London and Dublin review

I am recovering from my short but very sweet European vacation this weekend. January is an inexpensive time of year to travel and I hadn't been to see my sister since July, so it seemed like a good time to go.

Day one: London.

Kristy booked us a table at La Petite Maison in Mayfair for our pre-Billy Elliot lunch. We started by sharing roasted Mediterranean vegetables marinated in olive oil with feta and buratta (super creamy mozzarella cheese) with fresh tomato relish. Then we shared a grilled ribeye steak which was served with a caper and shallot sauce and a spicy mustard. Everything was delicious. And, if you remember reading about our low-carb nutritionist, Heather, you will recognize my sister's loyalty to her rules.


For dinner, we met my friend James and his new fiancee Louisa for dinner at 222 Veggie Vegan Restaurant in West Kensington. I normally would not be interested in eating at a vegetarian restaurant, but they'd been there before and the menu looked promising. Things started off alright. As a starter, we shared a black bean and tofu pancake with tomato chunks and vegan cream sauce which was actually really good. We also shared warm pita with pimento, hummus, and tofutti dips. The pita was also served with cocktail sauce. Not sure how that got on the plate. I foolishly ordered seitan stroganoff for my main course. It sounded interesting on the menu: seitan strips, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and pepper cubes in cashew cream with fresh herbs and brown basmati rice. Our waitress said it was very popular. But the seitan had a smoky flavor that I didn't fancy and the texture was even worse. I will not be eating seitan again. I ended up eating a lot of Kristy's spicy chick pea curry and James' delicious pasta with wild mushrooms.

Day 2: Dublin.

We arrived in Dublin just in time for a late lunch at Peploe's Wine Bistro, a cozy french-inspired restaurant only short walk from our hotel on St. Stephen's Green. Kristy and I shared a wonderful winter rocket (that's what they call arugula) salad with balsamic, parmesan, toasted pine nuts, and sun-dried tomatoes. Then I had wild mushroom lasagna with pumpkin, baby spinach, and a bechamel sauce. Kristy had a pan-seared salmon filet with a mushroom risotto. Both of us were very happy with our selections.


Later, we had a FABULOUS dinner at Il Primo, an Italian restaurant in Dublin's city center. The restaurant, which was recommended by the concierge at the Merrion Hotel (which I cannot recommed highly enough) has been in business for over 20 years and served some of the best Italian food I've ever had. To start, we shared a green courgette (that's zuchinni to us) and pea risotto with roasted garlic and cannelloni filled with beef, pesto, and pine nuts. Then we shared a pan-fried pork tenderloin wrapped in parma ham with crushed winter vegetables (turnips, parsnips, and carrots), buttered kale, and lentils. While it wasn't the prettiest dish I'd ever seen -- everything was just piled up in a big heap -- the pork was excellent and extremely tender, which is a real feat for pork tenderloin. For dessert, we shared a pear tart with whipped cream. Cute little restaurant, super friendly staff, and surprisingly wonderful food -- it was an excellent meal.

Day 3: Dublin


After a very posh breakfast at our hotel, we headed off to explore the city. We took a bus tour and stopped off at the Guiness Brewery (I like Guiness - who knew!?) before having lunch Elephant and Castle on Temple Bar, which I forgot to photograph. Several people had recommended this place for lunch, as had this New York Times article, but we thought it was just ho-hum. Predictable Kristy ordered a house salad with avacado, tomato, and grilled chicken. I had a decidedly average grilled chicken club sandwich with curry mayo. I would have liked some sliced avocado and extra curry mayo, but our waitress was very elusive and I never had a chance to ask for those improvements.

After more exploring but before dinner, we stopped off at the fancy Shelbourne Hotel for a fancy drink. Then, still smiling about our dinner the night before and creatures of habit, we decided to return to Il Primo for dinner instead of an Irish restaurant where we'd previously made a reservation. We shared a butternut squash and rocket salad with pecorino and pears. Then we split a sublime potato, fontina and rosemary pizza. I had caramelized shallot, red onion and pecorino risotto as my main course. Kristy went with a salmon special. We shared a panna cotta tart with mixed berries for dessert. I love panna cotta and this version, with the panna cotta nestled in a crispy tart shell, was a wonderful interpretation of a classic dessert.

Day 4: London


We returned to London just in time for a late lunch at Amaya in Knightsbridge, my sister's favorite Indian restaurant. I let her do the ordering since she's been there before. We shared tandoor chicken chops, chili-infused dal, chicken biryani, tandoor broccoli with a sweet yogurt sauce, the world's largest tiger prawns in a sweet tomato sauce, and naan. Everything was so full of flavor and beautifully presented. I think the food at Tamarind, here in NYC is better, but Amaya is definitely noteworthy and worth a visit the next time you find yourself in London.


Exhausted from our trip to Dublin, we cooked at my sister's apartment on Sunday night. Also, I wanted to watch as many episodes as possible of my favorite English television show, "Come Dine With Me" (5 strangers take turns hosting dinner parties and then score each other in secret with a cash prize for the winner - it's hilarious), which Kristy had thoughtfully recorded in anticipation of my visit.

It was a whirlwind trip, and I am clearly still dealing with some jet lag (I have been up since before 5:00 am), but a lot of fun. If you haven't yet visited my sister in London, try to get over there. She's got an enormous apartment with a guest room and she is a lovely and attentive hostess to boot. And she knows all the best restaurants in town to change your impression of English dining.