Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Entry 3: Connor Pass and Dingle's Food & Wine Festival

Our second day in Dingle was divided between two distinct activities. The first was a drive to the top of Connor Pass. The first 75% of the drive was calm and peaceful, the last 25% was a bit hair raising--single lane, sharp turns, and a cliff edge. I drove there and Isaac drove back. I'm still not sure if it was scarier as the passenger or the driver. Thankfully, the trip was worth it. The view from the scenic pull-off was quite nice, but the real treat was the perfectly calm lake we happened upon above the lookout. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.


We spent the second half of the day at Dingle's Food a Wine Festival. I love festivals so it was a welcome surprise to see the signs around town when we arrived on Thursday. The concept was simple. Purchase a passbook with twenty tickets and then use the guide map restaurant descriptions to decide where to use them. Here's a list of what we ate:
  • The Little Cheese Shop: Ras
  • Paul Geaney's: Gourmet burger
  • The Dingle Pub: Steamed mussels with wine, garlic and cream
  • Happy Garden Place: Soup and a spring roll
  • Finn McCool's Surf Shop: Aussie BBQ (Kangaroo)
  • O'Cathain's Fish Shop: BBQ'd prawns and scallops
  • Chowder Cafe: Seafood chowder and pan fried mackerel on a warm potato salad
  • Waterside Restaurant: Suckling Pig
  • Fish at the Marina: Teriyaki salmon skewers and warm sake shot
  • Novecento Gourmet Shop: Pizza
  • Adn Danlann Gallery: Fudge
  • Courtney's Bakery: Confectioneries
    Isaac enjoying suckling pig (note the pig in the background)
Melted Raclette cheese, crunchy skin and all!    
The melt above was created with the contraption in the middle of this picture.  The cheese is placed under the horizontal metal bar that melts the top layer with a propane flame.  The melted cheese is then scraped onto a piece of bread.  Yum!

No comments: