tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70304614406198965232024-03-04T20:13:39.988-08:00The Dublin foodieA Dub and a foodie, who ate her way to London and back again. This is my blog about food and wine, wherever I am!Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-6715194129098508272014-07-01T06:56:00.000-07:002014-07-01T06:56:06.773-07:00Bison Stew!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_0EIV_w5rdo/U7K9zVIvN3I/AAAAAAAACM8/dZhi8ADGc6c/s1600/IMG_20140630_162052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_0EIV_w5rdo/U7K9zVIvN3I/AAAAAAAACM8/dZhi8ADGc6c/s1600/IMG_20140630_162052.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a>When you've ordered too much (i.e. everything) at Bison Bar & BBQ on Wellington Quay, don't let any of that delicious meat go to waste- box it up, take it home, and give it the ending it deserves in this smokin' Cajun recipe. The meaty Bison sausage has chorizo in it, so bear that in mind when deciding how much chorizo to put in your stew. Also, the brisket has a strong smoky flavour and the pulled pork has a spice rub, so add your Cajun spices according to how much meat you've got.<br />
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Bison leftovers (barbecued beef brisket, pulled pork shoulder, chicken leg, pork ribs in BBQ sauce, sausage and pork chunks from the 'burnt end beans'- also smoky and spicy)<br />
8 1 inch chunks of cooking chorizo (to approx 1/4 of Bison sausage- adjust for more or less)<br />
1 large red onion, roughly sliced<br />
3 large garlic cloves, minced<br />
2 sticks celery, strings removed (snap the stalks and pull away the strings), sliced on the diagonal<br />
1 red jalapeno pepper, sliced with the seeds<br />
1 medium courgette, sliced in 1cm slices on the diagonal, then quartered<br />
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed<br />
1 tin black beans, not drained<br />
1 tin good quality chopped tomatoes<br />
400ml good quality beef stock (I'm not precious about this- even Schwarz roast beef gravy would work here and has the added benefit of a thickener)<br />
Cajun seasoning (ready-made spice mix, or try my blend of paprika, hot-smoked paprika, onion salt, dried Italian herbs, Cayenne pepper, cinnamon, fresh ground black pepper)<br />
Hot pepper sauce (I use Mick's Chilli Inferno No.3 made with habanero pepper), I like a good 2tbsp but you can adjust depending on your comfort levels with heat<br />
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<b>Method</b><br />
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In a hot, heavy bottomed iron casserole or deep pot, fry off the chorizo and any chicken skin and bones in 1tbsp olive oil over a high heat until the fats are released and there's just a little colour on the sausage.<br />
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Add in the onion, garlic, celery and jalapeno, and sautée for 1-2 minutes. Now add the the Cajun seasoning: If you have a lot of brisket then you need no more than 1flat tsp smoked paprika - more if you need to up the smoky flavour. On the basis of having approx 75g each of Bison brisket, pork, and chicken, I added: 1tsp each of paprika, smoked paprika, dried herbs, and 1/2tsp each of onion salt, Cayenne pepper, fresh ground black pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. Coat the vegetables in the seasoning and let it cook off for about a minute.<br />
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Add the courgette and chickpeas and cook for a further minute or two, or until the courgette is just becoming tender. Next add the hot pepper sauce and tinned tomatoes, mixing well, followed by the beef stock. If using stock pots such as Knorr, use approx 400ml boiling water. If using a powdered beef gravy or bouillon, add straight to the pot and add water until you have the consistency you want. Add the black beans - if you're not using a thickener these will help to thicken the pot.<br />
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Finally, reduce the heat and add the leftover barbecued meat, stirring well to mix it through the stew. Allow to simmer if you need to reduce the liquid and to ensure that all the meat has come up temperature.<br />
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You can serve right away, but this is the type of dish that gets better with time. Serve with savoury rice: sautéed okra (if you can get it) peeled/seeded chopped tomatoes, onion and fresh coriander mixed through boiled white rice or whichever type you'd prefer. <br />
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Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-46808049738285766842013-11-13T02:16:00.001-08:002013-11-19T13:15:30.998-08:00The top 60 (almost) sandwiches in Dublin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
From a Twitter poll of sandwich enthusiasts:<br />
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1. Falafel wraps, Syrian Foods @ Stillorgan Market on Wednesdays<br />
2. Sandwich deli, The Runner Bean <br />
3. The brisket roll from Bison Bar<br />
4. The pulled pork roll from Bison Bar<br />
5. Roast lamb sandwich from Poulet Bonne Femme <br />
6. Roast chicken sandwich from Poulet Bonne Femme <br />
7. Tuna nicoise sandwich from @clodaghmckenna @ArnottsDublin<br />
8. Pastrami Melt from The Pig and Heifer <br />
9. Provencal Reuben from The Pig and Heifer <br />
10. Bacon, roasted pear and Mount Callan cheddar from The Pepper Pot café <br />
11. Sausage and relish sandwich from The Pepper Pot café <br />
12. Pulled pork sandwich @brother_hubbard <br />
13. Sandwich deli, Honest2Goodness Farmers' Market <br />
14. Roast chicken sandwich @ Simon's Place <br />
15. The chicken sandwich @ Urbun Café, Cabinteely <br />
16. chicken, lemon mayo, stuffing and rocket sandwich from Oxmantown <br />
17. pulled pork sandwich from Oxmantown <br />
18. 'El Magnifico' @ pablos tortas from Pablo Picante<br />
19. brisket sandwich @PittBrosBBQ <br />
20. falafel sandwich @UmiFalafel f<br />
21. BBQ Pork Shoulder sandwich @ Green Bench Café<br />
22. sandwich deli, Lilliput Stores <br />
23. dry-aged Hereford prime steak sandwich @ The Chophouse <br />
24. Grilled chicken sandwich @JuniorsDeliCafe<br />
25. The Rueben in Bell & Pot Cafe<br />
26. sausage bap with caramelised onions@ Cup café<br />
27. The porchetta in the Fumbally <br />
28. Po Boy at the Ugly Duckling<br />
29. Brisket at the Ugly Duckling<br />
30. Toasted cheese sandwich in the Stag's Head<br />
31. Corned Beef in a roll @ Juno's café <br />
32. Beef or breakfast burrito in a bap, from The Fat Peach food truck<br />
33. Parma ham panini from Fallon & Byrne<br />
34. Rialto (pastrami) @ Dublin City Food <br />
35. Muffeletta@ Dublin City Food <br />
36. Marino (roast beef) @ Dublin City Food <br />
37. Chicken Tijuana Panini from O'Donovan's on Pearse St<br />
38. Sandwich deli @ Coppa in the RHA<br />
39. pulled pork sandwhich in Le Petit Parisien Café <br />
40. falafel, hummus, spinach, carrot, apple & cranberry slaw sambo @Staplefoods<br />
41. Poached chicken with harissa mayo at Sip and Slurp<br />
42. Club sandwich @ Honest to Goodness <br />
43. smoked chicken with extra bacon from the Cake Café <br />
44. Hero sandwich @ Junior's <br />
45. bacon & sausage blaa, Hatch & Sons <br />
46. Fivemiletown goats cheese and root veg blaa, Hatch & Sons <br />
47. pulled pork @WhitefriarGrill<br />
48. Chicken Hero Parm @ Whitefriar Grill<br />
49. Philly cheesesteak at Damson Diner<br />
50. pastrami sandwich from Green19 <br />
51. The Club @ Itsabegal <br />
52. striploin steak sandwich from Urban Picnic <br />
53. The Steak Sandwich @ Elephant & Castle<br />
54. KCP Club from KC Peaches <br />
55. The San Diego from KC Peaches <br />
56. Warm turkey sandwich from The Lovely Food Co <br />
57. baked ham & artichoke @ Mayfield Deli</div>
Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-15221079230311154372013-02-27T16:27:00.000-08:002013-02-27T16:45:18.755-08:00Comfort food<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was having a crappy time lately and I realised that even just talking about about my favourite foods cheers me up, so here's a post about those things I love to cook and eat the most.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">COW</span><br />
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<b>Roast Rib of Beef</b><br />
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I like this best of all with a rich gravy, roast spuds and sautéed green beans with shallot butter (a little chopped tarragon in the butter would help create those Bernaise flavours that work so well with beef).<br />
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A friend of mine once made me pan roast rib (medium rare) with a buttered baked potato, creamed spinach and fried mushrooms, served with some fab artisanal Sazerac rye whiskey on the rocks...a birthday dinner fit for Don Draper.<br />
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The last roast rib of beef I did though - raised in Inishowen, Co Donegal, and aged for 28 days in local food specialist Harry's restaurant - I treated a little differently.<br />
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Once roasted medium, I rested the meat smothered with rosemary butter (butter whipped with fresh chopped rosemary and grated nutmeg).<br />
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I created a gravy by adding beef stock and a splash of Worcestershire sauce to the roasting juices, thickening with a little flour.<br />
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I served the meat with Jamie Oliver's crushed roast sweet potato, with fresh chilli, crushed garlic (cooked off in butter to stop it being too assertive), fresh coriander and sesame oil; home fried baby spuds and some greens. It was a surprisingly good combo- worth straying from the familiar path.<br />
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<b>Grilled Ribeye Steak </b><br />
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My other favourite piece of beef is a grilled ribeye steak, usually cooked medium rare but I'm open to change if the cut requires something different.<br />
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My dinner is simple and fail-safe: season the meat with freshly ground black pepper and grated nutmeg (salt the meat with sea salt only after it's been frying for a minute or two).<br />
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Fry until well caramelised outside and desired done-ness inside, adding butter to the pan and spooning over half-way through. Remove to rest and add balsamic vinegar, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a tbsp of water and reduce slightly.<br />
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For my spinach side, crush one large clove of garlic and sautée without colouring in a generous knob of butter. Wilt 300g of baby spinach and season with salt, chilli flakes and a squeeze of lemon. For a richer variation, add half a tub of creme friache.<br />
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Finally, par boil baby potatoes. Drain and cut in half or so that they're bite size. Sautée in about an inch of oil with a hanful of fresh rosemary leaves until crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and season with sea salt. This dinner never fails to win over a man's heart!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">SHEEP</span><br />
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<b>Poached Leg of Mutton with Caper Sauce</b><br />
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I love mutton. It has a deep, rich flavour from time spent grazing on good pasture. There was a time when this meat was better appreciated then it is now, however, I assure you that when cooked to its best advantage it's up there with the best of meats.<br />
<b> </b><br />
Poach a leg of mutton in a deep casserole in the oven for approx 1.5 hours. Use chicken or lamb stock and white wine for poaching liquor - bay leaves, onions, carrots and a bulb of garlic.<br />
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To make the sauce, sautée chopped shallots and capers in butter, add some poaching liquor and reduce, finish with double cream and fresh chopped parsely. Pour over the tender mutton and your choice of veg such as boiled new potaoes.<br />
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<b>Roast Rack of Lamb</b><br />
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One of my favourite pieces from one of my favourite animals. Fry the rack for a few minutes to brown the meat and crisp the fat (cut the rack in half if space doesn't allow to do it whole). While the lamb roasts to medium rare, add to the pan a handful of mirepoix, chopped parsely and 2 tbsp of puy lentils. Toss in the meat juices and fat then add a splash of cognac. Cook off the alcohol, add a few spoons of lamb stock, soy sauce and reduce. Spoon the lentil gravy over the cutlets when serving. My favourite sides are rosemary roast potatoes, celeriac purée (boil the celeriac in stock with crushed garlic, then blend until smooth), and sautéed greens with a fresh sharp mint verde (fresh chopped mint leaves, chopped capers, gherkin, anchovy, olive oil and a dash of white wine or sherry vinegar).<br />
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<b>Neck Fillet and Chop</b><br />
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I also love lamb shank, breast, belly and leg, however I'm mentioning neck as it's really delicious and underused. Left is my lamb stew using neck fillet pieces - the sauce was thickened with the seasoned flour coating the lamb which I browned before stewing, and a small bit of 100% cocoa solid chocolate which adds a wonderful richness. Neck has a nice quantity of fat so becomes very juicy and tasty when cooked slowly in a rich saucy stew. Serve with mash.<b></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">PIG</span><br />
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<b>Slow Roast Shoulder of Pork </b><br />
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There is too little space here to talk about all the parts of pig I love. I think the molten, porky deliciousness of slow roasted shoulder deserves to be towards the top of the list - of course the quality of the animal is most important, and this is only assured by a good farmer who truly cares about the pigs.<br />
<br />
Rub the beast with crushed fennel seeds or chopped rosemary, black pepper and plenty of salt. Roast in an oven no higher than 250F (130C) for 8 to 10 hours. Let it rest for a least half an hour once cooked, then watch the meat pull meltingly apart. Some people like to shred the pork, dress with anise-scented spicy sauce and pile it into a soft taco with lettuce, salsa, fresh coriander, and sour cream. Others sprinkle the shoulder liberally with some kind of glaze and give it a smoky grilling on the barbecue. I however, like to pile some meat on my plate, smother in a fragrant tangy gravy (using cider or white wine, stock and flour with the roasting juices), and eat with fluffy buttered baked potato or mash, braised fennel and simply steamed cabbage with butter and black pepper (you could add cream to the cabbage if you want to be more indulgent).<br />
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<b>Grilled Chop on the Bone </b><br />
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A lot of people make the mistake of overcooking pork chops, resulting in very tough meat. This spoils the delicious meaty flavour of the pork, and cooking chops on the bone gives even more rich flavour. Once again chosing good pork is essential for best results - breed is important, Berkshire and Tamworth (aka Irish Grazer) are known for superior quality - and a nice cut such as Barnsley chop (centre or loin) is perfect for grilling, baking and frying. Either way can be delicious, but I can't resist the flavours of the grill. Tasty purées of turnip, celeriac or squash make nice seasonal accompaniments, and of course buttered baby carrots, cabbage, roast spiced apple, or even a cheddar mash would be great. It's so versatile you can do pretty much anything with a pork chop - they can dress up or down for any occasion.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">CHICKEN</span><br />
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<b>Legs and Thighs in Casseroles</b><br />
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I like a good roast chicken same as the next person - only a good quality free range, often organic birds offers a tasty full figured bird that cooks up well - however, more often than not I prefer to work with the legs. Pan fried and added into casserols and stews they give delicious flavour and fat from the wonderful skin.<br />
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Left is a 'cacciatore' (hunter's) casserole, made with tomatoes, peppers, onions, herbs and wine,<br />
slowly cooked for tender results<br />
