- 15 hours ago
In Dublin, Anthony Bourdain finds the food scene is keeping up with the famed drinking scene. From sweetbreads and lamb to a home-cooked bowl of pork stew, Tony covers all of what Dublin does best in a few short hours.
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00:00Me and my friends here have gotten to know each other quite well in recent hours and
00:12days.
00:13The last time I was here, I had the best meal I've ever had in Dublin.
00:17Come back for me, my gelatinous love.
00:21This is awesome.
00:24Somewhere in there, there's a lesson for us all.
00:26What am I, the oyster boy for alcoholism?
00:33Dublin, a city I know and love.
00:49If you've got any kind of a heart, a soul, an appreciation for your fellow man, or any
00:54kind of appreciation for the written word, or simply a love of a perfectly poured beverage,
01:00then there's no way you could avoid loving this city.
01:04The ever-expanding capital city of Ireland is located on the country's east coast at the
01:10mouth of the River Liffey.
01:12The Liffey splits the city into two parts.
01:15The more residential and historically rougher north side, and the more tourist-friendly
01:19south side where you can find the Grafton Street area and Temple Bar.
01:23You land, you've got a few options for getting to town.
01:27You can take the air coach or the Dublin bus.
01:30Both will get you to the city centre for less than 20 euros.
01:34And yes, they use euros here.
01:36I take a taxi.
01:38It's a little more, but not much.
01:40Generally around 25 euros or so.
01:42And you get conversation, which is something to be savored in Ireland.
01:46Have you been to Dublin before?
01:52Yes.
01:53Do you like it?
01:54I do.
01:55Have you had any to eat yet?
01:57Uh, not yet.
01:58We're really friendly.
02:00We like to talk to everybody that we meet, and we like to chat to everybody that we meet.
02:04We're Irish.
02:05We like to know where you're from, and we like to talk to you and chat.
02:09When it comes to where you're going to stay in Dublin, there are options and decisions to make.
02:14Near Merriam Square, there is the Davenport.
02:17Good for its great location and reasonable less than 150 euro a night rates.
02:24Cheaper still is the Kinley House, a hostel.
02:27But who doesn't love sharing a room with strangers?
02:31It's also located in Temple Bar, which puts you within walking distance of many of the typically touristy spots in town.
02:37Also, lots of bars.
02:40If you're me and on his eighth year of making television, you probably want to live large.
02:45Blow it out.
02:46Stay at someplace swank, like the Four Seasons in Ballsbridge.
02:49Yeah, baby.
02:51But I'm not heading to my hotel.
02:53I've got other plans.
02:54I need to find a place to get a drink.
02:57Will you have a pint of the black stuff?
02:59No, not yet.
03:00That's my first order of business.
03:01Is it just one pint?
03:03No way.
03:05Multiple pints.
03:06In Dublin, though, if that particular pint is not pulled the right way, the customer will not drink it.
03:12Yeah.
03:13I'm in Dublin, whereas in all cities I ask myself, what do they do here better than any other place on earth?
03:22Answer, this stuff.
03:25This delicious, some say magical, probably nutritious, unparalleled beverage.
03:30This divine brew is so tasty, creamy, so near chocolatey in its rich, satisfying, buzz-giving qualities that the difference between this stuff here and the indifferently poured swill you get where you come from is like night and day.
03:46One is beer.
03:48The other, angels sing celestial trombones.
03:51I would like to drink more of this amazing indigenous beverage. Quite a lot of it, actually.
03:58And Cavanaugh's, located in Glasnevin and known locally as gravediggers due to its proximity to the boneyard next door, is reputed to pour an excellent pint.
04:08Even by Dublin's already impeccable standards.
04:12Meeting me there is my old friend, Paddy Daly, TV producer and aficionado of the beer-pouring arts.
04:18On a really good pint of Guinness, I think you get about seven or eight lines because it's seven or eight sips and then it's done.
04:23Gravediggers is owned by Eugene Cavanaugh and his son, Kieran.
04:27The place is 150 years old and gloriously un****** by time.
04:33Pugs like this, there's lots of drinking, lots of talking, lots of reading newspapers.
04:38There's not too many TVs. There's a good age difference, generational difference of people.
04:43Have a few beers, chat with the barman, chat with the other locals and just have a good time.
04:51Hello, young man. Could I have a pint, please?
04:54Ah.
04:55I love this place.
05:03Great, isn't it?
05:05That's a colour that comes from years of cigarette smoke.
05:09A place like this, obviously, that, you know, I've retained the authenticity.
05:13I've just been untouched and now they're real gems.
05:15Good choice.
05:17Cheers.
05:18Cheers.
05:19Cheers.
05:20Bye.
05:26Man, that is a fine beverage.
05:29Ireland has this, has a reputation as a drinking culture, you know, and worse as a bunch of drunks.
