I tried to find out the backstory to this frontage, but the only architectural web-site I could find mentioned that this area was new build and the building had a fake frontage to enable it to fit into the local area. Situated looking out onto the River Liffey it’s an intriguing sight with the pillars and empty windows. But, to be honest, I can’t entirely see the point in keeping a frontage if there’s no effort made to keep anything behind it.
Porterhouse is a small international chain with four bars in Dublin (of which I’ve been to three), one in London and one in New York. There’s also a Porterhouse Bar in Gorleston, which fortunately is not part of the chain. This outlet has had numerous incarnations over the last century, as Kidds bar, Jammets fine dining restaurant, a Berni Inn and as a Judge Roy Beans.
My visit to the pub was in January 2018 and it’s fair to say that it wasn’t particularly busy. The service was typically Irish which is to say it was conversational, friendly and engaging. The customer base seemed to be a mix of locals and Americans, but it was all rather convivial.
There’s a wide range of beers at every Porterhouse outlet and also a food menu. I didn’t eat anything on this visit, although I know from previous experience of this chain that their fish and chips is quite marvellous. The beer list has hundreds of beers from around the world, although I’m entirely satisfied that they have four or five of their own stouts on draught.
The Oyster Stout which actually does contain oysters to try and make the beer a little sweeter. I quite like this as a light drink, despite its colour and ABV of 4.6% perhaps suggesting otherwise, with no strong aftertastes.
Given the central location of this bar the prices are reasonable and it has plenty of character. The owners say that this is perhaps the longest bar in Dublin and it’s certainly a large location which seems easily able to cater for most size groups.
This photo dates back to January 2018 and it’s an art installation by the Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias which is located at the relatively new Bloomberg HQ in London. It’s designed to mark where the Walbrook River once flowed, a river which was covered over relatively early on, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The art installation is made from cast bronze and there are strands of this material used throughout, so the water flows to create small pools.
This cabin is the oldest building which is still standing on the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was originally a tourist office, which then became part of a hotel and then later on became part of a lodge. It’s one of those structures where chunks of it likely aren’t very original, but nonetheless, it’s an interesting building.
An information board about the cabin, which was built in 1895 by Buckey O’Neill. O’Neill was a gambler and he later became a captain in Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders voluntary army, in which he died in battle in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, a conflict I’ve rarely seen mentioned during my visits to the United States.
From mid-May 2019, these are the photos from my little morning walk along the seafront at Capistrano Beach. Capo Beach was badly damaged by the weather last year and so there are some construction works afoot to try and fix it, with evidence of the half disappeared basketball court in the below photos.
There are some photos of the damage at http://www.meetsanclemente.com/south-orange-countys-beaches-are-rapidly-disappearing/.
Painted by Ruth Peabody in 1925, this painting is apparently showing a pensive looking women planning what meal to cook. Peabody gave the painting to Laguna Art Museum in 1966 and I liked the pose and look of the woman in the artwork. Although, as ever, I’m confused as to why the items on the table are painted in what I consider a clunky way which is out of perspective, but I’m sure it’s very artistic indeed.
This is a quirky piece of artwork and one which I thought was actually quite thought provoking. It relates to the 1980 Canyon Project in Laguna Beach and the artists wanted to show that the area was important environmentally. So the artists collected a load of trash from along the road and they then arranged it on light-sensitive paper. It’s apparently a Cibachrome photograph, although that’s not something I’ve ever heard of.
Sadly the artists have both died now, Jerry Burchfield in 2009 and Mark Chamberlain in 2018, but the artwork feels modern and contemporary even though it dates to 1988. Dominating the section of the gallery that it’s located in, the artwork is fifteen feet wide and five feet high and is split into seven sections.
Paul Lauritz was a Norwegian painter who ended up in California, with his desert paintings apparently being his strong-point. After trying to find money in gold prospecting, he opened an art studio in Los Angeles in 1919. This painting of Los Angeles City Hall was painted in 1930, just two years after it was completed. This is also the building which has been on the badge of Los Angeles police officers since 1940.
I think I’ve added as much as I’m going to add from the trip to Italy and the Amalfi Coast. Four of us went and I’m delighted that four of us came back again……. The views along the coast were spectacular, the food was excellent and the phone signal was also pretty good and secretly I was relieved about that.
SUMMARY:
Amalfi Coast Trip – They’ve Arrived
Amalfi Coast Trip – Train to Salerno
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Zero (Photos from Ferry)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Zero (Wedding in Amalfi)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One Summary (Amalfi to Praiano)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One (Villa Bellavista Hotel in Praiano)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One Photos (Morning Walk)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One Photos (Lunch-Time Section of Walk)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One Photos (Afternoon Section of Walk)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Two Summary (Praiano to Arola)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Two (Path of the Gods Photos)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Two (Inflatable Horses)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Three Summary (Arola to Sant’Agata)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Three (Photos)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Three (Chiosco Bar San Costanzo)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four Summary (Sant’Agata to Sorrento)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Trattoria dei Mori)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (La Bottega della Birra)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Bagni Regina Giovanna)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Sorrento Photos)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Lemons)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Burning Biscuits)
I was a little disappointed when this pub was shut when it was meant to be open, but that allowed us to have an excellent meal at Trattoria dei Mori opposite. And when we had finished that meal the pub was open. There’s a large beer selection, although it was very heavy on Belgian beers and the dark beer I did want they had run out of.
The barman recommended this dark lager instead of the beer I tried to order, and it was acceptable although unexceptional.
The interior of the pub was comfortable and rather satisfactorily old fashioned. It was the nearest to a pub environment that I got during the week.
The free crisps supplied by the bar, something I wish that UK bars did more. The service in the bar was friendly and helpful, with the atmosphere relaxed and comfortable. Craft beer isn’t as common in Italy as it is in the UK, US and eastern European countries. Actually, it’s nearly non existent in swathes of the country. For those wanting Belgian and lighter beers, the selection here is enormous and exciting, although for those of us who like dark beers the shelves of beer bottles aren’t quite as glittering… But, I’d recommend a visit here for anyone who likes beer as perhaps in a decade there will be tens of these places 🙂
