Ladies Night at The Tannery

Avid readers of the blog will know that myself and The Hubs were at The Tannery in Dungarvan last year and we had a fabulous time - so much so, that I kept telling everybody how flipping brilliant it was, how lovely the food was and how beautiful the townhouse accommodation was.  It was then decided that we'd go there for a Lovely Ladies Night Away - we've usually had these events in Dublin to accommodate the majority, but this time we all travelled down to Fungarvan by plane, train and automobile.  Of course, my departure time from Maison Babaduck clashed with the feckin' Ireland -v- Italy rugby match, so I watched the first lacklustre 15 minutes at home and listened to the rest in the car, missing a fantastic try-filled second half.  Boo hiss.

Eventually, I arrived in Dungarvan where I illegally abandoned my car temporarily so we could check into our rooms in the Townhouse.  I had a gorgeous king-sized room all to myself, which pleased me greatly as I could scatter my belongings over every available surface without anybody telling me to tidy up (I am generally a very tidy person, but every once in a while, I like to rebel!).  The rest of the Lovely Ladies arrived in dribs and drabs and we made our way over to Merrys pub for a few glasses of water and a chat.  All too soon, it was time to get ready for our dinner in The Tannery - and we were almost on time.  Our table wasn't ready so we sat downstairs and perused the cocktail list : a Metropolitan, a Martini and many Salted Caramel Martinis were ordered, together with a Diet Coke for the abstinent one (let's call her BB).  Menus were read and discussed - the common thread was "oh, I'm having those chips too".  The chips with smoked paprika aioli are a thing of beauty and I'd happily eat them every day if I could...

Salted Caramel Martinis were the hit of the night...

What to eat?

Warm bread with amazing garlicky cheese dip

As we sat at our table and chose the wine, little buckets of warm bread arrived with butter and a fantastic garlicky cheese dip called Cervelle de Canut.  You had to be quick off the mark to get any of this because the two ladies across from me practically inhaled the lot.  One even kept the leftovers to dip her chips into...

Pastilla of Spring Lamb with Hummous and Mint Yoghurt

Wine poured, it was time for starters. I had chosen the special, which was a Moroccan-inspired Lamb Pastilla with delicious hummous and a lovely minty yoghurt to counteract the spiciness.  Unfortunately I never checked the contents of the pastilla and was rather dismayed to find my nemesis, the evil red pepper, liberally decorating the interior.  Some precision excision took place and the peppers were soon banished to the side of the place in a heaping pile... don't worry though because somebody then nabbed them from my plate.

Roasted Salt Cod with a Parsley & Bacon Croquette

After the Salted Caramel Martini, I kept on the saline theme and ordered the Salt Cod which came with the most delicate looking croquette I've ever seen.  Small but packed with flavour, I could have eaten a whole bowlful... we also got some beautifully dressed potatoes and many many glasses of chips with smoked paprika aioli.  At one stage, I was so busy eating the chips, I nearly let my fish go cold...

Apple Crumble Souffle with Maple Butterscotch Sauce

Eventually, it was time for dessert.  I was feeling rather full and didn't think I'd manage the warm salted chocolate mousse with peanut butter icecream and jelly so opted for the apple crumble souffle instead.  It was as light as a feather, served in a coffee cup with some spiced cream and a little jar of maple butterscotch sauce (which BB drank straight from the jar, the little savage).  

We tottered into the night, full to the brim and slept like babies in the beautifully appointed rooms in the Townhouse.  It was a perfect evening (again).