Lover of Wine – Travel along on our adventures – DAVID & JANEEN

December 5, 2017April 11, 2019

12-2-17 Restaurant Mark Greenaway – Edinburgh

When we first visited Edinburgh in 2014, we had tried to get a reservation at a nice restaurant but it was fully booked. The Concierge at the Sheraton suggested the Restaurant Mark Greenaway not far from our hotel so we went. Our evening at this place was very pleasant with good service, an interesting menu and nice wines. So, as we were coming back, I made a reservation for one evening to see how it had changed over the last 3 and half years.

Nicola, our waitress at our original visit – now married to the Chef.

The Restaurant Chef and Owner, Mark Greenaway, has been listed as one of the best 100 chefs in the UK. When we first visited, in 2014, the restaurant had not been open very long but was already gaining positive recognition. Our reservation this December was for 5:45 and we were a bit early but that wasn’t a problem. Our table, in the main dining room, was well positioned to watch the other diners arriving and getting settled in. After reviewing the menu options, we selected the tasting menu paired with wines. We were sitting at the table remembering the waitress who had served us on our original visit and realized she was now the hostess who greeted us when we arrived.

Here’s Nicola now as hostess and now married to owner/chef Mark Greenaway

I came to learn she was not only the hostess but had married the Chef and was now acting as the general manager.

Over the course of the 3 hours we sampled a variety of items over 7 courses. The presentation of the amuse bouche was delightful; eggshell porcelain cups held oak smoked salmon flavored cream and were presented in an egg carton with explanation and flair.

Amuse-bouche eggshell porcelain cups held oak smoked salmon flavored cream

Course one encapsulated lobster in a smoky infusion, topped with a green pasta roll of crab with cubes of cucumber.

The paired white wine (Macabeo) enhanced the light freshness of the dish.

Course two was decorated with flowers and fresh buds of winter vegetable over a custard

Course two was decorated with flowers and fresh buds of winter vegetable over custard. Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux paired pleasing with this mix of fresh and rich.

Course three supplied a timely pause while we waited for the thyme infused beef broth to distill. Cabernet Franc (2016) was presented, and except for Janeen’s dislike of the grape, went well. The heated broth was poured over beet leaves and herb infused cream.

A New Zealand Gewürztraminer accompanied the fish course, gently steamed Hake, on a striped pasta bed with shrimp stuffing dill sauce and carrot puree.

Then, at five, there was savory; smoked pork layered with crusty skin, grilled corn, and garlic mash, piped onto scot pudding.

With a shell of meringue, a lovely custard

Course six, bridged savory and sweet, once the shell of meringue was cracked, lovely custard was flavored with Tokai wine in our glasses.

Last, and almost too much, a late harvest dessert wine accompanied four chocolate flavors, whipped, moussed, and jellied but all Choco late.

This would have been a lot more accurate if Nicola would have sent me a copy of the tasting menu as promised.

December 2, 2017April 11, 2019

11-27-17 Glasgow Scotland

Glasgow Scotland – A UK couple on our Portuguese Douro River tour insisted we needed to see what Scotland looked like from here. Glasgow has hosted communities for millennia with the River Clyde providing a natural location for fishing and is said to have been founded by the Christian missionary Saint Mungo in the 6^th century. In the 18^th century, after the British Acts of Union in 1707, Glasgow became prominent as a hub of international trade to and from the Americas and a major ship building port. Today, while the River Clyde still flows through the City, the trade and shipbuilding are all a thing of the past. Today the city seems to have a large insurance company and finance presence and of course ,tourist visits.

Glasgow Tower is a free-standing and holds a Guinness World Record for being the tallest tower in the world in which the whole structure is capable of rotating 360 degrees.

We flew into Glasgow and took a cab to our hotel close to the City Center. After settling in we walked around and got a brief ‘feel’ of the place ending up with a lovely dinner at a small restaurant and then back to our hotel. Let me say at the outset that the hotel a Best Western Historical refurb, was still a work in progress. First, we were in the basement level, not really a problem but no elevator or lift, and the heating was intermittent, making the room very uncomfortable. We got up the first morning to find the heating completely off – the radiator cold to the touch and the single pane windows not helping a bit. The response from the front desk – “we had complaints that it was too hot, so we turned off the heat”. Well, that didn’t make me happy and they clearly knew that but enough about the lousy hotel.

