Author: maria crispy

  • Product review: Aldi jams

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    maria crispy
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    The first thing you need to know about me is that I love jam.  In the zombie apocalypse to come, it will be my reluctance to leave any jam behind that will be my fatal undoing.  So when Aldi sent Cheapeats a box of their new Grandessa Specially Selected jams to review a few weeks…

  • Review: Junior’s, Ringsend

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    maria crispy
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    About a year ago, I had a meal in La Peniche, the barge restaurant on the Grand Canal, that was so dreadful and so ridiculously overpriced that I’ve had writer’s block ever since.  I haven’t felt like I could review that one meal and it has remained like a great big obelisk standing between me…

  • Review: Riva, Harold’s Cross

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    maria crispy
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    I went for a couple of nice meals in Riva of Harold’s Cross recently, a long overdue eatery for that area of the city, and one that I hope does very well. The menu is limited almost entirely to pizza and pasta dishes, with the exception of a few starters and the odd cupcake, but…

  • Maria Crispy Cooks Again

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    Maria Crispy not only can’t cook but hasn’t even been trying to cook in about six months. To catch up, I decided to make a couple of desserts for a party, chocolate soufflés (courtesy of my friend Anna) and an apple and blackberry crumble (courtesy of Rachel Allen). The greatest thing about both of these…

  • Review: Heir Island Cottage, Cork

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    maria crispy
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    Ah West Cork, how you always fatten me. I spent a few precious days down there recently and had the usual run of fish-based excursions into the restaurant world.  Haddock so fresh it hadn’t been reported missing yet for €12 in the New Haven in Schull (which does some lovely pizza pretty cheaply too) was…

  • Maria Crispy compares €20 offers in Dublin and Cork

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    maria crispy
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    I’ve had a couple of €20 recession specials recently, one with some cackling relatives in Browne’s of Sandymount (starter, main and a glass of wine) and another with some potty-mouthed friends in the West Cork Gourmet Store in Ballydehob (starter, main and dessert). Needless to say, extra expense was incurred thanks to energetic consumption of…

  • Review: The Stuffed Olive and Annie’s in Cork

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    maria crispy
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    I had two smashing meals in West Cork over the May Bank Holiday weekend – the Stuffed Olive in Bantry and Annie’s in Ballydehob. Firstly there was the lovely lunch in the Stuffed Olive in Bantry. More of a deli – stocking wines and chutneys, fresh baked bread, scones, tarts, gourmet sandwiches and all that…

  • Review: Il Valentino, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin

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    maria crispy
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    One of my favourite places to eat lunch around Grand Canal Dock, where I am currently doomed to work, is Il Valentino “Bakery-Café” on the corner of Pearse Street and Charlotte Quay. It’s not for everyone, because you’re not going to get a dinnery lunch and there aren’t that many tables, but it’s as fine…

  • Review: Siam Thai

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    maria crispy
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    I went for a meal in Siam Thai in Dundrum recently, a chain restaurant which serves, as you would expect, Thai food…but not the kind of Thai food I remember having in Thailand. To say the experience was underwhelming would be to understate things to the point of underminding all credibility. The good news is…

  • Restaurant Review: Tante Zoe’s Credit Crunch Lunch

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    maria crispy
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    I tried out Tante Zoe’s “Credit Crunch Lunch“on Saturday with a friend. The Cajun/Creole restaurant is located on Crow St in Temple Bar, and they’re offering a selection of main courses for €8.50. We had both heard good things from other people, though I’ve also read a few fairly ambivalent reviews, so it was with…