Irelands best dining guide as reviewed by you Bec ome a mem ber ww w.menupage s.ie Eat Out 4 Free! Make every meal a great one...y ...look before you book With over 50,000 restaurant reviews on MenuPages.ie, from all over Ireland, you can be sure your steak wont be tough as old boots! Avoid that dinner disaster and log onto MenuPages.ie today metro Arts & Entertainment Hip-Ns In Town Tonight Hip-hop meets sean-ns cue beat-boxing, breakdancing and bodhrn, plus special guests Black Noise Tonight, Vicar Street, 58-59 Thomas Street D8, 8pm, 20. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.ticketmaster.ie Someone Wholl Watch Over Me Frank McGuinnesss award- winning play about three Irishmen kidnapped and held hostage in Lebanon Tonight until Sat, Liberty Hall, Eden Quay D1, 8pm, 10 to 18. Tel: (01) 872 1122. www.libertyhall.ie life nchantillons A mixed media showcase of contemporary French art that includes installations and performances Until Nov 26, Irish Museum Of Contemporary Art, Lad Lane, off Baggott St D2, daily 10am to 5.30pm, free. www.imoca.ie Book Now Opera Ireland Out damn spot has never sounded so good as in Verdis operatic take on Shakespeares Macbeth. For its new season commencing November 14, Opera Ireland presents Irish soprano Bruno Caproni in the title role alongside Canadian soprano Michele Capalbo as the ruthlessly ambitious Lady Macbeth (pictured), and on November 19 and 21, a concert recital of Wagners mythical Das Rheingold, which sees gods, giants and dwarves fighting over an enchanted ring that gives its wearer universal power but a life without love Nov 14 to 21 (various dates), Gaiety Theatre, South King Street D2, 8pm, 10 to 120. Tel: 1890 673 727. www. opera ireland.ie Restaurant Review Pacinos Going Out Food & Drink Meals fit for the One facelift later and Pacinos is looking smarter than Michael Corleone on dress-down Friday Where are you? Louisville, Kentucky. Its cool, weve never been here before. This is the home of the disco ball. Bizarrely. We picked up a couple in this factory shop, although Ive no idea where were going to put them. We just had to have them. They were impulse buys. And a couple of nights ago, we stayed in a crazy hotel in a place called Kalamazoo [Michigan]. There was this mad, multi- highway intersection, and trying to walk anywhere was just a f**king deathtrap. We were looking for somewhere to eat, wandering across the highways like Michael Douglas in Falling Down. How important is breaking America to the band? This is our third trip this year. We only put out our first record [Flock] in the States last year that was something we wanted to do since we first started making music, so when it finally happened we really went for it. Its a big part of why we do this to see the world and get down into the crazy truck stops of Wyoming. Its been a good year for Bell X1: Blue Lights On The Runway was well received and you added a second date to the Olympia gig. Any particular highlight? I think Electric Picnic in that it was our first time to play a whole set outdoors in the dark. When people in Ireland are gathered together in one field to see us, theres just this great connection. It was magic, and I suppose it crowned the summer for us. Wed done a lot of festivals outside the country so to come home and do it was a real joy. Guiltiest pleasure on your iPod? Ill stand by anything thats on my iPod. Im a big Justin Timberlake fan, I love both of his records. Thats perhaps a bit guilty? Youre headlining the Virginia Pumpkin Festival on Saturday. When was the last time you dressed up for Halloween and what did you wear? It was a few years ago now, but me and my girl at the time once went as Prince Charming and Cinderella and I wore her debs dress. The tights were the most difficult. It wasnt the most elegant thing in the world, trying to pull them up all the time... Lucy White Virginia Pumpkin Festival runs from Fri to Oct 26. www.virginia.ie. www.bellx1.com FIVE QUESTIONS FOR... Bell X1 frontman Paul Noonan who plays the Virginia Pumpkin Festival this bank holiday weekend and the Olympia on November 28 and 29 ook but dont touch. Touch but dont taste. Taste but dont swallow, counselled Al Pacinos John Milton in the woeful Devils Advocate. To hell with his advice, I thought, while lured into the premises by the scarlet paint on its bistro-style frontage I am here for greed and gluttony. Not that the actor (or the anti- Christ) has anything whatsoever to do with Pacinos restaurant. No, the real don of this enterprise is Michael Martin, who in 2007, took over from the now-retired Frank Bergin. And like many an institution, Pacinos was starting to look in need of the interior design equivalent of Botox. One attractive facelift later, though, and Pacinos is looking smarter than Michael Corleone on dress-down Friday. What was once an office space is now a mezzanine dining area, while the vaulted-ceiling cellar belies its previous Scruffy Murphys origins, its sandstone walls lovingly restored and fit for a Sicilian wedding. The menus both in the restaurant and cellar bar have also been gussied up, the meal deals as abundant as ever. Pushed for time, we both opted for the Recession Meal, a two-course bargain at 10.95 each. (Theres also a drinks deal in which the first bottle of promotional beer is half price). Lets face it, cheap often means nasty so we werent expecting much from the garlic bread or deep fried mushroom starters. The pessimism! The bread was rustic and grilled just-so, while the garlic-to-butter ratio ensured it was flavoursome and not too greasy. The mushrooms were also triumphant, the moreish troop of juicy fungi covered in a light crispy breadcrumb and accompanied by a creamy garlic mayonnaise. T here was a dramatic pause between the first and second courses, not quite of Godfather trilogy proportions but certainly long enough for a Richard III soliloquy. I politely asked after the mains, and the dishes appeared without fuss. My classico pizza was huge, and had a superb, authentically thin base. Alas, it was bereft of a thick tomato base very disappointing since the menu boasts of a Pacinos tomato sauce and also the cracked black pepper was notably absent (ground pepper more like). I consoled myself with the plentiful melted cheese, fresh basil and sliced tomatoes. Big sis, meanwhile, announced that her carbonara was the best Ive ever had, the al dente tagliatelle enveloped with a rich creamy sauce scattered with Parmesan. Service staff were, though unnecessarily plentiful (we totted up four waitresses), friendly and amenable one waitress didnt 12 metrolife Tuesday, October 20, 2009 L index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html