Taking the next step

As many of you will already be aware, I have toyed with the idea of opening my own hostel for some time now. Even before my time in Canada, it was something that had been discussed with my dear friend Michael. We came up with the general concept of a good time hostel (that sounds a little like a brothel - definitely not in our plan) as well as the name; Hostelle Mickelena. 'Hostelle' was an homage to our friends Down Under who are constantly being ridiculed for not being able to grasp the Northern Hemisphere pronunciation of 'hostel'. Mickelena should be self explanatory; it was a very simple yet effective joining of our names.

While working in Canada however, the idea began to take more shape. I met people from all over the world who stayed in such a wide variety of hostels. Even my own experiences travelling throughout Europe had given me some insight into the way it all worked. Hostels are a viable option for many tourists - for the more independent traveller it is nearly always the first port of call - apart from those thrill seekers who are capable of couch surfing! It is also no longer just for younger backpackers. A lot of hostels will cater to any age and, due to the (generally) better value pricing options than a hotel and the general public's tendency to travel on a budget, a much wider demographic are looking to hostel accommodation while travelling.

So, I made my decision and came up with many drunken plans over my time at Global, discussing with all different ages and nationalities the sort of hostel I would open. It would be a fun place to stay, with a kitchen and a huge common area and a smoking patio on the roof and big rooms with fireplaces and personalised towels and a heli-pad and a spiral staircase leading from reception to the bar and a games room... dreaming big and a little beyond my means clearly. I do have a certain amount of practical knowledge already (who knew my degree would come in so handy?!) to go with my big ideas but where to go from there?

In reality, setting up a business is not always just a case of a (in my humble opinion) brilliant idea. It requires planning; market research, a business plan, marketing ideas, pricing strategies, budgets, financial backing, premises, design, recruitment, implementation, growing and maintaining a customer base. Not to mention actually running the feckin thing once all of these steps are accomplished, as well as the multitude of steps I'm sure to have forgotten. It's kind of like what I imagine Alcoholics Anonymous to be like; it's not only hard getting sober (depending on who you're talking to); it's staying sober that is the really difficult part.

What should the first step be? I've got the name - Mama Goose. No offence to Michael but as the nickname stuck to me in Toronto, it came to embody the ethos that I wanted to embrace at my hostel - a family-like, welcoming atmosphere that makes people feel at home away from home. Might not be the most exciting or original but I know that is what I look for when I travel. A policy I would like to continue to stick by; if I wouldn't stay there, why should I expect my guests to?

Watch this space - I will most likely be looking for lots of feedback to my upcoming posts as I struggle to get this off the ground and look forward to having you all stay at Mama Goose in the future!

Buenos Aires Grill review

With my departure date from Ireland creeping up faster than I would probably like, I am trying to squeeze in time with as many of my friends as possible just in case I do decide to stay away longer than intended. One such arrangement I had made was to purchase a fantastic Menupages Deal for the Buenos Aires Grill in order to treat my dear friend Michael for his birthday and give us a chance to spend some quality time together before I leave. The restaurant was fairly quiet which sometimes doesn't bode well but for the price we were getting our 3 course meal, I was happy enough either way!

Before I get the full review underway, I suppose I should mention a few minor 'faux pas' that occured, these are reasons why I shouldn't be let out in public too often. Especially not to nice places......

1. Choosing a table by the window. Floor to ceiling windows that gave everyone walking by the opportunity to gawk in at us. Luckily, the restaurant is on a street slightly out of the way and it was a relatively quiet Thursday night. I am not a fan of people watching me eat. At least we weren't on the raised platform......
2. Ordering a bottle of wine each. Now, in all fairness, a bottle of the house wine was only €3 more than the half bottle. In these recessionary times, we're all looking for more 'bang for our buck'. It was a good thing I wasn't in work the next day.
3. Lighting the candle on our table. While it seemed like a good idea at the time, creating some atmosphere and what not, when I called the waiter over to check what wasn't included in our meal deal with the voucher we had, I managed to set the voucher on fire. I was still able to use it which is the main thing ;)
4. As a result of Michael's hiccups and my wicked heartburn (after downing an entire bottle of red wine to myself), I demanded that the waiter bring us some bread soda and a glass of water. An old trick that my mother taught me to get rid of almost anything that is wrong with your digestive system. However, it must have looked a little strange when the waiter arrived back with a small ramekin full of white powder and placed it in the centre of the table.....

Despite all these hiccups (ah hiccups, literally! Just spotted this when reading back over, I love when I do things like that unintentionally), we managed to actually have a lovely meal. I had the scallops to start (a little surprised that they were included in the deal, surprised and delighted), he had the fish cakes. It almost fell into the trap of having too much rocket on the starter plates when it really doesn't need it. The scallops were cooked very well (always a fear of mine) and the buerre blanc sauce with them was a perfect accompaniment.  I did taste the fish cakes also and they were full of flavour with a couple of different fish tastes coming through. Onto the main event, which was obviously the steak. I went for the 8oz fillet, he went for the 12oz striploin. We both ordered our steak medium - unfortunately, my fillet was rather thick and slightly over-cooked for my liking around the outside but the flavour was fantastic and it was a really delicious cut of meat. His striploin was cooked absolutely perfectly. The chips were proper thick chinks of potato, although the side salad was a bit of a disappointment. I tried the Argentinean Chimichurri sauce which was a little oily for me but had good flavour. 

By the time we were ordering dessert, I don't think either of us were quite sure we really wanted it. But it was included and you never waste anything!! I chose the chocolate lava, he was boring and went for the ice cream. To be honest, we were both fairly well oiled at that stage, it wouldn't have mattered what we were served. I would have preferred the lava cake to be a little softer on the outside and should have ordered it with ice cream instead of cream. I don't even like cream!

Overall, the service was great, the food was delicious, the wine was flowing, the conversation was....well a little slurred by the end of it. We did manage to come up with a wonderful idea for what could become the best hostel in Dublin - Hostelle Mickelena. That is a subject for a post all of it's own....

Moral of the Story - don't order a whole bottle of wine with dinner. Either way, good company can make any mouthful of food taste better. Thanks Michael!! Check out the restaurant's website here also http://www.buenosairesgrill.ie/