Rhubarb Crumble in Enniskerry - midweek.

For two coffees and two rhubarb crumbles in Poppy's Enniskerry it cost €12.50. €4.25 for the crumble and €2 for the black coffee. On the ingredients alone I would say that the profit must be about €11.50. And before T goes on about the cost of staff, premises, rates, insurance etc, I still think it's outrageous. The restaurant was packed.

ripoff crumble

Tintagel

Did you pay for it or are you just commenting on the prices?

If you paid that you only have yourself to blame. Prices are determined by demand. If you don't like the price of something, go elsewhere. If everyone does that, prices come down.
basic economics.

time we realised that and stopped complaining about ripoff ireland - necessary services are one thing, gp's dentists etc, but prices for leisure pursuits like eating out are determined by demand.

The restaurant was packed.

Click to expand...

"Cause that's why", as me old mum used to say...
I agree that that's pretty steep, even for peak season, but — did you not look at the prices before ordering?

Poppies

But what Tintagel forgets to mention is that Poppies rhubarb crumble is renowned and I have quite gladly paid for it several times. You get a full bowlful of superb crumble with cream/ice cream and you need eat nothing else. And a lot of their other food is superb too. I had lunch there earlier this week: full main course with salads and a drink for €10.80 - not bad these days.

Sweet tooth.

Yes, I had it. There are two blackboards apparently. One with the items listed but not priced and one with the prices near the till. I ordered from the unpriced one. The last time I had rhubarb crumble there it was priced fairly at just over €3 so I sort of expected to pay a similar amount again. I hadn't anticipated a 33% price increase.
There was also a time when a cup of black coffee was always priced below €2 now above €2 seems to be the norm.
I have noticed that I have cut back on eating out. The price is one thing but also because I am able to cook myself and I can put together a fairly delicious meal for little outlay.
Having paid €4.25 for a dessert I have noticed that desserts are moving toward the €7 euro mark in some establishments just because they drizzle some dessert coulis over the plate and sprinkle a bit of icing sugar and give the half strawberry on the side.

Re: Sweet tooth.

I have noticed starters heading towards the €10 mark. That has certainly put an end to me having starters.

Someone must be paying these prices though.

-Rd

Re: Sweet tooth.

Starters for €10? Only ever seen them in Bamber Gascoigne's bistro meself.

White Linen tablecloth-why?

And there was a food critic going on in Saturdays Indo about the incredible value at being charged only €25 for a starter and main course.
You can go in to Wagamama in Dublin and get both for about €15. I'm sorry but to me €25 is still too high.

Food

There is a free market operating out there. Popies is very nice, the food is great. If they were charging "too much", it would not be packed. Yours is a case to lament, but not complain.......they are entitled to charge as much as the market will bear so they can be rewarded for their quality. p.s. I have no connection with them or the food industry, and I rarely eat out.....

Food

> Popies is very nice,

I've heard that they do miraculous breads and wines all right...

Coffee

My wife paid €3.10 for a coffee in Bewleys in Grafton Street yesterday. Is this a record.....yours etc

Rhubarb Crumble

As a service to my fellow AAMers here's a recipe for rhubard crumble that serves 6 that can be made for less than the price of one serving of crumble in Poppies. It's pretty quick and easy too.

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

For fruit:
5-6 decent sized stalks of rhubarb
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
2 oz sugar (or to taste - remember rhubarb is bitter!)

For crumble:
6 oz plain flour
3 oz sugar
3 oz butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional but v. nice. Note its vanilla extract not essence! Extract is v. expensive (c. €17 for 180 ml from specialist food shops - The Hopsack in the Swan Centre Rathmines stocks it) but its used in small amounts and is a luxurious addition to many recipes)

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 170C
Wash rhubarb and trim and discard the ends of the stalks
Slice rhubarb (c. 1 cm slices) and place in bowl with a tablespoon of water.
Cover bowl and place in microwave on 'high' for 4 mins
Remove from microwave and place rhubarb in baking dish. Rhubarb should cover bottom of dish to a depth of about 3 rhubarb slices with some depth to spare.
Sprinkle rhurbarb with 2 oz sugar and nutmeg and mix.
Place flour and butter in a mixing bowl and pop in microwave for 30 seconds to soften the butter.
Add vanilla extract.
Using a fork mix the flour and softened butter and vanilla until the mix looks like uniform fine breadcrumbs.
Add 3 oz of sugar and mix thoroughly.
Sprinkle crumble mix over fruit mix.
Bake in oven for 30-35 mins.
Serve warm or cold with cream, custard or creme fraiche.

Note you can use other fruits and fillings instead of rhubarb. Vary the sugar added according to the natural sweetness of the filling. Here's some suggestions:

Apple and rasins with cinnamon
Peach and raspberry
Apple and banana drizzled with maple syrup
Blackberry

Rhubard Crumble...

“I agree with Tingatel - €12.50 for a couple of coffees and dessert is close to extortion. But that’s just the way it seems to have gone in Ireland. I remember when eating out was a big thing to do in Ireland but now its just second nature. Every business seems to be upping the price so its no surprise to see the Restaurants doing it too.

Since I saw the article on this discussion board a few weeks back on ezyliving the savings guide for eating out in Dublin, I bought it and have used it a few times and saved a good few quid. Incidentially one of te places I have eaten out since was Enniskerry back in July in “La Piazza” (didn’t see Poppys???) and saved €18.50 off a bill for €57.

I wish eating out was cheaper but then at least its another thing we can all moan about!!!”

Rhubarb Rhubarb Rhubarb

How much would you pay Mr Lauren to wear his T Shirt? or Mr Lacoste? or BMW or Mercedes.

I bet a proprietor could easily get €20 for a cup of coffee these days if the person drinking it somehow believed they were up another step on the social ladder.

Its all to do with identity anxiety. Everyone in Ireland seems to suffer from it these days and I bet none of them are happy.

Rhubarb Crumble receipe

Rhubarb Crumble Pie

About 1kg /2 lb of rhubarb stalks, enough to make about 4-5 cups of cut up rhubarb
1 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of raw or light brown sugar
125g / 4 oz. butter
3/4 cup of white flour
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.

Wash and cut up the rhubarb stalks into approximately 2cm / 1 inch pieces. Be careful to cut off any leaf parts - they are poisonous.

Melt the butter, and add the flour and sugar. Mix to make a rather crumbly mixture.

Put the rhubarb in a pie dish. Cover with the crumble mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crumble is browned and crispy.

This is best at room temperature, or chilled a bit.