A few Sundays ago, I went through a physically gruelling assessment for the Dublin Roller Girls. For two hours, I skated with other Fresh Meat skaters in a bid to make the grade to join the league’s Rookie Intermediate class. After we’d finished our assessment, sweaty and knackered, we sat panting on the side lines talking about what we were going to do to reward ourselves. “I’m going to soak in a roasting hot bath,” I wheezed. “I’m going to have a cheeseburger,” gasped another skater. “I’m going to have a cheeseburger while soaking in a hot bath,” exhaled another.
Though this idea was most certainly one of the best of the modern age, I was convinced by Niall that heading out for a bit of pub grub might suffice as a celebratory calorific pat-on-the-back. We headed to Sean Mac D’s in Harold’s Cross, a spot that had been on our radar for a while. A fine big pub with a gem of a beer garden, we got a friendly nod from the barman as we wandered around looking for seats. We did a double take looking out of the large windows at the side of the pub. Was that a cockerel? And three hens?! It totally was. Clucking around a large space with a little coop, a statue of a canon and what appeared to be a statue of a mummified body. Or perhaps a famine victim. Or a replica of the Floozy in the Jacuzzi. It all made for a marvellous spectacle.
“Um…are the chicken wings…um…” I asked our lovely waitress as I perused the menu, hesitating and giving a little head tilt in the direction of the chooks. “Oh, no, no, God no, those chickens are like the owner’s babies. We only use them for their eggs, which we serve on our weekend brunch menu. No, the chicken on the menu is Irish.” “Free-range?” I enquired. “Not free-range but Irish.”
Niall got stuck in to a plate of the Buffalo Chicken Wings (€6.95), of which I had a sneaky taste. Complete with lashing of the unnaturally orange sauce that is obligatory for all good chicken wings, they were messy and spicy, balanced with the creamy blue cheese sauce, and served with an entirely necessary finger bowl. Niall loved his flavoursome Cottage Pie (€11.95) while I wolfed down my Sean Mac D’s Homemade Burger (€10.95). It was a chargrilled piece of beauty, served with a red onion marmalade and crispy fried cheese (I know, right? Amaze.). On the side were perfect chunky chips – golden and crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside.
Apart from a few Porterhouse beers on tap, the draught selection is fairly standard. There is, however, a decent choice of craft beers on bottle, most priced at €5.10 each. We had a bottle of Chimay Red and a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, moving on to the Brew Dog 5 Am Saint and Goose Island Indian Pale Ale.
We were surprised that the pub wasn’t heaving. It could well be that they’d enjoyed a busier day before we arrived at 7pm but it remained quiet throughout our visit, with only a few claps for the lady singing folk songs in the corner of the bar. It’s a great space, with lovely staff, good food, a great beer garden and chickens (chickens!) out the back.
We rolled home €50.25 lighter in wallet. Later that evening, I received an email saying I had passed my assessment and was officially a Dublin Roller Girl rendering my Sean Mac D’s cheeseburger entirely justified.
Sean Mac D’s
69 Harold’s Cross Road
Dublin 6w
http://www.facebook.com/seanmacds