05:37But actually, it is a really rare thing for me.
05:41Like, walking into an Irish pub in Ireland, I almost never see people drinking hard liquor.
05:47It's almost always a pint.
05:50You don't generally see people anywhere near as f***ed up as they are in England.
05:55I don't see, like, how, like, you know, the level of drunken hooliganism if you see it.
06:00Am I just going to the wrong book?
06:01That's because you don't stay out there enough anymore.
06:03Well, usually if there's drunken hooliganism going on in Ireland, it's me.
06:07Proper pub behaviour in Dublin.
06:09Be friendly.
06:10Don't be afraid to talk to the person next to you.
06:12In fact, engage them.
06:14Be prepared to listen to an expert who knows nothing about anything, but is an expert anyway.
06:19Grab your mates and talk s***.
06:21You just...
06:22Have a crack.
06:23Yeah.
06:24Don't go in with a sad face.
06:25And if you do, you won't come out with a sad face.
06:27No.
06:28Exactly.
06:29Exactly.
06:30If you want an Irish music session along with your pint, you could also head to the Cobblestone,
06:34a local institution that's all about the music.
06:37And it's also on the north side of town.
06:39But I'm good to go at Gravediggers with no music and a steady flow of the black good stuff.
06:59Can we order some coddle?
07:01Now, what is coddle?
07:02It was like a peasant food.
07:04The leftovers for the things like bacon and potato and...
07:06I like bacon.
07:07I like potato.
07:08Sausage.
07:09I like sausage.
07:10I just pretty much mixed it all up together in a stew.
07:12That works for me.
07:13Coddle.
07:14A hearty stew of sausages, bacon, onion and potatoes, slow simmered and stock.
07:19Which is definitely a what's not to like situation, right?
07:22No brainer.
07:23You hear about it, you want it.
07:25Oh, cheers.
07:26Oh, yeah.
07:27What's the coddle?
07:28Sweet.
07:29You got sausage, you got rib, steak.
07:30Any bowl with a bunch of like potatoes and meat and bones in it?
07:34F***ing awesome.
07:35Especially with the bones, it'll slide right out.
07:37That is f***ing awesome.
07:39This is awesome.
07:41Curing their grave.
07:42People on the north side make the coddle completely different to the people on the south side.
07:47And we're south of the river, but I walk on the north side.
07:51So my coddle is totally different to people on this side to people on that side.
07:55But when I grew up, all the kids were forced fed this, so we didn't really like it.
07:59Oh, man.
08:00I love this.
08:02And there's more.
08:03Slow cooked, simmered in cider, pig's feet.
08:06You may not think you want it, my friends, but believe me, you do.
08:10Oh, yeah.
08:11And it's big for the cider, okay?
08:13So they're kind of hot.
08:14That is completely awesome.
08:16Wow.
08:17It's been in it.
08:18This is an endlessly fascinating piece of meat, man.
08:21It's just like, come back to me, my gelatinous love.
08:25This is f***ing awesome.
08:27It's good going, huh?
08:28It is f***ing good.
08:29Happily fed, I plan to have a few more rounds at Gravediggers.
08:34You see, I want to end up swacked in the best way possible before I totter off to sleep
08:38in my 9,000 thread count sheets.
08:41And I am well on my way.
08:45Morning in Dublin.
08:47What's a man to do?
08:48Irish breakfast, of course.
08:50What's wrong with you?
08:51This is no country to be f***ing around with a croissant.
08:53Go big or go the f*** home.
08:55So how are you feeling this morning?
08:56All right?
08:57I'm feeling pretty good.
08:58Yeah.
08:59Funky fresh, I might say.
09:00I meet up with a surprisingly cheerful patty for a classic Irish breakfast.
09:05This is the place where we're going, Slattery's.
09:08It's an early house.
09:10So they can open at 7 in the morning and the reason behind them is that they opened up
09:15beside markets or beside docks, fishing ports and that.
09:19Right.
09:20So the people that were working on the fishing boats and so forth could come in and have a pint
09:24in the morning.
09:25Right.
09:26Early morning laborers such as ourselves.
09:27Exactly.
09:35Slattery's is just such an establishment and can be found north of the Liffey only a few
09:39short blocks from the river.
09:43What ordinary pubs can all regularize?
09:4510.30.
09:4610.30.
09:4710.30, yeah.
09:48So basically if a person such as myself wants a pint of the sweet, sweet nectar before 10,
09:53there's only 10 places left.
09:54Seven.
09:55That can make things difficult.
09:57And yet there's more.
09:58There's breakfast involved here, yes?
09:59Yeah.
10:00The Irish breakfast.
10:01A monster of a meal consisting of bacon rashers, sausages, black pudding, eggs, fried mushrooms,
10:08and tomatoes.
10:09Yeah, but you couldn't eat it every day.
