By Marie-Claire Digby and Mary Downey
MEALS ON WHEELS
Workaholics glued to their desks needn't go hungry now that Restaurant Express, the food delivery company, has extended its operation to include commercial addresses in the Dublin area. Working late needn't be such a bleak prospect now that you can order dinner from your favourite restaurant - by phone on 01-6706666 or online at www.restaurantexpress.ie - and turn your desk into a dining table within 55 minutes. As you might expect, Asian food is strongly represented in the line-up of participating restaurants, but Pasta Fresca, Bella Cuba, FXB's and Eddie Rockets are also included.
SHOPPERS' FRIENDS
- The revamped food court in the St Stephen's Green Centre in Dublin 2 is a new refuelling option for shoppers. Having shed its fusty, all-day breakfast vibe, Cafe Kylemore has become Kylemore, a bustling spot where the choice is extensive and the redesign justifies the €2 million investment.
- The remodelled third floor in Brown Thomas, Dublin also offers shoppers an attractive new pitstop in which to recover from the thrill of the big splurge. Citrus, a contemporary space tucked away to the right of the ascending escalator, is a good spot for a light lunch or coffee break.
- Younger shoppers, and rockers, have the opening of Dublin's first Hard Rock Café to look forward to. The Fitzers group and their partners in the venture, Entertainment Enterprise, plan to have the new venture, situated beside The Morgan hotel in Temple Bar, open by the first week of July.
GET THE KNOWLEDGE
You know how it is - you are put on the spot to suggest a hip, trendy new restaurant and your mind just goes blank. Help is at hand from Adlib, an online restaurant guide which bills itself as "the definitive guide to dining in Ireland" and for once actually lives up to the hype. The website includes a comprehensive directory of restaurants, as well as reviews, recommendations and recipes, many of them for signature dishes from the menus of top restaurants, submitted by their chefs.
So if you don't get the reservation you wanted, you can stay at home and try your hand at fillet of hake "Kenure House", as cooked by Terry McCoy of the Red Bank in Skerries; wild Irish salmon with champagne and chive sauce, from Patsy McGuirk of Bon Appetit in Malahide, or stuffed sirloin rolls with bacon and lovage sauce, suggested by Marie Harding of Lovetts in Cork. www.adlib.ie.
FUSION FEAST
Vermilion, the self-styled Indian fusion restaurant in Terenure, has launched a take-home service. Dinner for two was delivered at high speed in neatly labelled see-through plastic containers - practical if not exactly eco-friendly. I've eaten in the restaurant and this meal didn't change my original opinion that its food, while tasty enough and generously portioned, is neither as innovative nor as memorable as the restaurant likes to make out. The much-vaunted fusion element is sometimes indecipherable. Prices for vermilion@home, while significantly lower than those in the restaurant, are on the high side for takeaway food. Our bill for two came to €45. Still, this has the making of a slick operation. Vermilion, 94/96 Terenure Road North, Dublin 6W, (01-4991400), www.vermilion.ie, info@vermilion.ie.
M&S FOR LESS
What, prices coming down? In Rip-Off Ireland? So it seems. Marks & Spencer has announced a drop of up to 20 per cent on 1,000 products. It's not turning into Aldi overnight but we welcome anything for less. For more info on supermarket prices, log on to www.shoppingbill.com, which compares prices and carries news of special offers.