Espresso Style Recommends: Irish Pub, Constanta, Romania

I recently visited the Irish Pub in Constanta, Romania, my home town. It has long had a reputation for being one of the best places to eat in town. The relative notoriety and high standards are possible to uphold because of two reasons, in my opinion: one is that they are a franchise and therefor have to maintain a good joint and second because the notoriety of the brand is such that they attract a large number of people from out of town (note, the capital city, Bucharest) and, more important, expats and western business people.

That being said, let's get to the food and drink. We were a party of four, located in the non smoking area (not entirely separate, but good enough) for a semi festive lunch.

I arrived first and ordered an espresso.

First gold star they get for the attention of the waitress who asked me if i wanted my espresso normal or stretto (I already asked for a short one). So far, so good. The water was given as asked, not too cold, and served in nice tall glasses.

Then, when everybody was at the table we were served some fresh baked buns with Lupark (premium brand) butter. They were sooo good! We just ate them right away so I didn't have time for photos.

When it was time to eat, we ordered and the food was brought to us in reasonable time. We started with some salmon crostini, served with a generous helping of green salad, onions and tomato, dressed with a yogurt sauce.  It was good, regarding both taste and presentation.

The others had some eggplant dip and a lovely looking pumpkin cream soup with croutons that I never tasted.

For the main course I ordered a leg of duck (comfit) with orange and blood orange sauce. It was good, the meat fell wright off the bone and the little slices of orange were cut professionally and served without the little skins. The sauce a little too sweet, but ... who am I to complain. On the side were gratinated potatoes, cut in thin slices.

The misses had some carbonara, made with penne as a special request (in the menu were spaghetti) which she said was a little salty from all the parmesan cheese, but very tasty otherwise.

 The other couple had a roll of chicken meat with salmon in the middle (oddly tasting, strong fish taste, nice enough) with mashed potatoes and a serving of pasta with sea food and red sauce.

For desert we went for a chocolate and sour cherry roulade. That was good as long as you only had two teaspoons of it, otherwise it got too sweet.

Anyway, the place gets 4 (out of 5) stars for the food quality, and 4 as well for the service and atmosphere. The chairs were comfortable for eating and lounging (that tends to be a problem in some other places), the hall was populated enough not to feel lonely but not jam packed. The bar was well maned and worked fast and good. The waitress and helpers were also fast and polite and knew the menu. Smiles are important and we received them in proper moderation.
Not the least, the music was good (lounge style instrumental) and not too loud. I was told that it shifts towards a higher  bpm and volume in the evening. They have their own DJ. 

I recommend Irish Pub in Constanta with all confidence.

EspressoStyle Recommends: Casa Cositorarilor, Sighisoara

In june this year we went for a one day trip to the medieval town of Sighisoara, Romania. Among the many things to see and visit, I'd like to recommend the most beautiful terrace I ever sat at, in Romania. No joke, that's how it seemed to me at the time. Of course there is no such thing as the absolute best, because, as we say in Romanian "you cannot compare apples and pears", but lately, there are very few places that are unafectet by that dreadful virus of bad taste. And, in this context, for me, simply the lack of bad taste in a place is a strong point in favor. And Casa Cositorarilor was just that.
 Add to that the old and weathered aspect of the little garden terrace, the proximity of the medieval buildings, the cobble street, the out of the box immaculate uniforms of the girls serving at tables, the old stone walls, the amazing blossoming plants and last but not least, the excellent quality of the food and drink... that sums up to just about the best I've seen lately, if not ever.

So, we had an excellent espresso Kimbo (the only place in Romania where I've been served this Napoli origin brand of coffee), Borsec mineral water (premium brand) and two kinds of cake.

I had a rhubarb cake topped with a light white egg foam and she had an even more tasty wild strawberries slice of fresh cheeseake. We strongly recommend Casa Cositorarilor terrace cafe and sweet shop in Sighisoara, for the summer 2011.

Espresso Kimbo

I had this cup in the city of Sighisoara, Romania, in the medieval center, at THE BEST LOOKING terrace I ever sat at, in my life: Pensiunea Casa Cositorarului (The Tin Smith's House). Review coming soon on EspressoStyle. Also the first time i've had Kimbo coffee in Romania.