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The Spanish are also fans of these tasty parts in casseroles, and I love the combination of the chicken meat and fat with their typical flavours - chorizo, peppers, paprika and garlic. My version has chunks of cooking chorizo, which I fried off to release its flavoured oils at the beginning, onions, garlic, hot smoked paprika, Serrano chilli pepper, cinnamon, tinned chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, bell peppers, butter beans, baby potatoes and Spanish white wine. I served with smooth butter mash and a cheesy broccoli bake - a very hearty and warming combination for winter nights.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">FISH</span><br />
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<b>Poached Salmon </b><br />
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I realise this is just a token fish entry - I also realise how much meat I've been eating rather than anything else! However, one of my favourite fish dishes is a poached side of salmon. <br />
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Rick Stein does a wonderful job poaching the fish in white wine on a bed of finely sliced leeks, carrots and garlic, which are then served with the salmon and a wedge of lemon for garnish. My little lot above is salmon poached in white wine and water, bay leaf and parsely, served with a salad of boiled eggs, avacado, finely shaved red onion, aspargus and baby gem lettuce, cherry tomatoes tossed with chopped fresh dill and white wine vinegar, boiled and buttered new potatoes, and creme fraiche with dill. Tim Adams Clare Valley semillon was a perfect wine match.<br />
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Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-76043245807794998502013-02-12T12:21:00.000-08:002013-02-12T12:21:05.355-08:00Mexican stewed black beans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The first of a series of posts about one of my favourite 'cuisines' (Mexican), stewed black beans are the perfect answer to our miserable and unrelenting winter. We don't have many real options in Dublin when it comes to Mexican food, so we have to learn how to make it ourselves...as a matter of urgency. The ingredients for this version are easy to find and simple to prepare, and the results are molten, spicy, warming Mexican shamazballness...get in!<br />
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<b>Ingredients </b><br />
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3 cloves garlic, crushed<br />
1 small onion, chopped<br />
2 serrano or jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (add 1 if you like less heat, or an extra 1-2 Thai chillies if your other peppers aren't hot enough- which sometimes happens with the peppers we buy here)<br />
1 tsp ground cumin<br />
1 tsp ground cinnamon<br />
1 tsp hot smoked paprika<br />
250 ml chicken stock<br />
Juice of 1 lime<br />
400g tinned black beans in salt water (not drained or rinced)<br />
Half a square of Lindt 90% cocoa solid chocolate (optional, but highly recommended) <br />
Olive oil<br />
Salt and pepper to taste <br />
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<b>To serve</b><br />
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Fresh tomato, diced <br />
Iceberg lettuce, shredded<br />
Bunch fresh coriander, leaves picked<br />
Red cheddar, grated<br />
Sour cream<br />
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Your choice of rice (or other starch) <br />
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<b>Method</b><br />
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1. Sautée (fry) onion, garlic and chillies in olive oil in a non-stick pan for about a minute, without colouring. Add the spices and sautée for a couple of minutes more until their powdery-ness has been cooked out.<br />
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2. Add the tin of black beans and mix through. Add the lime juice and chicken stock, bring to the boil and then simmer until the mix has reduced by half.<br />
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3. Once it's reached the desired consistency (thick in soupy) - which can be helped by stirring and crushing the beans up a bit - add the chocolate and stir in until it's melted completely. Taste and season with salt and black pepper as you like.<br />
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4. To serve, spoon rice (or you could use mashed spud, polenta, nachos, tortilla...whatever you'd like) into the bottom of a bowl, spoon the beans over that and top with grated cheddar, sour cream, the diced tomato and lettuce, and fresh coriander. <br />
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Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-85392353863189382262012-09-24T05:13:00.000-07:002012-09-24T05:13:03.815-07:00A score for rapeseed oil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Rapeseed oil has been dividing opinion among food circles over the last 10 or so years. It’s been hailed as a versatile local product that has a higher smoke point, lower food miles and better health credentials than olive oil. It’s also been blasted as an unsightly, unviable crop that yields too little for the necessary input to make a sustainable, environmentally friendly full-time business, and tastes manky to boot. <br /><br />The British countryside is covered with it and their markets and even some leading restaurants are determined to promote it. In Ireland, meanwhile, our small handful of producers have been exploiting the brand opportunities of this specialty by-product to great effect, and have won the backing of some prominent chefs in championing it as a great local food. <br /><br />To date I’ve been on the fence about rapeseed oil. I’m glad to see Irish farms diversifying and creating their own consumer-facing brands – an exercise that would greatly benefit the many thousands of small and medium farms currently tied to commoditised farming for major processors while invisible to the Irish punter. However, I gotta admit I’ve not been the biggest fan of its, at times, bitter and, dare I say it, slightly rancid flavour. I get that it’s good for shallow frying but its ability to work in dressings or other culinary uses is questionable. And it ain’t a cheap option.<br /><br />I’m pleased to say though that a recent trip to Newgrange Gold in the Boyne Valley swung me on to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzK2dqp7idhH3v4-_8MNJTf0x2mppqIoFJ9IjluFOK1MT-LGNHnCoRQaTBZjcrqnfmOLlLy1Ou5g2IZfGS3ivZscJvDi7txf4Q_McIOvhJgSfv79VEzLz179TdWzePmQ8X2PvVviT2xhhJ/s1600/boyne+valley.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzK2dqp7idhH3v4-_8MNJTf0x2mppqIoFJ9IjluFOK1MT-LGNHnCoRQaTBZjcrqnfmOLlLy1Ou5g2IZfGS3ivZscJvDi7txf4Q_McIOvhJgSfv79VEzLz179TdWzePmQ8X2PvVviT2xhhJ/s320/boyne+valley.jpg" width="320" /></a>team rapeseed. Now this – if they can get it to turn a profit in the next five years – could be an interesting proposition for the Irish agrifood sector. <br /><br />Barrister and part-time beef farmer John Rogers took the decision a little over two years ago to reduce his beef production from 40 head of cattle down to 30 and to dedicate his farm business to seed oil production. The property consists of approx 90 acres of rape – yielding approx one and a half tonnes of rapeseed per acre – and a smaller parcel camelina in North Dublin which produced approx 4000 litres of pressed seed oil last year and almost twice that this year, with 3000 litres in July alone. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHcQe46Nrvjpxdtm1Wp99zGU0mKbMIhFiYw3hgZaXaB4HjpXrYwYilfMnag1njVCjNlo8PI00-uYnRWI-1fH9B8DjNYmSM03rdtB8SklHwA58mhf8bfAA3IUS0Of1T0Je73dmZj6P33Yr/s1600/product+range.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHcQe46Nrvjpxdtm1Wp99zGU0mKbMIhFiYw3hgZaXaB4HjpXrYwYilfMnag1njVCjNlo8PI00-uYnRWI-1fH9B8DjNYmSM03rdtB8SklHwA58mhf8bfAA3IUS0Of1T0Je73dmZj6P33Yr/s320/product+range.jpg" width="179" /></a>At full capacity the farm could produce 300,000 bottles (500ml) of premium cold pressed rapeseed oil, as well as their flavoured rape range in 250ml bottles and their specialty camelina oil (I’ll explain this wonder plant later). All going to plan, they’ll expand production to two presses and will reach capacity and profit-making within five years, and possibly more. On paper it sounds like a good artisanal business plan.<br /><br />But what of its marketability? Well, most importantly they’re making a product you’d actually want to put in your mouth. From the flavoured range, the Garden Herbs rapeseed oil – a sprightly parsley, sage, thyme and lemon concoction – has just been short-listed for a Blas na hEireann award. Their original rapeseed oil is nutty and lacking in that stinky animal feed/silage/cabbage-y whiff that some rapeseed oils are bangin’ of, and their camelina oil – the only one produced for food in Ireland currently – has the aroma and flavour of freshly ground pine nuts but with a delicate earthiness that works wonders with tomatoes and spices (as we learned from a refreshing shooter prepared for us by the good folks of Eastern Seaboard). Product viability – check.<br /><br />Inputs and outputs are cleverly managed: sludge from the settling tanks are used to fertilise the plants; husks left behind after the seeds have been cleaned are used for bedding; and ‘cake’ produced after pressing (dry pellets of pressed seeds) make a nutritional animal feed which apparently is in high demand among dairy farmers. Production is clean and involves no adulteration, deoderisation or manipulation of any kind, which lowers input costs and produces a more natural, regionally typified product. Sustainable production – check.<br /><br />Best of all, without the help of a marketing consultant, Rogers has devised a marketing platform <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcR-AkNvMDFls_GU4FnE8oI3xHHYRAAX3yoUEaWMl56vylM9KrAmJIScAYJCYaIhTiYiTO37UDjUt3C4tGEXBx8uAntvikUENZXV8moWmOWDqLD-0ZMrPfDN_7H7UJ85hIxrq6AdwmdQP/s1600/John+and+the+team.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcR-AkNvMDFls_GU4FnE8oI3xHHYRAAX3yoUEaWMl56vylM9KrAmJIScAYJCYaIhTiYiTO37UDjUt3C4tGEXBx8uAntvikUENZXV8moWmOWDqLD-0ZMrPfDN_7H7UJ85hIxrq6AdwmdQP/s320/John+and+the+team.jpg" width="320" /></a>based on a two-fold USP: a Boyne Valley product – Boyne Valley being a region of exceptional quality food production; and a true specialist in seed oils, with a unique product that only they are producing. Camelina is in fact a relative of rape, with a more complex taste and twice the omega-3 content. Its omega-3 and omega-6 content are actually in the highly desirable ratio of 2:1, which according to nutritionists is the optimum for good heart health. Rather than making their camelina oil as a ‘health product’ though, they’ve opted to release it for retail as a pillar or their range. They’re already stocking at specialists and small retailers in Dublin, Louth, Meath, Cavan, Cork, Galway and Sligo, and are in talks with major retailers for national distribution. Marketability – check. <br /><br />Newgrange Gold has been on shelves since March and only formally launched in September. While Rogers clearly has other irons in the fire, the seed oil business is so far self-funded and going to plan. Rogers says: ‘We are where we want to be.” And by that he means genuinely regional, artisianal, moving towards their potential, and tasting pretty damn good. Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-90007737606659534572012-08-07T02:11:00.001-07:002012-08-07T03:20:16.081-07:00Ethnic eats in the Olympic city<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNdmU2flrOLT31b-SmReqGCmIF_PNW4Mnl4a1qTgByuzgw4XGCjThh4jcGAcoAg3z67EPVz-N0m3p919n6KTlajZfW8o2yp_6FS2eL80A80JRvhnx7Rq3rFgsVdLj0B1QzcxgpYNvE2BH/s1600/dotori.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1IveCNMK4aPS3HbI-4okopXsJNQqy6njqMAsnD76D2iiixaxI0gUTTlGRgHSOky9QLJ8hqV35QvZIGu8TG8Tdp48FMxUJMKA2Q3utJqGfe962ohozRmbIeNchPARvG-HtxMJnYP3dsC-/s1600/wahaca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>The Olympics are in full swing, bringing together over two hundred nations in one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. In deference to this great multicultural event, here's a few of my favourite morsels to guide revelers through their hungry moments, while they explore the city behind the 30th Olympiad.<br />
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<b><br />Mediterranean, Middle East and South/South East Asia</b> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrQElBgOUEL5YnqQS4PZeDEMh0iq3rAw_UWucgDbgxbGU8PpwNTOmF61bTjdxhqShMCP_1xvQ_FHY7IiK70p_rx9ERHRvjKMBIuxQKO-LgVye0AJF2NBFL5WaObMMRXEsR7v5UTz3qdSz/s1600/nopi.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrQElBgOUEL5YnqQS4PZeDEMh0iq3rAw_UWucgDbgxbGU8PpwNTOmF61bTjdxhqShMCP_1xvQ_FHY7IiK70p_rx9ERHRvjKMBIuxQKO-LgVye0AJF2NBFL5WaObMMRXEsR7v5UTz3qdSz/s320/nopi.png" width="239" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.nopi-restaurant.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Nopi</span></a><br />
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Nopi is a mixture of formal restaurant and communal dining, from the talented team behind Ottolenghi. If you're familiar with this class act of Mediterranean and Levantine cooking then you'll know to expect fresh jewel like ingredients, petite portions, and unique, magical combinations of flavours and textures. For those not yet acquainted with this crew, you’ll find the food at Nopi to be unlike anything you’ve found elsewhere: creamy burrata with flat white peach and coriander seeds; tasty confit pressed duck with a sweet spiced plum relish and walnut horseradish cream; roasted cauliflower with farro (grain similar to barley), sharp barberries, hazelnuts and celery, to give you a few examples. At Nopi you can book a table for lunch or dinner in the formal dining room upstairs, or you could choose to join the communal table downstairs and survey the action in the open kitchen before you. Prices are at the premium end – in keeping with Ottolenghi’s other establishments – but the wine list and cocktail menu will probably tempt you to spend a few quid more. Should be on the to do list of all foodies. <br />
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21-22 Warwick Street <br />
London W1B 5NE<br />
Ph: +4420 7494 9584<br />
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<b>Japanese</b> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLr7eQZaxpQW7OpMevdu9K50tj5wNf02XwmBzJ4RvTxo0wcCmNhXmDZLxOpPSpGcMMRws79D8BIB418zDd5ktRE_F3RvAjXcO8NawYEPO_n_TCMMWdl_N3sAg9MWrF44rQKi_6z9mqSscM/s1600/sushi+tetsu.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLr7eQZaxpQW7OpMevdu9K50tj5wNf02XwmBzJ4RvTxo0wcCmNhXmDZLxOpPSpGcMMRws79D8BIB418zDd5ktRE_F3RvAjXcO8NawYEPO_n_TCMMWdl_N3sAg9MWrF44rQKi_6z9mqSscM/s320/sushi+tetsu.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<a href="http://sushitetsu.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Sushi Tetsu </span></a><br />
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A tiny, superb sushi restaurant only newly on London’s gastronomic radar. It’s star is rising so fast, chef-owner Toru Takahash pleaded with Jay Rayner to keep his (rave) review under raps for a while to give him time to get ready for the inevitable deluge. The menu of sushi and sashimi is extensive – all prepared in front of you by the talented and chatty Takahash-san from the freshest of seafood. Among his more unusual offerings, you may sample razor clam, sea urchin, cuttlefish and snow crab. Of the standard species available, Sushi Tetsu offers several varieties of tuna – from cheaper red fin to (‘rich part’) succulent tuna belly – two types of mackerel and sardine, turbot, brill, bass, bream, grouper and lemon sole, as well as eel, salmon, shrimp, octopus, squid and scallop. Takahash often uses a blowtorch to excellent effect, caramelising the surface of a scallop, for instance, to bring out its sweetness and add a mild hint of barbecued flavour. The rolls are tasty and fresh as a daisy, although with all the beautiful seafood on offer, I prefer to save all my room for sushi and sashimi. The drinks menu consists of a few sakes, including a fragrant daiginjo (a higher end sake) called Nanbu bijin that’s worth the extra doubloons. The odd spirit or two, mineral water, green and oolong tea, and a small gathering of Japanese beers complete the drinks menu - Takahash wants to educate London diners about sake before he introduces wine to his restaurant. Sushi Tetsu is going to get harder to get into over the coming months, but I promise it’s worth the effort. <br />
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12 Jerusalem Passage<br />
London EC1V 4JP<br />
Ph: +4420 3217 0090<br />
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<b><br />Korean and Japanese</b> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNdmU2flrOLT31b-SmReqGCmIF_PNW4Mnl4a1qTgByuzgw4XGCjThh4jcGAcoAg3z67EPVz-N0m3p919n6KTlajZfW8o2yp_6FS2eL80A80JRvhnx7Rq3rFgsVdLj0B1QzcxgpYNvE2BH/s1600/dotori.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNdmU2flrOLT31b-SmReqGCmIF_PNW4Mnl4a1qTgByuzgw4XGCjThh4jcGAcoAg3z67EPVz-N0m3p919n6KTlajZfW8o2yp_6FS2eL80A80JRvhnx7Rq3rFgsVdLj0B1QzcxgpYNvE2BH/s320/dotori.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Dotori</span><br />
