A Well Kept Man

If you find yourself in Ireland and fancy a drive down to the southern part of the country, I highly recommend staying a night or two in Tramore (Trá Mhór for the leprechauns out there). Tramore is a small town on the coast about 10-15 minutes drive from Waterford, where the world famous Waterford Crystal is made. Alli convinced me to go on this tour (albeit I was quite skeptical as crystal isn't exactly a manly thing) and I must say I was pleasantly surprised at the fun factor. You get an all-access tour to see how crystal is made from start to finish. We saw a water pitcher being made, a chandelier being blown, as well as various bowls, cups, vases, etc being etched by skilled artisans. The highlight of the tour (for me anyway) was getting to hold the backup copy of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Championship trophy. I didn't drop it but man was it heavy (thankfully I am super buff thanks to my intense workouts, so it wasn't really a problem). Alli decided against holding one of the giant trophies (of which there were many) and opted instead for a giant wine goblet (it was full before she picked it up...and she said she wasn't thirsty for the rest of the day).

We also saw the backup of the crystal ball that drops in Times Square on New Years' Eve/Day. Looks a little like the Death Star from Star Wars (which was their inspiration I'm told).

That evening we stayed at the Cloneen Bed and Breakfast, which I strongly encourage you to stay at if you are in this area. It was by far the best B&B we stayed at while in Ireland. They had lovely gardens, the rooms were duly furnished, and the breakfast was outstanding. We enjoyed talking with the owners who were very friendly and accommodating, as well as provided great recommendations for dinner. For dinner we ate at a restaurant called the Vee Bistro. Being the gourmands that we are, we know a good meal when we find one and this place was awesome. We also happened to be there for the early bird special (5-7pm...early bird? they must stay out late here), which granted us one appetizer and entree, or entree and dessert for 22.50 Euro per person (including coffee or tea). So Alli got an appetizer (marinated mushrooms with a tasty sauce, which we shared), we each had an entree (I had a ribeye, I don't remember what Alli had because I was too busy stuffing cow and french fries into my mouth) and split a bottle of wine, and I ordered a dessert (maple and walnut pie with a vanilla cream sauce, which we shared...although I think I got a couple extra bites since the FDA says I need more calories than Alli).

Dinner was very enjoyable, and our waitress was very friendly. Seeing that I couldn't really find an answer in the guidebooks I asked her whether or not Ireland was a country where tips were customary as much of Europe is not (you might leave a dollar or two, but the waitstaff is usually paid a higher wage than American waitpersons so usually no tip is required). She let me know that you do tip in Ireland, although it is generally around 10% (unless you don't think the waiter deserved a tip).

We also got the recipe for the sweet potato mash that came with our meal (Warning, every meal in Ireland seems to come with additional starches or vegetables in spite of what comes on your plate. Unless you are in tip-top shape you will probably not be able to finish your meals due to the sheer volume of potato related dishes that accompany your main course. For example, my ribeye came with french fries which seemed normal, until the waitress brought out a second and third plate with regular mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, some other kind of potato wedges, carrots, and potatoes au gratin...each one would have sufficed as a side dish for two; in the end I proabbly ate about 25 potatoes for dinner that night with my steak, mushrooms, and pie. Just be prepared, you were warned), with the secret ingredient of tarragon (seriously, tarragon is very underutilized; everyone uses basil, or oregano, or even coriander these days, but tarragon? Not unless you are a French chef or were cooking with tarragon before tarragon was cool. Mark my words, tarragon will be the next cool spice/herb once chipotle and basil have run their course).

As you can tell, we enjoyed this part of Ireland very much with its scenic coastline, wonderful food, and charming atmosphere. If we ever make it back to the Emerald Isle, we will definitely return to this quaint little town.