Monday, March 18, 2013

Birthday Festivities & Rustic Stone Dinner

Last weekend was my 24th birthday (Eep!! I still feel like I'm 19, 24 sounds so grown up!). I've had a few disastrous birthdays over the last few years, so I don't like making a big deal of it, however my family and Isaac made this birthday very special for me. It was also mother's day this year, and although I joked that my mum was stealing my thunder, I really liked that we got to share the day.


I've said this before in previous posts, but I'm really not a very good baker of sweet things (cakes, muffins, cookies etc), so I didn't want to take any chances by making a cake! Instead Isaac took a trip to the Blackrock Market where Pure have a shop, all of their products are gluten free (brilliant for any celiacs!) and they have many wheat free, dairy free, yeast free and sugar free options available too. Isaac bought their carrot cake (how cute is the little carrot!!) which was absolutely delicious and went down very well with a glass or two of bubbles.


It is full of lovely bits of carrot, is super moist and has a lovely light texture, and alright it's not a "healthy" cake but hey..it was my birthday and a teeny bit of indulgence is ok isn't it? Everyone had a slice and loved it!
That evening Isaac treated me even more and had booked us a table at the Rustic Stone. I've wanted to eat here for ages but never got around to it. They have a really large menu with lots of lovely things for veggies and non-veggies alike. We started with a cocktail each, Isaac went with a classic mojito and I went with one of their specials, a pineapple and rosemary martini, both were perfectly balanced and a lovely way to wet our appetites!


For starters Isaac picked the Asian quail with grilled on a stick with radish, mango and coriander. The presentation was great, showing off the ingredients well and had a lovely balance of flavours (sorry the picture is so blurry). The only small critique Isaac had was that it was a bit fiddley when trying to get the meat off the bone, but it really wasn't a major issue. For my starter I picked the crunchy salad hearts, perfectly crisp leaves each filled with a delicious fillings like tzatziki, courgette and marjoram compote, aubergine caviar and homemade chutneys. This was served with lovely sourdough bread and a thin and perfectly crunchy grissino. It was absolutely lovely, however it's definitely more of a summer dish, on a snowy March night I could have done with something a bit more warming!


For main course, Isaac went with one of their "Off the Stone" burgers, the rustic lamb burger with pickled red pepper and crispy lamb fillet. This was HUGE and came with a side of chunky pesto chips. Isaac loved this, it was definitely a big manly burger, filled with delicious condiments and served on a sesame bun. Isaac asked for it medium-rare and said it was perfect. I chose the courgette linguini, which was served beautifully, a yellow courgette "poached with thyme and garlic then roasted,  filled with tomato and basil and linguini rolled in chives, capers, yogurt, with baby marinated tomato more torn basil." It was absolutely delicious, all of the flavours worked perfectly together and the pasta was perfectly cooked. Although it wasn't a huge portion (in comparison to Isaac's burger anyway) I was left full and satisfied. 


It was a perfect way to finish off a lovely birthday and I feel so thankful to have such amazing people in my life to share it with. Here's to a great year!

3 comments:

  1. Happy belated birthday! Sounds like you had a great time. I'd love to try Rustic Stone, it's on my list!

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  2. So glad you enjoyed your birthday! <3

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  3. always wanted to try rustic stone! glad you had a nice, sounds lovely xx

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