10:12I mean, I know people do, but you just couldn't do it every day anymore.
10:15What Clint Eastwood say, a man's got to know his limitations.
10:18Yeah.
10:19Another option, of course, is the very popular Cake Cafe, hidden behind a stationary store
10:24in the Grafton Street area.
10:25I don't really give a about cake.
10:27And no, I'm told they also make some really good breakfast dishes like this one they call
10:32eggs and soldiers, or crap, or stuff with candy bees on it.
10:37I guess if you're a 12-stepper, and good for you if you are really, then this might be
10:42the place for you.
10:47More up my particular alley, so to speak, is O'Donovan's, a convenience store in the
10:52Docklands that serves up the handheld version of the Irish breakfast.
10:56Do you like any salsa?
10:58Yeah, I'll have ketchup, please.
10:59Thanks, man.
11:00It's the perfect delivery vehicle for all that goodness.
11:03The roll has sausage, white pudding, fried egg, rash, and hash brown.
11:10A torpedo of love and cholesterol you can eat anywhere.
11:14I should have got drunk last night.
11:16But Slattery's does theirs on a plate, and I'm more than happy to oblige.
11:21Thanks, William.
11:22It's good.
11:23I'll tell you, one of the great combinations in this world is the good black pudding and
11:27eggs.
11:28They just...
11:29I'd probably be full with half of this.
11:30It's all about the black pudding for me.
11:31I just love this stuff.
11:32Blood and eggs.
11:33If I hadn't already written a memoir, I'd call it that.
11:52The
12:00Ruskin is like singing for free on the side of the street.
12:05Basically going to the street when you're a teenager, you play your music, you play your
12:09socks off, and people give you some money.
12:10Guys when YouTube started, Glen Hansard started off the same way.
12:15Get me out of this room now.
12:17Get me out of this world.
12:19You're up with smoke, it's too much now.
12:21I feel marine is a curse.
12:25Oh, Jesus.
12:27Get me out of this room now.
12:29Man can't walk.
12:31Unobserved.
12:33How you guys doing?
12:35Oh!
12:37What am I, the Toyster Boy for alcoholism?
12:41Oh yeah, there we are.
12:43Caja Books off Grafton Street sells rare and first editions for masters of Irish literature.
12:51Run by Aisling Cunningham, daughter of the original founder, this independently owned and operated shop holds a treasure trove of book nerd collectibles.
13:01Ooh, Empire of the Sun, first edition.
13:04The word, written and spoken, is the thing in Ireland.
13:07It seems that every great poem, every great story, every great thing ever written not by a Russian, was written by an Irishman.
13:15Point is, they like books around here.
13:17Hello.
13:18Hi, how are you?
13:19Hi.
13:20Oh, it's a beautiful store.
13:21Wow.
13:22Look at that.
13:23I can't get my daughter to be interested in Dr. Doolittle yet, it's breaking my heart.
13:36My dad used to read that to me.
13:38Dr. Seuss.
13:40Anderson's fairy tales, these were like really violent and disturbing.
13:45This would be totally like illegal for kids now.
13:48Also, Grimm's.
13:50While you're in the neighborhood, and if, however, you are immune to poetry and literature, could care less about a bunch of over-edumacated Irishmen with big ideas, you could, just prior to writing in Sarah Palin's name for president, visit perhaps the Celtic Whiskey Shop.
14:07Whiskey tastings, rare, exclusive batches of Ireland's finest.
14:12After which you could pick up a book, dumbass.
14:17You could then swing by Sheridan's for the many delights of Irish cheesemaking.
14:24Cheeses like Doris, Gabine, and Ardrahan are absolutely killer.
14:29Some of the best in the world.
14:31Oh, whoa.
14:32Do you list these illustrations by Matisse?
14:3525,000.
14:37First edition Dracula.
14:39How much is it?
14:40Twelve and a half thousand.
14:41Twelve and a half.
14:42That's a good deal.
14:48And the collected works, Yates?
14:50I think that's 195.
14:51It has the illustrations by his brother Jack, who's a famous Irish artist.
14:58This is a nice one.
15:00You were talking about your daughter.
15:02Oh.
15:03This is by James Joyce.
15:04Wow.
15:05Cat and the Devil.
15:06And how much is it?
15:07That's 195.
15:08Done.
15:09Four-leaf clover leprechauns.
15:10I mean, really.
15:11The biggest misconception tourists have about Dublin is that we're all drunk all the time.
15:26That's only partially true.
15:27Do you have cars?
15:28We don't go around horse and cars and donkeys.
15:30But the Irish actually don't drink that much because they can only drink so much and then
15:36you fall down.
15:37It's teeming with little leather coats.
15:39Yes.
15:40Running.
15:41Around the place.
15:42What witless factoids could my guidebook contain?
15:45Ah, yeah.
15:46They should know this.