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Culinary gems are harder to come by in this portion of North London than elsewhere in the city but Dotori is definitely one of them. It’s predominantly a Korean restaurant but a one-man sushi counter turns out a reasonably decent selection of sushi, sashimi and hand rolls. Especially worthy of note are the assorted ‘bibimbap’ – mixed meat or seafood (bbq beef is especially good), vegetables and rice, blended at the table with hot and savoury gochujang (chilli sauce) and sometimes a raw egg, which cooks in the heat of the dish as it’s mixed through. Their hot soups, noodles and tempura are all pretty good too, and the low prices add up to some of the best value going in London for good nosh. Dotori has become a favourite among the throngs of locals so you have to book to ensure getting a table. For the value and deliciousness though, you won’t be sorry to wait if you decide to take your chances. <br />
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3 Stroud Green Road<br />
Finsbury Park<br />
London N4 2DQ<br />
Ph: 020 7263 3562<br />
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<b><br />Vietnamese</b> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJ47ipvrwwPTVvLm9lleb4dSZvkIZDREnIoC08lGXWfPI9XHT0Y0WcdH34aVZDstlnYf6UUJQbERJ99j3tCcbXRhPVuVrvVMVAzFUOC4Uo841dHwZPUbede8V9ZHAivs29FxZEDndizjy/s1600/Mien+Tay.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJ47ipvrwwPTVvLm9lleb4dSZvkIZDREnIoC08lGXWfPI9XHT0Y0WcdH34aVZDstlnYf6UUJQbERJ99j3tCcbXRhPVuVrvVMVAzFUOC4Uo841dHwZPUbede8V9ZHAivs29FxZEDndizjy/s320/Mien+Tay.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.mientay.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Mien Tay</span></a><br />
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The famous ‘Pho Mile’ on the Kingsland Road in Shoreditch has more Vietnamese restaurants than you can shake a stick at, many of them cheap n’ cheerful and BYO, so well suited to the frugal traveller. Among those noted by locals, Viet Grill is reputed to offer a more up-market experience, while Song Que is religiously authentic and boasts a bewilderingly extensive menu that you’ll be left to wade through. I’d definitely recommend getting to both of these if you’re a devotee of the cuisine, however there’s something about Mien Tay that feels like home…almost akin to the atmosphere of old family-run Asian restaurants in Ireland. My favs on their South West Vietnam menu include stir-fried green mussels with ginger and spring onion, green papaya salad with prawns, and chargrilled pork chops with lemongrass and chilli. They have an incredible-sounding seafood hotpot that must be ordered in advance – should you be so organized – and if you’re feeling adventurous you might try some of their more unusual dishes, of goat, frog or eel. One way or t’other, a visit to the global feast that is the Olympics would not be complete without a trip to the Pho Mile.<br />
<br />
122 Kingsland Road<br />
Shoreditch<br />
London E2 8DP<br />
Ph:+4420 7729 3074<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Caribbean </b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTffad5OS3t_mWMp7YC6u7U_beaqGuh4RZ8rS5OtjHuUHY0Ld9Hu2R-BKEXv9ojAwYrGs3tS1LkyK9KtBcZS0OWiopwoIEX57y0ZZCJVgYtBvr_cJmCAAFTMmATIaq6vK2khfRIFiqaNv/s1600/bamboula.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTffad5OS3t_mWMp7YC6u7U_beaqGuh4RZ8rS5OtjHuUHY0Ld9Hu2R-BKEXv9ojAwYrGs3tS1LkyK9KtBcZS0OWiopwoIEX57y0ZZCJVgYtBvr_cJmCAAFTMmATIaq6vK2khfRIFiqaNv/s320/bamboula.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.bamboulas.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Bamboula</span></a><br />
<br />
There are a few Caribbean places worth mentioning in London: Cottons on Chalk Farm Road near Camden is a popular spot for a fun evening among happy peeps enjoying good beats and even better rums, and Jerk Shack on Portobello Road Market pleases the masses with tasty spicy jerk chicken, curry goat, snapper, rice and peas, and fried plantain every Saturday. However, Brixton is the heartland of Caribbean food culture in London, so it is here you’ll find it at it’s most colourful. Bamboula is a fun spot with a great variety of true dishes from the islands: ackee and saltfish, steamed tilapia (fish), jerk chicken and lamb, curry goat, and brown stew chicken or oxtail. The ‘all you can eat buffet’ for £7.99 at lunchtime from Monday to Friday is understandably very popular and a happy find should you be in the area, but you should stop in for dinner and sample some of their fine rum punch, or traditional ‘Guinness punch’ if your constitution can withstand it. Take 2wo jerk stand in Brixton Village and Negril on Brixton Hill are also popular with locals.<br />
<br />
12 Acre Lane<br />
Brixton, SW2 5SG<br />
Ph: +4420 7737 6633<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Spanish and North African</b> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQs7WsA52kIvZHVGyUohQh46y81Luc5_Oshp9Gzi2rSh5SMje_mX04WOd4-d0pevs4VyjpQXtxy3GnjlymDmEMwMjlXTZ4-1lsdRILSpAilhIgwVA6d3rzktzyK2L6GrWNUA13SXkRJbZA/s1600/moro.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQs7WsA52kIvZHVGyUohQh46y81Luc5_Oshp9Gzi2rSh5SMje_mX04WOd4-d0pevs4VyjpQXtxy3GnjlymDmEMwMjlXTZ4-1lsdRILSpAilhIgwVA6d3rzktzyK2L6GrWNUA13SXkRJbZA/s320/moro.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.morito.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Moro</span></a><br />
<br />
In Exmouth Market near Islington you’ll find this fab restaurant which offers an à la carte menu and a list of tapas, available all day Monday to Saturday. The inspiration here is Moorish cuisine but you’ll also find classic Spanish dishes. All will please no end - this is one of the few tapas places that actually lives up to our foodie desires. Among the Moorish flavours you can expect the likes of crab brik with harissa (delicious spiced and herbed crab pastry parcels with the hot condiment harissa) or quail baked in flatbread with pistachio sauce. On the Spanish side you’ll taste roasted pork with patatas pobres (Spanish style) and spicy churrasco sauce, and stuffed squid with fino sherry. If you drop in for tapas you can have a more casual experience with all the usual suspects, including anchovies in garlic oil, grilled padrons and Catalan botifarra sausage. If you can’t get into Moro, fear not, it’s sister tapas bar Morito (just next door) requires no reservations, and offers a nice selection of Spanish cocktails to boot.<br />
<br />
34 - 36 Exmouth Market<br />
London EC1R 4QE<br />
Ph: +4420 7833 8336<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Mexican</b> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1IveCNMK4aPS3HbI-4okopXsJNQqy6njqMAsnD76D2iiixaxI0gUTTlGRgHSOky9QLJ8hqV35QvZIGu8TG8Tdp48FMxUJMKA2Q3utJqGfe962ohozRmbIeNchPARvG-HtxMJnYP3dsC-/s1600/wahaca.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1IveCNMK4aPS3HbI-4okopXsJNQqy6njqMAsnD76D2iiixaxI0gUTTlGRgHSOky9QLJ8hqV35QvZIGu8TG8Tdp48FMxUJMKA2Q3utJqGfe962ohozRmbIeNchPARvG-HtxMJnYP3dsC-/s320/wahaca.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.wahaca.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Wahaca</span></a><br />
<br />
Without a shadow of a doubt the best Mexican restaurant in London IMHO, and some of the best fun you can have with your clothes on! An evening at Wahaca in Covent Garden begins with cocktails and possibly some nachos and meltingly fresh guacamole at the bar – they don’t take reservations and there’s usually around 45 minutes wait for dinner, so this is by far the best way to pass the time. Once seated you can order your choice of nibbles, snacks, salads and mains, all of which are inspired by humble Mexican street foods and made using good British ingredients. Molten pork pibil tacos, melty hot chorizo and potato quesadillas, rich chocolatey chicken mole, grilled steak or snapper, shrimp and scallop ceviche, pulled pork burrito…the list of deliciousness goes on and on. Restraint is impossible, gluttony inevitable and well justified in the presence of such amazing food. It’s not a shrine to authenticity, but then that’s not the point. There are several outposts of this great Mexican chow house, one notably at Westfields next to the Olympic stadium.<br />
<br />
66 Chandos Place<br />
Covent Garden<br />
London WC2N 4HG<br />
Ph: +4420 7240 1883<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuQUFX71PMpXu0Cn3MRKyenzk_MTTWHH9PRh-M8JW_Ztk2JT54Wkb7zadxZY1EO68ns7mSsCGM8NskUTGGw_zp9OX_Pdr04xyZFLd2CQqQSObJGEdUt9r8jInJnsXHj-3loiTbanKBVmZ/s1600/DSC0063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuQUFX71PMpXu0Cn3MRKyenzk_MTTWHH9PRh-M8JW_Ztk2JT54Wkb7zadxZY1EO68ns7mSsCGM8NskUTGGw_zp9OX_Pdr04xyZFLd2CQqQSObJGEdUt9r8jInJnsXHj-3loiTbanKBVmZ/s320/DSC0063.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>British </b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">F. Cooke</span><br />
<br />
Of course, the most exotic and hard to find outside its own country is real British cuisine, of which there are many fine examples within the city of London. 'Pie n' liquor' is not only a stalwart of British cookery, it's quintessential London grub, and cockney London at that. There are a number of celebrated traditional pie n' mash shops - Clark's in Exmouth Market, Harrington's in Tooting, M. Manze at Tower Bridge (London's oldest pie n' mash shop) - but I've chosen to highlight Cooke's, firstly for their scrummy mince meat pie that could rival my granny's (sorry granny), and secondly because of their location near Broadway Market, which should not be missed by any visiting foodie. So go on and try the eels - in a big spoon of mash and liquor, they're utterly delicious and not even remotely scary! <br />
<br />
150 Hoxton Street<br />
London N1 6SH<br /> <br />
<table class="ts intrlu" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td valign="top"><nobr>Ph: +4420 7729 7718</nobr></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
So that's just a few of my favourite things... as always, please feel free to add your own thoughts below §:) <br />
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<br />Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-9454261075127463192012-06-12T07:37:00.000-07:002012-06-13T09:17:22.642-07:00Top Irish chef making a mark in London<div class="field field-body">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xNB7MQxhr5e1O3wckmv7PRZy9y5v40FD6knAwoChfy_9Xlge1kylnWQjWKHKBC7hc1nlmN2WbbMlBJ99KBYWZvKV-QlBuJ9Nvj313O__HwZbkVw6s9BVnvbZPR__6YP3VeiwYcyELebc/s1600/af.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xNB7MQxhr5e1O3wckmv7PRZy9y5v40FD6knAwoChfy_9Xlge1kylnWQjWKHKBC7hc1nlmN2WbbMlBJ99KBYWZvKV-QlBuJ9Nvj313O__HwZbkVw6s9BVnvbZPR__6YP3VeiwYcyELebc/s320/af.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
I, CB aka DublinFoodie, was barely a
wet day in London when I was already blagging my way in – a free sample
here, a free glass there…an invite to feast on an eleven course tasting
menu at L’Autre Pied (celebrated sister restaurant of Pied à Terre).<br />
<br />
But enough bragging about my blagging, all the glory in this post
must go to Michelin-starred head chef and Tallaght man Andy McFadden,
and glorious is one word I could use to describe his cooking. Playful is
another; sensitive, accomplished, beautiful, poetic even, are a few
more. Sensitivity and that special kind of poetic licence mark Andy out
for me as an Irish chef, as we’ve seen the likes of it in great Irish
chefs up and down the spectrum from Kevin Thornton to Denis Cotter. Is
it something in our mentality, perhaps? Whatever it is, combine it with
mentoring in the cutthroat arena of top London restaurants and the best
of British and Irish ingredients and the result is pure poetry.<br />
<br />
Imagine just this simple canapé: a shard of beetroot sugar craft –
like the sail of a little red boat – guiding in a perfect, molten piece
of smoked eel, sashimi-like in precision, flanked by an equally dainty
and perfectly formed quenelle of Crapaudine beetroot mayonnaise, and a
beetroot crisp, all scented with tapioca. If you eat with your eyes then
the dish could fill you. Taste it, and you experience all five tastes
of the palate, in perfect harmony. It’s such a complete dish in every
way. Now imagine ten more courses, each a playful and sensitive ode to
the season: civiche of scallop with mizuna cream and wafers of Jerusalem
artichoke; Irish Sika deer cooked in cocoa…Andy McFadden’s work is the
work of an artist. The work of a masterly Irish chef.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">L’Autre Pied</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">5-7 Blandford Street</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">London W1U 3DB</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Ph: <a href="tel:%2B44%20%280%2920%207486%209696" target="_blank" value="+442074869696">+44 (0)20 7486 9696</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">E: <a href="mailto:info@lautrepied.co.uk" target="_blank">info@lautrepied.co.uk</a></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.lautrepied.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.lautrepied.co.uk</a></span>
</div>Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-56540694799706438952012-05-16T01:44:00.001-07:002012-06-13T09:15:58.054-07:00Delicious Ireland celeb chef recipes<b>RICHARD CORRIGAN</b> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwuWh2i6EhtfuCIBjlYwyA32hTbxahdZZi9XxwZTCdzWYIK5XvwlPxEi-L2FLbxyMTJ77r8cbV3fJx7TadXuoiCldFl1YZU8_bCl3Sz0oGGjx2luRqGdrcw5_FpmA2BMZsOSCyT9GeFY3/s1600/_D020470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwuWh2i6EhtfuCIBjlYwyA32hTbxahdZZi9XxwZTCdzWYIK5XvwlPxEi-L2FLbxyMTJ77r8cbV3fJx7TadXuoiCldFl1YZU8_bCl3Sz0oGGjx2luRqGdrcw5_FpmA2BMZsOSCyT9GeFY3/s320/_D020470.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Richard Corrigan is the chef owner of Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill and Corrigan’s Mayfair in London. Bentley’s is to open The Sea Grill in Harrods in May 2012.<br />
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<br />
<b>Salt Marsh Lamb, Gubeen Chorizo, Broad Beans</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoR8mwoOI2GSYp_XVd8RSn7U60kxmSpTiK6ChwSTNeIMASMO0Z76zmdMjGujA-IPzmcVo9pg6ApW6ez0JIrCtH9hy3-EZoDVD30A-FlYOkv4q3Wae-hn7lWdNJY7hBJ3MKgoQRl6UXAnk/s1600/lamb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoR8mwoOI2GSYp_XVd8RSn7U60kxmSpTiK6ChwSTNeIMASMO0Z76zmdMjGujA-IPzmcVo9pg6ApW6ez0JIrCtH9hy3-EZoDVD30A-FlYOkv4q3Wae-hn7lWdNJY7hBJ3MKgoQRl6UXAnk/s320/lamb.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Ingredients<br />
<br />
500g Lamb, Neck Fillet or Best End<br />
250g Gubeen Chorizo<br />
200g Broad Beans<br />
1 bunch Mint<br />
Marjoram<br />
200g Irish Sheep Milk (hard) cheese<br />
50ml Olive Oil<br />
2 Red Peppers<br />
<br />
Method<br />
<br />
Roast and peel the peppers. Pop the broad beans and slice the chorizo. Season and roast the lamb<br />
until rare. Heat the beans, chorizo, add the herbs, red peppers and cheese. Carve the lamb and<br />
serve.<br />
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<br />
<b>Wild Rabbit, Black Pudding, Wet and Wild Garlic</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSluz80utAwD_7RXKPKfuzzJ7pwheRtobEjIcgZc1gEyrVS81c1yL_QDrjM_-4i6iJq4uhhWIKkLvqk1WhGA1uAxQP-AGGAcvLz-GOy2z6pLLF7meQwTblH1cy2vYGqN2_2puGSp75HKm/s1600/_D020540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSluz80utAwD_7RXKPKfuzzJ7pwheRtobEjIcgZc1gEyrVS81c1yL_QDrjM_-4i6iJq4uhhWIKkLvqk1WhGA1uAxQP-AGGAcvLz-GOy2z6pLLF7meQwTblH1cy2vYGqN2_2puGSp75HKm/s320/_D020540.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Ingredients<br />
<br />
1 x Wild rabbit, skinned<br />
250g Black pudding<br />
1 bulb wet garlic<br />
1 bunch wild garlic<br />
1 tbls wholegrain mustard<br />
250g washed caul fat<br />
10 slices parma ham<br />
1 large glass red wine<br />
250ml chicken stock or water<br />
<br />
Method<br />
<br />
Peel the wet garlic and sweat in a little butter until soft puree and set aside. Remove the legs and<br />
loin from the rabbit. Remove the bones from the meat. Lightly bat out the legs and stuff with black<br />
pudding. Repeat with the loin. Wrap both in parma ham and caul fat.<br />
Roast all carcasses in a hot oven add a little chopped vegetable and caramalise. Deglaze with a glass<br />
of red wine add a little stock or water. Reduce by 2 thirds and finish with a spoonful of mustard.<br />
Lightly roast the rabbit in a hot oven until just cooked and serve with the wet garlic puree and the<br />
wild garlic leaves.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>PAUL FLYNN</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOUeQrGBGe00doHgjfJTp269XlBNeT2v353fCbv0XIt2ZCQ4EgYNzU2gsiNPsBsVPd-wxnjctC9FTxWgS7n0hRT2pJfV5-BUnjMorJS1qD98lOVBBMjsDp-lA3zjXNQRdEdTZ_iSV3TXt/s1600/_D020712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOUeQrGBGe00doHgjfJTp269XlBNeT2v353fCbv0XIt2ZCQ4EgYNzU2gsiNPsBsVPd-wxnjctC9FTxWgS7n0hRT2pJfV5-BUnjMorJS1qD98lOVBBMjsDp-lA3zjXNQRdEdTZ_iSV3TXt/s320/_D020712.jpg" width="214" /></a><br />
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<br />
Paul Flynn, chef and owner of The Tannery restaurant and cookery school, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, is<br />
renowned for cooking exceptional modern Irish food. Paul’s dishes are known and loved for their deep earthy<br />
flavours - while the menus give nothing away in their simplicity, the experience of eating them is hugely exciting. He<br />
was the cookery writer for The Irish Times and subsequently wrote two cookery books, An Irish<br />
Adventure with Food (Food and Wine cookbook of the year 2003) and ‘Second Helpings’ which<br />
