Friday, September 24, 2010

Dublin Dereliction Duty: Wines & Spirits

The Liberties, Dublin

It's been a good while since the ampersand has gotten an airing in these parts, so consider this one long overdue. As for the Gothic lettering, I've been a fan of these typefaces ever since my childhood when the family would pile into the car and, on special occasions, go to the neighboring suburb to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in a strip mall called Castlewood. Castlewood, alas, is long gone, replaced probably by some insipid T.G.I. Fridays, but it lives on in memory. The place was not nearly as theatrical as Medieval Times -- no jousting, no surly nose-ringed cocktail wenches -- but it did milk the castle theme for all it was worth: heraldic menus, suits of armor lodged into red-velvet nooks and, of course, this Olde English font that's de rigeur for any decent castle-themed establishment.

As for this crumbling artifact in the Liberties, who knows how long it will be allowed to stand in its current state of decay. But I do know that wines & spirits signs go hand in hand with the weekend.

2 comments:

Jackie said...

'specially THIS weekend. Right, my friend?

Therese Cox said...

In the interests of preserving my pristine reputation, Jackie, I will take the fifth* on this one.

*amendment, not to be confused with "dram of whiskey"