Food and drink
Restaurants, chippers, Guinness, whiskey and Irish cooking.
Famous Irish Foods: What to Eat in Ireland
Warm fare, excellent drinks, and freshness form the base of Irish food. While most think of Ireland as a meat and potatoes country, there's much more to Irish cuisine than that (although the meat and…
Street Markets in Galway
Like many other places in Ireland, Galway is also bustling with street markets that are famous among the visitors and locals alike.
Street Markets in Dublin
There's something magical about being able to discover a city as you stroll its street markets. And Dublin makes no exception.
Visiting the Guinness Brewery in Dublin
In a country with as much to offer visitors as Ireland, it’s slightly surprising that its most visited international tourist attraction is a brewery tour that isn’t really a brewery tour at all.
Ireland Photo: Guinness Pints
Pints of Guinness Sure, you can get Guinness all over the world, but what's the point of coming to Ireland without sampling this world-famous beverage in the land which gave birth to it?
Finding Public Toilets in Ireland
As any traveler knows, finding clean public bathrooms that are safe and don't charge for use is sometimes a hassle.
Gorgeous Women Drinking Guinness
When I sat down to write this post, I thought a simple search for the words " Guinness Girls " would turn up oodles of pictures.
12 Funny Guinness-fueled Drunk Videos
It is pretty much a given that any trip to Ireland will include the consumption of beer. Lots of beer.
It's still called a "pint"
In a move that will prevent a lot of tongue-tied stuttering at Irish pubs around the country, the European Commission decided on September 11 to allow traders in Ireland and the UK to continue using…
Irish bare-knuckle boxing match
Yep - this is what the fuss is all about.
The Old Shamrock Bar
I love this old pub on Connacht Street here in Athlone. There's something so poignant about its dereliction. Vacant shopfronts like this are fading fast - Athlone is a growing metropolis.
The Jumbo Breakfast Roll song
Pat Short is one funny fecker. Here is a live recording of his ballad concerning the noble Irish Breakfast roll:
Sushi in Ireland, a dó!
(that's "two" in Irish, by the way) What you see there is the proud new table setting last Wednesday before we all tucked into some scrumptious sushi.
Hatter's Restaurant in Athlone
So the bean has been at me to get my poultry-loving butt down to Hatter's in Athlone and try their duck.
The Irish hate Guinness?
No they don't. With 10 million pints poured a day, Guinness is still very popular.
Sean's Bar, Athlone - Oldest Pub in Ireland
There has been a pub awaiting weary travellers at the crossing of the river Shannon for over a thousand years. But Sean's Bar in Athlone isn't just the oldest pub in Ireland.
Tipping in Irish pubs
During my brief visit to the bay area a few weeks ago I did somehow find the opportunity to have a couple of beers at a bar and it all came back to me.
Sushi in Ireland
Doesn't happen. Well, there may be one or two places in Dublin - I recall eating at a sushi boat kind of place with one of those revolving platforms where you pay more or less depending on the colour…
Garlic curry cheese and bacon chips
The new Genoa cafe got me to thinking. There is now a noble little chinese place across from the Athlone Garda station called "Lotus Chinese," but there used to be a chipper there called Fryer Tuck's…
The new Genoa Cafe
Ah, I'd say most Athlonians wont' recognise their town in a few years. Along with the beheamoth and the new town centre, there are innumerable smaller changes happening across the town that are…
O'Brien's Sandwich Bar in Athlone
Athlone has a lot of good places to eat. The Irish sandwich bar is something of an institution in this country, although the prevalence of ham&cheese with coleslaw sandwiches have diminished…
Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
You know when you're sitting around with people who know nothing about beer or maybe you know nothing about beer yourself and you talk about Guinness Stout - that black, intimidating beer that a lot…
Flanagans Fast Food in Ballymahon
It was one of those weekends when you find yourself in Ballymahon for some musical event or another. VE leaned across the table with a brown bag of chips. A heavenly aroma wafted from the open end.
Skelly's Bar in Ballymahon
Right at the centre of Ballymahon in County Longford is Skelly's pub. An unassuming little grocery and off-license from the front, the pub is accessed through a side alley, depositing one into the…
Hodson Bay Meal
What you see above you are a few sample photos I took last night during a 5-course meal at the Hodson Bay Hotel here in Athlone.
French Market Returns
It was Friday morning on my way to work that I saw them: the tell-tale trucks and stalls and the lyrical chatter of French wafting toward me on the breeze from the Shannon.
The Price of a Pint goes up?
Back in the beginning of March drinks giant Diageo (those are the guys who own Guinness, among many, many other drinks) announced that they would be raising the price of a pint by 2.7% (about 4…
Sean's Bar not actually the oldest pub in Ireland!
With their Guinness Book of World Records certificate stating that Sean's Bar in Athlone is the oldest pub in Europe, you would figure this pub's authenticity was beyond question.
Locke's starts distilling whiskey again
You all remember my raving about Locke's Distillery in Kilbeggan , right? Well, it would appear that this past Monday was their 250th anniversary.
Shack Lunch
Just look at that there. Don't you wish you were sitting right there, about to tuck into that gorgeous, steaming platter of roast chicken, rosemary stuffing, steamed veg and half mash and chips with…
Blood for Stout
Well, there was a blood drive in Athlone the last week and yours truly went out to the IBTS to do his civic duty.
Divertamento restaurant by the Shannon
I mentioned earlier that a new restaurant, Divertamento , had opened in Athlone at the East footprint of the bridge overlooking the river Shannon.