contains a selection of spectacular recipes using seasonal food.<br />
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<b>Warm salad of Cashel Blue, Apple and Almonds</b><br />
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Ingredients<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bUqyp9k4TkZRj8UNBGNLo7ByhUE2Gm891uOe5AYwxgwU2JL750C-pGyjOpboDwHXPOQQzb4B5S6mJPIRJmQxOdXOUvgM33qalfm2yZoPr49wRtM03ThS1zh7X3A9n3CchvyLuj3g8df3/s1600/warm+cashel+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bUqyp9k4TkZRj8UNBGNLo7ByhUE2Gm891uOe5AYwxgwU2JL750C-pGyjOpboDwHXPOQQzb4B5S6mJPIRJmQxOdXOUvgM33qalfm2yZoPr49wRtM03ThS1zh7X3A9n3CchvyLuj3g8df3/s320/warm+cashel+salad.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
250g Cashel Blue broken into bite size pieces<br />
1 large red onion, peeled and cut into 8 pieces<br />
2 apples, remove the core and cut into 12 pieces<br />
2 handfuls of washed baby spinach<br />
2tbsp whole peeled almonds<br />
2tbsp olive oil<br />
1 tbsp butter<br />
2 tbsp red or white vinegar<br />
1 tbsp brown sugar<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
<br />
Method<br />
<br />
Heat the olive oil and butter in a good frying pan until foaming.<br />
Add the onions and apples followed by the almonds a minute later.<br />
Meanwhile arrange the spinach in the centre of your plates and arrange the blue cheese around.<br />
Turn the apples and onions when they start to colour.<br />
Add the almonds, sprinkle over the sugar, shake the pan to coat everything evenly<br />
Cook for a further 2 minutes then add the vinegar and allow to bubble a little<br />
When the apples are soft and golden, spoon the mixture onto the prepared plates and serve<br />
immediately.<br />
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<br />
<b>Iced Meringue Cake (Serves 8)</b><br />
<br />
An ice-cream cake is a really impressive dessert. Deceptively simple to make and simply served with<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJqhhUd5IdY5o_u9iXBAVCQqNi6-O9X81A8cvOxuXsk514nGvO9M59JACDMtE1F3uq2AA-SlDrOOp9R2NkqBPk5Cp7Dv8aN84Dt0oCcJpTNj6mAdHIwKzOpgiinX2aEAKiWqf618es16E/s1600/ice+cream+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJqhhUd5IdY5o_u9iXBAVCQqNi6-O9X81A8cvOxuXsk514nGvO9M59JACDMtE1F3uq2AA-SlDrOOp9R2NkqBPk5Cp7Dv8aN84Dt0oCcJpTNj6mAdHIwKzOpgiinX2aEAKiWqf618es16E/s320/ice+cream+cake.jpg" width="320" /></a>whatever fruit is in season. A real hit at kiddies parties, decorated in the most gaudy, sugary ways possible.<br />
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Ingredients<br />
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8 meringue shells<br />
400mls fresh cream<br />
2 drops vanilla extract<br />
1 tbsp icing sugar<br />
Lemon Curd (see recipe below)<br />
Selection of summer berries<br />
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Method<br />
<br />
Whisk the cream until medium to firm peaks with the vanilla extract<br />
Break the meringue shells into the cream and fold gently until well mixed<br />
Transfer to a bowl lined with cling film and freeze overnight<br />
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Lemon Curd (or buy a nice one!)<br />
<br />
Ingredients<br />
110g caster sugar<br />
110g unsalted butter<br />
1 fine zest and juice of 1 and half lemons<br />
1 whole egg<br />
3 egg yolks<br />
<br />
Method<br />
<br />
Place everything except the butter in a bowl and whisk well<br />
Cover with Cling film and microwave on half power for 1 minute, but stop and whisk every 20<br />
seconds<br />
Add the diced butter and again microwave for 1 minute stopping every 20 seconds to whisk<br />
Continue this until the curd has thickened, allow to cool.<br />
To serve<br />
Take the cake from the freezer up turn onto a dish and remove the cling film.<br />
Scatter the berries around and serve with the lemon curd.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Butterbeans with Chorizo, Black Pudding and Cider</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnJR-vy2T_TdtL2RGfVyMDF57o7zxfsNMMiycyfZ2dzvhuQiE_Anf_Mb5-AuaFLgivTcydWK5x46BVvqaoraTo_d2HJeyTFGabS2EnteGFZgFfLPnNFTqNck-koZacaPZdWstFC3-6Dry/s1600/chorizo+n+pud+stew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnJR-vy2T_TdtL2RGfVyMDF57o7zxfsNMMiycyfZ2dzvhuQiE_Anf_Mb5-AuaFLgivTcydWK5x46BVvqaoraTo_d2HJeyTFGabS2EnteGFZgFfLPnNFTqNck-koZacaPZdWstFC3-6Dry/s320/chorizo+n+pud+stew.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Ingredients<br />
<br />
1 tin of butterbeans<br />
5 sprigs of sage<br />
1 medium onion diced<br />
1 clove of garlic, chopped<br />
1 tbsp of butter<br />
½ chicken stock cube crumbled<br />
1 tsp smoked paprika<br />
100g chorizo, sliced<br />
100g Black pudding, diced<br />
1 bottle of dry cider<br />
1tbsp of tomato puree<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
<br />
Method<br />
<br />
Cook the onions slowly in the butter with the sage and garlic, add the tomato puree and the smoked<br />
paprika, cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the chorizo and allow the oil to come out, add the<br />
pudding, cider and stock cube.<br />
Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 more minutes<br />
Season and serve<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>DERRY CLARKE</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00a2-XGgmHYDSu-su6IdhuVTqVhj4TOcfSQrZQnSp34W5W_9xa8a2rnPe1qkv7UkdmGwZC06BW0f3F_pBrmu0hmgK-Ef3hje0ZZq_8fDSe6MfmKZlhUkUY5iBVU1JWMVNeW39K4MYhExU/s1600/Derry+C2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00a2-XGgmHYDSu-su6IdhuVTqVhj4TOcfSQrZQnSp34W5W_9xa8a2rnPe1qkv7UkdmGwZC06BW0f3F_pBrmu0hmgK-Ef3hje0ZZq_8fDSe6MfmKZlhUkUY5iBVU1JWMVNeW39K4MYhExU/s320/Derry+C2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Derry Clarke has been Chef/Patron of l’Ecrivain in Dublin for 23 years now. Derry and<br />
l’Ecrivain have been awarded many accolades over the past twenty years, including a Michelin Star<br />
which was awarded in 2002. Derry’s food ethos is simple: He sources the finest fresh local produce and he believes that a good dish is only achieved using the highest quality ingredients.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Slow Cooked Skirt Steak with Turf Smoked Carlingford Oysters, Organic Spring Greens & Morel Mushrooms</b><br />
<br />
Pt1: Beef<br />
Ingredients<br />
800g beef skirt (trimmed of excess fat and cut into 4 pieces)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9v2QTpjiErMT1fTNPUdUsWSNACy5sNU1koQnuwJo8sgNkjxN13kkC3PB3e5QeoOWtdlaqLnSPQr9GUW2KRdsEolOknsQ13RO5I79DXM1sAHfJFOezPbjrJgm9BHuql_AS-zTG3kAVLst/s1600/skirt+beef+n+oyster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9v2QTpjiErMT1fTNPUdUsWSNACy5sNU1koQnuwJo8sgNkjxN13kkC3PB3e5QeoOWtdlaqLnSPQr9GUW2KRdsEolOknsQ13RO5I79DXM1sAHfJFOezPbjrJgm9BHuql_AS-zTG3kAVLst/s320/skirt+beef+n+oyster.jpg" width="320" /></a>2 carrots, peeled and sliced lengthways<br />
2 sticks celery<br />
1 onion peeled and sliced in 4<br />
1 bulb garlic cut in half<br />
250 ml chicken stock<br />
1 big spring of thyme<br />
2 bay leaves<br />
Freshly ground pepper & Sea salt<br />
<br />
Method<br />
<br />
Season the beef with the black pepper and salt. Heat a frying pan over a moderate heat, add a little<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjKROIWf2gwLgZ3kH9XP-QXRvmHHgESfWZDD3L8GtJScpPprEwaU8m3QtOrdLb8PO-4YD6SvspeUzsD7IbX1KFif2Mb7vLQOc4WMiGvjqZ13Gsygk2ElpXJXg5Dw1x5KXmpJTj3ZKxzIb/s1600/_D020874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjKROIWf2gwLgZ3kH9XP-QXRvmHHgESfWZDD3L8GtJScpPprEwaU8m3QtOrdLb8PO-4YD6SvspeUzsD7IbX1KFif2Mb7vLQOc4WMiGvjqZ13Gsygk2ElpXJXg5Dw1x5KXmpJTj3ZKxzIb/s320/_D020874.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
vegetable oil and sear the beef on all sides till nice and brown. Place the vegetables, herbs and<br />
chicken stock into a roasting tin and place the beef on top.<br />
Preheat your oven @ 70 degrees Celsius or gas mark 2/3 and cook the beef in oven slowly for 2<br />
hours ( this will tenderize the beef). Remove and leave to rest for 10 min.<br />
<br />
Pt 2: Oysters<br />
<br />
Ingredients<br />
<br />
12 Carlingford Oysters ( opened, flesh removed, Reserve Jus)<br />
100g turf or any woodchips<br />
2 bay leaves<br />
<br />
Method<br />
Place turf or wood chips into a small roasting tray with the bay leaf. Place a wire rack over the turf<br />
and cover the roasting tin with tin foil. Place tin on low heat for 2/3 min and pull back tin foil and<br />
place the oysters onto wire rack, cover over the tin foil and over a low heat gently smoke the oysters<br />
for 3/5 min. remove from tray and leave to cool. ( you can also use this method to smoke chicken,<br />
pork, salmon, mackerel, vegetables etc.)<br />
<br />
Pt 3: Spring Greens<br />
<br />
Ingredients<br />
60g peas ( frozen are fine)<br />
60g broad beans<br />
60 g French beans<br />
12 small asparagus spears<br />
<br />
Method<br />
All of the above to be blanched.<br />
<br />
Ingredients<br />
2 shallots finely diced.<br />
200ml chicken stock<br />
200ml white wine<br />
200 ml cream<br />
50g butter<br />
Freshly ground Sea salt & freshly ground white pepper<br />
<br />
Method<br />
Heat a sauce pan over a medium heat, add the butter and the shallots, sauté for 2/3 min add<br />
the chicken stock and reduce by half, add the cream and gently reduce until you have a sauce<br />
consistency. Season with salt & pepper, add the veg and heat for 2 min, add the oysters & the reserved Jus, Keep sauce warm.<br />
<br />
Pt 5: Morels (or any mushrooms)<br />
<br />
Ingredients<br />
100g morels (or any other mushrooms)<br />
Toss the morels in a pan with a little butter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDMov61NofDlZ3A1vwnOHG0prvqhIL8HFCH3xeqmBDcUePZYeBJ9zBmdBC3UY4GS9g-mbDPz581B686IESlkGsUQyox63ffTjySY3KjURProtbQpk2UE3TBprjeSrJDUMPLnP70SboN-gL/s1600/_D020894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDMov61NofDlZ3A1vwnOHG0prvqhIL8HFCH3xeqmBDcUePZYeBJ9zBmdBC3UY4GS9g-mbDPz581B686IESlkGsUQyox63ffTjySY3KjURProtbQpk2UE3TBprjeSrJDUMPLnP70SboN-gL/s320/_D020894.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Presentation Method<br />
<br />
Spoon the sauce & spring greens onto your plate, slice the beef across the grain and place on top, spoon on the morels.Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-45049412882341837312012-05-15T00:53:00.000-07:002012-06-13T09:20:21.600-07:00Eat me, I’m Irish!A lot of us Irish have left the island in recent years, for Oz, the
US of A, the UAE, of course the trusty ol’ UK, and other far off lands
greener and sunnier than our own bankrupt, drizzled-upon country.
Migration is an Irish specialty. We love to travel, and we always seem
to fit happily in wherever we land, benefiting from a certain affection –
a benign condescension, if you will – which allows us to get away with the
most audacious invasions when others would be resented by the natives.
Even when our residence in their country is not always on an (ahem)
official footing.<br />
<br />
I have witnessed the phenomenon myself, as an Irish girl now living in
London (I like to think of myself as being on an anthropological
excursion as opposed to being an economic migrant). But who could blame
them? Aren’t we endearing with our rowdy cheer and our Guinness, and our
longing for ‘real butter’ and Tayto crisps? We’re friendly and familiar
– amusing when exchanged with British politeness and reserve – and we
have our own peculiar wisdom which in the wrong hands could cross the
line into asininity. In short, ‘Irishness’ involves a combination of
things that makes people fond. Ireland itself is an evocative place that
fills others with romantic thoughts and a desire to go there.
‘Irishness’ evokes some of the good things in life, and so everybody wants to be
a little bit Irish – or at least able to finish a pint of Guinness.<br />
<br />
Besides our most famous exports – namely ourselves and the black stuff –
other Irish produce is making its way to foreign food stores and
restaurant kitchens. Only recently I had Irish Sika deer in a top London
restaurant, and saw Irish cheeses on sale in the deli counters of
exclusive retailers. In Ireland we ourselves are only now learning that
our food is a thing we do very well, and this will be our greatest
ambassador yet.<br />
<br />
So, proud I was to walk into Selfridges last month – a top fancy
retailer in London, for those who don’t know – and see the food hall
bedecked in green, adorned everywhere with the produce of Irish artisans
in celebration of ‘Delicious Ireland.’ DI was the title of a promotion
that ran for the month of April, promoting a great array of Irish food
and beverages from dairy products to whiskey. Personally, I think we
should change the name of our country to Delicious Ireland.<br />
<br />
Below I’ve given an abridged list of the Irish foods on display at
Selfridges last month – but to really show them all off properly the
good people of Bord Bia enlisted the help of some celebrity chefs to
fashion them into dishes in sprint-like cookery demonstrations – and
you’ll find some of the recipes <a href="http://thedublinfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/delicious-ireland-celeb-chef-recipes_16.html" target="_blank">HERE</a><br />
<br />
The artisan line-up included:<br />
<br />
<b>Ballymore Farm’s</b> beautiful handmade organic unpasteurised butter – which can be found at good food shops throughout Dublin <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5y07TRVVokJ8SJE7Ni62lU1gAUMcNx7E7FgZPJYTR5D7qcC_qhQtJj1xhAGZnzPzjFUiPKRfJaGSBtSuloyH0cVUVNt6o1GOcAQ7uktsf30PwgYHUVr5scE9BFHPsXYlHv_NZvUzXSm0/s1600/Organic+Herb+co.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5y07TRVVokJ8SJE7Ni62lU1gAUMcNx7E7FgZPJYTR5D7qcC_qhQtJj1xhAGZnzPzjFUiPKRfJaGSBtSuloyH0cVUVNt6o1GOcAQ7uktsf30PwgYHUVr5scE9BFHPsXYlHv_NZvUzXSm0/s320/Organic+Herb+co.jpg" width="320" /></a>and Wicklow<br />
<br />
Irish farmed organic Irish-smoked salmon from the inimitable <b>Burren Smokehouse</b>.
Their exceptional products are exported as far a field as North
America, but you’ll find them stocked all over Ireland – and a visit to
the smokehouse if you’re in the Burren is the best way to buy them
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Chia Bia’s </b>innovative range of breads, bars and seed mixes – brimming with all the health-giving properties of chia seeds
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>DP Connolly and Son’s</b> natural juices, lemonades and cordials, made from Irish orchard fruit with no preservatives<br />
<br />
A fantastic range of bespoke spice blends from <b>Green Saffron</b>, the
award-winning Cork based business that specialises in whole fresh
spices. You’ll find their unique spice products at Mahon Point and
Midleton farmers markets in Cork, the Limerick Milk Market, and various
specialist retailers around Ireland<br />
<br />
The innovative ‘Orchard Syrup’ from <b>Highbank Orchards</b> in Kilkenny – Ireland’s answer to maple syrup! <br />
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<br />
Ireland’s ‘it’ pudding, <b>Jack McCarthy’s</b>
black pudding – so good the French gave the butcher a knighthood for it
and we served it to the Queen on her visit! Find it, well, everywhere
these days
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Mella’s </b>delicious buttery fudge, handmade in West Cork using local butter
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Sheridan’s </b>range of crackers, chutney for cheese and onion
marmalade – designed to perfection to accompany their massive stock of
Irish and imported cheeses and charcuterie. A visit to Galway, Dublin,
Waterford or Carnaross, County Meath is not complete without a visit to
Sheridan’s<br />
<br />
Can you imagine ‘Holycross Chocolate Biscuit Cake?’ <b>The Tipperary Kitchen</b> in Holycross Village, Co Tipp can show you this Belgian chocolate and local creamery butter wonder<br />
<br />
Delectable chocolate truffles from the<b> Truffle Fairy</b> – such as
Tequila Salt and Lemon truffles – find them in Waterford and Kilkenny
Farmers Markets, and the People’s Park Dun Laoghaire market in Dublin,
as well as some shops around Kilkenny<br />
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<br />
One of Ireland’s favourite cheeses, <b>Ardrahan</b>,
lovingly made in Kanturk, Co Cork since 1983. You’ll find this on any
cheese board worth its salt, and most cheese counters throughout Ireland<br />
To satisfy the cheese fanatic, <a href="http://thedublinfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/irish-artisan-cheeses-now-available-at.html" target="_blank"><b> click here</b></a> to see the other stunningly good Irish cheeses at Selfridges<br />
<br />
Lastly but by no means leastly, from Northern Ireland: <b> </b><br />
<b>Clandeboye Estate</b> artisan yoghurts (made in Bangor using milk from the estate’s own award winning Holstein and Jersey herds); <b> </b><br />
<b>Five Mile Town Creamery </b>soft and hard cheeses (including smoked and plain cheddar, brie and flavoured goats cheeses);<br />
and the very innovative <b>Good 4U’s</b>
range of sprouted and roasted seeds, functional drinks and healthy
snacks (produced by a family-owned health food company in County
Tyrone).<br />
<br />
<br />
All of these products and many more are available at Selfridges’ food
hall.
