Chapter One

Chapter One Review

This wonderful, culture-vulture favorite gets its name from its location, downstairs in the vaulted, stone-wall basement of the Dublin Writers Museum; the natural stone-and-wood setting makes it cozily cavelike. The contemporary French eatery is currently the culinary king of the Northside, thanks to chef-proprietor Ross Lewis's way with such dishes as feta cheese mousse with organic beetroot essence, pear puree, spiced apple, and pumpkin oil. W. B. Yeats himself would have loved the John Dory overflowing with leeks stewed in white truffle butter, light vermouth sauce, and sautéed chanterelles, while Synge probably would have fancied the Dublin version of Proust's madeleine: rich bread-and-butter pudding, a favorite of working-class Irish mothers for generations, here turned into an outrageously filling work of art.