A culinary journey through Belfast, Galway, Dublin and Edinburgh

At Maggie May's in Belfast. Fish and Chips with peas.

My first pint of Guinness in Belfast!

Irish coffee from the Bushmills Distillery

Hot Toddy from Bushmills Distillery

Hot Chocolate and Baileys, delicious!

Bushmills Distillery

Chicken Pot Pie, Belfast

Bangers and Mash, Belfast

Kilkenny cream ale...very yummy!

Kingshead Tavern, Galway

At the Kingshead Tavern in Galway. Seafood chowder, so amazing! There were bits of salmon and cod and mussels, some of the best chowder I've ever had. The brown bread looks kind of plain but is really good, especially when dipped in the soup. The butter is delicious. I know it's just butter and you wouldn't think it would be different but it really is. There's probably some kind of ridiculous health code in the U.S. about producing butter. If you're ever in Ireland, taste the butter. It's so much creamier and yummier than our butter.

Pizza from Spar, surprisingly good.

Vegetable soup at a small, nameless cafe on Inis Mor near Dun Aonghasa.

All of the soup I had was creamed in someway. When I inquired about the soup of the day I was told vegetable broth, and this is what came out. Not that I was disappointed, it was fantastic home made soup.

I am embarrassed to tell you that I am one of those American's that ate at a fast food chain while in another country. It was in the airport and I was incredibly hung-over and my butty and hashbrowns saved me from certain illness.

Falafel plate at a small Greek cafe in Edinburgh. I was in desperate need of some vegetables!

In Edinburgh we decided to cook in our hostel. Everything is fried somehow so I needed a break. I felt like there was a puddle of grease in my stomach. We bought some veggies and made a salad and some stir fry with curry and brown rice.

At the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin

Roasted Barley, it gives Guinness it's distinct flavor. It smells exactly like a pint of the black stuff.

Pour your own pint at Guinness Storehouse, Dublin

Letting it settle.

Our finished pints. I am now certified by Guinness to pour the perfect pint!

Ray's Pizza in Dublin. I didn't eat here but was comforted to know that I could get a crappy slice if I so chose.

The Witchery by the Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

Haggis! I know, I know, it sounds disgusting. But is it anymore disgusting than eating a hot dog? I decided that I couldn't travel all the way to Scotland without trying some Haggis. So I went to the Witchery where their Haggis has won awards. It was actually quite delicious, much better than I was expecting. In all fairness, I was expecting to be revolted.

The Witchery by the Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

I have always been strongly opposed to eating veal. I won't touch it, let alone try it. But everyone kept saying how yummy the lamb is this time of year so I had to try it. Besides, it doesn't count if you're in another country.

The Witchery by the Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

Bakeswell Tart with clotted cream. Clotted cream sounds nasty but it's really a lot like whipped cream. The consistency is a little different but it's the same idea.

Ginger Beer, not an Irish or Scottish thing but it was really good.

Cod Goujons and chips at a small cafe by Loch Ness. There are many kinds of goujons on menus over there. Chicken, various kinds of fish, etc. I'm pretty sure it's like our fingers. Like when we say chicken fingers or fish fingers.

Here in NYC, I live a few blocks from a really good bagel shop, Essa Bagel. I have to limit my trips there because I know that bagels are bad for you. In Ireland where everything is battered and fried, a bagel really is a healthy alternative.

Last meal in Dublin, fish and chips from Leo Burdocks. This picture really doesn't do it justice. We were a group of 3 and each ordered our own but easily could have shared one. They practically give you an entire fish, battered and fried to perfection.