Hard to believe, but my digestion has survived another year of dining out more or less intact. It hasn't been a year of major changes, but there are straws in the wind that might portend changes of direction in the New Year. Against a background that there might just be a little belt-tightening coming soon on the economic front, here's a look back over 2003 - the highs and the not-so-highs.

So first to the stars. This year I revisited Thornton's and Patrick Guilbaud's, both of which have garnered two coveted Michelin stars. I'm happy to report no changes here, the food is still as good as their reputations would suggest. A newcomer to the Michelin stars is Derry Clarke's L'Ecrivain, which I enjoyed toward the end of the year. Just to be sure that my ability to rate a Michelin starred restaurant was well-honed, a trip to the Cote d'Azur in spring allowed me try a whole galaxy of French Michelin stars. Not yet starred, but hopefully soon to be, is the ever excellent Chapter One, which continues to attract customers to Dublin's northside.

Outside of Dublin's premier league there have been some welcome additions. I did like Eamonn O'Reilly's Bleu, which combines a sharp style with some very well made food. Another newcomer was the Cellar Restaurant in Dublin's Merrion Hotel, a real little treasure of Georgian Dublin. You can get a really excellent omelette Arnold Bennett here without breaking the bank.

And talking of not breaking the bank there may just be signs of a move towards offering the consumer value for the euro. On Wexford's main street, Heaven's Above is pioneering a new idea. Buy your wine in their off-license from a very large range of 250 wines, and you can drink it in the restaurant at no extra charge. No corkage at all. Now if ever there was an encouragement to drink good wine with your food, this has to be it. Some places like Foxrock's 'The Gables' are offering diners the chance to buy wine at off-license prices and pay a small corkage, which is to be commended.

Outside the pale, the county of Kilkenny offered me a couple of good meals. Hudson's in Thomastown has more than a little style, while the simple and unpretentious River Cafe in Bennettsbridge provides some real food in the traditionally fast-food price range. Down in Kenmare you're spoilt for choice, but this year I got to try the up-market Sheen Falls, where you can be pampered whilst pursuing your favourite outdoor activity, most of which are catered for.

Going ethnic wasn't a complete success this year, but I did like Dublin's Bar Roma, which really does have the feel of an Italian cafe/bar, complete with Italian waiting staff. But this year's accolade for best ethnic has to be The China House in Moore Street. After my glowing account of this quirky eating place I got this message from Ernie Whalley of Food and Wine Magazine, 'Word is you've blown the gaff on the Chinese caff. Say it isn't so. The firebobbies, the public health, the licensing nasties and the thought police will be already on their way... What a tragedy if they're closed
down.' Sometimes I do stop and think whether somewhere like this needs to have attention drawn to it. Probably not, but in the end I wrote it up because the food was good, the prices were almost non-existent and for sheer novelty value it was hard to beat. And talking of novelty value, my only really unusual meal this year came to me in the now defunct Barclay Club, where you could eat while being distracted by pole-dancers. The Gardai have closed it down now, but not for any culinary indiscretions. I know it lays me open to accusations of being a dirty old man, but I do kind of miss it.

As to predictions for next year, the immediate future sees the government prohibition of smoking in restaurants become law. It's hard to know what the long-term effects will be on dining habits if any, but I'd guess that in the short run there'll be an increase in sales of ready-made meals, which can be eaten legally at home in clouds of blue smoke. I do intend to review one or two of these options in the new year, as even non-smokers might occasionally like to try eating at home without doing the cooking.

Just as my year's dining was coming to an end I got one of year's best meals in Mint, a recently re-opened restaurant in Dublin's Ranelagh. Great food, but more importantly very good value. Realistically, eating very well and paying less than €100 for dinner isn't easily achieved, but it can be done and Mint proved the point. It's easy to become to boring on the subject I know, but I really, really would like to see the end of mineral water being charged at €6, €7 and €8 euros a litre. Tap water isn't the sweet, pure drink that it once was, so bottled water can't really be viewed any more as some kind of luxury for the fastidious. Everyone needs to make a profit, I know, but if Lidl supermarkets can transport bottled water here from Germany and still sell it for 40 cents a litre, how come we pay so much for Irish water? Sadly, I know I'll never get an answer to that question.

All in all it's been a good year for Irish gastronomy. There are signs that sense is beginning to prevail in the pricing of menus and the general quality of the cooking keeps improving. Young chefs are hitting their stride with a wealth of international skills under their belt, even Richard Corrigan is making a return to Dublin. All things being equal, 2004 should be just fine.