If you don’t make it to Ireland to experience its deliciousness for
yourself, do look out for whatever morsels you can find elsewhere …and
we are everywhere these days, so it’s the least we can do to share our
goodies.Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com2Oxford St, City of Westminster, London, UK51.514967 -0.144344451.5050855 -0.16408540000000002 51.5248485 -0.1246034tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-70213485485586518532012-05-15T00:35:00.002-07:002012-06-13T09:21:33.199-07:00Irish artisan cheeses now available at Selfridges<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1y1A8qU6XukHNPJdfGCrpCQYF-LTlnV1u1eE-DOUKxDWcFdXG0-yJ-68dEJgeJHEAo9jbE-KBe81M1JmZl5GKt-nE4sxlbc439EvoJfYxIDSgPfuY2GvRRzLKJhqQN4OaGSDL3ntsSfOu/s1600/glebe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1y1A8qU6XukHNPJdfGCrpCQYF-LTlnV1u1eE-DOUKxDWcFdXG0-yJ-68dEJgeJHEAo9jbE-KBe81M1JmZl5GKt-nE4sxlbc439EvoJfYxIDSgPfuY2GvRRzLKJhqQN4OaGSDL3ntsSfOu/s320/glebe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Glebe Brethan </b>(comté-style cheese from Co Louth made by David Tiernan from raw Montbeliarde cow’s milk)
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Bellingham Blue</b> (a raw cow’s milk blue from Glyde Farm, Co Louth)<br />
<br />
<b>Cashel Blue </b>(Ireland’s first blue, a semi-soft cow’s milk blue made by the Grubb family in Tipperary, who also make Crozier Blue, a raw sheep’s milk cheese)
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Cooleeney</b> (a brie-style cheese made from Friesian milk by the Maher family in Tipperary, who also make the soft goats cheese, Gortnamona)
<b> </b><br />
<br />
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<b>Durrus </b>(a traditional raw cow’s milk cheese – one of the first farmhouse cheeses made in Ireland – made by Jeffa Gill since 1979 in West Cork)
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Gubbeen </b>(a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese, also made in West Cork since 1979, by Giana Ferguson. Her son Fingal now produces a range of cured meats and charcuterie under the Gubbeen Smokehouse brand)
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Hegarty’s Cheddar </b>(another famous Irish cheese made in Cork, from Friesian milk)
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Killeen Farmhouse </b>(goat and cow’s milk cheeses, produced by Dutch-born Marion Roeleveld in Balinasloe, Co Galway)
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Knockanore Smoked </b>(a smoked full-cream semi-soft cheese made since 1987 by Eamonn Lonergan, from Lonergan Pedigree Friesian cow’s milk, in Co Waterford)<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDciMj5FOw3yhS1sNs0SdslPqltEfyyTDYCBd8laihnoHfGii-FAK_A9U3wGFyWRvh6i1gCyJCugfz_2ev8y0uQD3i98owx1ZwsjCrcp8KfB-VopSO_oKWrauh27W1LE6f6bN4S7FctDQ/s1600/knockdrinna+goldgoats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDciMj5FOw3yhS1sNs0SdslPqltEfyyTDYCBd8laihnoHfGii-FAK_A9U3wGFyWRvh6i1gCyJCugfz_2ev8y0uQD3i98owx1ZwsjCrcp8KfB-VopSO_oKWrauh27W1LE6f6bN4S7FctDQ/s320/knockdrinna+goldgoats.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Knockdrinna Farmhouse Kilree </b>(complex rinded goats cheese produced by Helen Finnegan, along with an outstanding range which also includes Knockdrinna Gold, Knockdrinna Meadow sheep’s cheese, and Lavistown)
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>St Tola Organic Goats Cheese </b>(an internationally acclaimed gourmet cheese made in County Clare by Siobhan Ni Ghairbhith since 1999, when she acquired the business from her neighbours)
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<b>Wicklow Blue</b> (a semi-soft rinded blue with a very creamy flavour, made by John Hempenstall in Co Wicklow from pasteurised Friesian milk)Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com0Oxford St, City of Westminster, London, UK51.514967 -0.144344451.5050855 -0.16408540000000002 51.5248485 -0.1246034tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-65917774623821519302011-06-09T08:49:00.001-07:002012-06-13T09:12:55.250-07:00A Foodie Road Trip (Northwest/West of Ireland): Part III<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rTh2M4qT3zAzRDWQxPWd8sFqHV8G4YJ_l5P48lBKgZGt5U-9l4oHeVjPt3aTTZQ6rZo-hu7cTMeLKUiTX6LuhEveAPjgJDHpyhnY5enPAgnHl9cwC4GOlrSNnv75-LdlefTXNw3wQ8E5/s1600/viewmount+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rTh2M4qT3zAzRDWQxPWd8sFqHV8G4YJ_l5P48lBKgZGt5U-9l4oHeVjPt3aTTZQ6rZo-hu7cTMeLKUiTX6LuhEveAPjgJDHpyhnY5enPAgnHl9cwC4GOlrSNnv75-LdlefTXNw3wQ8E5/s320/viewmount+house.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Epic Feast at VM @Viewmount House, Co Longford</span><br />
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Stepping inside we were greeted by one half of the Viewmount House team, Beryl Kearney, who owns and runs the place with her husband James. Her manner, like her Georgian guesthouse, is full of warmth and pretension-less ease. We were welcomed and seated in the cosy reception area, where Beryl entertained us like the kind aunt of some students who’d just come home from a school trip and were chattering away about their adventures. Then we ordered another bottle of prosecco – this time a pink one – and settled in to work through the menus. <br />
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We were in no rush. As we discussed the promising options we noted that four is really the optimum number for a group on a foodie excursion. As was the case in most of our previous dining experiences, we resolved to order every single dish to share – with four you get to try most of the menu and the group is neat enough to share around without too much hassle (or without the risk of any dish getting hogged by some person in an advantageous corner of the table). We have few rules on the foodie road trip, except the golden two: every one eats everything and everyone shares everything. Failure to comply with the latter especially will result in food mugging followed by expulsion.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0LXQ1QSL0YtGGqwaqGE8OrzZlNa7dlB9G6oOPo1fKZk4wvRsRWVhKLcBpR663o9j_j3QnbQtG2SjQWFoyJg5kDPX8JurARo0lhExcNY05Mexz-gRFKiJxFAUiCxa4tWnPoOzvvoqX3j5/s1600/VM-quail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0LXQ1QSL0YtGGqwaqGE8OrzZlNa7dlB9G6oOPo1fKZk4wvRsRWVhKLcBpR663o9j_j3QnbQtG2SjQWFoyJg5kDPX8JurARo0lhExcNY05Mexz-gRFKiJxFAUiCxa4tWnPoOzvvoqX3j5/s320/VM-quail.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quail slider with tomberries</td></tr>
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No fear of that with our group of foodies thankfully, and we all looked forward to the meal ahead as we were led into the expansive stylish yet rustic dining room. We were seated by a window with a view of the front garden – a rabbit actually frolicked by just as we were admiring the scene (perhaps bribed by the house with a bag of acorns... although that’s probably unlikely). Then without much delay, a pre-appetiser of mini quail burgers was brought out. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGlBHzqp9CgD6ZMkdDORseMsxLED5oVAD7LULrwesl2msxQPad2pnAITwwezfxfYN-Z6cvlwFYp7WAU6aj3YZ5BRLRpzOjbh-gbeiuHry5mChEKL3bCHY_VaDmTsQmoy5oVZB1Wl2Wg5I/s1600/VM-pork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGlBHzqp9CgD6ZMkdDORseMsxLED5oVAD7LULrwesl2msxQPad2pnAITwwezfxfYN-Z6cvlwFYp7WAU6aj3YZ5BRLRpzOjbh-gbeiuHry5mChEKL3bCHY_VaDmTsQmoy5oVZB1Wl2Wg5I/s320/VM-pork.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasting of pork</td></tr>
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Inside the little slider, the nugget of quail meat was tender and succulent, while the other fillings, including caramelised onion and fresh rocket, were delicious and apt in their gourmet burger-ness. The toasted bun was just right, not too dense, and the accompanying tomberries and balsamic reduction on the plate gave a refreshing zing at the end. We scoffed them, and then wanted more.<br />
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As we awaited our starter, the server advised us not to eat too much of the fresh baked bread he’d just put in front of us, considering the number of courses we were about to consume. Not ones for restraint, however, we finished off the Guinness and treacle, olive focaccia, and French baguette with the cherry pepper hummus dip accompanying them, and then found ourselves asking him for more. I pity the fool who tells us to stop eating!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyLQY_6NSH9366SbACanPorHeNMW5a9cZGqdVNKCNjsjpz7H1E_0bwB-R7CvK_EY9LmWen96QFPgeO0-w4Fm0GjbJL9Wg72Gp5OcM7bdXtjohosGQh93OdL-6LyjRNOmMdcLXNEKxyEwzq/s1600/VM-BEEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyLQY_6NSH9366SbACanPorHeNMW5a9cZGqdVNKCNjsjpz7H1E_0bwB-R7CvK_EY9LmWen96QFPgeO0-w4Fm0GjbJL9Wg72Gp5OcM7bdXtjohosGQh93OdL-6LyjRNOmMdcLXNEKxyEwzq/s320/VM-BEEF.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Beef wonton'</td></tr>
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Then came the starters: (1) Lissadell mussels with ‘Asian Junction Green Curry Coconut Broth’ (with shiitake mushroom, pineapple, scallion and coriander); (2) ‘Anise Orange Cured Thornhill Duck Leg Confit’ (with beetroot, mushroom, tarragon and sherry ragout); (3) ‘Wonton of Slow Cooked Donald Russell Beef Cheek’ (with Yorke's Swede, butternut squash, onion jam, ratatouille and pickled cucumber); and (4) the glorious ‘Tasting Plate of Irish Pudding and Rare Breed Pork’ (Jane Russell's black & Clonakility white pudding terrine, manuka-glazed rare breed pork cheek, pulled shoulder confit, and vegetable spring roll).<br />
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You may probably guess, as we rotated the dishes about the table with the precision of structural engineers, that the pork plate was the big crowd pleaser. Unctuous ribbons of tender meat in mellifluous culinary adonrments …I realise this is flouncier food writer tosh than I normally commit to paper (or screen), but I’m struggling to communicate the deliciousness of this pork dish without resorting to such loquacity. It was freakin’ amazing tasting, okay! Likewise the duck, while not the celebrity that pork has become these days, was equally delicious as it did it’s own thing. Rich gamey leg meat which was enveloped in the mouth by a pleasing balance of earthy and sweet flavours, all comforting and hearty. The beef cheek wonton was another goodie, with umami and sweetness reminiscent of the quail burger (sooooo good) with an added twang of acidity. Finally the mussels – which struggled to get a look in next to the meat dishes (lets face it, meat rocks) – were, of course, also beautiful to eat, with flavours that were delicate yet individual and interesting and made you keep digging until the very last bite was gone.<br />
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Second course in and we were reveling in pure satisfaction. The foodie equivalent of wanting to light up after a mouthgasm (as Ed Hick would say …love that man). The plates were cleared and we sat smiling stupidly at each other – I think I hallucinated another rabbit in the window – and we waited for our ‘middle courses.’ <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8v1pdGKAoFaB5kyY3iZjCTjBjRjpXo1_SZHiiVikbhkBOqEobi7KhkaGb0nLOFVgxHp1oTXvAcBAL_0A2nKrcYTp2OVE_uN2dCoSmK9KxWQpgfa6I8I1MRHO6p65pD6XDKEYhfPTVl0qK/s1600/garden+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8v1pdGKAoFaB5kyY3iZjCTjBjRjpXo1_SZHiiVikbhkBOqEobi7KhkaGb0nLOFVgxHp1oTXvAcBAL_0A2nKrcYTp2OVE_uN2dCoSmK9KxWQpgfa6I8I1MRHO6p65pD6XDKEYhfPTVl0qK/s320/garden+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gardens at Viewmount</td></tr>
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We ate more bread.<br />
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So, on to round three and out arrived our ‘Taste of the Midlands Salad’ (containing O’Halleran’s free range egg, spinach leaves, Kelly’s organic soft cheese (as in the Moonshine Dairy), Rogan’s whiskey oak-smoked bacon, capers, herbs from the Viewmount garden (as seen earlier in Gary O’Hanlon’s hand, fresh from said garden), red onion, red wine vinaigrette, and roast pear). Times two. Also arriving for our delectation was a very special chicken and sweet corn soup, prepared using the early sweet corn from local Carrickboy grower David Burn (whose produce is showcased in Chapter One’s legendary sweet corn soup and is much vaunted by fellow advocate Ross Lewis). Soup was also times two.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzQjsyQaakr__mc_4sqqDC_peqLe1-uZSvusqIzSFkLnSUlHY2-ftjp4HwvTHYjWiAJQZC2gEv-nxFXEVr73bydYDTlEPsB-ZYr6Uyh9G1hRQzd14xvwd5CYgbMTodMHu3ovxkWZdfB40/s1600/VM-venison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzQjsyQaakr__mc_4sqqDC_peqLe1-uZSvusqIzSFkLnSUlHY2-ftjp4HwvTHYjWiAJQZC2gEv-nxFXEVr73bydYDTlEPsB-ZYr6Uyh9G1hRQzd14xvwd5CYgbMTodMHu3ovxkWZdfB40/s320/VM-venison.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Venison</td></tr>
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The salad was fragrant and beautiful to look at and eat, bringing to mind the artistry we’d seen at Kai in Galway earlier that day. It was the kind of dish that could be used as a billboard for Irish tourism – a real reminder of how far Irish gastronomy has come and an example of how lucky we are in this country in terms of everything we have on our own doorstep. The soup, on the other hand, was pure comfort and deliciousness. While the salad eaters were waxing lyrical about its beauty and freshness, the soup eaters were making non-verbal sounds, head down and not handing it over. It was meaty and sweet and rich (probably quite fattening) and just gorgeous to eat. You could happily guzzle a big bowl of it for a meal – dangerously good stuff. <br />
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Mutiple mouthgasms (Hick, 2011). At this point, our waiter announced that chef was treating us to some special palate cleansers, and within a short while some jewel like little pots of vibrant pinky red rhubarb jelly topped with Moonshine Dairy organic natural yoghurt appeared. We were instructed to make sure to eat both together, as the rhubarb was too sweet and the yoghurt to sour to eat solo, while together they made a perfect combo. This was sound advice. Yummy. Also delivered were two bouls of mojito sorbet, each topped with a purple sprig of mint from the garden. The consensus quickly reached was that it was good mojito, frozen or not.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO0O13yQAYVQksFwH6z2ClZtNSCJ_-5PpuHZe_Pz3dybvhrrxxUddW5RiNDlE2UXcprwQ1Jx5fq3y_FoMA106x09Hd4zBfWS1eaOQVp3T7qYRLbZmUAnTlsubR2-_uuE-65pR25E70HKuL/s1600/VM-lamb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO0O13yQAYVQksFwH6z2ClZtNSCJ_-5PpuHZe_Pz3dybvhrrxxUddW5RiNDlE2UXcprwQ1Jx5fq3y_FoMA106x09Hd4zBfWS1eaOQVp3T7qYRLbZmUAnTlsubR2-_uuE-65pR25E70HKuL/s320/VM-lamb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lamb</td></tr>
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After the cleansing reprieve, we resumed course on our culinary extravaganza and eagerly awaited the mains, even though we may have been feeling a touch full at this stage (not enough, naturally, to slow down the expedition to the top of mount glutton). For round four, we received: (1) ‘Finnebrogue Farm Oisin Venison Saddle’ (with candied Yorke's Swede, red wine celeriac, and Valrhona chocolate berry sauce); (2) ‘Raz el Hanout rubbed Roscommon Spring Lamb Rack (with curried celeriac remoulade, kromeski (croquet) of lamb shoulder and natural yoghurt); (3) ‘Mapel Manuka-glazed Thornhill Duck Breast’ (with beetroot confit, roast butternut squash, parsnip and swede, and garlic pureé); and finally, (4) some perfectly baked Donegal Coast plaice (with a ‘spaghetti of vegetables, Clogherhead prawns, crayfish and lough Swilly crab, in coriander lime broth).<br />
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I’m almost out of language to describe the food by now – also the memory of it as I sit here writing about in detail is making me very hungry. Once again, all was delicious. The venison was especially successful – although one of our group wasn’t as partial to the ubiquitous truffle oil which had been dotted about the plate, and also added to the large gourmet potato croquets which came as a side (along with finger-licklingly buttery mash and some al dente seasonal veggies). To others it was pleasing though. The duck was perfectly pink and butter-like as the knife went through, and very attractively adorned by delicate little spears of wild asparagus and minimalist-looking root veg. The lamb was also well-received, its interesting North African spice blend a welcome wake-up from the brink of food coma. While the fish, with its delicate seafood and complimentary vegetable and herb flavours, was like a breath of fresh sea air. <br />
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I’ve talked so much food, I imaging it’s hard to take in any more description, so feast you eyes on the pictures instead. Eat a thousand calories from these pictures, or however that saying goes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDxIJ4z51NYvjolj0ogq7nGkiaC50764gdT-PALmVDHLrZ9992HjILc_-S6va7e55vQge4MYqqyNuZVNb7kgjUU24gTOGlUyrfNYwyi7Z9ijHdS9QiLcCpS4-HlEc4e7A6NKmmsIpgR1W/s1600/VM-chocolate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDxIJ4z51NYvjolj0ogq7nGkiaC50764gdT-PALmVDHLrZ9992HjILc_-S6va7e55vQge4MYqqyNuZVNb7kgjUU24gTOGlUyrfNYwyi7Z9ijHdS9QiLcCpS4-HlEc4e7A6NKmmsIpgR1W/s320/VM-chocolate.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">chocolate</td></tr>
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You might think we’d be too stuffed to eat anything else after all that, and you’d be correct. That didn’t stop us, however, having no less than FIVE desserts! I know, I we should be ashamed… but we’re not. After a break, the kitchen sent out: a very decadent chocolate dessert which consisted of a cylindrical dark chocolate casing containing a chocolate, Kaluah and espresso genache with a chocolate sorbet; an assortment of house-made sorbets (mango and blueberry) and vanilla ice cream; a green tea crème bruleé; an utterly moreish passion fruit parfait; and a sweet little rhubarb tart (in perfect puff pastry) with vanilla ice cream. All thanks to pastry chef Sammy who’s been at VM since it opened three years ago.<br />
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I am now officially out of food writing words. Suffice to say, in spite of how full we were on finishing off the mains, we left nothing of the desserts. At this point though we were well and truly stuffed. When the pots of peppermint tea and pretty little petits fours arrived, we could only manage a nibble of the macarons (crisp to the tooth, then meltingly soft on the inside) and handmade chocolate truffles (also divine).<br />
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Now prepare yourself readers for the biggest shock of all: the dinner menu at VM costs only €58 per head! And €53 if you leave out the dessert course, which in our case was total over indulgence. The wine list is ample, well thought out and reasonably priced, and the early bird is only €35!! <br />
