Skinflint Pizza and Queen of Tarts

Goin' Out?

When we were making our Valentine's Day plans, we considered our food options.  One option is, of course, the old Valentine's Day standby, "Jean-Michel's Fanciest Restaurant Within Your Price Range, You Cheapskate!"

Well, unfortunately for us Jean-Michel's was booked we don't usually go for that kind of date.  What's next?  How about a unique and inexpensive pizza restaurant recommended to us on a recent walk around town?

Perfect.

We got there at Iowa dinnertime, not big city dinnertime.  It's rather nice to make a habit of eating early, we could get our pick of restaurants every night if we were so inclined.  Except for Jean-Michel's, seems like they are alway booked.  Shucks.

Skinflint has a very hip vibe.  The lights are low, the decorations are rustic, and the tables are all made from repurposed doors.  A kosher salt cellar, black pepper pot, and a jar of honey round out the condiments at each table.  Guess we won't get those classic fat shakers of crumbly Parmesan and pepper flakes like we did at old Happy Joe's...

Water, Menu, and Condiments

Our Table was a Door Labeled DENTAL DEPT

...And the Pizza?

Oh, the pizzas.  Hot from the kitchen came these two beauties.  One with cooked onions, smoked cheese, and sausage, the other with chorizo as the star player.  With a carafe of house red wine, we had ourselves a great little Valentine's Day dinner.

The Pizzas

Skinflint also sported a #Team Panti decal in the window.  For non-Irish readers, a local drag queen Miss Panti Bliss recently spoke out on RTE (the government-run television station here) about ingrained homophobia among certain members of the Irish press.  RTE later paid a huge and controversial monetary settlement to the people named, sparking a nationwide rhetorical firestorm.  

The shadow of the decal was humorously cast on our table, giving us the rare opportunity to enjoy our pizza with an all-caps PANTI splashed on it.

Panti on the Table

Some Dessert?

After the great pizza, we had time for a quick dessert before we had to move on.  Another Temple Bar gem we hadn't visited was Queen of Tarts, a well-known bakery and cafe in the artsy block of Temple Bar.  We didn't have time (or budget) for anything big, so we just enjoyed a Chocolate-Pecan-Brownie-Tart-Thing.  There is probably a better word for it, but after looking upon (and eating) it, I decided the C-P-B-T-T was the true and proper name for such a snack.

They even put lemon and mint in the water!  Nice!

Whoa!  Fancy!

Chocolate-Pecan-Brownie-Tart-Thing

Gone Baby Gone

Having our full rations of salt and sugar, it was on to the rest of the evening on a rainy Valentine's Day in Dublin.