The Ice House

The Ice House in Ballina, Ireland  - my favorite place to eat in Ireland! The building is an original 19th century ice house where salmon was kept fresh for shipping. It's located on the Moy Estuary. For dinner, I had salmon in le beurre sauce - which is really just a yummy butter sauce. Thank you to those huge cows all over the Ireland country side. Irish butter is absolutely the best butter you'll ever eat! And dessert - Toffee Sticky Pudding - better than good. I've got to try this at home!

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Lulu's

If I ever need to choose a last meal to enjoy, my menu will include fried brie. We just had brunch at Lulu's in Charlotte. I had the Mimosa salad, which was fresh greens with strawberries, green apples, nuts, and two pieces of fried brie on top. The dressing was light - champagne lemony- yummy. With the salad, have a bellini. My friend had eggs benedict. He was happy with that. The sauce was good, and the grits were creamy. Great place for brunch on Sundays!

Vivace

Brunch at Vivace
Vivace is one of my favorite restaurants - great atmosphere, consistent quality. Today for brunch I had Quiche Florentine with spinach, carmelized onion, and goat cheese. It was superb! Three inches high! It was served with a field green salad that had a light viniagrette. My friend had Benedicto Vivace with poached eggs, proscuitto, spinach, and tomato hollandaise sauce. The taste was great, but the eggs and sauce were cold. Tip for Vivace: Heat your plates! Hot food should be hot when served!