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This is why I say VM was the ‘pièce de résistance’ of our journey. It epitomises the excellence and value of Irish food at its best – something we can be so proud of and should be boasting about as far and wide as we can. Likewise Beryl and James Kearney in Viewmount House (and Alan Rooks and Brigene Clafferty in Linsfort Castle) are quietly providing the kind of hospitality you couldn’t get anywhere else. Uniquely ours, worth every reasonable penny and then some, and worth the schlep to these places less visited in our lovely country. So my wish is that other people will read this blog and follow our road trip. You won’t be sorry, you just won’t want to go home.Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com0Longford, Co. Longford, Ireland53.7258242 -7.798735153.688246199999995 -7.8776991 53.7634022 -7.7197711tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-639537827413105892011-06-09T08:31:00.000-07:002012-06-13T09:10:27.086-07:00A Foodie Road Trip (Northwest/West of Ireland): Part II<span style="font-weight: bold;">TUESDAY: Sligo town and a mad one in Galway </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPfKRxOYblnNCY6hCweoUetCRBI_k5SyA4VG88GXnq-rJkAf7kmy13kp5rCCDyQhq399fe2zUKJNW7lzeJ69rHqb5BLus5giajtsPN0IUod7P2eMd_bHP9oNgcSOq7iS2HLLMkv448gKi/s1600/p1360172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPfKRxOYblnNCY6hCweoUetCRBI_k5SyA4VG88GXnq-rJkAf7kmy13kp5rCCDyQhq399fe2zUKJNW7lzeJ69rHqb5BLus5giajtsPN0IUod7P2eMd_bHP9oNgcSOq7iS2HLLMkv448gKi/s320/p1360172.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Sligo by blogger/photographer <a href="http://magnumlady.com/">magnumlady.com</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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On to day three and we couldn’t believe it was time to leave Inishowen already. And seeing as we had a bit of a journey ahead of us, we prepared a hearty breakfast of scrambled free range eggs (fresh from Wexford Lad’s farm), with some generous slabs of <a href="http://www.jackmccarthy.ie/shop/products-page-2/puddings/boars-head-kanturk-black-pudding/" target="_blank">Jack McCarthy’s black pudding</a> (as in McCarthy’s of Kanturk, Co Cork, naturally) and thick toasted white batch with butter. Not the healthiest start to the day but sure start as you mean to go on. <br />
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With the car loaded up, we said goodbye to Dunree and Inishowen and headed south for Co Sligo. From here our plan was quite loose, so it wasn’t until somewhere between Ballyshannon and Bundoran that we reached the decision to stop in Sligo town – primarily to pay a visit to a friend of Clonakilty Lass who owns a little café called Grappa in the town centre, but also to have a bit of snoop about for whatever else looked good. After around two and a half hours or so on the road, we pulled up by the Garavogue River and sauntered down Rockwood Parade towards the café. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdH9lRKAWeatwHMTC9s3ZwMKHL4t3AwWlIZ0t-qLN2UHHziDtN4IiINB4f0Lk_7UBk0V6U5RhBul4qDoQA_DaVRNLsTRk-n418al4ivQ0qcaQovT7KEEgfEU_LXFovlu8QtgqnfMp_xxH/s1600/Hargadons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdH9lRKAWeatwHMTC9s3ZwMKHL4t3AwWlIZ0t-qLN2UHHziDtN4IiINB4f0Lk_7UBk0V6U5RhBul4qDoQA_DaVRNLsTRk-n418al4ivQ0qcaQovT7KEEgfEU_LXFovlu8QtgqnfMp_xxH/s320/Hargadons.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hargadon's traditional pub and restaurant in Sligo</td></tr>
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After a coffee and a gossip in Grappa – a sweet little café that's very attentive to the needs of coeliacs, just FYI –we looked for a suitable spot to luncheon. (Ed note: We went to Conrad's kitchen which is now shut down, but a terrific spot if you're in the area is <a href="http://www.sourcesligo.ie/" target="_blank">Source</a>, a wine bar cum bistro cum cookery school offering an exceptional experience in locally sourced seasonal food and intelligently selected wines. Another is <a href="http://www.hargadons.com/" target="_blank">Hargadon's</a> gastropub (and wine shop with their own South of France vineyard), a traditional pub/restaurant that offers hearty home cooking the like of which you'll be looking for on a trip like this, and where they know how to serve a pint.)<br />
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Overstaying our meter by a mere 20 minutes, thankfully sans clamp, we set off on our way once again towards Galway. With the addition of a quick pit-stop at Galway Girl’s family farm for some tea and fig rolls, it was approximately a further hour and a half before we were glamming ourselves up for the night ahead in Galway city – make-upping and preening within the confines of our bunks in our en suite dorm in <a href="http://www.barnacles.ie/" target="_blank">Barnacles hostel</a> (the only show in town for hostel accommodation, in my not very humble opinion). <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obligatory olde bike outside 'hip' Ard Bia</td></tr>
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Heading out for dinner, I was curious to see how <a href="http://www.eight.ie/" target="_blank">Bar No.8</a> was doing since the departure of Jess Murphy (now ensconced in her own restaurant, Kai), however the inclement weather and inappropriate footware I’d brought prompted me to point our group towards the slightly closer <a href="http://ardbia.com/" target="_blank">Ard Bia</a>. Finding them in their new(ish) abode at the Spanish Arch, we bundled into the small entrance way and discovered the restaurant to be quite packed for a Tuesday night (always a good sign). After a short wait we were shown to a table in the back close to the kitchen. For some reason it took a ridic amount of time to be given menus or, more annoyingly, to make eye contact with the woman hustling busily to and fro past our table without as much as a nod in our direction. <br />
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Eventually though, the menus were delivered (and a bottle of prosecco ordered before they hit the table cloth), and we were back on track. On account of our impromptu feed in Conrad Gallagher’s bistro earlier – and the big breakfast before that…. and tea and biscuits afterward – we decided we’d split a mezze plate for starters. Three very tasty versions of hummus, including a beetroot one, and a delicious lamb sheek kebab, served with some lovely fresh salady bits and some decent pitta, went down a treat. For the mains, the three chefs couldn’t resist the offer of ray wing on special, so all three went for it: beautifully fried and served with crab butter, albino beetroot, and pak choi. We also scoffed the local Killary mussels with great chunks of chorizo and a hot and spicy (we suspected harissa) broth. This was actually a starter but the kitchen very obligingly made it into a main size portion and furnished some crusty bread for mopping up the tasty sauce. All dishes were well appreciated by our discerning palates, and yet again we found ourselves in receipt of good value for money. On the prosecco (which was decent) and a bottle of delectable Paddy Borthwick Paper Road Pinot Noir we scarcely spent €60, while the food over-delivered at the lower end of mid-range prices. <br />
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From there we headed out into the night, and what happened in Galway stays in Galway! Suffice to tell you it happened in the Quay Street vicinity, involving pubs including The Kings Head, The Quays, and The Front Door. Enough said.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galway (most fun town outside Dublin). Pic from An Taisce</td></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">WDENESDAY: Galway again, Athlone and the journey to Viewmount House, Longford</span><br />
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Thanks to a prior arrangement to meet a friend for coffee in the morning, we got ourselves and our hangovers up at a ludicrously early our and hit the road before 9.30am. Painful it was but we were glad in the end. The early start cleared the heads in advance of brunch so that sensible decisions could be made about where to eat. Since über-talented New Zealander Jess Murphy had just opened <a href="http://www.kaicaferestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Kai</a>, it really would have been inexcusable to have missed it during our short visit to Galway – especially in favour of going for hangover grub at some unspeakable outlet, such as the kind that pours liquid cheese on your chips. <br />
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Thankfully, with our heads clear(er than they had been), we made our way to Sea Road to find her new eatery. Given that we were more than half an hour early for lunch, we tucked ourselves into a quaint but stylish banquet and ordered some of her bespoke herbal tea (a calming chamomile number with lavender and other ingredients) and a delicious buttery home-baked apricot scone with freshly made seasonal fruit jams (strawberry and vanilla and damson berry). The server (Jess’ husband) was relaxed, friendly and totally obliging, in spite of the fact that we’d tarnished the cool bohemian atmosphere of the place with copious trashy magazines, from which we read aloud causing maniacal giggling and other hideous noises – such was our frame of mind. They didn’t seem to mind at all, there was nothing but friendliness. Then finally, our wait paid off, and the lunch options for the day were written up on the board. At this point we noticed the small room was starting to fill up, the anticipation building as we looked on with delight at the menu being revealed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of beautiful simple food at Kai</td></tr>
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Everything was in season and local as possible: a beetroot and miso soup; a colourful peperonata with organic leaves and edible flowers on toasted ciabatta; a fragrant salad of roasted broccoli and organic leaves with feta and caramelised hazel nuts; some Ortiz tuna in a coriander mayonnaise on toasted bread; and a gooey moreish cheddar and bacon quiche with light but satisfying pastry. It may sound simple on paper, and perhaps it is all quite simple, but to achieve simplicity this beautiful requires skill and artistry. To achieve simplicity this delicious requires that very rare talent bestowed on only a handful of chefs. Once again, we ate food that over-delivered on the price we paid.<br />
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You won’t find a current menu on their website, because Kai doesn’t roll that way (what with everything being so local and seasonal it changes every day) However, you will find a sample of the fabness to be found there, as well as other important details like how to find them... I can’t stress enough though that Kai is a special place worth finding.<br />
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<b>On to Athlone...</b><br />
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So, after another magical encounter of the foodie kind, we got back in the car and decided to head to Salthill for a walk and an ice cream. Sadly, however, the weather had taken a turn for the worse, so we changed our course for Athlone, partly thinking of conditions improving as we headed east, and partly thinking of finding somewhere to hang out and enjoy ourselves some more. <br />
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<a href="http://www.leftbankbistro.com/" target="_blank">The Left Bank Bistro </a>in Athlone provided the very thing. I’d not been in since 2009, when I reviewed it as part of a piece for Food & Wine on places to visit over Easter – it has just the right kind of comfy vibe that makes you want to hang out and indulge a bit. Perfect for long weekends (or Sundays when you’re just in that kind of mood), and I was happy to find that the place was the same as the last time I’d visited. We parked ourselves in the café-like front of the bistro and – you’ve guessed it – ordered a few glasses of wine for the girls (who still hadn’t shared any of the driving with our long suffering friend Wexford Lad). As we sipped and chatted, we glanced nonchalantly over the menu. We never did get those ice creams in Salthill so it wouldn’t hurt to sample a little something, surely? It would have been rude not to! <br />
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The chicken wings stared temptingly at us from the lunch menu, as did creamy ham and mushroom pasta. I remembered the heartiness of a beef and Guinness stew I’d eaten on my last visit and imagined how good those chicken wings and/or creamy pasta would be right at that moment. However, I did cop on in time to realise that this would have been pure gluttony and, much worse than that, would possibly ruin our appetites for the main event at VM in Longford later on. So instead we contented ourselves by perusing the home-baked cakes and confections perched on the counter, settling on a piece of light but rich lemon Madeira cake with a lemon curd filling, and another of coffee mocha Madeira cake with coffee butter icing. Each piece was gargantuan and served with fresh whipped cream (both under a fiver) and we demolished them quickly declaring the lemon as the winner. It’s hard to beat lemon curd, in fairness. Then we hung out for what seemed like another hour at least, chatting and relaxing without a care, or the need to order anything more. <br />
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Finally, though, we had reached the last leg of the journey – the one I was dying for – so into the car we got and away to Longford and Viewmount House for the ultimate and most grand feast of the lot.<br />
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The car rolled through the open country roads at pace, Lady Gaga blasting from the ipod – me singing atrociously in between giving wrong directions – and all of us now too excited to read any more stories about how bad Cheryl Cole’s hair was at the US X Factor launch (which was very, very bad, FYI). Finally, after three days of touring and eating and drinking, we arrived at the gates of Viewmount House, relieved to have made it after brains and google maps had sent us wrong – and I being a Dubliner couldn’t orientate myself when not travelling in a straight line from Dublin.<br />
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I had ventured up to VM once before in 2009, having heard some buzz about the place soon after it had opened. It’s only an hour or so from Dublin (which may surprise those not aware) and I had been impressed by the keen cookery and use of excellent local, seasonal produce. This time I was excited to see how things had progressed. As we got out of the car, I immediately spied chef Gary O’Hanlon coming from the garden on his way back to the kitchen to begin dinner service. Maybe it was his Donegal lilt as he gave us a big cheery welcome, or maybe it was the basket of fresh herbs and chive flowers in his hand, but as we entered the house we felt like we were going to feel right at home here. We also got the feeling we were in for something special.<br />
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...the remainder of the VM review is covered in its own blog post (as it was quite epic). See <a href="http://thedublinfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/06/northwest-foodie-road-trip-part-iii.html">Part III</a> to find out about what is clearly one of the best restaurants in Ireland.Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com3Galway, Co. Galway, Ireland53.2737969 -9.051779953.1978344 -9.2097084 53.3497594 -8.8938513999999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-17994553898458010012011-06-07T09:07:00.000-07:002012-06-13T09:11:26.123-07:00A Foodie Road Trip (Northwest/West of Ireland): Part I<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After much discussion about how to ‘do’ a foodie road trip in Ireland, my chef BNBFs and I resolved to make it several, as opposed to just one, focusing on themes – such as regions, establishment-type, seasons etc. For our first jolly, we decided on a restaurant trail of sorts in the northwest, owing to the fact that I have the ultimate foodie contact in Donegal and, very helpfully, a holiday home in the same place.<br />
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I put in a call to my Inishowen friend, owner of Harry’s Bar & Restaurant and all-round lovely guy Donal O’D, and in the blink of a rare breed porker’s eye we had a plan. Two nights at my family farmhouse in Dunree (Donegal), a quick visit to Sligo town en route to Galway for a night, then a blast through Athlone en route to a final feast at VM in Viewmount House, Co Longford, before heading back to Dublin. With thanks to the inside help from Donal and some fortuitous timing, our foodie trip was jam-packed with great food and fun. In fact, we had such great experiences and great value for money, we reckoned that it’s our duty to tell everyone about it. <br />
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So this is the first chapter of our ‘How to Eat Your Way Around Ireland’ adventures. I'm actually splitting it into three separate posts (as it was turning into the War & Peace of blog posts), so what follows is our two days in Inishowen. We had four foodies, one car, three and a half days, a boot full of tuck, and one sat nav (which was surprisingly helpful in even the most remote locations). <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">SUNDAY: Head for Inishowen, Co Donegal. </span><br />
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As I had the Dublin City Soul Festival to attend to (judging the Soul Food Restaurant Trail) we didn’t take off until late afternoon, which is probably a bit late. Consequently, by the time we’d dropped off our bags and gotten the house in Dunree sorted, we didn’t make it into Harry’s in Bridgend until circa 9.40pm! A scandalously late hour to be swanning into any establishment on a Sunday evening, but being the lovely people that they are in <a href="http://www.harrys.ie/About.aspx" target="_blank">Harry’s</a>, we were welcomed in (literally with open arms) and treated to a royal feast without a word of complaint. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inishowen rare breed porkers from <span class="hasCaption">Hamiltons Farm</span></td></tr>
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A selection of starters were chosen and prepared for us in advance of our arrival (as we were disgracefully late): Perfectly pan-fried John Dory from Greencastle, Co Donegal, with an apple pureé, mandarin orange segments, and sweet organic pea shoots from Harry’s own walled garden were devoured with gusto; as well as some decadent pâté and hearty terrine served with a nicely spiced house-made relish. We drank a decent prosecco and then some ripe fruity Greenstone Pinot Noir from Marlborough, New Zealand, both reasonably priced around the mid twenties. For what they were, the starters were also astoundingly good value.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and here's a delicious loin </td></tr>
