I went to Yardbird on Monday when the place was but 5 days old, a young chick so to speak. Just opposite the Black Box box Yardbird is the restaurant section (upstairs) of The Dirty Onion - Belfast newest bar. As you ascend there is plenty of exposed walls, reclaimed wood and 18th century beams in what claims to be Belfast's oldest building! The first thing you're greeted with is a giant wall thats covered in all sorts of welcoming and fun phrases my favourite of which is the New Orleans favourite - Laissez les bon temps rouler. As you enter the restaurant the style is certainly in keeping but ramped up even more as the centre piece is a giant high table of wonderful wood, wonderful's not usually a word i use when describing wood, but in this case it's so darn impressive i feel it's apt. So I sat (with my wife) at the bar and perused the menu. The menu however has but one thing on it - Rotisserie chicken - it's very much a do one thing but do it right kinda restaurant. All birds are free range and dry rubbed before being cooked over the rotisserie. They have a few sides as well so I order the Quarter Chicken, fries and corn to share. I also have a Yardbird Craft Ale which is an American style IPA thats light and refreshing whilst still holding the body that you'd expect. We're sat opposite the massive rotisserie where it seems everything except our skin on fries is cooked. We watch a burly man cut it up with clever and within about 5 minutes waalaa, Dinner is served! The chicken came in baskets (as chicken should) and it was delicious and plentiful, i had worried about portion sizes but needn't have been as we couldn't even finish what we got. The chicken itself was moist and tender had very tasty skin and a great use of seasoning, with just a hint of heat. The skin on fries were crispy and well browned they had a rustic texture and taste that complimented the chicken. The corn was sweet and well cooked, the garlic butter that they poured over a nice touch. There were also 2 sauces on the table a Hot and a Smokey BBQ. The hot was my favourite - a spicy tomato based sauce to give the chicken a little more kick. The BBQ slightly too sweet for my taste but my wife really liked it. The bill came at a very reasonable £20.20 for both of us, the staff were polite and friendly throughout also and we were made to feel at home. This is definitely a welcome to the cathedral Quarter and a feather in the cap for Belfast as a whole. As the sign on the way in said "Let the good times roll!"
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Upwards of 30,000 people, over 250 events, more than 100 venues and one night of all things cultural - Friday 20th September saw Culture Night return to the Cathedral Quarter for its fifth successful year in Belfast. Where do we even start? Belfast's Culture Night just gets bigger and better every single year, and with comedy, workshops, music, food, games, theatre, street art and so much more, CNB13 was no exception. There's so much going on everywhere on Culture Night that it would be impossible to mention it all, but we'll give it a go! We started our night off with a pre-Culture Night party on the Lagan onboard the Mona (run by the Lagan Boat Company), this consisted of a tour of the Titanic Quarter to take in the sights. We saw great views of the Titanic Building, the dry dock and The Paint Hall Titanic Studios, along with tons of seals sunbathing at the harbour, then with a quick stop to say hi to the Pastie Bap fish mascot we were off into the evening! First up was a trip to the Black Box for a slice of pizza and a listen to some of the bands at their Live Music Showcase, then on to catch some of Street Countdown (based on an episode of the IT Crowd) and Apocalypse Mime (a series of 5 minute plays every 15 minutes by Jagged Frog Productions). Next up was Studio NI's Book-Readings and Booze to celebrate their 9th Anniversary. We also caught some of the Warriors of Xi'an Exhibition in Saint Anne's Square and the Sing and Dance for Victory at the Northern Ireland War memorial for some 1940's swing. Check out our video below of some of the action! Writer's Square was buzzing as per usual, with the Opening Ceremony, a Big Fat Drum Circle and Wheels of Derby (a Belfast Roller Derby showcase) to name a few of the events that went on. One of the highlights of CNB13 was definitely comedian Paul Currie's set, it seemed like he was standing in for Pigeon and Plum. After drumming up business outside Keats & Chapman Bookshop (which is amazing by the way, stacked high with books of all kinds), the Jim Henson Company trained puppeteer performed his hour and a half long Sticky Bivouac show despite being attacked by a guy he tried to feed milk to (odd I know, but only in Belfast...). Paul handed out chips, played the xylophone and performed a hilarious musical number with a puppet, we only caught half of the show, but are definitely looking forward to his follow-up show as a part of the Belly Laughs Festival - Sticky Bivouac 2 Also, I don't know about you, but hearing Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer sing 'All Hail the Chap' while playing a tiny banjo has been on my bucket list for a long long time, and now thanks to Culture Night I can tick that one off the list! All in all, this year's event was a peaceful and well organised example of just how excellent Belfast is and how much of a good time we can make for each other. Roll on next year, well done Belfast, you've done it again Who wrote this...?Laura Caldwell
I'm 20 years old, studying Journalism with Photo-Imaging at the University of Ulster Coleraine Campus. I have an undying love for Belfast and all that it has to offer, an undying love for sleeping, Tegan and Sara, trashy tv shows, foreign snack-foods and being irresponsible with money. I also quite like origami, reading, hip-hop, dubstep, anything acoustic and Food Network TV. Friday 21st September 2012 saw the return of Culture Night to the Capital and Pastie Bap were in Belfast to see what there was on offer throughout this night of free events! In fact, CNB12 was the biggest ever, with over 200 events being held across and throughout the entirety of the city. This year's events were split up across 5 areas: Cathedral Quarter North, Cathedral Quarter South, City Centre, West & East Belfast and No Fixed Abode. As always, Culture Night is a night for young and old alike to experience and appreciate all that Belfast has to offer. The streets came alive with music, art and dance as everyone joined in to make this one of the most memorable Culture Nights yet.
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