This Friday (i.e. the day after tomorrow!) the Hyperbolic Crochet Reef, which has been on display in the Science Gallery in Trinity College Dublin since March, will be packed away to continue its world tour elsewhere. I have yet to see this exhibition myself – the timing was a bit off for me with all that has been going on but I am heading to the gallery on Friday to catch a tour of the reef. I’m sorry to be leaving my trip to see this fascinating marriage of science and craft so late, being a bit of a hooker myself. I even rustled up a few pieces of coral myself which are still languishing at the bottom of my crochet box: as I said there’s been a lot of changes recently!

Photo owned by superfem (cc)

What in the heck is hyperbolic crochet I hear you ask? Well you can read Karlin Lillington’s excellent column from last week’s Irish Times to get an idea of this amazing process of modelling 3 dimensional geometry which was first developed by Latvian Dr Daina Taimina. Taimina was in the Science Gallery during the week to talk about her work. This was one of many events organised by the Gallery throughout the coral’s visit to Dublin.

You can also watch this brilliant TED talk given by Margaret Wertheim who, with her sister Christine, has used this modelling method to raise awareness of the dangers to the world’s coral reefs.

Some of my co-bloggers here on Dublinblog.ie have written a post or two about the Science Gallery and really it’s a gem. If you are visiting Dublin, planning a trip to the Gallery via the grounds of Trinity is well worth it. It’s easily accessed from a number of bus routes or you can alight at Pearse Dart Station and the Science Gallery is just around the corner. There’s a full calendar of events with something to suit all types, from ubernerds to schoolkids.

While I don’t think my children’s patience will stretch to it on Friday, I’m delighted to see that the Science Gallery’s Friday Tapas are back as I heard a number of favourable comments. Some day I’ll make it

I’m not sure we could add this to our ‘recession busters’ or ‘how to get by on €15’ categories, but it’s a good deal nonetheless. The ‘Dine in Dublin-Restaurant Week’ campaign will feature a number of restaurants offering three course dinner menus for promotional rates of €25 or €30 (a 20% discount.) The initiative will run from the 12th through the 18th of October and there are over 50 restaurants participating. It may indeed include some of your favourites, so be sure to have a look at the full list HERE.

And if you can’t wait until next weekend for a culinary adventure, be sure to check out Marlay Park this weekend, where the Festival of World Food will be taking place again. (CLICK HERE to see DublinBlog’s write-up on it last year.)

[I'm having a hard time confirming the Festival of World Food event this weekend, so if anybody can provide further information or a website that confirms it, that would be appreciated. It's supposed to be a Dun Laoghaire Rathdown council sponsored event, but their website is showing nothin'.]

Further ‘recession buster’ deals to be taken advantage of in Dundrum these days. The Counter are offering a free Signature Burger to the first 100 people to visit from 12noon tomorrow. That gives you seven options in the ‘Signature Burger’ category. The Counter is located below Hamley’s toy store in Dundrum Town Centre.

Also, Milano are offering two pizzas for just €12 (except on Saturdays) through 4 October. CLICK HERE to fill in a form and receive a voucher to print out and take with you to any one of seven restaurants in Dublin.

The other day, my family and I took the opportunity to have lunch in Alfie’s on William St. South after noticing their “€10 Lunch Box” promotion on a sign just outside the door. We were greeted by friendly staff who accommodated us and made us feel a little more at ease with a toddler and a buggy. (Any parents living in Dublin will tell you that some city centre restaurants are more accommodating to families than others.)

Upstairs, the atmosphere was lively and well lit from the sun roof. I’m a sucker for natural light in restaurants, so this is always a big plus for me.

On looking at the items on the “Lunch Box” menu, I was fairly impressed with the selection. You have a choice of three items plus a soft drink. I played the part of the stereotypical male and ordered the hamburger and chips, as well as the goats cheese salad (which, ironically enough, is meant to cater to the female patrons, according to the website). My wife ordered the chicken penne basil, chicken wrap, and Caesar salad.

The highlight of my meal was definitely the salad, which was sprinkled with chopped cashews, sun dried tomato, and topped with a good sized square of goats cheese. The hamburger was simple and wasn’t very large (half portion), but it was tasty, as were the chips.

Next time, however, I’ll be skipping the burger and chips and ordering what my wife ordered. (Isn’t that usually how it goes?) I had a bite of both the penne basil and the chicken wrap that she ordered and was VERY impressed.

Overall, the Alfie’s “Lunch Box” menu offers excellent variety at great value in a vibrant restaurant with friendly staff. Needless to say, it’s now at the top of my list for lunch in Dublin city centre.

Click here to read what others have to say.