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For mains we chose platters of local Inishowen organic saddleback pork (succulent slow roast shoulder in a lightly spiced glaze) and roast rib of Donegal aged beef (aged in Harry’s own hanging room), to share between the four of us. With the meat we ate tasty rich dauphinois potatoes and good, proper chips as served in Donal’s parents’ café just a few doors up (famed locally for their chicken fillet burger), and some organic purple bok choy from the garden, tastily prepared with ample seasoning and flavour. Conversation was limited as we feasted – we left nothing. In spite of us being rather full, we ordered a rich but not too heavy dark chocolate and whiskey cake, and a Carrageen moss pudding on a ginger biscuit base. Both were delicious. To give you an idea of the value for money, a three course dinner at Harry's is €24 at weekends and €20 during the week. I’m not given to endless flowery summations in my reviews but suffice to say, our trip to Harry’s left us all (critic and chefs) still thinking and talking about what we’d eaten for some days afterward. It’s a very special and unique restaurant, as much due to the people involved (from supplier to front of house) as to the quality local produce it serves to showcase. Harry’s is THE foodie attraction of Inishowen, if not all Donegal. No trip up north is complete without a visit.<br />
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Fed and happy, Donal O’D showed us to the nautically themed Drift Inn in Buncrana for a G&T before we rolled home to bed. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />MONDAY: Dunree Fort, Malin Head, and Linsfort Castle </span><br />
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We woke to sunshine – a rare commodity – and immediately set off to take advantage while it lasted. Given the indulgence of the night before, we also felt a bit of exercise was in order. Not two kilometres from the house is the fabulous Fort Dunree (approx 7 miles from Buncrana), located on the top of Dunree Head and which affords some stunning views of the region, including Lough Swilly and the facing peninsula with beautiful Portsalon beach to the west, and the Urris Hills and other north Donegal mountains and surrounding hinterland to the east. The fort has a museum and interpretive centre but my favourite attraction is the walk around the head, which allows you to amble through the old barracks buildings and get up close and personal with the massive guns (actually in use in the last century). As a word of warning, there is quite a lot of uphill, however the views are so rewarding it’s well worth the effort – and if you’ve been to Harry’s the night before then a good uphill walk is what you need! For directions and details <a href="http://www.dunree.pro.ie/home.html" target="_blank">click here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDCbieErMP9iZPcXXEbyH0iMzEPGPqANmxN1s3i8-erSsw5EOKm4wy79nENeupOtcRzKPgMdTmDRPVFeDIqb84gdHmKuOVzllIzoxfEU_-zUG-uN3m40_7mHADGsO1cB4Vo1WVWap7Ncn/s1600/IMAG0056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>After a morning hiking and taking in the scenery, we headed for the farmhouse, just in time to dodge the rain. The great thing about travelling with foodies is that they always come prepared, so we were well equipped to kill an hour or so waiting for the weather to pick up again. Our Galway Girl treated us to some buttery <a href="http://www.glebebrethan.com/" target="_blank">Glebe Brethan</a> (comte-style cheese from unpasteurised Montbeliarde cows’ milk made by David Tiernan in Co Louth), some lovely toffee-scented <a href="http://www.cooleacheese.com/" target="_blank">Coolea</a> (semi hard cow’s milk cheese made by Dick and Sinéad Willems in Co Cork) and some salty<a href="http://www.cashelblue.com/" target="_blank"> Cashel Blue</a> (un-homogenised cow’s milk blue made by Jane and Louis Grubb and their daughter Sarah Furno in Co Tipperary), which we nibbled along with her very own rhubarb and ginger relish. Our Clonakilty Lass provided a ripe Languedoc red to quaff with the cheese, and afterwards we had light little blueberry and lime sponge cakes (baked by Galway Girl) and good dark chocolate brought by our Wexford Lad. I can't stress how much of an asset it is to include chefs among your travelling companions...<br />
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When the sun finally broke through the clouds once again, we hopped in the car and made for Malin Head – Ireland’s most northerly point. Heading east from Dunree across a wild Donegal blanket bog and past the Mamore Gap, the scenery is once again quite stunning. We passed through the little towns of Clonmany, Ballyliffin, Carndonagh and eventually Malin, from where we headed north to the point past Five Finger Strand. When we reached it – by some miracle – the sun was shining and the day was fresh. Galway Girl, Wexford Lad and Clonakilty Lass were all blown away by the view, and I was very proud to have family ties with the county. Like a bunch of big kids we ran down the side of the hill and over the fence, all the way to the water’s edge, which was a bit rough but still made you want to jump in. It was breathtakingly beautiful – I was a bit giddy afterward. Then we scrambled back up the hill and went for coffee at the lone vendor’s van parked up in this remote, often windblown spot.<br />
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Now this was a real surprise. <a href="http://www.caffebanba.com/%20" target="_blank">Caffe Banba</a> (Ireland’s most northerly coffee and cakes) is actually pretty good. In fact, it’s very good, and all the way up there in the middle of nowhere. Proprietor (and lovely fella) Dominic McDermott previously brewed Java Republic’s Blue Earth Organic coffee, but has now switched to <a href="http://bailiescoffee.com/" target="_blank">Bailies</a> (a Belfast roaster), and tasty brew it is. We couldn’t resist nabbing a couple of slices of his lemon and ginger cakes while we were at it (home-baked by Dominic’s wife Andrea), and they were super too - moist and light. With refreshments in hand, we sought shelter behind a wall and looked out over the Atlanitc, smug with the success of our foodie road trip so far.<br />
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If you're lucky enough to find this part of the world, do stop at Caffe Banba - it makes Malin Head even more worth the journey.<br />
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The afternoon was drawing to a close and Harry’s Donal O’D had organised for us to spend the evening having homemade wood fire-baked pizzas at the home of a lovely couple who just happen to be foodies and who have a stone oven in their garden. They had been the centre of much buzz during the <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/Inishfood" target="_blank">Inishfood Festival</a> earlier in the year, when Mr Pizza (aka Darren Bradley) stoked up his oven and fed over 50 foodies in attendance just for the craic. However, his is not a commercial enterprise, only one of personal passion and big heartedness, so it was a real privilege to be invited (or at the very least, accommodated at the behest of Inishowen’s most persistent foodie, Donal O’D). That said, we weren’t exactly shy about barrelling in and making ourselves at home, cracking open the wine and sharing it around like we were all old friends. And what happened next was as unprecedented and fantastic a food experience as any I’ve had in Ireland to date. <br />
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Also at the wee pizza party were Alan Rooks and Brigeen Clafferty from stunning neighbouring B&B <a href="http://www.linsfortcastle.com/" target="_blank">Linsfort Castle</a> - armed with wine and apple butter and plum jam made from fruit grown in their own garden. They’re a warm couple that we liked instantly, and it wasn’t long before interesting conversation and good spirits were flowing. Then the pizzas started to appear. First a simple, wafer thin crispy base topped with a little rosemary and sea salt and a splash of olive oil. Delicious! The olive oil, we learned, was from our host’s parents’ olive grove in Umbria, so the simply topped pizza created the perfect conduit for tasting it. Next came a simple tomato sauce with rocket and parmesan, then some caramelised onion and goat log, then some spicy salami and mozzarella, then an utterly moreish butternut squash and soft goat cheese, then a couple of rounds of thinly sliced tender potato with rosemary and salt (which he referred to as ‘chip pizza’), then more salami. It was a gourmet pizza feast, served up by a big friendly guy who’d never seen us before in his life, amid interesting and friendly company, as we watched the sun go down over the Swilly.<br />
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After the embers began to die, we took a stroll down to the little beach behind the house to see the end of the sunset. Linsfort beach is without doubt one of my favourite beaches in all of Donegal (which is saying a lot considering the beaches in this part of the world). After thanking our host profusely for his incredibly generous hospitality, we were then invited to <a href="http://www.linsfortcastle.com/" target="_blank">Linsfort Castle</a> for some coffee and a look around. At this point, readers, I’m happy to say that all are welcome to visit this guesthouse and, personal bias aside, I reckon it’s possibly the best base for a holiday in Inishowen. As for Darren's amazing pizzas, come to the Inishfood Festival at the end of May and you might get lucky! <br />
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Brigeen’s gardens, while not only beautiful to walk through, produce fruit, vegetables, free range eggs (from a clutch of Blackrock hens) and honey, all of which are served up to guests in the B&B. Inside the house, her talented eye is evident in every room, each individually and tastefully decorated, as is every nook of the house. In the old kitchen where breakfast is served every morning, an old fireplace replete with traditional hob and pots, and an old still-working wireless give a certain country elegance. As does the vintage china from which we drank proper coffee after our tour of the house and gardens. In spite of their both being vegetarian, Alan had a stove purpose-built in the guest quarters for cooking bacon and sausages for breakfast each morning (sourced from <a href="http://www.crowefarm.ie/" target="_blank">Crowe’s Farm in Co Tipperary</a>), although, true to form, there’s ample veggie options to choose from too. At the end of our terrific evening in Linsfort, Brigeen insisted on driving us home. <br />
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And that concluded our fab one and a half days in Inishowen. Between the people and the food, on leaving we felt as though we'd just been to the best place in the world. In Part II I'll fill you in on our foodie adventures in Sligo, Galway, Athlone and - la pièce de résistance - Viewmount House in Longford.Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com3Hillside, Linsfort, Co. Donegal, Ireland55.2105257 -7.512567255.065753199999996 -7.8284242000000006 55.3552982 -7.1967102tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-91449961140621137802011-05-17T01:20:00.000-07:002011-05-17T02:46:41.501-07:00Food for the Soul Part 2The Dublin City Soul Festival is almost upon us again, which means I and my foodie spies will be combing the Restaurant Trail looking for this year's winner for best 'Soul Food.' There are 17 nosh spots on the trail and I get the distinct impression the bar has been raised for Soul Fest 2011 - get a loada the gospel brunch planned for the Gallery restaurant at the Church (http://www.dublincitysoulfestival.ie/category/events/music-whats-on/brunch). <br /><br />I've also heard some other places will be hosting impromptu sessions with singer-songwriters from the Rising Stars camp...more on that later! <br /><br />However, last year's winner, Seagrass in Portbello, has set the bar high enough already, with their inspiring platter that really captured the meaning of 'soul food.' Here's what the judges had to say about Seagrass:<br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />'The seagrass special soul food menu fitted all parameters of the soul food brief - the food of peasant people, made with whatever they had, and lots of soul! Four dishes from four continents: Coddle (Ireland), Matata soup from Mozambique, southern fried chicken with grits pancake, and soy/sesame slamon with coconut and pea rice cake with wasabi yoghurt.<br /><br />The coddle was a large garlicky sausage floating in an ultra umami stock - vegetable we were told - but almost beef like in intensity. Lots of tasty lardons and onions with rosemary and other herbs - utterly soulful. Next was the spicy mussel soup with peanuts, capers, and a refreshing sour flavour that acted as a cleanser as much as a pick me up for the palate (and soul). The southern fried chicken with grits pancake was tender breast in a tasty batter (textured rather than crunchy due to the lack of white flour used in the kitchen, but still adhering fairly well), topped with a sweet home-made catsup. Horseradish yoghurt sauce was also present to cut through the sweetness and fried flavours. Finally, salmon with a sweet soy and sesame coating with wasabi and peanut sauce was damn tasty.<br /><br />Strongly recommend Seagrass - it was full of happy diners enjoying themselves.'</span><br /><br />So there you have it, not one but FOUR soul dishes, and a very imaginative and delicious interpretation of soul it was too. This year's eateries will have to work hard to top that, and I for one am looking forward to the contest!<br /><br />In the spirit of the Soul Festival, I have another recipe to contribute. Now, I know I did barbecue last time and I know it's a bit of a cliché, but the good weather of April gave me lots of opportunities for experimenting with the Weber and, well, these ribs are just too good not to share. It's an adaptation of a Jamie Oliver recipe, tweaked for my fondness of salt and spice (especially cinnamon and aniseed) and a bit less fruity and sweet. Hope you enjoy - this is definitely one for eating with a napkin close at hand.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Caroline's sticky barbecued baby back ribs </span><br /><br />I never know how much of anything I'm putting in so beware of any quantities I give!<br /><br />Rack of baby back (loin) ribs (with the membrane taken off)<br />250ml balsamic vinegar<br />few good glugs of soy sauce<br />ketchup (enough to make the mixture gloopy)<br />big bunch of thyme, picked<br />juice/zest of half an orange<br />1 fat garlic clove, crushed<br />1 tsp toasted cumin seeds, crushed<br />2 cloves<br />1 tbsp fennel seeds, cruched<br />2 star anise, crushed<br />1 heaped tbsp smoked paprika<br />1 heaped tsp cinnamon<br />some ground black pepper<br />pinch chili flakes (if you like)<br /><br />Put the ribs in a large bowl or basin and cover completely in the marinade. The longer you can leave it the better - no less than half a day.<br /><br />Light the coals and wait for them to reach the right temperature (white with no flame) - if you can get hickory then use that. Put the ribs on the grill with the lid on, vents fully open for the first five minutes. Then close the vents so only a small amount of air gets in to slow the roasting process.<br /><br />Depending on the weight, you should have juicy sticky ribs in about 40 minutes. I closed the vents 10 minutes before the end just to make sure they'd be juicy enough.<br /><br />Rest the meat for 10 minutes under foil before carving and serving. Drink good fruity pinot noir, such as Bogle from California or Waipara Springs from New Zealand, or a fruity full-bodied beer like Dungarvan Brewing Co's Copper Coast Red Ale or Curim Gold from the Carlow Brewing Company.Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-27649757738368767962011-04-28T23:45:00.000-07:002011-04-29T01:51:45.019-07:00The GOOP detox: Five days of cleansingOkay, I know I said it was a seven-day cleansing detox but given the lack of calories in this diet, I'd say managing five days wasn't bad going - for a normal person who has to function on a daily basis, that is. No doubt about it, this - like most detoxes - is a crash diet in disguise. Now before I get all critical, I gotta admit that by the fourth day I was feeling absolutely terrific, better than I'd felt in a long time, and my skin is practically glowing. However, I'd made a few calorie enhancements by this stage, so I reckon I would probably have been feeling rather a little too low in energy to appreciate the benefits had I stuck to the original menu.<br /><br />To recap, the GOOP detox (named after Gwyneth Paltrow's blog) is a diet that cuts out alcohol, caffeine, sugar, dairy, gluten, processed foods, red meat, shellfish, and nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines...due to their digestion-disrupting alkanoids). I can see the logic in all of those omissions, so at the beginning of the detox I was actually looking forward to doing it and seeing the results.<br /><br />In my frenzy for trying out all the new expensive health shop products, I hadn't noticed how lacking in substance it all was - perhaps somewhere between 600-800 Kcals per day, depending on how liberal you are with the olive oil. So I decided by day two to make a few adjustments. Another rule I broke was the one about only having one solid meal a day (the rest have to be blended). This I just couldn't do. I'm sure it's something about having a flat stomach or some such vital thing if you're Gwyneth Paltrow, but for me, nothing was worth enduring dinner as mulch for no excellent reason. And finally, I added condiments that may have broken rules (I didn't check) but I kept them to only a teaspoon per day, so that hardly counts - I just can't do punitive eating, it's against my religion. <br /><br />Otherwise I did keep to the rules and didn't add anything on the banned list. Having gone through a whole week, I'm actually really pleased with the results, and it's even made me want to continue my healthy ways. In fact, I'm in no rush to ruin my good work. Below is the diet I actually followed - I can honestly recommend this to anyone who wants to feel better or sleep better, or generally improve their health. To make it more sustaining, just add more carbohydrate and have bigger portions. <br /><br />Here's how it went...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Day 1:</span> <br /><br />Start with the shake that looks and feels like frog spawn.. <br /><br />small punnet of blueberries<br />1-2 heaped tbsp of whey protein powder<br />1-2 heaped tsp Organic Super Greens<br />Approx 250ml almond milk (or more to taste)<br />*Blend well so you don't get lumpy bits - that completely grosses me out!<br /><br />For lunch I had the green mulch aka Broccoli and Rocket soup (I added the spinach and sprouts because I had them)<br /><br />1/2 onion + 1 garlic clove (chopped) and cooked in 1 tbsp olive oil<br />1/2 head broccoli, added to pan and cooked in 2.5 cups of water<br />Add pan contents to bunch of baby spinach, bunch of rocket, handful of alfalfa sprouts, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, tbsp pumpkin seeds, touch more olive oil and some lemon juice.<br />Blend until it becomes mulch.<br />*The flavour is quite nice, you can practically taste the health benefits...the texture makes you squirm, especially as it cools.<br /><br />For dinner I had a steamed fillet of salmon with steamed spinach, with a salad of rocket in lemon and olive oil on the side. To this I added the illicit horseradish sauce (1 tsp) which made the meal so much more enjoyable (the accumulative affects of three bland meals were getting to me at this stage).<br /><br />Throughout the day I drank coconut water, aloe vera juice blended with water, warm water with lemon, herbal tea and approx two litres of water. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Day 2:</span><br /><br />Today I added fresh mint to the frog spawn shake to improve it a little - it was a slight improvement.