“All goodness is prerequisite on a full belly; no man knows what hunger will make him do”

I went into the city centre this evening on a shopping trip, but as Bono would say “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”. I took the opportunity to check out the Transylvanian Restaurant in Henrietta Street. It was closed. They must have found out I was coming, lol. Not surprising really as all my Romanian contacts were also silent today. Maybe it is a holiday I don’t know about. Having resigned myself to no mamaliga, ciorba, or even sarmale, I ambled down Capel Street, passed myriads of Asian themed restaurants and one Turkish one, finally arriving at Ristorante Romano. I rang the bell and went in.
The Restorante Romano is not a great place to eat. It has nostalgic value as it is the first restaurant I ever went to. Compared to the prices in other restaurants in Dublin, it has bargin basement value. The food , however, is more Sloppy Joe than Cordon Bleu. The bill came to 25 Euro for soup, salmon with vegetables, and (just to keep the healthy aspect at bay) a banana split, all washed down with orange juice.
I had not been here for over 5 years. The first time I went was about 22 years ago. Back then it had an all Irish staff, then it changed to Italian workers and now it is Philippine waiters who welcome diners. Its main attraction is the relaxing quietness, mostly due to the lack of customers. When the restaurant was first opened, bicycle racing such as the Tour de France was very popular, and the walls are generously decorated with photographs of the Irish heroes of that era along with their Italian counterparts. We could do with some heroes now, all I see on the TV news are villains in fancy suits.
Good night and thanks for taking time to read this.