Molly's Yard
Before we get started, let me just say it was a bit dark, and my camera is crap. Because it's a phone, not a camera. I don't try to make calls with your Nikon D-whatever, so no wisecracks about the megapixels, which I assume is a real word. Anywho.
On this particular evening, I found another foodie to go with me, so we could get more mileage out of the menu. We made our way by cab to Molly's Yard, and arrived at a rather large wall with a rather not-large entry way into a dark area - the type of dark area you tend to send the less useful members of the party into first. But being that I am at least 12 feet taller than most of the people on this island, I bravely (nearly wet myself) entered the dark courtyard first and we found the entrance. Inside, the place was tiny. I mean, really tiny. Like big enough to run a takeaway while a couple old dudes play checkers in the corner. Lucky enough though, they do have an upstairs with a bit more room. As I said before, the atmosphere was a bit dark, but in a nice way. It made for an intimate dining experience, with some great Irish music faintly in the background. So if you've only got two people, I strongly recommend it for a great place to eat if you want some good conversation. Observe:
And that's with the flash on. Yup. Also, if, like me, you find yourself to be a rather large person and the person accompanying you just happens to be, as it was in this instance, a fourth your size, I might recommend having them take the chair with the little cushion while you take the bench. Just saying. I bravely (foolishly) tackled the chair and subdued it for 2 hours, which my hiney paid for. Oh, right, the food.To start, I picked out the linguine with sage, parmesan, and pork. Which was delicious. The only critique I had was the plate. Bowl. Plate-bowl. Bowl-plate?
See what I mean?! In what universe is this a practical dish? It'd be a freakin' nightmare to eat cereal or soup out of. Clearly not a bowl. Yet not even close to being a plate. Because of the large, you know, HOLE in the middle. Clearly this foodie has not seen everything. Anywho. My comrade picked the dry aged fillet of beef with pickled cabbage, which was quite good. Feast your eyes:
In true foodie fashion, we then had the cheese. Because you know I must try the cheese before the main course, which meant ordering off the dessert menu in the middle of dinner. Now, the cheese was delicious. There was a bleu, a smokey one, a brown one (which on first glance, I was seriously skeptical about, but we both ended up enjoying it), and a creamy one that we really liked. And I would love to show you these cheeses, I truly would. But we kinda... tore through them. So here's a picture of the plate they came on, with the spiced chutney it was served with:
As you can see, it's a lovely plate. Functional, no holes in the middle, perfect for placing things on. Like cheese, for instance. Yeah. Bad foodie...
For the mains, I ordered the venison with sage dauphinoise potatoes and blackberry jus. I'd never had venison that wasn't jerky, so I wanted to see if this was any better. And it was. I'd never had the potatoes like they were either, so that was a treat. I do like trying new things. Here's mine:
My friend decided to be a bit more adventurous than my meat and potatoes choice (and good for her), and she went with the roast squash, wild mushroom, and spinach lasagne with parsnip crisps. I seriously thought it was going to be a boring vegetarian option. Honestly, I can count the number of vegetarian lasagna's I've enjoyed on one finger. But this foodie had game. She straight up out-ordered me and got the better deal. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed my Bambi and Taters, but the lasagne was fantastic. See:
Oh, sure. NOW the flash decides to work. Damn Iphone. Anyway. Dessert was last on the list. This time, I think I got the slightly better deal. But I am biased. I got the Irish cream and banana bread and butter pudding with Tully vanilla ice cream. Which was flippin' fantastic. I zoomed (moved the camera in with my hands) in real close for you:
My friend ordered Molly’s famous Belgian chocolate brownie with Just Jersey ice cream and chocolate sauce, which was good too. I'm a sucker for banana bread, so I think I enjoyed mine more, but the brownie was pretty great. I'd def recommend it for brownie-lovers. Her's certainly looked cooler:
And did you notice the dish from my dessert? Same damn plate-bowl! Where on earth did they FIND those? Anywho.
So, overall impression: wonderful evening. Atmosphere was cozy and intimate, made for great conversation, and the food was certainly worthy of a trip back in the future. You should go to there. Or just continue to live vicariously through me. Which actually helps with the ad revenue. Click on them ads! So yes, try new things (kudos for trying the risotto recipe, you know who you are), and be fearless in the kitchen! Foodies never die. That is all.