Locke's Whiskey Distillery, Kilbeggan
I can't say enough about this place. A lot of visitors to Ireland stop into the Jameson Distillery (where whiskey is no longer made) in Dublin.
Smoking in Irish pubs
If you're picturing the Irish pub as a fascinating, dark, smoky place then you're one-third right. Ireland passed a blanket ban on smoking back in 2004.
The Thirsty traveller visits Guinness
This is a travelistic piece featuring the Thirsty Traveller's visit to the Guinness brewery .
The Skeff Bar, Galway
Taking up a huge footprint on the west side of Eyre Square in Galway is the Skeff Bar . Upstairs is the Skeffington Arms, an exclusively-priced hotel with aging rooms.
Ken's Oriental Restaurant
Ken's Oriental restaurant in Athlone is a bit of an institution, spawning numerous spin-off restaurants around the town.
Temple Bar, Dublin
You will probably hear an awful lot about the Temple Bar area in Dublin . This is a neighbourhood on the south side of the river where most of Dublin's partying happens.
Alfredos chipper, Athlone
It's two in the morning in Athlone and you're hungry. There's nothing for it but to hit Alfredo's chipper.
Lunch at the Athlone Radisson
The Radisson SAS Hotel in Athlone has one of the most prime pieces of real estate on the River Shannon.
Yankee Desserts in Ireland: Egg Nog
Oh lord, this one is the one that stops Irish people dead in their tracks. I don't know what goes through their head when they hear about it - images of Rocky swallowing raw eggs in Rocky I?
Clara Market in jeopardy?
Here in the midlands there is an open market event that happens every weekend called The Clara Market .
Yankee Desserts in Ireland: Pumpkin Pie
Well it's Christmas time again and we expatriots drag out our trusty culinary traditions, much to the amusement and confusion of the local Irish folk.
Traditional Irish Christmas feastings
Christmas in Ireland is turkey day. Having grown up in the states where people are only recovering in December from the Thanksgiving turkey feasting, I never associated the two things.
Irish Christmas Pudding
Having grown up in a country where pudding was usually seen on a stick in Bill Cosby's hand, it took us a while to get used to the concept of Irish breakfast pudding.
St Nicholas Christmas Market in Galway
Haven't got your Christmas gifts yet? Well, every weekend there is a market held in Galway off of Shop Street, but during the run-up to Christmas, the market is kept going during the week with arts…
Di Bella restaurant in Athlone
The old side of Athlone is home to a number of restaurants among which are no less than three Italian joints.
Luker's Pub
Obsessed with antiquity? Seeking out the Ireland of days gone by? Well, you would be fascinated by this little pub in Shannonbridge, County Offaly; Luker's Pub.
Leonidas Chocolate shop, Galway
Tucked into a corner along the breezeway of Galway's Eyre Square shopping centre is the small, yellow shopfront of Leonidas chocolatier.
Nearest bar to New York
Well, that's certainly one way to market yourselves. This is a sign on the side of a pub (that was closed at the time, actually) that wifey and I came across when driving up the west coast.
Bad pint/Good pint - rules for finding the perfect pint in Ireland
This is something that is of grave and serious concern in Ireland: the quality of one's pint.
The best fish and chips in the world
Back in the day, way back in the early 90s, before Galway vomited up miles of suburban tract homes into her hinterland, the charming little fishing town of Galway had a most noble fish and chip shop…
Blood for Guinness
There was a blood drive recently here in Athlone; an admirable thing. There is an excellent twist on the giving of blood here in Ireland that I thought y'all might appreciate.
Top Deck Bistro
Top Deck Bistro, the newest restaurant in Athlone opened recently. Taking advantage of the nautical vibe in the town (especially being a stone's throw from the Shannon River), Top Deck has opted not…
Busker Brown's and the best hot chocolate in Ireland
It was the year 2002. Wifey and I were in Galway and the rain, she was pouring down. There was nothing for it, wifey said, except a cup of hot chocolate.
Red Guinness
Okay, this is really absurd. My preference for microbrew and unusual beer notwithstanding, red-coloured Guinness? I saw this article in the paper today.
Cork's English Market
One of the coolest features of Cork city is the presence of the English Market in the centre of the flat of the city. It's a magical little piece of old world shopping.
McNeill's Pub, Athlone
This is another one of the those old, authentic bars that seem to be on the verge of dying out here in Ireland. This pub has been owned and run by the same family for at least the last 100 years.
The Shack Restaurant in Kinsale
Yayyy! They have chairs for babies!! After a couple of awkward experiences in Cork dining with the munchkin, we decided to hedge our bets and seek out a place that was distinctly child-friendly.
Sean's Cream Stout
We woke this morning in the charming little village of Kinsale. I spent the day walking around, poking my nose into little shops and sampling the local cuisine.
Cafe Mexicana
I'm always being asked if I miss the states. One of the things I miss the most is Mexican food. Imagine our relief (and mild trepidation) upon discovering Cafe Mexicana.
an spailpíni ifteach sa Sean's Bar
I was in Sean's Bar recently and met up with the three strangely dressed people pictured above.
The Irish Macaroon Bar
This is a celebration of a little known, but potent, piece of Irishness. The Irish Macaroon bar. Its manufacture is steeped in mystery. It says there right on the label: "secret recipe" .
The magical French Market
It always arrives unexpectedly. I remember the first year. I awoke to a heavy fog - so heavy you couldn't see 20 feet ahead of you.