Eating out/Tom Doorley:Northsiders can be very sensitive creatures. I was once one myself, having spent my formative years in Drumcondra. I migrated southwards at an early age - and continued to do so, ending up, now, some 250km south of the River Liffey.
I mention this because I am wondering if Hemmingway's would be any different if it were in, say, Ranelagh or Booterstown. Is it - dare I even whisper it? - just a mite less sophisticated, less in tune with the Celtic Tiger zeitgeist because of where it is?
I'm not suggesting, for a moment, that it should be more in tune with that zeitgeist. That's for the customers to decide. Hemmingway's is a very busy little restaurant, and this is clearly because its customers like what it offers.
It's a neighbourhood restaurant, and it reflects what a lot of Clontarf residents want. I just wonder if it would be different were it on the southside.
I think the answer to that is a cautious yes, and, before anyone accuses me of being a southside snob, let me declare here and now that I won first prize for marrows at Clontarf Flower and Vegetable Show in 1970. I'm no stranger to these environs.
The interior of Hemmingway's is nautically themed in a way that would have been a bit ahead of its time when I was winning the laurels, 37 years ago, but it seems a little retro today.
We started with a very pleasant seafood chowder. It was not overly creamy and contained some white fish, some dyed smoked fish and a lot of salmon. We also had suppli - two balls of what is essentially prawn risotto with mozzarella, deep-fried. You don't see suppli much these days - it was a trattoria favourite of the 1970s - but at least this version had the merit of being mildly adventurous.
They were accompanied by dollops of mayonnaise, good home-made pesto and very unhome-made chilli jam (a substance that should be available, in my view, only on prescription), plus a rather bland salad.
Tiger prawns have little to recommend them unless they deliver a pleasant texture, and our piri-piri version did just that. The flavour was supplied by a chilli-hot sauce that was not quite as sharp as a proper piri-piri would be, but the dish was pleasant enough.
It was accompanied by garlic bread.
Black sole was among the simpler dishes on the menu, but nevertheless, we were told, it was cooked with fish stock and finished with cream. I would have just grilled it or floured it and fried it in butter.
In the event, it was a little overcooked and maybe a little smaller than the average black sole tends to be, but it cost a shade over €23.
A generous salad of tomatoes, red peppers, cucumber and what have you, flecked with grated Parmesan, was not a thing of great joy. But it was better than the overcooked and mushy combination of French beans and carrots, even if they were dressed with very basily pesto.
With two small mineral waters, a brace of good Java Republic espressos and a bottle of Alsace Riesling, the bill came to a reasonable €91.
I like the friendliness and the prices at Hemmingway's. I just wish it would simplify what it does. The seafood is good stuff, and as fresh as a daisy, but it should be let speak for itself. There is too much cheffing around, as if the customers expect fancy-pants cooking rather than elegant simplicity. Cavistons, as I mentioned recently, does seafood as simply as possible, and I wish Hemmingway's did the same. tdoorley@irish-times.ie
Hemmingway's, 2B Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3, 01-8333338, www.hemmingwaysfish.com .
WINE CHOICE
This is a very pleasant little list. Our Lucien Albrecht Riesling (€27), from Alsace, was almost bone dry and very fresh. Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc, from the New Zealand outpost of the Antinori empire, is very keenly priced at €29. Even Château Lynch-Bages 2002 - admittedly from a weedy vintage - is rarely encountered elsewhere for as little as €120. Strozzi's Titolato Chianti is a lovely wine, firm and slightly austere, at €25. I don't know Bobal Rosato, from Bodegas Severian, but, at €18, I'd be happy to give it a go. Prosecco Conti Neri is a very decent fizz - and quite a steal at €29. All in all, a list that offers remarkable value for money by Dublin standards.