My mother raised me to always tell the truth, so here it goes:
I had pizza for my first three meals in Dublin. Let’s just blame it on my classmates craving Italian and not the fact that my palette and I were less than enthusiastic about the Irish cuisine. However, I am happy to say that my taste buds and I left our comfort zone and have now taken a liking to traditional Irish food. Over the past couple of weeks, I have indulged in a variety of scones, numerous plates of fish and chips, and any dish I could find with my new favorite food-smoked salmon. Although I continue to restaurant hop around the city, my favorite to place to eat happens to be somewhere I dined during my first weekend in Dublin.
I had pizza for my first three meals in Dublin. Let’s just blame it on my classmates craving Italian and not the fact that my palette and I were less than enthusiastic about the Irish cuisine. However, I am happy to say that my taste buds and I left our comfort zone and have now taken a liking to traditional Irish food. Over the past couple of weeks, I have indulged in a variety of scones, numerous plates of fish and chips, and any dish I could find with my new favorite food-smoked salmon. Although I continue to restaurant hop around the city, my favorite to place to eat happens to be somewhere I dined during my first weekend in Dublin.
The Brazen Head, Ireland’s oldest pub, serves authentic Irish food and hosts live music every evening. While tourists do frequent the pub and restaurant, it was still riddled with enough locals that I did not feel as if I entered a tourist trap. After being seated in one of the four dining rooms and looking over the menu, I decided to order the Cottage Pie, or Shepherd’s Pie as it is called in America. Although it was not the most aesthetically appealing dish, it was definitely one of the most delicious.
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| Cottage Pie at The Brazen Head |
One of the positives of the food in Ireland is the freshness of the meals. Like in America, Ireland advertises their local farms and pushes for the consumption of the farmers’ products. Since Ireland is very small geographically, the farmers’ products do not have to travel far from the fields to the store shelves.
On the other hand, another plus of Dublin’s food scene is the wide range of international options. As the city becomes increasingly multicultural, the availability of ethnic foods also increases. Chinese, Thai, French, Japanese, American, Polish, and Indian restaurants can all be easily found throughout the city. One of my favorite non-Irish restaurants, Lemon, happens to be right next to CEA’s campus and is great for a before class meal. Lemon offers a menu that ranges from eggs to waffles to lunch sandwiches. One morning I was off to a rough start and decided to treat myself to this waffle topped with bananas. The powdered sugar and whipped cream gave me quite the sugar rush and inevitable crash, but the taste made it worth it.
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| Waffle at Lemon |
Although not known for its food, Ireland certainly surprised me with its dishes and variety of restaurants. By my program’s end date in April, I hope to discover many more restaurants, cafes, and bakeries that my taste buds and I dread leaving.
Abigail Marchione is the Spring 2014 CEA MOJO in Dublin, Ireland. She is currently a junior at DePaul University.