This card landed in my mailbox and my first thought was, really?

A way to earn more money at time of economic downturn is by contacting someone whose email says freeholidays (presumably as an enticer)?

Please excuse my scepticism.

There are plenty of places to eat in Dublin, but with restaurants closing down here and there, and more noticeably among some of the good/popular ones, one can’t help but wonder what is going on. Is the recession really hitting that much harder than we’ve expected, or are there troubles in managing expectations and balancing the books at the same time.

Early in the week, Carluccio’s shut its door at the wake of failure to meet its rent commitment after unsuccessful renegotiation of rent with its landlord. However, last evening, a new deal was struck and they will reopen again next week. What a week, eh?

I remember reading, when they first opened on Dawson Street, the extraordinary amount of rent that they’ve agreed to per annum. But of course, that was at the height of waves just before everything came crashing down. The old agreement saw Carluccio’s paying a rent of €680,000 per year, which works out to just under €1,900 per day. Yup, you read that right, per day! I don’t know if this kind of rate is the norm for properties on Dawson Street, but by goodness, that’s more than my monthly housing rent. And to think, given the economic downturn and the landlords were initially resisting a reduction in rent payable, that’s simply absurd. I can’t imagine they’ll be able to find a new tenant that would pay that amount should Carluccio’s vacate the premises. No one in their right mind should! Premium properties at city centre location, sure. Unrealistic rent overhead, nooooo.

***

On other eateries coming and going in the city (while I was cocooned with work craziness), the Bang Cafe on Merrion Row has shut down last month – this most probably explains the removal of Michelin’s Bib Gourmand recognition – with some major mismanagement hanging over the head of the owners, the Stokes brothers. And the bad news is, it’s not just mismanagement of the cafe but also of their private members’ club on St Stephen’s Green. It is such a shame, since they formerly also ran Clarendon Inn and between that and Bang Cafe, they have served some really delicious grubs over the years.

***

Latest news on the news today – Patrick Guilbaud is stepping down as director of his namesake restaurant that currently holds two Michelin stars. Now, this is one restaurant that still posted profits in 2008 (not sure about 2009 yet), but I do wonder what’s the implication now that he’s stepping down from his directorship.

There have a lot of grumbles of late, of laws and regulations that many deem frivilous and a waste of resources, whereas there are other more important issues which should be tackled but seem to have been sidelined to goodness know when. (Since I haven’t personally look into the matters discussed, I won’t cast an opinion over them just yet.)

One of the latest introduction is that of speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour in city centre area. Really? The whole city is going to be crawling. Not to mention, there are already plenty of stretches where it’s unlikely for vehicles to be going over 30km/h, and in general, road safety in the city centre has been good. Road accidents are more likely at places where there are long stretches of empty road ahead, which tempt some drivers into speeding and being careless. But in city centre? Additionally, the Garda resources are already limited and now they have to be stretched further to monitor really small speed discrepancies? And the government in general will also have to spend more money to put up the speed limit signs everywhere? Many opined that this brings on board more cons than pro argument. For now, I’m inclined to agree.

Recently, a blasphemy law was also passed, and I’m afraid I still haven’t quite get the point as to why this is necessary despite the changes in the faces of the society. How much time was spent debating the points of this legislation which can be better used to sort out other problems, such as harmonising public transport ticketing system, or improving health care, or fight against anti-social behaviour? PZ Myers, on invitation by Atheist Ireland, will be speaking at Buswells Hotel tonight, at 7.30pm, on this issue. The public is welcome and the entry is free.

Do you think these laws are unnecessary and wasting tax payers’ money? What’s next that’s going to be on the list of more frivilous laws?

It is a common sight at the airport, people struggling to redistribute items in their bags, between check-in and cabin luggage, or between cabin luggage of two or more people travelling on the same itinerary etc. Why? They’ve inevitably went overweight with one of the bags and trying to find a solution without incurring further charges.

Of course, it takes an entrepreneur (or two) to identify a gap in the market and be innovative. Introducing Flylight, a self-weighing luggage. Yup, luggage with built-in weighing scale so that travellers are not left guessing the total weight before they even get to the airport. Particularly handy when one doesn’t have a weighing scale at home. (Watch the video on their site to see how to use this nifty weighing function.)

