Tuesday 27 May 2008

At The Port Again!

I've been up at the Port - Portballintrae, County Antrim - again for a few days. The weather has been fine until today, when I returned back to Belfast.

On Sunday evening, I drove to the Smuggler's Inn for a bar meal. It wasn't too busy and I had a choice of tables. We hadn't been to this bar for quite some time; I ordered the peppered chicken, which consisted of a chicken breast in a peppery sauce with a slice of garlic bread below it. There were two onion rings included, and a bowl of garlic fries. The meal had a modest salad garnish. It was satisfactory though I couldn't detect any garlic on the fries, which were fairly dry; certainly no evidence of garlic butter. If you're not fond of too much garlic, go for their garlic fries! The bill was £10.95.

On Monday I motored along the coast to the National Trust's Carrick-a-Rede and its famous rope-bridge which I crossed. What a truly beautiful stretch of coast-line! It was like the Mediterranean with its turquoise sea. I walked from the car-park to the bridge in about twenty minutes. The birds I observed included kittiwakes and razorbills.

That evening I treated myself to a meal at Ramore Wine Bar. This is one of my favourite haunts on the North Coast. We've been coming to Ramore for twenty years. This was the best meal I'd had, of all the places I've been to recently. It is justifiably busy, with a distinct buzz and atmosphere. I was shown to a table at the back - I was on my own and it was busy after all. I liked the sound of the home-made rump steak cheeseburger with Pancetta, so ordered it with coleslaw and Parmesan fries. It was absolutely delicious, the tastiest and best meal of my vacation. Good coleslaw, crisp and dry cubed fries with Parmesan cheese sprinkled over them; and a great, meaty, home-made burger. Perfect. The bill for the burger, fries, coleslaw and a small glass of Chardonnay wine came to £12.65. I can't wait to return ASAP!

So it's back to porridge again. I'm home and catching up with a few chores; hopefully the old school is open tonight for a swim.

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