Our First Star

19.08.2009 was a special date for us - it was the third anniversary of our wedding, and as such, a night to celebrate and remember. Neither Michelle nor I had ever, to our knowledge, eaten at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Dublin has a number of one star and a couple two star restaurants. We decided to treat ourselves to a night to remember.

That said, it's been several months since I've gotten a regular paycheck, and we just up and moved continents, so we weren't going to go all crazy and wild on this one. Still, a one-star restauran is quite a thrill, and we decided on L'Ecrivain. Yes, for the astute out there, this means writer, and perhaps with just a little too much glee, we set out.

Our cabbie had a bit of a hard time finding the place, but charged us fairly, and provided one of the most interesting summaries of the Irish to date. According to him, the Irish are lovers of complication. And proceeded to talk about various reasons why he believed that, but I don't remember any of them.

On arrival we were, as one would expect, treated like royalty. At the end of the day, star or no star it was an excellent restaurant, and we were lucky to be seated up in the sort of attic area, where we could overlook the restaurant, and had the whole area to ourselves.

We had some amazing service, even so far as one of the water boys came up to check on us, saw that we had a few utensils to be cleared, and instead of taking it and walking away, he instead retired away to a nearby table, where he snatched a bread plate to use as a tray. Coming back to us so armed, he proceeded to clear what needed to be cleared.

My mains was a pithivier of sweet potato and feta cheese, with spinach and ratatouille. Michelle had the monkfish with samphire and aubergine puree. For starter I had something awesome and she had ... tuna tartare with avocado. Apparently it was amazing, and it sounds like it. The food was all quite tasty, and between the muse up front, some seriously tasty Irish bread, and the meals themselves we had what amounted to a feast.

The only bad part, and frankly it was minor but annoying, is that after we decided not to have dessert we were all but left alone. This would have been fine had we been in a more trafficked area of the restaurant, but being up a flight of stairs with no other excuses to ascend meant that we were essentially ignored. In Ireland, as in much of Europe, you receive the check when you ask for it, and not sooner. The combinations of everything meant that eventually I had to tread downstairs for the sole purpose of asking for the check. Ultimately, a mark, albeit an understandable and small one, against.

All in all, though, it was an excellent annivesary dinner, and I would not be surprised in the least if Michelle and I hit each and every star in Dublin over the course of the next few years. Here's to hoping!