Exhausting, that's what. A whole week of late nights and feeling tired. I thought it was lack of vitamins, maybe age, iron deficiency or bad astrological alignments. I toyed with the notion that that it was result of too much brain activity, too much thinking. But eventually I worked it out, it was none of the above, and especially not lack of sleep - I'm used to late nights - no, no, no, the reason I'm tired is I'm over-worked. I know, everyone thinks that of themselves, but I've done a little statistical analysis and found a truth. Our population is 3 and a half million and 750,000 are retired and 750,000 are at school or college, which leaves 2 million to do the work. Of them, 500,000 are currently out of work and 500,000 are in the armed services, leaving 1 million to do the work. 700,000 of those left are civil servants, which leaves just 300,000 to do the work. There are 225,000 in hospital or on sick leave, which leaves 75,000 to perform the daily work load. But there are 73,000 people in prison and 1,998 in police custody, which leaves just two - you and me. And you're sitting down reading this article.
But despite this over-work I did manage to get to the Slow Food banquet, which was part of the Convergence Festival. Seven courses of fine food, what used to be called 'cooking with intent'. Thoughtful choices of dishes and ingredients, all prepared by the chefs of Sheridan's of Galway, demonstrated why Slow Food is a better alternative to Fast Food, both aesthetically and dietetically. Coming in the same week that McDonalds posted a first time drop in profits, it seemed that Convergence was verging on synchronicity. Slow food may just point the way forward.

It was also the week that I got to eat in The Merrion's new restaurant. The Merrion Hotel is slowly becoming one of my favourite spots in Dublin, so when it opens a new restaurant, clearly I'm going to have to check it out. It's where the Mornington Restaurant used to be, downstairs in the basement. It's been significantly re-modelled and more importantly re-lit, a major factor in a room with no natural day-light. Since it's right next to the Cellar Bar, they've reasonably christened it The Cellar Restaurant. My guest this week was my friend and neighbour Isabella Weibrecht and before we went to eat we had a pre-prandial in the upstairs bar, an oasis of serenity in Dublin's busy centre.

Downstairs in the restaurant we sat in the smoking section in deference to Isabella's habit, since personally I'm now a reformed man with few (if any) vices. The room is unmistakably a hotel restaurant, the large tables and heavy, upholstered carvers providing the visual clues. Our table, set for two, was set the way I prefer, with the two place-settings at right angles to one another, instead of diametrically opposite.

The first surprise of the night was the menu. Bear in mind that we're sitting in what is probably the most elegant hotel in Dublin and there, on the dinner menu, are two main courses for €12; an omelette Arnold Bennett and a pea risotto. I can't think of anywhere off hand that gives you a main course at dinner for that. The other surprise - and I liked this bit - is that lamb's liver is priced right up there with fillet steak, way above chicken and salmon. The entire menu is priced for value, €7.50 is the most expensive starter, the majority of them are €6, and only two main courses are over €20. This same reasonable pricing is carried through to the wine list, which though not long, carries plenty of wines in the €18 - €25 price range. I did what I rarely do and ordered a wine well above €20, a Montes Alpha Chardonnay at €31. It's a wine that I really like, and since the food prices were such good value I thought I'd splash out a little on the wine.

To start Isabella picked the crispy calamari rings, which came served with a ramekin of nicely made spicy tomato sauce for dipping. I couldn't resist the pressed ham hock, which came with a honey and mustard sauce. Both of these starters were really good, and as an aside, I also really liked the fact that no one tried to take away my bread when I'd finished my starters. Why do most places not let you keep your bread for the main course? It's a peculiarly Irish phenomenon, this insistence on removing the bread along with the finished starters, and I really don't see its purpose.

For the main courses Isabella had chosen the pea risotto, one of the bargain main courses, while I'd splashed out on the lamb's liver which was one of the most expensive dishes at €24. The risotto was a well-made one with creamy arborio rice and delicately flavoured, while the liver was perfectly cooked, so tender that it needed almost no chewing. We chose two side orders to accompany these dishes, an arugula salad (rocket) and broccoli with an hollandaise sauce, again well-priced at €3. We finished our meal with a crème brulee between us and a couple of peppermint teas, a new departure for me, replacing the more traditional espresso.

If you like the slightly formal air of a good hotel restaurant, this has to be one to visit. The food is really good, the service is professional and courteous and the room has a quiet elegance. Couple all these plus points with a very competitively priced menu and I suspect that The Merrion may have found a winning formula for their downstairs restaurant. Our bill, including the €31 wine, was a very reasonable €112.