The Irish Rover

06/03/2026

The OG Chicken Salad is BACK…just red onion, celery, Dijon mayo, and, of course, chicken on house-made bread (or get it as a platter with soda bread on the side)

06/03/2026

It’s Mint-Lemonade-on-the-Patio weather!

06/02/2026

Smoked Salmon Salad on one of Louisville’s prettiest patios…that is all

05/04/2026

We 💚 the Burren….and can’t wait to visit again in October!

Even after 30 years I still get excited when the Burren awakens after its winter break and the barren limestone turns into the fertile rock. This is one of the best groups of spring gentian I came across in years, perfectly arranged for the camera.

04/24/2026

Started with a delicious welcome G&T (featuring their award winning London Dry garnished with pink grapefruit and basil), followed by a tour of this small (but mighty) distillery doing both gins AND rums(!) and all by hand, followed by a gin tasting and fantastic lunch in their beautiful lounge, and finishing with a cocktail of our choice selected from their gins, rums, or vodka… big thanks to Jenny and Dorothy for a wonderful afternoon in the beautiful countryside of North Berwick!

04/24/2026

Quick stop in the tiny fishing village of St. Abbs Head. The sea haar obstructed the views and the cliff walk, but a telescope in the visitors centre allowed views of some of the hundreds of guillermots nesting in the cliffs. Puffins nest in nearby islands, but are also often seen fishing around the cliffs. The sculpture commemorates the largest fishing disaster in Scotland’s history, when hundreds of sailors from up and down the coast were lost in a sudden storm

04/23/2026

One of the great Borders Abbeys, destroyed and rebuilt several times and finally abandoned after the reformation. This one is said to house the heart of Robert the Bruce, among other things. The carvings are fantastical and include a bagpiping pig among the gargoyles and grotesques

04/23/2026

Huge thanks to Kyle, Hamish, and team at for a fantastic meal and great service….a wonderful send off for our last night in Melrose

04/22/2026

Great food and lovely service (plus wonderful cocktails and wine, of course) at this little gem tucked away at the bottom of the High in Melrose…came very close to licking the plate for both dishes and will definitely add this to the itinerary next time we come to the Scottish Borders (have already confirmed with the GM that they can accommodate our group)

04/22/2026

Fascinating visit to the home of Sir Walter Scott, designed by the writer himself in the Scottish baronial style he invented and built with the proceeds from his wildly popular historical novels, a form he also invented. The “Sir” came not from his prolific writing, but from the peace he brokered with the highland clans, and, while advising the king, he also managed to find the missing Crown Jewels…because of course he did. And that’s just a small sampling of his life story