Here there and everywhere!

               

While in town I had a little stroll in to the wonderful place that is the Temple Bar Food Market. If you haven't been before then I highly recommend it. It is full of such wonderful Irish produce so it's great to pick up a few fancy items or pick up some lunch. They do unbelievable hot dogs with caramelised onions, hog roast, burgers, beautiful Indian food, Mexican food etc. It's a fervor of activity and just a bit of a hidden gem to be honest. I was meeting Ruth for lunch so I avoided the delicious smelling food and instead I hit the gorgeous Organic fruit and vegetable stand. I wasn't going to buy anything and then I saw some lovely Organic Pears. I then gave myself a little challenge to buy something that I had never tried before. I ended up going for these beauties - firstly we have the pears (which are delicious and pesticide free), the middle one is artichoke which I have ALWAYS wanted to try and cook and the third is called Romanesco Cauliflower and it is described as being a mix of cauliflower and broccoli so what's not to like? Doesn't it look so very cool? I can't wait to try both of them out. I'm going to steam both and I will post a photo of the finished product. When paying for my goods (€6.50 for all three, Organic can be expensive) I was chatting to the man who runs the farm and he was so passionate about all the produce which was so endearing. He was such a nice man and he was telling me the best ways to cook the vegetables and I swear my mouth was watering. I love nice veg! 

                        

So that was my lovely little Saturday. Sunday was just as lovely and involved another trip in to the big city. I was invited to a restaurant re-launch of Brasserie 7 (http://www.brasserie7.com/) which is a restaurant I am very fond of. It is just on the corner of Capel Street and can be easily missed. The Luas passes it and it's where Gary Rhodes' restaurant used to be. It was a re-launch and promised to involve samples of their new menu, cocktail samples and live music. It did just that! It really delivered and it was a great day. When we first arrived we were greeted by this amazing Burlesque dancer who looked all sorts of cool. She later changed in to 60's clothes (and lingerie at one point) and eventually a belly dancing outfit. It was a really nice touch and it was quirky and classy. The little samples of food were lovely and my favourite was probably the goats cheese tart which I shouldn't have even tasted really (the pregnant police might hear me). It was so scrumptious! The desserts were really cute too. They had some lovely live music and the man in my life availed of several free cocktails while I sipped on orange juice. All in all it was a lovely day and the staff were an absolute credit to the restaurant. I would highly recommend this restaurant if you have never been. They nearly always have some sort of Groupon bargain on the internet so use the powers of Google and you could spend as little as €19 and get two starters and two main courses of delicious food. Let me know if any of you visit, I think you will really enjoy it! They have a fabulous piano and if you are lucky to go there on an evening where the piano player is working you are in for a treat. It creates a lovely ambiance!