A Side Order of Eco-Fries with your Upside-Down-Poke?

Just when I thought I could no longer be surprised by Irish-isms, that I could answer the dog, ride the joer and wind my neck in, with ease... I was, of course, wrong. The world of Irish slang is apparently an inexhaustable resource...

I was out the other night in Belfast for Tommy-boy's birthday with a few of our favo(u)rite northies. We were in a newly-opened-restaurant-bar called, "Made in Belfast" which seems to epitomise the latest trend in Irish-eating-drinking establishments. Enter, the eco-friendly, "recycled" bar. The premise of eco-dining is that instead of kitting out your new business with fresh-from-the-factory furniture top-of-the-line faux-marble table tops and brand-new hipster scandinavian light fixtures, the place is decked out in an eclectic hodge-podge of granny-chic, straight from the latest second-hand auction or car-boot sale. The result is part 70's rec room, part college coffee-house and part dusty-vacation-house (with maybe a little bit of southeast asian brothel thrown in for good measure.) And marketing-ploy or not, I like it (although it's only a matter of time until McDonald's co-opts it and opens a McGreener-than-thous.) Dublin's version of the eco-bar opened last week and was absolutely packed to the rafters last friday when I hit it up - and serving a damn fine mojito if I do say so myself.

Anyway, so here we all were, comfortably perched on Thai-rice-sack pillows and faux-fur animal-print cushions digesting a tasty dinner (served in a random selection of plates and dishes of course.) It was Tommy-boy's birthday and so it was time to loosen the belt and squeeze in dessert. The waiter quickly read out the choices, apple crumble, berry pannacota and an upside down poke... what? excuse me? Sexual adventurous-ness not withstanding, an upside down poke doesn't sound like something that should be done in a crowded restaurant on a Saturday evening... Instead of slapping the waiter (or dragging him into the kitchen for a better explanation ;)) I waited until he was gone and looked at my table-mates for clarification (hopefully without diagrams...haha.) Apparently a "poke" (now, don't be dirty) is simply an icecream cone, something your Granny would make for you when you visited her on a Sunday afternoon, "Would you like a nice, poke dear?" (Oh, god, the possibilities are really endless.) An upside-down poke is the hipster-bar's attempts to bring you back to your childhood-idyll - basically vanilla icecream in a little bowl with a cone sticking out the top. Care for a lick?!