Brainchild of Noel Regan and Pat Madigan, Flylight come in sets of twos – one suitable for cabin luggage (even by Ryanair’s measurement) and one larger size for check-in luggage. Retailing at €79.99 per set, it does seem good value although it may be a while before reviews come in to evaluate how sturdy are these weighing scale, particularly for check-in luggage which are liable to be handled roughly by baggage handlers.

If you have any experience using Flylight, let us know how they fare. Are they providing good value for money? Are they durable? Is the scale accurate? Would you recommend this for frequent travellers? Leave us a comment below.

So a couple of days ago, I voiced my opinion of what I thought about Science Gallery M+ scheme. Seems like I’m not the only current member to react to it, as I see this little snippet in the newsletter I received today from Dublin Event Guide for Free Events.

Joerg opined it as “this is odd”.

SCIENCE GALLERY NOW WANTS YOUR MONEY

My beloved and often highly praised Science Gallery dropped dramatically in my estimation. It is not that they are showing awful exhibitions (“What if” was not as great as others, but nevertheless interesting.), instead they decided to downgrade all their loyal members by raising the bar. Membership in the Science Gallery was always free and it included a few perks. As a member you got a 10% discount on tickets for non-free events, and on purchases in the shop and café and you got access to some events that were only available to the members.

We are now told that they need to raise money and therefore are introducing the wonderful Membership PLUS programme. Only problem is that the “PLUS” Members don’t get anything extra. Instead they get for EUR 30 per year (temporarily discounted to EUR 20 if you “upgrade” before 10 Feb) the perks that the non-Plus members previously got for free. And even worse: all normal members will not get ANY perks anymore. BAD move, dear Science Gallery! Kicking the 8500 people in the backside that felt passionate enough about the Science Gallery to join up, is not smart marketing.

By the way, I am not complaining about the fact that the Science Gallery needs to make money. Sure, it is a pity, but THEY need to decide what is needed to keep the “show” running. However, I wonder if it wouldn’t have been a better idea to charge an admission charge of just 1 Euro (not more!) from every visitor. With 500,000 visitors since the Science Gallery was opened 2 years ago, this might be a much better approach. http://www.sciencegallery.com/membership_plus

I can certainly understand Joerg’s point of view. He has, over the last couple of years, regularly promotes Science Gallery to thousand of subscribers to his newsletter, your truly included, because he genuinely cares about what’s going on in Science Gallery. His stand and mine is not at all too different – we both found it perplexing to have nearly everything taken away from the loyal regular members.

Street spotting: a cheerfully decorated bin. Cute, right?

Do you know the Science Gallery?

If you don’t, you should check it out sometimes – they have some pretty amazing exhibitions and since its launch nearly two years ago, they’ve brought us, among others, Lightwave, Lab in the Gallery: Pay Attention, Bubble and most recently, What If.

The exhibitions are free to enter, but participations in certain events and experiments are fee-paying. Visitors of the Science Gallery may apply for a free membership, which perks include free wi-fi at the Science Gallery, a 10% discount from Flux Café, discounted event tickets, advanced invitations to events at the Science Gallery, etc.

But in the times of funding cuts, sustaining the level of activities while maintaining the high standard means Science Gallery is now looking for an alternative mean to raise some money.

Introducing Science Gallery Membership Plus.

Its cost is €30 annually, €20 for students. For anyone who sign up before 10 February, the price is discounted to €20 and they’ll also throw in a free invitation to the LOVELAB preview party and a behind the scenes tour of the show.

With this introduction, they’re taking away most of the perks that basic members have been able to enjoy so far and shift those privileges only to paying members. Yup, from the transition date of 10 February onwards, no more free wi-fi, no more 10% discount at Flux Café, no more discounted event tickets. Basic members will retain access to the Science Gallery website and event ticket bookings only.

What bugs me a little is that this whole thing is akin to scamming trade promotions, when you’re promised certain perks until they decided they’re going to raise the bar in order to enjoy more or less the same perks again. Why can’t they just add new perks for the fee-paying members? Or take away only some, not all, of the practical perks that most members use?

Moreover, how is this bringing the membership to the next level (quoting the e-mail I received)? No matter the spin, this looks like paying to get the membership to the same previous level, except now my profile will have a nice little badge that says “Member Plus”. I’d rather they come out and say directly that membership is no longer free. I would have understand the need to introduce the fee, and happily paid for it.