Part of the Christmas Village set up including lots of shopping opportunities too.

Our first full day, we walked down to the main square and picked up a couple of tickets for the Hop on Hop off bus tour around the City. This was a really good way to learn about the sites of the City and learn some of the history.

The tour hits all the highlights and gives some details. We did a complete tour and got off at the stop closest to our hotel. We did hop off a couple of times and checked out the local sites.

On our way to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery

Onesite was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This was a lovely museum with interesting displays of Edinburgh history.

Central hall and Organ of the Kelvingrove Museum

Lots of hanging heads on display at the Kelvingrove Museum.

A lovely picture taken of the front of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery by Janeen.

The next day, we walked down to George Square and the main (pedestrian) shopping area of the City and just walked around looking at the sites and taking in the holiday cheer of the shops.

This shopping mall could have been virtually anywhere in the world! It looks just like all the other malls we have been in.

As we really aren’t looking for anything in particular it was fun to just window shop (although a bit cold for us SoCal folks).

While we didn’t visit many of the historically significant sites of Glasgow we did get a nice feel for the City and didn’t feel badly when we left by train to Edinburgh.

Beresford Hotel built in 1938. The first “sky scrapper”.

November 27, 2017April 11, 2019

11-24-17 Kilkenny Castle

Friday was shopping day and we headed off to the Old Boot Factory to see if I could find a pair of boots to supplement inventory of things to put on my feet. After wandering around a bit we did find the place and ultimately picked up a nice pair of low boots and several other things for our trip. Heading back to the room, we stopped at a nice Italian restaurant for lunch and then after unloading our stuff we went to tour Kilkenny Castle.

The Normans built Kilkenny Castle in 1195 to control a fording- point on the River Nore. It was both a symbol of Norman occupation and used as a defensive point for the City. Over the years it was modified and changed ownership several times but the longest owner/occupants were the Butlers. They owned and controlled the area for over 500 years. The final hereditary owner decided to grant the State ownership for fifty pounds. Thirty years of neglect meant the refurbishment was costly, but area families who had bought up furniture when the family moved south, responded to a request to donate furnishings from the 19^th century. Photos by one local gallery owner over a period of time provided guidelines for wall coverings, room designations etc. The carpeting throughout was rewoven from patterns that had been designated as “not to be duplicated” except for the family. The family , over a 500-year residence, adapted the surrounding 12^th century walls to the needs of each generation, including removing all the south walls to reveal the beautiful park. We spent about an hour on a guided tour of the Castle and ventured into a number of different rooms, learned the history of the place, and very much enjoyed what we saw. We have been in a bunch of Chateau’s, Castles and Big Houses, and I would have to say that the Kilkenny Castle was one of the most enjoyable ones I have seen.

Nice fireplace – there are 60 fire places throughout the Castle.

A number of tapestries were given to the Butlers by the King of England.

Lovely decorated table in the entrance hall

The Dining room – seating for 10 or more.

Janeen by one of many Christmas trees throughout the Castle.

The Library – lovely furniture and old books

The town of Kilkenny is a generous host to gatherings like the Subtitles Film Festival that was going on while we were in town.

The colors of the buildings on the street was nice.

There must have been a pub ever 2nd or 3rd building.

Hurling – the national sport of Ireland.

They generate many return visitors, and seem to have a love of American culture

(see Paris Texas BBQ restaurant photo).

November 27, 2017April 11, 2019

11-23-17 Kilkenny – Thanksgiving

We left Dublin, via rental car with David driving, and headed to Kilkenny. The day before we headed out it had rained virtually all day, flooding Dublin. Our trip south, fortunately, was in good clear weather and there were no problems figuring out which side of the road to be on. I will admit that Janeen kept a sharp eye on me to help out our navigation. Kilkenny is a medieval town in southeast Ireland – we had been close to it when we were in Waterford but didn’t venture into this part of Ireland. This spot had been a recommendation of our guild, Tony, on our CIE Adventure around Ireland. The town has deep religious roots and there are many well-preserved churches and buildings. The primary highlight is the Kilkenny Castle built in 1195 by Norman occupation.

Butler Court – the front part of the building holds offices the apartments are down the corridor through the opening.

We stayed in a nice place just up from the Castle and the main intersection of town – Butler Court.