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Dublin does not have many Lebanese restaurants and I happen to be a big fan of Lebanese cuisine. To satisfy my cravings for Lebanese food, I recently decided to look for Lebanese restaurants in the city and ended up going to Byblos on St Andrew street. Byblos is situated next to Cedar Tree, which is the oldest Lebanese restaurant in Dublin. The two restaurants seem to be associated with each other. Both restaurants offer fairly extensive dinner menus while Byblos also opens for lunch and specializes in Mezze, which is a collection of appetizers that is great for sharing.

We decided to visit Byblos on a quiet East Monday afternoon to try the lunch menu as it offered a variety of items at fairly reasonable prices. The restaurant was largely empty with only two other tables that were occupied. We immediately noticed that the place was exceptionally clean with a comfortable decor. The two of us were quickly assigned a table and given our menus.

We were quite hungry so we ordered a Shawarma Platter, a Chicken Shawarma, and a Mezze Kibbe. The service was really good but the restaurant wasn’t busy at the time. We didn’t have to wait long before the food arrived. The portions were large and the food was excellent and fresh. We found that the platters were large enough for us and ordering the Mezze wasn’t really necessary. We had a hard time finishing all the food but our gluttony was well satisfied.

If you are in town and want to eat something a bit different give Byblos a try. In case that you are unsure of Lebanese food or the restaurant, I recommend trying the lunch menu at Byblos. It will give you an opportunity to sample the food at reasonable prices.

Blackboard Bistro

Originally uploaded by Visual Machine
Blackboard Bistro is just opposite to National Gallery on Clare Street. It is run by Irish-French couple. Each day chef has 3 amazing lunch dishes ready for you. You can find French cuisine, some Italian or Thai, but this is his magic talent what makes them so delicious, you discover the food you know for ages again.
Highly recommended for nice lunch or evening date, because Blackboard is open until 10 PM from Monday to Saturday.
Prices do not exceed 15 euros for dish.

Website

On Saturday, my family and I ventured in to the city centre to see a friend from Prague. While we were there, we caught some of the traditional story-telling that was happening in conjunction with the Irish Trad Festival. It was interesting, but not really much more than your typical street performer. In fact, there was a busker in Temple Bar Square doing improvisational humour in between the story-tellers and he was actually far more entertaining. With that said, it worked well for the trad festival and seemed to be a hit with the kiddies.

For dinner, we headed West to the edge of Temple Bar for Dublin’s finest kebab at Zaytoon’s (arguably also Dublin’s dearest kebab – a tenner and some change for a meal combo.) After dinner, in my pre-fatherhood days, it would’ve been straight across to The Porterhouse for a pint and some Irish trad. But alas, a 4-month-old can only take so much action in the city.

(Note to parents: Bit of a rough ride taking a pram through Temple Bar, unless it’s got big wheels and state-of-the-art suspension.)

The Food Safety Authority yesterday published a list of enforcement orders served on food premises for October. I was quite surprised and shocked to see two places on the list that I have frequented: O’Briens Sandwich Bar in St. Stephens Green Shopping Centre and Ba Mizu under Powerscourt Townhouse.

Closure Orders are served when it is deemed, upon inspection, that there is, or there is likely to be, a grave and immediate danger to public health at or in the premises.

I like Ba Mizu and have enjoyed many a good feed there. I’m not sure I’ll be running back!

I enjoy food and am lucky enough to often eat out, but I’m wondering can we really trust what we are served in restaurants?

Hey foodies out there, there is a world food festival in Marlay Park this weekend (6, 7 October). Admission to the Festival of World Food 2007 is free. There will be cooking demonstrations along with stands to try various foods from a variety of cultures (including Ireland).  Admission is free and it sounds like it could be fun.  I know of one stand that will be there and they make excellent Mexican food.

On our way to Lemon Crepe & Coffee Co. (Dawson Street) for lunch the other day, we noticed a new restaurant across the street called The Farm. After taking a quick look at the lunch menu, we decided that the pricing seemed reasonable and it would be good to try something new. Turns out, it was a great decision!

The Farm boasts all natural, organic food on the menu, including a coffee bar with organic Bewleys brand espresso drinks. I decided to go with the hamburger off the lunch menu (admittedly, not a very adventurous choice) and I must say, it was probably one of the tastiest burgers I’ve had. I don’t know if it was the seasoning they used or the organic nature of the beef or a combination of both, but the flavour of that simple hamburger will have me going back for more! My wife had a pasta dish (penne) with meatballs and really liked it as well.

Between the two of us, our lunch bill came to about €28, which included a half pint of Heineken for myself and a bottle of fruit juice for my wife. Considering that most organic food vendors slap a premium price on the “organicâ€? label, I’d say it’s a great value. The staff were also very friendly and helpful, which is always a big plus.

As impressed as I was with The Farm, however, it’s not to say that the Calzone crepe at Lemon will lose it’s place in the top rankings of my favourite lunch meals in the city!