Even I admit that €30 per annum is not too much, but it would be nice to think that the Science Gallery hasn’t just gone all elitist suddenly… and that’s how I felt when they try to sugarcoat the intent behind this initiative.

The Michelin guide 2010 for UK and Ireland has been leaked by Amazon, causing another rushed release ahead of schedule. (It was also leaked ahead of the official release last year.)

Regarded by many as the ultimate best restaurants bible, you may or may not agree with their assessments. I’m lucky that I’ve dined in most of the Michelin-star adorned restaurants in Dublin, some out of interest in the early days before they even receive the recognitions, some out of generosity of my aunt who never hesitated in giving me a treat at these establishments.

Let’s see which eateries in Dublin made the cut for this edition.

2 Stars:
Patrick Guilbaud (Upper Merrion Street, D2)

1 Star:
Bon Apetit (Malahide)
Chapter One (Parnell Square North, D1)
L’Ecrivain (Upper Baggot Street, D2)
Thornton’s at Fitzwilliam Hotel (St Stephen’s Green, D2)

Bib Gourmand – New Additions:
La Maison (formerly La Maison des Gourmets, Castlemarket Street, D2)
Pichet (Trinity Street, D2)
The Pig’s Ear (Nassau Street, D2)

Mint Restaurant (Ranelagh, D6) has been stripped of their one star because, as some are aware of, it shut down last year just before the summer. In its place, Dillinger’s opened just last November, and it’s on my list of new places to try.

Additionally, Bang Café (Merrion Row, D2) and The Winding Stair (Ormond Quay, D1) lost their Bib Gourmand recognition. Just to clarify, Bib Gourmand refers to places that offer good food at moderate prices.

I was actually in Pichet and The Pig’s Ear just before Christmas, with photos taken but the review not yet written. Pichet is already doing very well, although I was thinking it’s somewhat pricey for the portion size (not a problem for Michelin’s assessment as they’re eyeing more at quality as opposed to quantity but definitely a consideration at times of recession for diners). The Pig’s Ear, I wondered, if was suffering from a less-than-ideal location despite being quite central. The last couple of times I was in there, it was very quiet and now that they’re being recognised for the quality food that they serve, I hope they’ll do better in terms of business volume but not changing the price structure majorly. That will make me quite sad…

Look like I’ll have to make a trip out to Malahide sometimes soon. That’s the only place on this list that I have not personally experienced.

What do you think? Do you have other favourite restaurants that you believe merit a Michelin recognition?

Happy 2010 everyone!

It’s rather amazing that we’re already two weeks into the new year, and somehow it felt like so little had been achieved in this time frame.

Blanketed under inches of snow and sleet, and icy weather abound, the first ten days or so saw the country coming to a relative stand still. The pace of life slowed down, and the fracas over mismanagement of road maintenance had plenty of people irked and annoyed, and rather inconvenienced.

Gradually, in the last few days, things began thawing up as the temperature climbs back to what is the norm at this time of year. Indeed, -10°C is not something we’re accustomed to, more so when extended over days, not just hours. A single digit above 0°C works nicely really.

But of course, now we’re facing new problems, of flooding and of water shortage. Yup, a country with plenty of rain having water shortages, no thanks to the bursting pipes following the big freeze.

The various city councils are implementing water restrictions, with some water mains being shut off or the pressure lowered in different areas, in order to conserve water as well as necessitate various reparation. Dubliners should keep an eye on notices on the website of the Dublin City Council, especially if you find yourself suddenly without water supply. Chances are, it’s a scheduled shut-down and there’s no need to panic – the water will be back up, usually overnight in these cases.

So this is what “an offer” looks like at Tesco?

Anyone who fancies this offer?

Yes, it was previously €8.19 but now, special price of €9.50 (with a saving of €2.19)!

Three conclusions that I can draw from this:

• Tesco thinks people can’t do simple maths the moment they see the word “Save” followed by a reasonable amount of figure (who cares if it’s incorrect and can someone tell me how to reconcile those 3 figures above?).
• Tesco’s management is dumb and can’t tell that when the price goes up, it’s no longer savings of any sort.
• Tesco has faulty and unreliable computer system which can’t calculate (they’ll probably claim this incident as computer error anyway).