Espresso Super Crema

Espresso Segafredo Homemade

Gas Station Espresso

Espresso Lavazza Eforie

Park Break Espresso

In between my errands the other day I took the time to sit on a park bench with a nice cup of vending machine espresso. Sometimes that's all it takes to cool down and enjoy life. The warm november sun was shining and the trees are a poem of colours this autumn.

Lavazza Espresso Cups

Espresso Style has received no less then 12 "demitasse" espresso Lavazza cups. They exhibit the sleek classic Lavazza Italian design with the vertical thick blue stripe on the white porcelain. I love many things Italian, and Lavazza espresso is quintessential Italian. The design and lifestyle culture of Lavazza is very cool and to my taste, not to mention that they roast a damn good coffee blend.

I enjoy my espresso once every few days in one of these cups.

DeLonghi EC750 Espresso Machine

I finally bought my first home espresso machine. I got the DeLonghi EC 750 home machine. It is the top of the home line non automated from DeLonghi. I chose this one because it is a machine that works both with ground coffee and pods (in the E.S.E. system). There are very good pod making brands like Illy and Julius Meinl.

I've had it for three days now and I've brewed about 10 cups, both from ground coffee and pods. It's not instant, that I can tell you! But it's absolutely great fun. I really like tweaking the stuff, screwing in the porter filter and turning it on. Then the golden brown liquid streams down into the lovely (also new) coffee cups that I bought. I simply love it. It's the essence of all that I love about coffe and Italia.
It has a proprietary IFD system for frothing milk automatically.

Later edit: the milk frothing system broke after about 6 months of use. It was impractical anyway as it required immediate washing after use an for this you had to take it apart. I rarely drank cappuccinos during this period. Maybe once a month. My next machine will be one with a steam wand, for sure. I'd like to try my hand in a little late art. Other than that, everything peachy!

Esspresso Style Recommends: Bread & Roses, Paris

The Bread & Roses cafe and bakery in Paris is simply excellent! I recommend it with all my heart. On the 62 Rue Madame, 75006 Paris, France, that is right next to the Luxembourg Gardens, you can find on a little corner hidden away this little cafe, resto, bakery and tea place. When I was there with my wife we had  two cups of specialty tea (don't remember the blends), and they gave us the tea pots that allowed up to three consecutive refills and kept the brew hot for half an hour. We also had a nice little rhubarb muffin. The muffin was done just wright, more sweet then bitter, but you could still feel the rhubarb distinct flavor in it.

The space isn't that big, but what does big mean in Paris? 

The service was good, for Paris standards.

Anyway, it's a very good place, true Paris style, good food and drink and chic ambiance. After a long walk through the Luxembourg, it's just the place you would want to encounter.

Espresso Lavazza Park

I've started puting my new Canon 450D to good use.

Espresso Filicori Zecchini

Midday cappuccino

Nespresso & George Clooney

You just have to agree with me that the Espresso/George Clooney combo is a killer in itself. And when the espresso is the ultra italian stylish Nespresso machines, than ... It simply cannot get much cooler than this. Just wach ...

Filicori Zecchini

The new Filicori Zecchini espresso bar in town is really good. Nice atmosphere and the brew was just wright. I'll be hanging out there a lot more, I think.

Espresso Filicori Zecchini

Here I tasted a new brand of coffee, Filicori Zecchini. It was good, not exceptional. Then again, it all depends on how the little portion is brewed. The place was La Tavola, Constanta, Romania. Good food for the price.
Picture taken with mobile phone crappy cam.

Espresso Piazza Ovidiu

Here's a good Lavazza espresso from some time ago that i had with my wife in The Piazza Ovidiu, Constanta, Romania on the terrace of a place called Ital Paninni. It was great savouring the fresh brew with some sparkling water and the view of the piazza and the old mosq.

Lavazza speciality

Check out this odd looking cup of espresso via David Lebowitz! I'shure it tasted very good, though!

Espresso illy by the sea

Folks, there are very few things in this world nicer then a fresh brewd cup of "short" (ristretto) espresso illy, savoured at a splendid terrace by the Black Sea, in the evening time, watching the people clearing the beach and listening to soft Julio Iglesias music.

And I did just that today. I was thinking to myself the other day that no matter how poor God will ever decide to make me during this life, I hope He will allow me just enough means to afford a nice cup of espresso by the sea, form time to time. That would make me a lot happier whatever the situation.

P.S.: Oh, I found a GREAT post about how to make the best espresso HERE. (Alexis Kahn)