Stunning location on the shores of Lough Conn. Great home style decor and modern menu to match. A tad pricy though, but it is Mayo after all!
Rated /5 on Mar 2 2008 by David Lenehan
Archives for Food and Drink
Review of Enjoyable Bar Food
Unlike many others in the bar area, I have visited without clouding my mind with any alcohol. Sometimes that decision is driven by aircraft rental (good wet prices around the corner on the grass strip at the airport) and other times I just don't want to walk through airport security while reeking of drink. The low alcohol intake also allows me to critically appraise the bar food in the Cork International Airport Hotel. I have eaten two of their burgers, one serving of the chicken ceasar salad, and one plate of their specialty sausages (in the picture). All of these items are well worth their EUR13 price tag. I didn't pay all that money just for a burger. When you order the house burger, you get some very tasty chips (wide-cut French Fries to Americans) along with ample amounts of ketchup and mayonnaise. I highly recommend the bar in the Cork International Airport Hotel for its food service. The bar staff are friendly and I'm sure the drink is fine too. .... Read Original Full Review.
Rated /5 on Feb 16 2008 by Bernard Goldbach
Review of Nigella Express, BBC 2
Up until recently I'd really liked Nigella Lawson, I liked her down-to-earth style, her great attitude to food and cooking, her love of comfort foods and even the fact that whilst she is far from the recently popular concept of beauty i.e. very young, very skinny, very bronzed and very blonde she exuded the alluring appeal of a real, beautiful woman! .... Read Original Full Review.
Rated /5 on Nov 27 2007 by curly k
Review of Irish Ferries’ Easy Guide to French Wine
For those of us who love wine but dont know a whole lot about wine and French wine in particular, Irish Ferries have an excellent guide to French wine on their website. The guideprovides details on wine classifications,the various wine regions, vintages and frequently asked questions in a clear, easy to read but very informative way. If you love your wine, would like to know a little more about it but really dont want to have trawl the internet this is a fantastic starting point. .... Read Original Full Review.
Rated /5 on Nov 22 2007 by curly k
Review of Ratatouille Movie
Terribly disappointed by this, as were my children. Cannot believe the genius who made The Incredibles came out with something so flat. .... Read Original Full Review.
Rated /5 on Oct 20 2007 by Old Baldy
Review of Ratatouille Movie
I'd been looking forward to seeing this since I first heard about it. The awesome Brad Bird doing a movie about food, I was guaranteed to love it.I went with three children aged 8, 6 and 4 and we stocked up on the usual popcorn and sprite. The animated short at the start was ok but not up to the usual standard of Pixar.I think it started badly for me when I realised we had a narrator. This device can ruin a movie and I think it interferes badly here. Add to this that the rats had American accents but the humans had French ones and you get the sense that some unfortunate compromises were made.The plot is utterly straightforward, misunderstood rat Remy loves food and cooking and Chef Gusteau on the TV. Old lady on farm where they live wakes up to find him in living room, catastrophe ensues and the entire rat colony escapes and Remy ends up lost. He eventually discovers (with the help of ghost/imaginary now-deceased Chef Gusteau) that he has ended up in Paris and is actually outside Gusteau's restaurant.He sneaks in to find nasty evil replacement chef and new clueless garbage boy. After soup disaster, he fixes it for garbage boy and through some usual plot devices they end up friends. Chef thinks garbage boy made amazing soup and asks for it again. Remy and boy (Linguini) figure out a way to work together where Remy sits under his hat and controls him like a puppet by pulling his hair.Lots of japes and excitement. Sub-plot involving Linguini's real identity. Nasty restaurant critic Anton Ego straight out of a Tim Burton movie. Romance, arrogance, failure, recovery.Half way through the younger kids started getting restless and the 6 year old said "I thought this was supposed to be a funny movie. No one is laughing".There are a bunch of problems with the movie. It's clearly made for adults and not kids but has the silly sentimentality that seems to be compulsory in kids animated movies rather than anything more sophisticated. It really doesn't satisfy anyone and falls between two stools.The animation is wonderful but that's not why I enjoy movies. There is nothing to care about in it. Nothing of the emotional quality of Toy Story or The Incredibles. It reminds me most of Monsters Inc which I think of as Pixar's worst movie. Lots of activity but no real heart.The only great moment is when the critic eats the ratatouille. That's what I was looking for all the way through. But 30 perfect seconds in a run of the mill humdrum story is not enough.Let's hope Brad Bird recovers with the next one as he is a man of incredible (pun intended) ability. .... Read Original Full Review.
Rated /5 on Oct 20 2007 by Old Baldy
Review of Comfort Inn Motel
A gem of a hotel in a slightly rough area but fantastic value with all the services you need and a bus downtown around the corner for $1.50 .... Read Original Full Review.
Rated /5 on Sep 24 2007 by Mr C
Review of Marks and Spencer Shepherds Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2006
A classic NZ Marlborough Sauvignon with a great taste at a reasonable price .... Read Original Full Review.
Rated /5 on Sep 12 2007 by Old Baldy
Review of AdeZ Fruit Juice
Interesting blend of fruits (without the bits) with an interesting brand name. Tasty but not thirst-quenching. .... Read Original Full Review.
Rated /5 on Sep 11 2007 by Ken McGuire