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Night 23: Ri Ra
Although I enjoyed a perfectly marvelous meal at the
Irish Inn at Glen Echo, I have to confess that shepherd's
pie was still on my mind. I am not even a small part
Irish, but, as anyone who knows me can attest, I have
always wanted to be Irish. I think it must be the language.
I am drawn to the lilting speech, the lovely use of
the word "grand." The large, fractious families
who speak of "our Erin" and "our Brendan."
So for a little more taste of Gaelic I head to Ri Ra,
Bethesda's new piece of the Old Sod. An Irish pub and
restaurant, Ri Ra is quite literally a bit of the Emerald
Isle. The handsome interior was constructed of antique
mahogany woodwork shipped to Bethesda from Ireland.
The bar in the restaurant was once the bar at Dublin's
Olympia Theatre which first opened in 1879 on Dame Street,
opposite Dublin Castle. Over the last 100 years the
Olympia has been home to many of Ireland's famous playwrights,
including Oscar Wilde.
What's a "Ri Ra"? We're glad you asked!
It is "a place or state where exuberance and revelry
prevail." I sit in the pub the better to watch
the musicians inside. There are 10 of them, "having
a session," as a member puts it. There are fiddles
and pipes, a penny whistle and a couple of squeezeboxes.
One man holds in his hands a drum called a bodhran,
which he strikes with a stout wooden stick. Irish music
is merry, although there is always the tug of the minor
key.
The menu lists what I imagine is typical hearty Irish
fare: fresh oysters, fish and chips, beef and Guinness
stew, bangers and mash, mushy peas and shepherd's pie.
There are also nods to today's eclectic tastes like
fried calamari and blackened chicken linguini. My shepherd's
pie sits before me, but not for long. Piping hot it
is, full of carrots and mushy peas covered with a fancy
doodle of mash. Grand. Back to restaurant list
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