Harp Bar moment

Mr Q and I dined out recently at what restaurant reviewers nowadays describe as a 'neighbourhood restaurant'. I may be wrong, but my understanding of this term is a suburban restaurant, usually without any distinguishing decor, cuisine, wine list etc, that caters for people living in the immediate area, who will happily put up with the lack of glamour in return for comfort and convenience - an enjoyable meal out, not too pricey, and none of the hassle associated with travelling into town. On any given Saturday night, fellow diners will generally fall into the same socio-economic grouping and there will be lots of discreet nodding by the likes of Mr Q to fellow professionals, and the likes of Wine Goose to faces she recognises from the school run.

Most married couples on nights out 'a deux' do have occasional lulls in conversation and here I can fill these lulls by earwigging on parallel discussions i.e. how well Child A is doing on the school rugby team and how Child B is likely to get the lead part in the school play this year. And so, it was with great delight on my part, that on this occasion we were placed at a table next to a pair of Disco Ball clad ladies on a big night out. Homogeneous Blonde Southsiders both (the kind of girl that most men like Mr Q end up marrying), they looked liked they were getting up to leave as we arrived. But something persuaded them to park their derrieres and order another bottle of wine. A fruity little red, my ears were pricked.

I expected scandal, and I got it. Cheating husbands, affairs, names named. Even Mr Q could not avoid overhearing their now too-loud chatter, and for most of the meal we did manage to keep up a good flow of conversation, in a valiant attempt to shield the ladies from the eyes and ears of the entire dining room. Then, like in all the best novels, the evening drew to its inevitable conclusion and the adulteress uttered a name we both recognised. Our simultaneous sharp intake of breath awoke them from their reverie and they dashed outside for a cure-all cigarette, their wine bottle now empty. We left the restaurant soon after and repaired to a local hostelry for a nightcap, only to see them stumble in moments later.

There's a very fine line between ordering a second bottle and going home. Wine Goose and all her geese friends have crossed it many times, usually with exceptional results! But if it's revelation time, surely it's better to cross that line well away from home, or any resemblance of home. Those ladies might have travelled out of their local area, but they really should have stayed on that bus and opted instead for a noisy pizzeria in the city centre.

Back in the last century, before we were all so liberated and liberal, I had a friend who handed out some very good advice to another friend. This as a result of her showing up in her local pub with a man who should have been elsewhere, and being surprised when they bumped into mutual acquaintances. What, he said, were you thinking of, taking him there? You should have gone to the Harp Bar on O'Connell Street.

Obvious in hindsight.

For Sunday dinner this week the Q family enjoyed a delicious roast leg of lamb, served with roast veg and potatoes, accompanied by Chateau Beaumont 2004, a Cru Bourgeois from the Haut Medoc. Classic vanilla, cassis and blackcurrants on the nose. Importantly for goose, not too tannic on the palate, smooth and well balanced with lots of fruit. Widely available, from €16.99.

Restaurant wine lists

Last Thursday, after months of sitting at home due to the sudden and mysterious disappearance of our babysitter, Mr Q and myself finally found a replacement and went out on a date. Following our aperitif at Cafe en Seine, (a glass of Pinot Grigio), we felt part of the real world again, and no longer just spoon-feeding-nappy-changers. For dinner Mr Q chose The Chili Club, one of Dublins longest surviving ethnic restaurants, with an excellent reputation for its authentic Thai cuisine. Most often described as cosy or intimate, the word small is probably the most accurate way of describing of the The Chill Club.

Fellow diners were a mixed bunch - gang of girls, family celebrating junior cert results, couple on an early date, jaded married couple, group of mature ladies. Restaurant full.

Yummy, yummy Thai food. As happens in life, when the children arrive, the family meals become bland, unsalted, flavourless offerings for a couple of years. We therefore like to spice things up on our evenings out, generally choosing Thai or Indian cuisine. The food at the Chili Club was excellent. We shared a mixed platter for our starter - satay, prawn toasts, spring roll and tofu. Main courses were pad Thai and a green curry.

The difficulty arose when it came to choosing a wine. The wine list is relatively extensive but doesn't seem to have been chosen with the food in mind. Because the idea of this topic came to me after our evening out, I didn't make notes. Also, my husband decided to push out the boat and go for the 2006 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, for a hefty €56.00. Cloudy Bay is a lovely example of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but it is overpriced. There are also a number of reasonably priced substitutes which I would like to have seen on the list - Astrolabe and Oyster Bay have the same flavours of green fruits and length of flavour as the regions' most famous Sauvignon. Although the price is high, Cloudy Bay retails for around €29.00 so The Chili Club is to be commended for not further ripping us off by charging €70.00 plus as some restaurants do.

Not only were there no other New Zealand sauvignons on the list, neither was there a Gewurztraminer, which would have been my first choice to match with Thai food. In the past we have been unsuccessful when ordering Cloudy Bay (despite the price it doesn't stay in stock for long) so I had mentally selected an Australian Riesling as second choice, priced at €30.00.

So then, some days later, like Carrie Bradshaw before me, 'I got to thinking'. Why is it that so few restaurants put any effort into creating a wine list that goes with its menu. A recent British survey found that drinks regularly make up more than half the bill, yet as Natalie Maclean pointed out in her quintessential book 'Red, White and Drunk All Over' many critics just throw in a line at the end of their review 'we had a lovely bottle of Cabernet for €25.00.' Of course they are foodies first, but surely the reader merits more wine recommendations.

Have you had a particularly good or bad experience with a restaurant wine list? I'd like to compile a list and post it to the website so would love to hear from you.

Until next time.

So many wines, so little time.

winegoose@hotmail.com