Taboo Foods with a side order of Gonzo, anyone?

Okay, folks.  This one is not for the veggies.  Or the faint-hearted.

Last Sunday, myself and Niall went down to Ukiyo Bar on Exchequer Street to experience the Evolution of The Ciaran Crawford Acion Figure Doll.

The low-down is essentially this: Ciaran Crawford is an Irish chef with a rambunctious personality, a love for life, and a passion for food.  I’ve never  met the man, but having tasted his food and hearing a few tales, that’s the conclusion I’ve come to.

A few years back, he teamed up with his mate Dylan Scott to write an alternative cookbook.  It’s a collection of short stories in Dylan’s stream of consciousness style, and highlights the art of creating food, highlighting thoughts on some choice times spent with Ciaran, while Dylan was “experiecing Dublin as a New Yorker.”

The idea of the Evolution of The Ciaran Crawford Acion Figure Doll night is that Ciaran cooks a six course themed tasting experience, while Dylan reads excerpts from the book between courses.

Tonight’s theme was Taboo Foods.  Nice.  We were seated with the lovely Ciaran from Le Cool, who had been to the last installment of the night, a fortnight previously.

First course: The “Bloody Marie Dripping on the Bathroom Floor Oyster Shooter”

Charming name aside, this is a pretty fantastic shooter.  A squeeze of lime into the gazpacho style salsa liquid with a big, fat, juicy oyster swimming around in the middle.  Delicious.  And not so taboo, no?

Second course: Sushi of Baby Cow

Well, if you put it like that….poor wee baby cow!!  God damn, this was good.  The wasabi cream on the top was beautiful, and although the sushi rice itself was a bit rubbery, the baby cow was worth the guilt.

Third course: “Tropical Food For Thought” with a Chilli Blueberry Froth

Oooh look, they’re like chicken nuggets.

There were about 20 people at this gathering/reading/eatathon and there was a rather hilarious ripple of different hysterical reactions when the word got out, mid course, that we were in fact munching on Lambs’ Brains.

Yup, that’s definitely a brain.  Have to say….they were flippin’ gorgeous!!  Paired with the amazing chilli blueberry froth, they were simply scrumptious.

Fourth Course : Fishy Meat Box with Vanilla Parsnip Puree and Lime Caramel

This was my favourite course of the night (followed in very close second by the Lambs’ Brains) and, as you can see, it was a little pastry fortress filled with foie gras and tiny slices of tuna steak.  The vanilla parsnip puree was stunning, and loading everthing all on one forkful with the lime caramel led to the most joyous little party in my mouth.  Totally awesome.

Desserts: Wherein the party goes downhill… perhaps a homage to some kind of wild party comedown that Ciaran and Dylan experienced together?  Who knows.

Dessert One: Breast of Pink Champagne with Roast Wild Strawberry

It was getting dark and increasingly more difficult to take photos.  Apologies!

Not sure exactly what was taboo about this but I’m guessing the Breast of Pink Champagne.  It was a jelly type substance with a strange metallic sort of non-taste.  Bizarre.  The roasted strawberry and cream were nice, though.  Any ideas on what Breast of Pink Champagne means?  Perhaps it’s an in-joke.

Cucumber Sake Cocktail

Cucumber Sake Cocktail – a regular feature on the Ukiyo Cocktail menu and not part of the Taboo Night!

Can’t really call this a Digestif as I had it between dessert courses but I had to get the weird champagne jelly taste off my palate.  I wish I’d known what was coming next as I would have waited til the end.  Bloody hell.

Dessert Two and Final Course: Warm Bitter Chocolate Log in the Park with Blue Cheese Coulant, Candied Grass and Chocolate Ant

I don’t care what food looks like.  Most of my own food, as some of my regular visiters will know, looks like crap.  At least that’s what I used to think.  This dessert actually, genuinely looks like shit.  A big pile of shit on my plate.

I thought it was pretty funny actually and would have been truly delighted if it had tasted good.  Sadly.  No.  It was awful.  Most probably the worst dessert I’ve ever had.

The chocolate log was stuffed in the centre with the blue cheese coulant and, really, it was just wrong.  I do applaud the chef for trying something new and all that, and I truly enjoyed the presentation.  However, it would have been a whole lot better if it had been an edible pile of cow pat shaped chocolate mousse.

Tell you what, though – the chocolate covered ant was lovely and cccccrunchy.  Seriously!

I love the idea of this project.  The fact that you’re listening to stories between courses that were cooked by the dude that the other dude is talking about is….well, it’s cool.  My only gripe is that the stories themselves aren’t actually that interesting.

Although they were read very well by Dylan himself, the experience reminded me of asking a work colleague what they got up to on the weekend and they go into a ten minute rant next to the photocopier about this maaaaaad party they were at and you’re like….pffff I don’t really give a shit because I wasn’t there.

Then again, I am uncommonly self-centred.

Perhaps you would view the stories in a different way and not only enjoy the experience of a between course reading, but actually enjoy the stories themselves.

Still, I would highly recommend the night.  You’ll definitely find something different.  Like Lambs’ Brains, for instance.

This culinary/art experience will set you back €40 or €60 including wine.

Unfortunately, it’s proving difficult to get web based information on the Ciaran Crawford Acion Figure Doll night (apart from this lovely write-up on The Confused Eclectic of the first night a few weeks back) but we were told on the night that the next event in Ukiyo is being held on Sunday the 9th of August.  This time the theme is Raw Foods and I believe it’s a different chef.  I’d be inclined to head down.  Give it a whirl.  Sure, why not?

Now….I wonder where I can get my hands on some lambs’ brains?  Sorry, veggies/vegans!!