (Sicily is still one of my dream trips!) on our last visit to Italy, we traveled for a wedding, and our destination was set for us!

With our home base a villa in Umbria, just on the border of Tuscany, we discovered there were countless day trips we could take: Perugia, Siena, Assisi, Montepulciano, and so many more.

Montepulciano was one of our day trips, and this spectacular medieval city atop a giant hill, surrounded by wine, is well worth a visit, especially during sunflower season in Tuscany. Fields of gold were everywhere! Be prepared to drive and walk some steep streets and alleyways in order to get some of the best views, but be sure to take in the architecture on your way.

We were traveling with a group, which isn’t easy in a town like Montepulciano, but we found some great food nonetheless.

You won’t want to miss the wine cellars of Montepulciano and surrounding areas. I was absolutely fascinated by Contucci.

According to the Contucci website, it’s likely that the Contucci family was living in Montepulciano by the year 1,000. . .

Visiting the cellar is quite the experience. You just keep going down, down, down many flights of stairs to find gigantic wine barrels. An added bonus: on an extremely hot Tuscan day, the cellar is delightfully cold and a break from the baking sun!

We merely got a taste of Montepulciano and would absolutely love to visit again to cover the history, food, wine, and amazing views for longer.

As I mentioned above, the reason for our visit was a wedding, and the location of the ceremony was Cortona, inside its beautiful Cortona Cathedral. Cortona and its surroundings were definite favorites on this trip; I still have one last winery post to write, so stay tuned!

Our final day trip during our week in Italy was to Arezzo. Again, it was a group trip, and finding parking for multiple cars was a bit of a challenge. We actually almost gave up and returned to our villa!

Once we found parking, we didn’t have a ton of time to explore, but we did get to see some great views and cute shops. Truffles are king in the region, and I enjoyed some truffle potato chips while wanting to buy everything in sight. The intoxicating smell of truffles filled the air!

As one does on a hot day in Tuscany, we stopped at a cute patio for refreshments; mine was a cold glass of local white wine with a great view of the surrounding square.

There are definitely lots of moments in Italy where sitting outside enjoying local wine is just all you need.

Arezzo offered beautiful architecture, and while we planned to visit its famous cathedral, our parking issues made us miss opening hours! Perhaps this post is a guide on how NOT to travel?

Instead we enjoyed the great outdoors and explored where the film Life is Beautiful was made.

Even reading about the movie made me cry!

Have you seen it? I think I have watched it at least three or four times, and it is heart wrenching every single time. I actually did not know that Arezzo was the setting of the movie, but it made me love this town even more.