And as a bonus, funny how the offer is supposed to end on 24 November 2009 but this is still sitting on the shelf and I do know of someone who paid that higher price just over the weekend. Normally, if there’s any real deal, the expiry date is strictly enforced. I should know. I’ve bought things before which when the prices didn’t show up on my receipt and I queried them, I was shown that the offers had expired and so I was not entitled to whatever special prices despite the tags still sitting on the display.

Tesco. Fail.

The building of CCJ in Dublin (photo by Matt Kavanagh/Irish Times)

The new Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) complex will open today for its first court hearing, and this €140 million complex boasts 22 technology-bolstered court rooms, additional 450 rooms, underground holding area for up to 100 prisoners (with their own entrances into each court room), separate areas of access for the judiciary and the members of the public, dedicated victim-support facility complete with suites for witnesses and victims of crimes, and also a playroom for child witnesses.

For more specs information etc, have a read at these articles on the Irish Times and the Independent.

What caught my interest is the architecture side of this building. This 11-storeys building (I know, doesn’t seem like it from the photo above, thanks to the clever positions of 3 rows of large glass panels) is circular, earning it the nickname of Pantheon. For any unaware passerby, it could easily pass for a corporate building; even a modern opera house. The interior is sleek, and its open central space gives this sense of a breathing space, which I can imagine many would need given the stress involved in a judicial process. The human circulation system is such that facilitate mobility of the suspects, judges, juries and witnesses while protecting their privacy at the same time. No pictures as yet that I can find on the interior of the individual courtrooms, but the children playroom is calming with circular motives in coordinated splashes of colours.

What do you think of the building? Is the cost justified given the facilities in place to better provide security and privacy to all who uses the building for one reason or another? (It is about €30 million over the budget stated on the website of the architect company involved, Henry J Lyons, but it’s also delivered ahead of schedule.)

On a side note, for a country of just over 4 million people in population, and knowing that the justice system processes some 400,000 criminal matters per year, the rate is rather alarming to me. I don’t know if this kind of rate is “normal” by any stretch, but I certainly have heard of a lot of thefts and robberies lately that perhaps I shouldn’t be this shocked over it…?

The look on Shay Given’s face, when he grabbed on to the Swedish referee and told him it was a handball but just got shrugged off. It was heartbreaking. And in the same way, the loss was heartbreaking. The boys were devastated after putting through such a sterling performance tonight. France pulled through an advantageous goal because there was a thief amongst the lot.

Meet Thierry Henry.

La main de Thierry (via @bruno_tran)

It doesn’t matter what the tv commentators are saying, that “such a thing unfortunately happens” or all the other consolation gobbledygook about the match. We were robbed. In a way, yes, it is unfortunate, but such a thing shouldn’t have happened! Could the referee not take a moment to consider the situation, perhaps confer with the linesman, when there were so many other players protesting over it?

2 offsides and 2 handballs.

How can that be justified? How?

Now, a selection of some of the comments published on Twitter so far:

• Thierry Henry, I’m really happy for you and imma let you finish, but Diego Maradona had the best handball of ALL TIME! (via @darraghdoyle @Shiminay)
• New French flag http://flic.kr/p/7gEiY8 – Jesus people work fast! – Imagine what 2mo is going to be like! (via @lexia @JulieDil @davanac)
• If I even SEE a croissant tomorrow… (via @shanehegarty)
• wow, just the two handballs from thierry henry in that goal. maradona only needed one. (via @heg @curlydena)
• Thierry “The Thief of St Denis” Henry. Copyright George Hamilton. (via @tigercooke)
• FFS!!! Thierry the thief. Beyond angry and disappointed. And seriously, referee – go to Specsavers and get new glasses!!! (via @DUBMetblogs)

I’m a bit too cross to rant right now. If I continue, I may also say something that I’ll deeply regret tomorrow morning. And I can’t watch the replays anymore either. It’s too painful and the wound is too fresh. The boys have done well and we’re proud of them.

Besides, I need to get off here now and lodge a complaint to FIFA. You can do that too, by following this linky to FIFA comment page.

Still need to wrap my head around a few things but the main one is about Christmas, given the lightings are up and all. There’s only about 5 weeks left, give or take, before Christmas??? Where had the year gone to? I haven’t even start my gift shopping list! Yikes. While I contemplate on that, here’s a few things for your attention.