We arrived in Kilkenny in time for a light lunch at Pennyfeather Tea Room and a quick walk around town before getting changed for dinner. During our walk about, it was very clear that the American influence of Black Friday sales has come to Ireland. There were lots of Black Friday sales signs inviting us to come in to various shops and buy stuff at great discounts, and Janeen found a warm wool cardigan,20% off! We decided to make plans for a Friday shopping for David boot excursion.

It being Thanksgiving, David made reservations for dinner at a nice restaurant in town – Campagne, a one star Michelin Restaurant where the executive chef/owner had been at Chapter I in Dublin for many years prior to opening the spot in Kilkenny. When we got to the restaurant I sent a card into the Chef that I had picked up at Chapter One along with one of my Loverofwine cards and he came out to our table to meet us. Not one to let an opportunity get by, I asked if he would prepare three dishes for us he considered his best representations of the menu paired with wine.

He gave that some thought and said he could do that. So, over the next couple of hours we had a wonderful relaxed dinner without knowing what would be coming next! We highly recommend this approach if you can be adventuresome and get a Chef to agree to do this.

Chicken liver and foie gras parfait, fig chutney, walnut and raisin toast

Smoked mackerel pate, beetroot, cucumber, mustard seed dressing

Roast pheasant breast and sausage, braised red cabbage, crushed swede

Fillets of black sole, fennel and leek, braised celeriac, verjus butter sauce 1 revised

Pear and frangipane tart, caramel ice cream

November 25, 2017April 11, 2019

11-22-17 Guinness Storehouse, Rain, The Brazen Head Pub

OK, it was time to hit the Guinness Storehouse ,which our C.I.E. had provided vouchers for, along with transportation on the Hop on Hop off Bus. For those out there who don’t know, St James’s Gate Brewery is the official name of the brewery founded in 1759 by Arthur LEE Guinness (Yes, Lee is his middle name – meaning I have IRISH in my background) and has been brewed in Dublin ever since. Arthur LEE Guinness put a lease on the land for IR£45 (Irish pounds) per year for 9,000 years – not a bad deal. The main product of the brewery is Guinness Draught.

The Guinness Storehouse covers seven floors surrounding a glass atrium formed in the shape of a pint of Guinness. The building was constructed in 1902 ,designed by a Chicago architect and was the first multi-story steel framed building to be constructed in Ireland. It was used as a fermentation plant until it was closed in 1988. In 1997 it was decided to create the Guinness Storehouse Experience and it opened in late 2000 as it is today.

Copper was used a lot in the brewing process.

The ground floor starts the tour with the beer’s four ingredients – water, barley, hops and yeast and an introduction to the founder Arthur LEE Guinness. Other floors of the building feature the history of Guinness advertising and other aspects of the brewing process.

Here is where we learned out to taste Guinness.

There is a tasting spot where you get a shot glass size taste and instructions on how to taste the beer – it’s really just like tasting wine so we figured out that part really quickly.

The steps in creating the perfect glass of Guinness.

Who says I can’t pour the perfect glass!

Our Pints being poured at the Gravity Bar

Part of the admission price is a pint of Guinness in the Gravity Bar located at the top of the building with a 360-degree view of Dublin City.

It’s Guinness Time – The Guinness Festival Clock.

The Store on the first floor – no bobble heads sad to say.

A view to the floor with a small restaurant.

Bottle display of different Guinness bottles used over time.

We had a nice time touring the building and of course the Pint in the Gravity Bar was delightful. We looked in the gift shop for a bobble head of Arthur LEE Guinness but couldn’t find one.

Leaving the Storehouse empty handed, we flagged down a cab and headed back to our hotel. Unfortunately ,we didn’t get far as the rain and flooding created a massive traffic jam and the taximeter kept running. So I convinced Janeen to get out of the cab (big mistake on my part) and we started walking. Well, we walked and walked and walked all the while it was raining. We were walking along and Janeen said “we are stopping in this pub to get warm and dry”.

To my surprise, when I looked at the food menu, we had landed in The Brazen Head.

The Brazen Head was built as a coaching inn in 1754 on the site of a merchant’s dwelling dating back to at least 1613. Local tradition claims that the site has housed a tavern or ale house since 1198, although there is no documentary evidence to support this, who cares! I had hoped to stop at this place and lo and behold Janeen made it happen.

We had a couple of Irish coffees and some food before heading back out to try and flag a cab to get us back to the hotel (which ultimately happened after walking a block or two more).