Eton Mess

It's practically summertime, and that means that strawberries are now beginning to appear regularly in the shops. I adore strawberries, I could live on a diet of strawberries. I had my first taste of strawberries and cream (a la Wimbledon) when I was about 14 at the Lota annual charity summer fete. Ever since then, it's been an addiction.

I love them with cream, with balsamic vinegar, on their own, and especially when served in an Eton Mess. I made one the other night to celebrate the first punnet of summer strawberries. It's so simple to make but so delicious.

I make mine by taking some whipped cream, and crumbling meringues into the cream. Slice some strawberries and layer them in a bowl with the meringue cream mix. Enjoy.

Silent on the Moor - Deanna Raybourn

I must admit that I gave a bit of a sigh when I received this ARC copy in the post. The scantily-clad lady on the front cover promises a bodice-ripping type of read. As it turns out, the story is set in the late Victorian 19th-century, which means that the cover picture looks at least a century or two out of date. I actually used to keep the book against my lap when on the tram or bus so that no one would see this embarassing cover!

It's the third story in the series of Lady Julia Gray novels, of which I've not read any before now. The story is simple though. When Lord Gray, Julia's husband was murdered, she met Nicholas Brisbane, a half-genteel, half-gypsy private investigator (who was pretty hot looking). The previous two novels have developed their relationship, both professionally and private and this third novel aims to provide some form of climax to the series.

Exasperated by their relationship, Julia travels to Brisbane's new residence, Grimsgrave, situated on the foreboding Yorkshire Moors. However, she didn't expect to find members of the former owners, the Allenbys, still in residence. As Julia's natural curiosity causes her to explore, dark secrets from the Allenby past are uncovered as well as more of Brisbane's past.

To be honest, this book isn't my cup of tea. I'm not one for historical romances, even when they have a good bit of mystery thrown in. But I can see the attraction of Lady Julia Gray for lots of readers. Despite living in the Victorian-era, she is a modern woman and the character of Brisbane will undoubtedly appeal to many.

When Skateboards Will Be Free - Saïd Sayrafiezadeh

Said Sayrafiezadeh was the third child of two members of the Socialist Workers Party who grew up living alone with his mother following the departure of his Iranian father. But what kind of childhood do you have when your mother is a committed communist and you live in capitalist, imperialist USA? The answer - a childhood filled with protest marches, self-denial of consumer goods, a series of dilapated homes, no grapes or skateboards and a ingrained ability to trot out the party line.

Once Said asked for a skateboard - a measly $11 skateboard. His mother did not buy him one because when the revolution came all skateboards would be free. That little story is the essence of this sad, miserable tale of a childhood dominated by the author's parents political manifestos. His mother's bookshelves were lined with the entire works of the Communist canon but they never had been read. Late in life, as he relates a conversation with his girlfriend, he realises that he cannot distinguish between Communism and Socialism, although political slogans are branded into his brain. Ironically he now works for the Marta Steward corporate empire, somewhat at odds with the political ideas of his childhood.

A large portion of the book is devoted to the author's father, a mathematics professor who left the States to return to Iran where he attempted to spread the socialist work and who was a candidate for the Iranian presidency following the departure of the Shah. He comes across as an uncaring man who only infrequently communicates with his son.

Ultimately though, you feel a tremendous amount of sympathy for Said and indeed for his mother. Late in her life, she makes the enornmous decision to leave the Socialist party, but it is clear to see that life has passed her by and she appears as a tragic, lonely figure. In fact the whole memoir (subtitled A Memoir of a Political Childhood) is incredibly poignant. There is a dark humour present, but overall it is quite grim.

Tenors Grill Room, Donnybrook, Dublin 4

Tenors Grill Room in Donnybrook occupies the former site of the Courtyard Cafe and has entered the market with a definite plan. All starters are priced at E5, while all mains are E10 with desserts available for E5. A carafe of house white or red wine is on offer for E12.95 - given all this, Tenors appears to offer excellent value.

The two of us dined there today, drawn in by this offer of good food at good prices. You enter the restaurant via a courtyard just off Belmont Avenue (behind Madigan's Pub in Donnybrook). The courtyard was empty on this overcast day but should be filled with sunshine on bright days. Inside, the large diningroom is cleanly decorated in shades of white, red and blue with plenty of natual light flooding in through the glass section of the roof.

The menu is simple offering typical cafe food. We chose mussels in white wine and herbs, along with chicken wings for starters. The mussels were plump and very fresh but let down badly by the accompanying sauce which was more like a soup in consistency and tasted of very little. The chicken wings were coated in a semi-spicy sweet'n'sour type sauce and were just fine.

I went for the cajun marinated chicken breast burger served with fried onions, crisp lettuce and vine tomato along with chunky chips while he chose the Malaysian style Chicken Curry served with Tenors special fried and poppadom. The burger was singularly flat and bland when it arrived. The crisp lettuce turned out to be a single limp leaf while the vine tomato was a regular thick slice of tomato. There was a weird rose-coloured sauce in the bottom of the burger (possibly from a prawn cocktail?) while I couldn't taste any hint of cajun spices. TBH I really could have gotten a better chicken burger from any chipper at 2am in the morning. (BTW, Eddie Rockets just down the road does a far superior chicken burger for just E6.95).

He fared a little better with the Malaysian curry but both the curry and the rice had the feeling of prepreparedness about them.

We declined the offer of dessert and coffee as at this stage we were of the opinion that we didn't really want to leave any more money in Tenors than was necessary. Total bill for the two starters, two mains, a diet coke and a sparkling water came to E36. On the surface that seems like good value, but to be honest I'd rather spend a little more and get food that actually tastes of something.

Offering good value is crucial these days, but restaurants should still be mindful of the need to balance quality and value.

Tenors Grill Room, 1 Belmont Avenue, Donnybrook, Dublin 4. 01 - 283 0407

Cafe Mimo at House of Fraser, Dundrum

We were out in Dundrum Town Centre today and looking for a bite to eat. We looked at the lunch menu for the excellent Ananda restaurant but €25 for three course lunch (starter, main and desser or tea/coffee) seemed too much to spend at lunch. Ditto for the €25 special at the lovely Siam Thai. Plus, I don't really want to be railroaded into eating more courses than I want just for the sake of a good deal.

We found our way to Cafe Mimo at House of Fraser. They have a simple menu based on typical cafe food. I ordered the Cafe Mimo salad (greens, dried cranberries, seeds, feta cheese, grilled peppers and chicken), while he went for the Chicken Caesar salad.

When my salad arrived, I was struck by the size of it. There was more greenery in it than in the clippings basket of a lawnmower. There was very little dressing so I requested more from the waitress, but even after adding the extra dressing, it was still strangely tasteless. My partner had the same complaint about his Chicken Caesar salad. However, the dried cranberries and feta added nice flavours to the salad and overall it was quite nice.

Both salads cost €12.50 and a bottle of sparkling water (€4.50) brought the bill to a total of €29.50.

Cafe Mimo, Level 2, House of Fraser, Dundrum Town Centre, Dundrum, Dublin 14. 01 - 299 1400

lastminute €10 room sale - what a joke

So I got a mailshot from lastminute.ie telling me that they were having a €10 room sale today at 10 a.m. Great, I thought. One night away, even if it is in Dublin, for €10 won't be so bad. And so began the litany of annoyances.

I logged onto the website before 10 a.m. all ready. When I clicked on the link provided in the mail shot I got redirected to a stg10 offer for England.

Then I visited the lastminute.ie website, clicked through the banner and finally got to the correct booking page.

I discovered that only 2 hotels seemed to be participating on the dates I was interested in (one 4* and one 3*), and when I attempted to book, I got booted back to a generic booking page. Clearly there were no rooms left. But they can't be arsed telling you that.

Bravo lastminute. When you send out emails advertising a great deal, you'd want to make sure that there actually a decent product behind it. I've not been a great fan of lastminute, although I have gotten some good stuff in the past, but I've had nothing but bad experiences with their special offers and sales, as well as suffering their confusion between Ireland and the UK.

I think that this is the last time I'll try to book with lastminute.

Mint Restaurant Closed

I've only eaten in one Michelin-starred restaurant and it looks like that I won't get the chance to widen that experience in Mint. It appears that the Michelin-starred restaurant in Ranelagh has closed in the last week.

I've mixed feelings about this. McGrath is obviously an immensely talented chef, but obviously the new Ireland could no longer support the prices charged for a dining experience in what was, by all accounts, a confined dining space.