Danielle recants a statement...

Okay, okay, okay, a few blog entries back I said something along the line of, "the Irish are not known for their cuisine." Well, I have since been chastised by Ireland Garrett for that statement and last night he made me sit down to a traditional Irish dinner. Let me tell you the story....

So, we're walking along the streets of Galway trying to decide on what to have for dinner, where I.Gar. gets the idea to have Irish cuisine. Here are my thoughts on Irish cuisine: First of all, does anyone know what Irish cuisine entails? I know I sure didn't. But anyhoo, anything "Irish" that I have ever eaten has a particular spice or seasoning of sort that I do not care for. I don't hate it, I just don't like it and I have no idea what exactly it is. They put it in everything from their soups to their gravy to their potatos, etc. So, determined to prove me wrong we stop at a place called "Finnegans: Traditional Irish Cuisine."

We start by observing the menu posted outdoors. It read something like follows: "Traditional West Coast Ireland Chowder" (check), "Shephard's Pie" (check), "Irish Stew" (check), "Lasagna" (hmm...), "Vegetarian lasagna"(?), "Chicken Kiev" (wait a minute!) and to top it all off: "Pizza!" (what the ?). Okay, we say, so not the most traditional Irish menu, but there's something on there to try anyway. We go inside where old 80's pop hits play over the radio and are seated across from a picture of the poet Yeats where I promptly make the mistake of stating that I studied him during my British Literature major...haha! Ooops, Yeats is from Ireland and when you're in Ireland that is not the same difference! Oh well, my faux pas. On to dinner...

We both order Shephard's Pie. To this point I really have no idea what it is, but it had once been highly recommended by I.Gar. and so I decide to give it a try. We also decide to order a pint with dinner. "I'll have a pint of Carlsberg, please." To which our waitress responds, "You can't. The only thing we have on tap is Budweiser, Heineken, and Guinness." Ha ha, okay, I'll take a Bud.

So anyway, it was a very enjoyable dinner I must admit. I truly enjoyed my Shephard's pie and ate almost all of it! There is nothing quite like having a delicious Irish meal while sipping a Bud listening to old 80's pop hits under the watchful eye of William Butler Yeats...=)