• Gosh, what happened with the WC Qualifier last Saturday? Why do we always have to do it the hard way? Never mind, on to Paris we go and the match had better be at least 2-0 to Ireland when the final whistle blows. Good news is, RTE will be airing it for us mortals who have to work and/or too broke to fly to Paris. Kick off 8pm Irish time.
• Dublin Bus has teamed up with 21 vendors around the city in Ticket Thursday initiative to give our pocket a little breather. On Thursdays November 12, 19, 26 and December 3, present any pre-paid Dublin Bus ticket at participating shops and enjoy some retail discounts (e.g. Cleary’s between 10 to 20% off, Muji 15% off), restaurant discounts (e.g. Wagamama buy 1 main course get 1 free), pamper discounts (e.g. €10 off hair cut) and cultural discounts (e.g. 2 for 1 ticket to Dublin Zoo). Click on linky above for more details.
• Yay, a new season of Opera Ireland is currently underway. The choices – between Macbeth by Verdi and Das Rheingold by Wagner.
• The Irish Film Institute is hosting its annual French Film Festival and this year it runs from 19 November to 29 November. If you are a fan of Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, Amélie) then don’t miss out on the opening film MICMACS.
• Last week, a series of Christmas lighting was up at Henry Street and its environs. Today, the lights on Grafton Street put everyone just that notch closer to the festive season. Last but not least, this weekend, the lighting ceremony of O’Connell Street will be taking place. A bevy of events are organised to start at 4.30pm on Sunday 22 November, with the lighting at 6.00pm.

That’s it for today. And come on boys in green – we want to have a real good reason to miss some work days next summer. Or better, to travel to South Africa! ;)

Things are a little crazy busy on our ends, but that’s not excuse to leave this blog unnattended for too long. Several things have caught our attention in the last couple of weeks, so here’s a quick digest to keep you in the loop.

• This week, running from Monday 9th November to Saturday 14th November, Take Your Seat is bringing arts and theatres back into your life. Book for tickets to shows of your preference, and you’ll be offered some promotional tickets (if not free!) to other shows at a later date, therefore doubling up your fun evening out. They also run daily competitions so sign up for it today and who knows, you could win them and be heading out to a play or a musical next.
• Fancy a little bit of a geeky event? Look no further, head out the door tonight to the Mercantile for The Alchemist Café event at 7.30pm, where a discussion of “memory traces” and the role they play in shaping our sense of self and form the instint for survival. My former lecturer, Prof Ciaran Regan, will be taking on the hot seat for this discussion.
• There’s a relatively new gourmet food market every Thursday, from 11.00am to 2.30pm, at the banks of the Grand Canal next to Mespil Road (just off Upper Baggot Street). Pretty good timing and location really, considering there are quite a number of offices around the area, and the workers sure could do with a bit of a change for their lunch goodies from the usual sandwich and coffee from the shops nearby.
• Given the grip of recession, it is never pleasant to read about the bleak economic outlook faced by Irish youths of today, where unemployment for those under 25’s is about 1 in 4. If Ireland is as perceived – no country for young men – how long will it be, before they leave the country in search for a better future? A drain of human resources is not desirable for a country that is trying to pull itself out of this financial hardship.
• It has been claimed, that the internet brings people closer and forges intimacy. But how close can become too close? So much so that it’s not only a ground for stalking, it’s bringing cyberbullying to a whole new level. Scary.
• Love cooking and interested in cooking demonstrations? Arnott’s is organising a few demo sessions, while promoting the cookware/kitchenware from Siemens Home (Saturday 14th November) and Judge and Stellar (Wednesday 18th November and Thursday 19th November). And there will be reductions in some of these gears too.
• Since when does Christmas come round so quickly? I’ve barely dragged my winter clothes out, and already I’m seeing light fittings being put up all over the city, and this Sunday (15th November) the festive lightings at Henry Street and its environs will officially be switched on at 4.00pm. There are also other family fun events organised throughout the day, and check this link for further details.

I’m sure plenty of people are looking forward to the first World Cup qualifier match between Ireland and France this Saturday (14th November). Can we pull it off in this home game? Fingers crossed. Goooo Ireland!