February 2016 – Hillary Weller

Dublin Dining: Duck liver creme, pan-fried hake & more, The Vintage Kitchen

Dublin Dining chronicles my food & drink experiences during six months living in Dublin, Ireland.

Wicklow duck liver creme, lime jelly, pistachio, toast, and raisin, apple, and star anise jam, The Vintage Kitchen — Wicklow duck liver creme, lime jelly, pistachio, toast, and raisin, apple, and star anise jam

As I write this, I’m spending my very last morning in Dublin, so it feels right to look back on what was probably my most fun dining experience. I booked a table at The Vintage Kitchen a few weeks in advance (it’s a small restaurant with only two evening seatings), and made it a girls’ night. And thanks to the BYOB policy, I was able to bring along the last bottle of wine that I had brought back from Tuscany. The silky-smooth red paired well with all three of my courses.

The star of the meal for me was the starter of duck liver creme, an unctuous spread topped with a thin layer of lime jelly and lots of crushed pistachio. Spread onto crustless toast points together with an apple-raisin jam, it basically made the perfect sweet-and-savory bite. And thankfully, there was enough of the creme and jam to form a whole lot of those bites, especially after a few more slices of toast magically appeared without asking.

Pan-fried hake, The Vintage Kitchen — Pan-fried Atlantic hake with white beans, Roaring Bay rope mussels, cajun and tomato bisque, and lump fish caviar

I went for the pan-fried hake as my main. I’ve ordered hake a few times before in Dublin, but never have I seen it presented with such height and pizazz. The bed of mussels bathed in white bean-tomato sauce and the seashell full of lump caviar were excellent accompaniments. And again, the portion was incredibly generous for a modestly priced prix-fixe menu.

The half-baked chocolate cake for dessert lived up to its name. The inside oozed with liquid, melting into what felt almost like cake batter ice cream. It was a rich ending to a genuinely fun meal. The vinyl records and pop-art decor keep the tiny restaurant’s setting feeling at once cozy and fashionable, so it was an ideal venue for laughing and reflecting on the past several months.

Half-baked chocolate cake, The Vintage Kitchen — Half-baked chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream

The details: The Vintage Kitchen, 7 Poolbeg St., Dublin 2, Ireland.

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Travel Eats: Three days in Berlin

Travel Eats documents my food adventures while traveling.

Goat cheese pizza, LuLa am Markt — Goat cheese pizza with red grapes and balsamic-honey sauce and ginger lemonade at LuLa am Markt

You might be expecting my post about Berlin to be all schnitzel and bratwurst, but it was actually a rather culinarily diverse trip. Things started off strong with a wood-fired pizza at LuLa in Friedenau (no relation to the beloved Lula Café in Chicago, but the vibe was in fact quite similar). The somewhat eclectic combination of goat cheese, red grapes, balsamic vinegar, and honey turned out to be a total hit, especially paired with mint-garnished ginger lemonade.

On the other side of the global spectrum, we dined at an Egyptian restaurant one evening, settling into plush floor-level couches and diving into colorful shared plates. My favorite dish was this tagine, a clay pot brimming with warm-spiced tomato sauce, potatoes, meatballs, and a soft-boiled egg.

Tagine "Marrakech", Baraka — Tagine “Marrakech” with meatballs, egg, and tomato sauce at Baraka

Macarons, Du Bonheur — Caramel, pistachio, and plum macarons at Du Bonheur

Berlin also had a few sweet surprises in store, most notably the best macarons I’ve had in years. The beautiful plum, pistachio, and caramel varieties all packed enormous flavor and really left me thinking I was in France instead of Germany. I also found Berlin’s coffee to be excellent across the board, all the way down to this cappuccino at a darling café right next to one of the S-Bahn stops.

Cappuccino at S-Café, next door to the S-Bahn train station

Currywurst, Arkonaplatz — Currywurst from a stall at the Arkonaplatz flea market

Of course, I had to try a little bit of traditional fare, and currywurst seemed like the right place to start (the memory of one at Dublin’s Oktoberfest was still fresh in my mind). This sliced sausage doused with smoky ketchup and curry powder served as a nice hearty snack while I strolled around the Arkonaplatz flea market.

And there was beer, too; don’t worry. I was excited to go local at what seemed to be Berlin’s premier craft brewery, Eschenbräu. I sampled both the Dunkler Bock and the Pils (dark and light, respectively), and found them to be more complex and nuanced than I expected. I hope the craft beer scene continues to grow in that city!

Dunkler Bock, Eschenbräu — Dunkler Bock and Pils beers, both brewed at Eschenbräu

It was fun to try a traditional brunch buffet as well. Schwarze Pumpe’s version included a smattering of meats, cheeses, eggs, breads, and spreads, plus the ever-present yogurt, fruit, and muesli cereal. Small tastes of many things is exactly how I like to eat anyway, so it worked out well.

Brunch buffet, Schwarze Pumpe — Brunch buffet with bread, cheeses, eggs, muesli, yogurt & more at Schwarze Pumpe

The details: LuLa am Markt, Lauterstr. 14; Schwartze Pumpe, Choriner Str. 76; Trödelmarkt Arkonaplatz, Arkonaplatz; Du Bonheur, Brunnenstraße 39 ; Baraka, Lausitzer Platz 6; Hausbrauerei Eschenbräu, Triftstraße 67; S-Café, Bahnhofstraße 4c; all Berlin, Germany.