It's true what they say, there are parts of Dublin's centre that are determinedly trying to establish a cafe society. Within a few yards of Grafton Street there are places that have tables and chairs set up outside and some serve good coffee as well, a pre-requisite for a cafe society. Sadly, there's one ingredient that's been missing this year. Yes, you guessed, that thing called sunshine. It's hard enough to force yourself to sit at an outdoor table with a chilly wind licking at your face, even if like me you've acquired an ability to endure the rigours of an Irish summer, but rain will definitely drive you indoors. No amount of umbrellas or patio heaters are going to help much, you simply can't sip an espresso with any pleasure in a downpour.

Which is what gives the new Plaza Cafe Bar outside the Gaiety something of an advantage: it's got a roof. High above the tables and chairs that skirt the newly created plaza, is a glass roof. It lets in the light, is high enough not to be intrusive and most importantly, it keeps out the rain. What you can get here, apart from a decent coffee, is panini. Between €5 and €8 gets you a variety of bread-based snacks - ciabatta, focaccia, baguette and bagel come with a variety of filling, both hot and cold. There are salads and desserts on offer, as well as ice-creams.

I sat there recently with my friend Hugo Jellet, and although I'd arrived in pleasant weather, a brief shower made us grateful for the roof over our heads. Hugo chose the vegetarian quiche Lorraine, and I chose the olive ciabatta with Parma ham, mozzarella and rocket. Both of these snacks were well-made, but I thought mine much the better - exactly balanced flavours bringing me memories of Italy. There's a decent wine list too, with quarter bottles and half bottles, from which we picked a half bottle of Casillero del Diablo at €10.90. When your feet need a rest from too much shopping in Grafton Street, or if you're waiting for your significant other to finish shopping, the Plaza cafe makes for a pleasing stop.

As something of an alternative to the urban delights of Grafton Street, you could try making a visit to the more bucolic delights of Macreddin Village, deep in the Wicklow Hills near Aughrim. The village was green fields a few years ago, but it now has a good hotel and a restaurant called The Strawberry Tree, as well as a small street of shops, houses and a pub called Acton's. On the first Sunday of each month, and on the third as well during the summer, Macreddin Village hosts an organic market, where traders line the street with a wide range of organic products. We arrived on a third Sunday recently, which is slightly less crowded than the first Sundays. It's easy to get carried away and spend more than you intended as you pass freshly made organic breads of all sorts of shapes and sizes, organic meats that are so well presented you'd almost devour them raw, sauces, preserves, pulses and legumes, plants, fish - you name it, the chances are you can find it. Personally I'm a sucker for the smoked eel from Cork, which comes vacuum packed, so it's a doddle to take home in a car.

As you walk the little street and linger at the stalls you can even stop for a beer from Macreddin's own micro-brewery. But if the hunger starts to gnaw at the belly, you can stop again and choose your meal from Acton's Sunday Barbecue. A couple chefs and their helpers work a big stainless steel barbecue from where you can choose a marinated chicken breast or a home-made burger, spicy wedges served traditionally in a newspaper cone, or something more substantial. Big, succulent steaks of swordfish, steak and onions, flat Portobello mushrooms with courgettes, or venison sausages served with ciabatta are the options, all served with salads such as potato, pasta and herbed rice.

The exigencies of barbecues for large numbers are such that food needs to be par-cooked before it gets its final re-heating on the griddle, but that means that a rare steak isn't a possibility. Consequently it was venison sausage for John, the children and I, and swordfish for Lainey and Isabella. With your paper plate in hand, your disposable wooden cutlery in the other, you find yourself a table on the extensive lawns or the patio and Acton's young staff look after your drinks order. €9.50 buys you any of the main courses, while €4.50 buys you the burger or chicken.

Sitting on the lawn at a circular table with wooden benches constructed to fit snugly around it, we settled down to our barbecued lunch. The sun made a rare appearance and we looked down towards the river over a very large lawn on which was a marquee. Maybe the wind changed direction, but gradually we became aware of music coming from the marquee - guitar, keyboards and a female voice combined perfectly - old standards like 'Cry me a River' and 'The Girl from Ipanema' so well performed that at first we thought we were listening to a CD. I was so impressed I had to go to the tent and listen up close to the Nigel Mooney Band - for it was they - and finished the last of my spring water there.

We came for some organic produce, but ended up with some tasty barbecued food and great music as well. Proof, if it was needed, that there's much pleasure to be had outside the capital as well as in it. If a Sunday drive is your idea of fun, Macreddin Village makes a good destination.