Eating out:The latest series of The Restaurant brings me to the midlands once again. And, once again, I'm hugely impressed by the bravery of the people who plunge into the kitchen and produce food for real punters and for three critics.
One of the golden rules of The Restaurant is that Paolo Tullio, the guest critic and I haven't the faintest idea who is cooking; the secret-keeping has never faltered in six series.
The only identity we ever guessed correctly was that of Dermot O'Neill, whose delicious menu was so splendidly garden-centred (to coin an unfortunate phrase) that it had to be him.
In the series we're making at the moment we were quite sure that one chef, who turned out to be a very large man, was a girl. And there was the time we thought Dana was Elvis, but that's a long story.
The need to keep Paolo and me from glimpsing the chef means we stay several miles from Wineport Lodge, where the programme is shot. And when we arrive each evening we are blindfolded, gagged and bound, then wheeled through the back door in Guantánamo-style boiler suits. Well, something like that.
During the day we are free to hammer away at our laptops in a doomed endeavour to keep on top of the fragile freelance life, and, provided we give the Wineport a very wide berth, we can toddle off for lunch.
And so it was that we ended up in Grogans, a pub in the centre of Glasson village. Several readers have suggested this establishment as a good pit stop, and so it proved. It was looking a little shabby but is about to be refurbished, and the food, by and large, was pretty good.
Admittedly, a dish of crab claws (tweely described as "crab toes") in a ginger butter was less than delightful. Crab claws need to be as fresh as the morning dew, and although they freeze reasonably well they often end up rather dry and woolly, as was the case here.
Two huge chunks of deep-fried Brie with a curious-sounding "pear and apple compee" were a tribute to the 1970s dinner-party staple - made with Camembert in those days - and they were very pleasant, if not exactly elegant. (Before you say "how provincial", bear in mind that Marks & Spencer does a version of this in its Gastropub range of ready meals.)
I don't think Grogans falls into the classic gastropub category; it was doing food like this before the concept was invented at the Eagle in London.
But plump mussels in a cream and white-wine sauce, although slightly oversalted, would be quite at home in such an establishment: simple, comforting and well executed.
I don't know when I last tasted whiting, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't overwhelmed by the experience. At Grogan's, however, my fillet was huge and encased in a delightfully dry and crisp batter, cooked impeccably à point. The flakes of flesh were moist and delicious - almost as good as poor old endangered cod.
We shared a good panacotta - just a shade too firm for Paolo, who, being Italian, believes it should quiver in a vaguely breast-like manner - with a berry sauce.
Our only disappointment was the wine, chosen from a list that features prices so reasonable they are rarely seen in Irish pubs, let alone restaurants. We should have been wary of a Sancerre at €29, and it turned out to be vile. A pint of Guinness (or better still a bottle of the stuff) would have been a much better choice.
With a brace of coffees our bill came to €76.70, but you could eat well here for half that sum. It's refreshing to come across a pub that takes food quite seriously, especially in a part of
Ireland where good restaurants are scarce. The real charm of Grogan's lies in its lack of pretension.
Grogans, Main Street, Glasson, Athlone, Co Westmeath, 090-6485158
Wine choice:Having 13 wines under €16 is not just commendable: it may well be unique in Ireland. I'm not familiar with much of the list, but I'd be very happy to drink the Argentinian Michel Torino Cabernet Sauvignon at €15.90; Chilensis Sauvignon Blanc, at the same price, is very pleasant. Don David Reserve Malbec (€19.90) is a thoroughly meaty red for the price. Cousiño-Macul's Antiguas Reservas (€24.90) is several notches above the average Chilean red. Domaine Wardy Shiraz-Merlot- Cabernet (€26.90) may have some way to go before it rivals its fellow Lebanese Château Musar, but it's a decent glass of wine.