15:47Dublin is Europe's most popular destination with traveling stag and hen parties.
15:52Is that still true?
15:53Didn't they make them illegal?
15:55For years, the beer that has no name and shall not be mentioned on this show, its iconic slogan
16:00was, blank is good for you.
16:02Turns out it actually might be, or has been associated with unexpected penile enlargement.
16:10Ledge time.
16:11I meet up with Joe Mackin, owner of several restaurants in Dublin.
16:14The latest being this place, Bear.
16:17Envisioned as a steakhouse serving offcuts, lesser known, lesser appreciated, cheaper slabs
16:22of beef.
16:23Like rump, flank, feather, and skirt steaks.
16:30So tell me about this place.
16:31This is your fifth restaurant?
16:33This is our fifth restaurant.
16:34Another of Joe's places is the ironically named Crackbird.
16:38This fried chicken joint with quasi-Japanese decor started life as a pop-up, but was so
16:43successful, it's now a full-fledged restaurant.
16:46And he's got another place called Skinflint, specializing in grilled pizzas.
16:55Both Crackbird and Skinflint can be found on the fringes of the tourist hub of Temple Bar.
17:02Heritage-wise, you always had meat and two vegetables.
17:04That was your dinner.
17:05All right, so we really are the first people to do anything with alternative cuts.
17:08So what do you think?
17:09Rosary or Pope's eye?
17:10What do you think?
17:11Why don't we get one of each?
17:13At fair, I order a Pope's eye and a rosary cut.
17:18All right, take the Pope's eye.
17:22Beautiful.
17:24So the rosary cut, as you can see, that's why it's called a rosary.
17:27Right.
17:28It's very cool.
17:29You get these little nubbins in between, right?
17:34This is great.
17:35This is a great cut of meat.
17:39Of course, for many years, the reputation of Ireland was that the food sucks.
17:44Since I first came here, I think, in 2000, 2001, I've always eaten really well here.
17:50Speaking broad spectrum, what does your hit Dubliner with enough money to spend eating in restaurants once or twice a week, what do they want?
17:59Casual and accessible.
18:01It has to be, like, easily accessible and without any fear.
18:05It's so changing.
18:06We're, as a nation, we're completely changing.
18:09Irish people are just, there's no , there's no stress, no ag route.
18:14So if you ask someone here, how do I get to somewhere, they will tell you the truth.
18:18They're not going to .
18:19It's just an easy place to live.
18:21Well, this is great.
18:22I've really enjoyed it.
18:24Thank you very much.
18:28I got a drink.
18:29And, unusually for me, a pint won't do it.
18:32Then I want brown liquor, specifically, whiskey.
18:35I like a good Irish whiskey.
18:38A good Republican whiskey, truth be told.
18:41And one of the best selections of whiskey in Dublin, and that's saying a lot, can be found at the wonderful Palace Bar.
18:48They got over a hundred of them.
18:51How are you doing?
18:52Good.
18:54Could I have a pint and I can go for a suggestion, a recommendation for a whiskey?
18:59I'd have to recommend our own whiskey here.
19:02Palace Bar, nine-year-old, single cask, single malt.
19:06Done.
19:07Yeah.
19:08Got it.
19:09Great.
19:11The bar at the Four Seasons has a very nice selection of whiskeys, too.
19:15And it's only a short crawl back to my room.
19:19And look, nice ice gloves.
19:21Pretty.
19:23If whiskey isn't your thing, you could head to the Coppinger Row for handcrafted cocktails.
19:27Whatever the f*** that is.
19:30I guess it means they use house-made mixers and fresh ingredients.
19:35Meanwhile, back at Palace Bar, I've been doing my best to get as much of their quality whiskey in me as possible.
19:42What did you think of the whiskey?
19:43Yeah, it's good stuff.
19:44Yeah, the reaction to it's been great now.
19:46How many whiskeys do you have on offer here?
19:50We have 110 Irish whiskeys.
19:52We kind of specialize in Irish.
19:53Is it helping?
19:55Are things getting brighter?
19:58Well, to be honest, no.
20:03I'm drunk.
20:04I do love living in Dublin.
20:16It's the humor.
20:17It's full of, full of humor.
20:19Humor is our friend.
20:21The one thing Dublin has that no other city has is Dubliners.
20:24You get great, great welcome everywhere you go.
20:27Even homes people give you a great welcome.
20:31What Dublin has that no other city has.
20:40Dublin has changed. Dublin is changing.
20:43It has long ago ceased to be only about great pints and good pub food.
20:47To help explain this casual renaissance, part of a worldwide phenomenon that seems particularly well-suited to Dublin, Kevin Arendelle.
20:57Kevin is chef and co-owner of the Chop House, one of Dublin's most acclaimed restaurants.
21:03Located in Ballsbridge, the Chop House is what some used to call a gastropub.
21:07An idiotic term coined by those who thought that somehow a properly poured pint couldn't or shouldn't co-exist with fine quality food.
21:17I, to tell you the truth, used to be just such an idiot.
21:21Jillian is Kevin's wife and partner in the business.
21:25So I remember the last time I was here, I had the best meal I've ever had in Dublin.
21:29What was the idea behind the place?
21:32What were you looking to do?
21:34Basically the idea was, put all of them, let's say, the mad chefs who I know have worked for me in the more serious places, into a box and produce cutting-edge food without the .
21:46And Oscar Wilde always said, to get into society these days, he'd feed people, amuse people, or shock them.
21:53We feed them, we amuse them, and we shock them all the time.
21:56Like a lot of people in and around Dublin and Ireland in general right now, you're thinking about where your stuff comes from a lot.
22:02Oh yeah, absolutely.
22:03It's part and parcel of what we do.
22:05Let's face it, we're not in a good economy at the moment, so it's really, really important that we are all helping each other out, supporting.
22:11There's amazing producers out there.
22:13That creates this little nugget of what we have in Dublin for it.
22:19Very good sir.
22:20Very cute.
22:21I'll bring you some warm bread.
22:22I'm thinking, so it's the lamb breast with sweet bread?
22:26Yes.
22:27A porterhouse to share a porterhouse.
22:29Yeah, let's do that.
22:30Yeah.
22:32A porterhouse to share.
22:34That should take some time to cook.
22:36In the meantime, pan-seared king prawns with lemon, chili, garlic, and smoked paprika butter.
22:42But before that, a plate of charcuterie.
22:45Cured red deer, Irish mortadella served with a clementine mustard.
22:50Beautiful.
22:52Oh.
22:53And some rolled lamb's belly sweet bread's fresh asparagus served with soubise.
22:59A year ago, we couldn't afford plates.
23:01Nice.
23:02That soubise is really old school.
23:03It's awesome.
23:04Yeah.
23:06Mmm.
23:08The sweet breads are amazing.
23:11I forget how good these things are.
23:16I mean, this is madness.
23:19Love it.
23:23I can't live like this.
23:29On the north side of town, chapter one is more traditional fine dining.
23:33A Michelin-starred place serving modern Irish cuisine from chef and co-owner Ross Lewis,
23:39a champion of Irish ingredients and culinary heritage.
23:43This is a flavor of the Irish ocean.
23:45It's a frowned crab, a cucumber jelly, two types of Irish seaweed,
23:49salted watermelon, deep-fried sea spaghetti, which is crunchy and a little bit sweet.
23:54That's Ireland on a plate.
23:55They also offer their unique take on the classic Irish coffee.
23:59Flaming coffee?
24:01What?
24:02Nearby, the winding stair is a combination bookshop and cafe, famous as a meeting place for artists, musicians, writers, and other deadbeats.
24:16They emphasize organic ingredients and an extensive wine list.
24:22But tonight, for me anyway, it's the chop house all the way.
24:26So what the hell are you doing in Dublin?
24:28Or more to the point, what do you love about it and why would you?
24:31Dublin's the only monster in the whole country.
24:33We can make money.
24:34Economics.
24:35So Dublin is the only place to try and survive.
24:38And to introduce something that's a little bit crazy.
24:41So outside of the restaurant life, the best stuff in Dublin, what's the good stuff?
24:47For me, you're living in a city but yet it's not like living in a big condensed space where you have got no breathing space.
24:58Dublin gives you everything.
25:00But you know what, I think there's more and more starting to happen in the city because I think the complacency that used to be in Dublin is definitely gone.
25:11It's a sense of pride, no matter what happens.
25:13You know, Brendan Behan said about New York, if you hate New York, you hate all humanity.
25:19I'd say that about Ireland. If you can't appreciate Ireland, you hate all humanity.
25:26There is no hope for you.
25:32The best way to go around Dublin, I think, is by foot.
25:34It's a very small city, quite compact.
25:36Nowhere is too far away.
25:38You could walk from one end of the city centre to the next in under half an hour.
25:41Or using one of our Dublin bikes, which are the city bikes, which you can just rent and drop off at drop off points is the best way to get around Dublin.
25:49Bikes? Walking?
25:52Actually, if you're going to walk around a city, Dublin's a good choice.
25:56In my case, a more modern form of transport will suffice.
26:00I've come in here for years, I didn't even know there was a tram.
26:02What if you'd veer off the tracks?
26:05Tram-related comedy would be your limp feet kicking from under the car as it drags down the street, the little feet flopping, flopping, flopping.
26:12I'm heading back into the centre of the city for a night of drinking because, after all, what does Ireland do better than any other nation on earth?
26:24Pubs.
26:25So the Long Haul pub on Dublin's old Georgia Street is one of Dublin's most fantastic landmarks.
26:32Finest pint of Guinness.
26:33It's got that atmosphere, it's got that sort of strange smell of an old pub and lots of stories being told.
26:40And if you don't make it to the Long Haul, you haven't seen Dublin.
26:42In Dublin.
26:45How you doing?
26:46Good.
26:47Good to meet you.
26:48Good to meet you.
26:49Hi.
26:50Pint of Guinness, I think.
26:52What's a monster whiskey, something really, some really good whiskey that I should be drinking, a single malt.
27:01Thank you, sir.
27:06Tomorrow it's Italia versus Ireland.
27:09Tough, tough choice for me.
27:15An unpopular one around here.
27:17I'm married to an Italian, my loyalties are clear.
27:19Plus I enjoy their theatrical, operatic, what's the word, hypochondriacal play.
27:28Now I could head over to the Docklands and grab a stool at Mulligan's, in business since 1782.
27:33This place used to be a haunt for members of the Irish press and still maintains its reputation as a spot to experience two proud local traditions.
27:44A great pint and great conversation.
27:47But tonight, I'm heading to the Long Haul.
27:49Joe Mackin from Bear joins me on my pub crawl this evening.
27:54How are you?
27:55Hey, how are you doing, man?
27:56Nice to see you.
27:57How are you?
27:58I'm good.
27:59I'm interested to see when you go to order with all of this talk about local, evil foreign corporations.
28:04What do you do when you go to the local?
28:06Well, I drink whiskey and Diet Coke, so I'm like, I never drink lints.
28:09I'm not a lints person at all.
28:10Really?
28:11Never.
28:13I'm on the floor.
28:14Ten Manhattan's no problem.
28:15Yeah.
28:16Two pounds Guinness.
28:17That really puts you at odds with the rest of society that you're a beer drinking thing.
28:22Yeah.
28:23It sort of does.
28:24It sort of does.
28:25I ordered a whiskey.
28:27I was really careful to make sure that I said whiskey.
28:31I was extremely careful to not even suggest ice.
28:35You know, I want to be well thought of here.
28:38Let's hope that works out later this evening.
28:50Jesus, I speak in Japanese all the time, but I just can't think.
28:54Scarlet.
28:55Yeah.
28:56You know when you go red, if you're embarrassed, say you go Scarlet.
28:59Sound.
29:00You could be sound.
29:01The restaurant could be sound.
29:03It just means it's fantastic.
29:05It's everything you want.
29:06Hope my home.
29:07When you're told that, smile, say nothing, nod your head and turn around.
29:13The word is kiss my arse.
29:15Just saying.
29:16Just saying means that just telling you.
29:20Just saying.
29:22The crack is another word for fun.
29:24And I have a lot of crack.
29:26I have a lot of crack.
29:27We have a lot of crack.
29:28We have a lot of crack.
29:29Irish people just have fun.
29:34Bars close early in Dublin, and pay attention to this fact lest you misuse your drinking time.
29:39Most of them shut down before midnight.
29:43It's rapidly approaching last call, so Joe and I decide to move on.
29:48This is it, right?
29:49Our next stop is Hogan's.
29:51Lucky for us, it's literally right across the street from the long haul.
29:56Hogan's Bar is another oldie but a goodie.
30:00It's just got great music and great people and you're always guaranteed a good fun night in there.
30:07Can I get a whiskey and Diet Coke, please?
30:11So, Hogan's isn't one of the deadliest folks in town.
30:14It's just the go-to pub for cool and deadly.
30:17It's that bastardization cross between hipster and old man.
30:20Right.
30:21And everyone, everyone meets in Hogan's.
30:24But where to go after?
30:25The traditional destination of the drunk-ass hungry man, ripped untimely from the pub.
30:30Well, I gotta tell you, I'm actually starting to think seriously about fish and chips.
30:36Fish and chips?
30:37It's sounding increasingly attractive.
30:39Now, you're telling me that...
30:41With curry sauce, huh?
30:42I do not want...
30:43With curry sauce.
30:44With curry sauce.
30:45Curry sauce?
30:46Curry sauce.
30:47Not vinegar.
30:49Curry sauce.
30:50Vinegar, maybe.
30:51What about the chips?
30:52What am I doing with that?
30:53Curry sauce.
30:54Curry sauce and the chips?
30:55And maybe some garlic mayonnaise as well.
30:58Fish and chips with curry sauce.
31:01Yes, that seems like an excellent idea.
31:04But I need more answers.
31:06I decide to seek out a little help from some of my fellow drinkers next door.
31:11If you're going to a chip shop, what are you ordering?
31:15Something light.
31:16Not too heavy.
31:17Curry sauce?
31:18I'm going with sauce as well.
31:20It's gross.
31:21I don't like it at all.
31:22I'm a divorce.
31:23Yeah, it's gross people.
31:24I mean, a few drinks after a few drinks, you don't think illogical.
31:27You can't eat it.
31:28So I don't know what to do.
31:29What's appropriate?
31:30I mean, so...
31:31At the beautiful trunk yard.
31:32That's the truth.
31:33Okay, what's the worst case scenario?
31:35You're completely off.
31:37Taco fries.
31:38Taco fries.
31:39Taco fries.
31:40Taco fries.
31:41Taco fries.
31:42What?
31:43Basically, you eat your taco fries.
31:45And like eight minutes later, you're running...
31:47Maybe not eight minutes.
31:48You still have to get the taxi here, so...
31:50You get the taxi halfway home.
31:51You wake up during the night.
31:52You wake up at four in the morning, and you'll go...
31:55And then you'll run.
31:59How bad could it be?
32:04I'm not going to **** that cap.
32:06I'm totally not browning out that taxi.
32:08I can make it to my hotel and do my business in good order.
32:12**** your taxi.
32:13You're going to **** your pants.
32:15Well, gentlemen, you...
32:18It's been a pleasure.
32:19You are the font of all knowledge.
32:22Kind sirs.
32:24These men are a gift from the Irish drinking gods.
32:27They will show me the light, give me guidance, and point me in the direction of the proper late-night feast.
32:33They are coming with us.
32:36This is troubling.
32:38There's no one in here.
32:40At a fine establishment like Roma's.
32:43A chipper with a full line of delicately friolated arts.
32:47Yes, I would like it all.
32:49And buy my new friend something.
32:51Jedi Masters.
32:53What should I order?
32:54How drunk are you?
32:55You want a chance to taco chips?
32:57On the cardboard cookout on your right.
33:00Smoked cod.
33:01I'll have one of those.
33:02I'll have it with chips.
33:04I want a taco chip.
33:05You're going to hate us tomorrow.
33:08I think he hates us now.
33:11He's going to be up all night.
33:14I could have had a late-night breakfast at the nearby Giggs place, I guess.
33:18Opened in 1970 and catering to musicians, pub goers, and other folks that seek out quality food in the wee hours,
33:24Giggs opens for business, conveniently enough, from midnight to dawn.
33:29But over at the chipper, our order is being professionally fried and prepared.
33:36Soon enough, it's ready to eat, served up still steamy in plain brown paper bags.
33:42Oh.
33:43Oh, Jesus.
33:44Oh, wow.
33:45Look at that.
33:46Oh, my God.
33:47What an extravaganza.
33:49It's all here.
33:51The well-known classic smoked cod and chips, taco chips, a spice burger, and lastly, the whirly burger.
33:59What is that and what's this?
34:00It's not the burger.
34:01It's the same thing, except in a little smell.
34:03A lot of, a lot of ketchup.
34:04Just bite it.
34:05Get it done.
34:06Deep white burger.
34:07He's a brave man.
34:08I know.
34:09Better use it for me to want it.
34:10And?
34:11There's deeply satisfied.
34:12It is.
34:13That's the funny thing.
34:14It's so bad for you, but it's so nice.
34:16Yeah.
34:17That's a smoked fish thing.
34:19You can do the chair off a little hunk of that.
34:22That's delicious.
34:25How did this happen?
34:28The curry sauce.
34:29How did this happen?
34:31It's a Celtic tiger.
34:32They're starting it all off.
34:33You haven't tried this?
34:36Spice burger.
34:37Spice burger?
34:38Yeah.
34:39It's like a meal and barley and everything.
34:42Yeah.
34:43It's a very little or no meat at all.
34:46I gotta tell you, I thought the Scots pretty much had the meat-fryer arts covered, but this is pretty extraordinary.
34:52And this thing, on the levels of drunkenness, again, we'd start at Fish and Chips.
34:58You've got a little buzz on.
35:00Go with the classics.
35:02Yeah.
35:03You're a little more up here.
35:05You're moving on to...
35:06There's a lot of factors, right?
35:08There's how drunk, how bad the weather.
35:10Right.
35:11How late it is at night, right?
35:12Because if you're waiting on a taxi, you're not going to eat when it is.
35:14Because it's not going to pick you up with that rolling down your top.
35:17You know what I'm saying?
35:18Right.
35:19So you're not...
35:20This is an impediment to getting home in good order.
35:22Exactly.
35:23So if it's 4 o'clock in the morning and the chipper open, I'll give you a donut kebab.
35:26You're going to eat that.
35:27It's got to keep you company.
35:28Right.
35:29You know, Masters, how did you arrive at this elevated state of wisdom?
35:33Experience.
35:34That's the funny thing.
35:35Even though you're drunk, you still have to have a slight bit of awareness.
35:38I'll tell you this.
35:39Your average Kardashian would be all over this.
35:41You could use that to clean your windows.
35:43How to rid oneself of a troublesome hangover legally?
36:06Map the Threshers near Merrion Square supposedly as the answer.
36:11As the great Irish writer Brendan Behan once said, I'm a drinker with a writing problem.
36:18And apparently around these parts, it is said, or I'm led to believe, that the classic cure
36:24for a hangover is oysters and that sweet, sweet, dark substance that comes in a pint glass,
36:31which I love so much, because every drop brings pleasure, enlightenment, in this case, hopefully, relief.
36:38Can't argue with tradition.
36:40Or can you?
36:42How are you doing, Neil?
36:43Hi.
36:44What are you doing for you?
36:45A pint of Guinness, please.
36:46And some oysters, if you will.
36:47As you'll notice, the establishment is packed with fellow sufferers seeking the traditional cure for the hangover.
37:04When the weather's on here, crystal clear blue water, take a plunge.
37:14There's nothing more invigorating than a dip in the Irish Sea.
37:17Oh, hell no.
37:18Now, oysters in Guinness may or may not be the local hangover cure, but some say it's worth the drive to the 40 foot,
37:24and it's freezing cold water to shake the cobwebs out after a night of drinking.
37:31Beloved by James Joyce and immortalized in Ulysses, the 40 foot was also once a popular spot for nudists.
37:45I will stick with my oysters in Guinness on this particular morning.
37:49Oh, that sounds good.
37:51Nice surface tension going on there.
37:54Beautiful.
37:55Thank you, sir.
37:57Almost too good to meddle with.
37:59So beautiful.
38:03Good to the last rob.
38:05And my friends here have gotten to know each other quite well over recent hours and days.
38:12Of this 24 hour layover.
38:20Hello.
38:22A little something extra for you.
38:24Beautiful.
38:25And where are these oysters from?
38:26They are from Carlingford Lock.
38:28They're rock oysters.
38:29Just north of Dublin.
38:30Beautiful.
38:31But these are slightly smaller shells.
38:33Oyster, we specifically go for those as opposed to the larger ones.
38:37So they tend to be sweeter, nicer kind of consistency and more intense flavor.
38:42When they get larger, they tend to get a little bit sort of rubbery and they lose that kind of fresh, ripe flavor.
38:47Right.
38:48And in combination, this will make me feel better after last night's...
38:51It will.
38:52You know, it was an ugly combination of fine beverage and chip shop.
38:58Would I say more?
38:59Yeah.
39:00Yeah.
39:01Well, bon appétit.
39:02Enjoy.
39:04Yeah, my bathroom looked like the Doe Lung Bridge this morning.
39:07If I see the chambermaid in the hall, I'm going to, like, avoid her gaze.
39:10Ah, yes.
39:11That is a fine oyster.
39:12And you, I love.
39:13Ah.
39:14Breakfast of champions.
39:15Indeed.
39:16It's as good a cure as you're likely to get anyway.
39:31Hair, the dog and then some.
39:33I feel better already.
39:34I don't know if it's the oysters or the Vicodin, but one of them is working.
39:40MUSIC
40:02Before I head to the airport, I need a little fortification for the transatlantic fight.
40:06I hardly know you, but I don't let you go, and I don't let you go, this is no deja vu.
40:31Hello, hi. Sausage roll, please.
40:33Do you like it hot or cold?
40:35Hot, I think, thanks.
40:37The sausage roll is ubiquitous in Dublin, although Lolly and Cook's in the George Street Arcade makes a particularly fine specimen.
40:47There you go. Thank you.
40:49For a slightly more dazzling array of snack options in the neighborhood, there's Fallon & Burn, a three-story mall for food lovers.
40:56Upstairs, there's a reasonably priced restaurant and bar. On the main floor, past the produce and curated groceries, there's a full-service deli and cafe.
41:06Downstairs, the wine cellar, which offers food as well.
41:09Me, I'm sticking with what I know. Sausage in a warm, crispy crust always equals a good time.
41:20Unfortunately, my production team will not allow me to enjoy it in peace.
41:24You're looking for some kind of large, all-encompassing, yet crushingly banal metaphor, perhaps?
41:33It's ground meat and pastry, dude. I really don't see it.
41:37Lucky for them, I am nothing if not accommodating.
41:39Like the city itself. Varieties of mystery meat round together, forced into a natural shape and encased in pastry.
41:50Then I think, somewhere in there, there's a lesson for us all.
41:58Is that kind of where you're going?
42:03Mmm. It's good sausage.
42:05It's good sausage.
42:07No, I think, I think we've had enough of mystery snark. Back in the box.
42:12As with all good things, my time in Dublin rapidly reaches its end.
42:17And not surprisingly, it pains me to leave.
42:20This city always gives you just what you need.
42:24Good food, amazing, amazing people, and the best pint on earth. Period.
42:35So, put down that glass of horse piss you call beer, pop a flight, and get yourself the Dublin.
42:42.
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