<br /><br />You're supposed to snack on pumpkin seeds if you get hungry, between meals (while having all you're hydrating/digestive assisting liquids) but I decided to snack on some good quality sugar-free dark chocolate. It's much more filling and is, after all, full of antioxidants!<br /><br />For lunch I baked some lemon sole on a bed of fennel (to hell with all this steaming) and served with a rocket salad as above, with a handful of pea shoots added in. <br /><br />In the afternoon I did have the pumpkin seeds (blurgh!)<br /><br />For dinner I steamed broccoli and spinach and served with more rocket and pea sprouts, with a dressing made from 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, and 1 tbsp olive oil. I did not blend this!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Day 3:</span> <br /><br />Once again I woke up absolutely starving! This morning (well, actually the day before, since I already had the stuff in) I decided to change the menu.<br /><br />For breakfast I had toasted spelt bread (at least 200Kcal worth) with Benecol olive spread and some Dalfour sugar-free marmalade. <br /><br />Once again I had my mid-morning dark chocolate - one of my favourite snacks anyway.<br /><br />Then for lunch I made a new shake, and this is DELICIOUS! Will definitely be keeping this one.<br />1 whole fresh mango, chopped without the skin<br />Bunch fresh mint leaves<br />1-2 heaped tbsp whey protein<br />1-2 heaped tsp Organic Super Greens<br />250-300ml almond milk<br />*Blend well so all the mango gets blitzed. <br /><br />The shake for lunch was actually very filling so I didn't need a snack before dinner, even though I was cycling and being very active.<br /><br />For dinner I baked a seabass fillet with lime and dried coriander on a bed of fennel, served with a salad of baby gem lettuce, fresh coriander, alfalfa sprouts and half an avacado, with a dressing of 1 tsp wholegrain mustard, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, and 1 tbsp olive oil.<br />*For more calories in any of the mains you could add any kind of rice.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Day 4:</span> <br /> <br />Today I woke up feeling absolutely terrific. I'd had the best quality sleep for a very long time, and I was generally feeling great. <br /><br />I just repeated Day 3's menu, since it was all pretty good. Only difference was that I used lentil and mung bean sprouts in the salad instead of alfalfa sprouts (they actually worked better, as they had more crunch and were less spongy, so didn't soak up too much dressing).<br /><br />By now I've also realised just how refreshing and efficient at hydrating coconut water is. As with all the fancy health products, it ain't cheap - but I think it'll become a constant in my fridge throughout the summer. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Day 5:</span> <br /><br />Well that's today, and tonight is a Friday night. I wouldn't have thought it at the start of the week, but a big part of me doesn't want to stop now - even though there's entertaining to be done tonight. Funny how even a week off the bad stuff makes you suddenly all precious about yourself!<br /><br />GOOP had a load of other recipes I could have doctored - using cress and miso and ginger, for example - but as I pointed out throughout this week, I'm a normal person without the aid of an assistant, or chef, so I wasn't shopping every day for new fresh ingredients. <br /><br />I'm sticking to my spelt toast and mango shake for breakfast and lunch today, then tonight I have a big head of pak choi and some organic chicken to work with. <br /><br />By now I'd say you get the idea about how this works. Ultimately, I think the original GOOP detox just isn't practical for most people, but I do think the principle behind it has great benefits - especially if, like me, you're prone to over-indulging. It takes some organisation, it's not cheap, and the first couple of days require a bit of effort. Other than that, I recommend having a go at it. Once you've created some menus that work for you, it proves that healthy eating can actually be more enjoyable than you might have thought...and it always makes you feel better than the bad stuff!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SHOPPING LIST</span><br /><br />Almond milk (Nourish stocks a good selection of alternatives, including rice/hazelnut milk)<br />Coconut water (Vita Coco is available in most health shops and specialty grocers)<br />Whey protein powder<br />Organic Super Greens (contains chlorella, spirulina, barley grass and wheat grass)<br />Herbal teas (chamomile, nettle, dandelion especially)<br />Aloe Vera juice (Nourish stocks one with digestive aids, caraway, fennel, papaya) <br />Alfalfa/pea/lentil/mung bean sprouts (mine were from Happy Pear, available at health shops and specialty grocers)<br />Pumpkin seeds<br />Good olive oil and lemons<br />Copious quantities of green leafy veg and brassica (spinach, kale, lettuces, herbs, pak choi, broccoli etc)<br />Fresh oily and white fish<br />Lean chicken/turkey meat<br /><br />For more recipes for shakes, juices, soups and whatnot see GOOP! http://goop.com/newsletter/15/Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-14515103715073359132011-04-25T09:03:00.002-07:002012-06-13T06:28:25.606-07:00The GOOP detox: Day 1 of the 7-day cleanseThe official title of this post should be: "Why the [bleep] am I doing this to myself?!" However, some of you will get that just from the given title and, no doubt, will shudder at the notion of seven days so ill-spent. Well, I too used to be like you, spending my mornings enjoying full-fat yoghurt with honey and fruit, while happily already pondering dinner. But after a few weeks recently spent just so - outdoing myself week on week in gastronomic largess - I succumbed to guilt over consuming mountainous belly-expanding pork belly (of course with the crackling), and stuffed loins of lamb, and black pudding fatter than John Candy, and giant t-bone steaks, and endless cheeseboards groaning under shamefully over-generous servings of assorted vacherins, blues and cheddars, and, of course, copious good bottles from every wine-producing region you can think of...<br />
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You get the picture. After weeks of 'having a whale of a time,' as they like to say in those trashy magazines where they draw circles around celebrity love handles, I decided it might be a good idea to give myself a detox, and maybe even consider living a little more healthily than a French aristocrat who measures status by the number of body parts affected by gout.<br />
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So after a short surf on the interwebs, I came upon a detox that seemed both the kind of drastic measure I was seeking to reverse my recent indulgence, and also one not quite so punitive as those that seem to involve nothing more than lemon and/or cabbage water and a cocktail of natural laxatives. Gwyneth Paltrow was the suitably lean source of this wonder cure (on her blog 'GOOP'), it being the cleansing 7-day detox diet designed by some cardiologist named Dr Alejandro Junger. <br />
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You can find the details of its ethos and so forth on Gwynnie's blog - I was merely concerned with the fact that it seemed effective yet still let me eat foods with names I recognised as being from the natural world. In a nutshell, you cut out alcohol, caffeine, sugar, dairy, gluten, red meat, shellfish, processed foods, and nightshade veg (tomatoes, peppers and aubergines), and possibly more but my eyes wouldn't let me see the words. <br />
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Now readers, I too was horrified at the notion of no dairy and no gluten - two staples of my diet - however, many healthy peoples from faraway Oriental lands survive every day without such foods (as well as poor sods from bread and cheese country afflicted with various allergies and intolerance), so I knew I too could manage it. Wine, I love and hate you! In a way I was glad to say adios to this vice, which has become all too quotidian. The rest bothered me only a little. So with steely determination, I was resolved to GOOP myself for seven days. <br />
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And here we are on Day 1 (actually that was yesterday but I'm only finishing the post this morning). Having spent the princely sum of €77 in a health shop buying assorted vittles, followed by a similar amount buying organic fruit and veg at the grocery shop, I started the day feeling optimistic about the whole experience. <br />
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Breakfast consisted of a 'shake' of blueberries, almond milk, whey powder and some organic 'Super Greens' powder (chlorella, spirulina, barley grass and wheat grass). Once you get past the frog spawn appearance, it tastes okay. Although after the first few sips you start noticing the taste a bit more, as well as the slightly unpleasant consistency. Mine had the odd lump - I'm not sure which ingredient is the one that keeps coagulating but in the interest of keeping this shake down, I'll have to work that out by the end of the week.<br />
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Did I mention that only one meal of the day can be solid? Usually this should be lunch, but as today required me to eat dinner with my family, I decided I'd opt for a liquid lunch - this detox has taken all the fun out of that expression. I blitzed half a head of cooked broccoli with some garlic, spinach, rocket, alfalfa sprouts, olive oil, lemon juice, two and a half cups of water, a spoonful of pumpkin seeds, and a quarter of a teaspoon of sea salt. Again, on first acquaintance I was thinking, 'this isn't bad! Nice, even.' However, that quickly subsided as I noticed the tepid green mulch felt like, well, tepid green mulch to eat. Like some squelchy greens that had been chewed and regurgitated. I struggled with this one - now dreading future soup courses.<br />
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Dinner, as I said, could be solid, generally consisting of steamed something with steamed green veg. I had salmon with steamed spinach and a side of rocket dressed in lemon juice and a half tablespoon of olive oil. It was okay... in truth, I cracked and had a teaspoon of horseradish sauce. It was just so bland.. I was weak!!!<br />
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In between 'meals' you can have coconut water, warm water with lemon, aloe vera juice, herbal tea, and maybe the odd seed if you're peckish. After day one, in spite of some minor instances of revulsion, I have to admit that my skin is already visibly improved - even eliciting some comments to that effect - and I'm not starving. One down, six to go... this better be worth it!<br />
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Ed note: to see a post on all my 'GOOP' recipes and a brief account of how I got on <a href="http://thedublinfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/goop-detox-five-days-of-cleansing.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-38930551729172461552011-02-02T01:57:00.000-08:002012-08-07T02:50:05.524-07:00Hello boys!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I’m sitting around on a boring Wednesday, itching to go out and have some fun and hopefully get into some kind of trouble, definitely wearing the new ridiculously high Kurt Geiger heels, and definitely with the recently acquired fabulous girlfriends on the masters, and I think to myself: where can all of the above be beautifully achieved? Not that I even need to ask myself that question, since I’ve poised my fabulousness on the bar stools and sofa cushions of my destination of choice many a time before, as the need arose. The Exchequer is always willing and able to oblige my moments of inner super model. Such a thoughtful bar, providing charming attractive owners to flirt with while we enjoy our blissfully calorific cocktails! <br />
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This night in question I decided we should eat too – eating is so in right now – so we tucked ourselves into a table too big for us in the gastropub’s rear dining room, without a word of complaint from the good looking owner at attendance. Then, sipping a delicious martini with three olives (Tanqueray, naturally…although Hendrick’s was another option, probably for another kind of night) we took nearly an hour to order, as we gabbed about all our important news, again without a word of complaint, despite the fact we’d taken the big table at 7.30pm. Finally we decided on starters of oven-baked cod with a tomato, fennel and spring onion shellfish soup and chargrilled toast (€9.50), and (the utterly fantastic man that is) Jack McCarthy’s own Irish haggis with brown onion purée, roasted garlic and Bushmills sauce and wild mushrooms (€8.95). <br />
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In the two dishes there was more than enough for three people, and even the non-meat-eater couldn’t help swiping a bite of the haggis, enveloped in that wonderfully rich sauce. In a way it’s not surprising that the soup failed to impress quite so much next to Jack McCarthy’s scrumptious handy work, but apart from a slight lack of seasoning and/or some spice (one of the chef friends offered), it was nicely redolent of crustacean, and the cod and ubiquitous sea molluscs were juicy and good. <br />
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The pre-dinner cocktails were replaced by a bottle of zingy Graf Joseph Grüner Veltliner 2009, and after a quick stop-out for some lippy retouching and another flirt with one half of the handsome duo, mains were served. Whole Irish baked seabass with peppery fresh rocket, oven dried tomatoes, black olives and a great big mound of the most finely shredded matchstick chips you ever saw in your life (€33.95), all served up on a board for two people to share. In case you didn’t cop that we’re dealing with proper ladies’ men in The Exchequer, this dish can leave you in no doubt. The fish was baked to perfection and slipped down beautifully with a little squeeze of lime – a great dish, not surprisingly fast becoming one of the most popular since the appearance of the new menu. We also nibbled the crispy pork belly, which very cleverly was paired with perfectly fried curls of crispy squid, with a fish caramel sauce and a carrot and chilli purée (€16.95). The cute waiter advised us that we might want a carb on the side so we went for the champ (€3.25) and weren’t sorry that we did. The pork was meltingly tender and worked well with the squid (which being lighter than crackling but equally satisfying was another winner with the ladies) and all in all we were very happy bunnies by the time we’d daintily munched our way through it all. <br />
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Two hours after we’d first sat down, the cute waiter was happy to leave us with the dessert menu and treated us to a new cocktail the bar was trying out: a pretty orange-coloured concoction involving mandarin vodka, cointreau and fresh mandarin. With a second mojito and a twisted lime and clove daiquari (one of the many special recipes from the hot barman/cocktail genius Darren), we decided to share a round of warm cinnamon and brown sugar doughnuts with blueberry jam and custard, and toasted sesame ice cream (€5.95). Not every part of the dish worked to our liking – we could have lived without the sesame ice cream – but we could each have demolished a pot of the blueberries and custard, which featured tart little berries perfectly off-set by the creamy vanilla custard. Once again the course was as well turned out as ourselves, and provided a more than suitable end to our girly dinner.<br />
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Unfortunately, time had come go home, and as I air-kissed handsome one last time for the night amid profuse thanks and flattery, I remembered why The Exchequer ticks every single box on this girl’s wish list. Now why instead of going home we found ourselves draining a second bottle of prosecco in the new club of Dublin’s original ladies’ man, is another story!<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Peter Rock and Ian Tucker.</span> 3-5 Exchequer St. Ph: 01 6706787, email: info@theexchequer.ie, web: www.theexchequer.ie. Accepts cards. Booking required for Sunday roast. Open 12pm-11.30pm Mon-Thurs, 12pm-2.30am Fri-Sat, 12p-11pm SunCaroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-83587340730398657202010-12-28T05:56:00.000-08:002012-06-13T10:56:33.391-07:00How to do Dublin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Recently I got a message from an American couple who were coming to Dublin and wanted some advice on what places to visit to experience the city in little bites. Personally, I think this is the perfect way to see a city - you really appreciate how food connects everything we do in life, and it's such a good way to get the feel of a new place and people. As I set to work writing my reply, it occurred to me I should post it on the blog, so it can be a resource for any foodie out there looking for an inside track to Dublin's best bits. Also, my message to Misty (that's the lady's name) turned out to be the War & Peace of messages, so making a blog post out of it almost counts as work - so I don't feel so bad about spending all that time on it instead of writing reviews! <br />
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So here's my message to Misty:<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi Misty,<br /><br />Sure that's no problem- that's exactly how I like to do it! <br /><br />The city centre is divided by the river into north and south side and has districts at its four corners: Smithfield (north-west) and IFSC/North docklands (north-east) and these are connected by tram. Then there's south docklands/Grand Canal basin (south east) and Kilmainham/James' Gate (south west). The middle bit includes O'Connell St and surrounding shopping streets (north) and Dame St, Christchurch, St Stephen's Green and Grafton St (south).<br /><br />There's loads to see and do all over so I'll list good places to look out for in the different areas, and things you might be doing in those places.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">North Side</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delish fish cake at Juno's</td></tr>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Smithfield has the <a href="http://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/" target="_blank">Jameson Distillery</a> and Chief O'Neill's tower, where you get a good view of the city. Walking further eastwards along the quays you'll come to the Parkgate St entrance to the Phoenix Park, where <a href="http://www.dublinzoo.ie/" target="_blank">Dublin Zoo</a> is. The Luas (tram) goes to both Smithfield and almost to Parkgate St - I love the zoo and the park so if there's time I'd visit there - you'll also find <a href="http://www.junoscafe.com/" target="_blank">Juno's Café </a>on Parkgate St which is terrific. <br /><br />If you walk (or cycle using a city bike) back along the quays towards O'Connell St, you'll pass Capel St, which has interesting little ethnic food shops and bakeries, and just off it on Little Mary St is a good Chinese restaurant called Jade. The top of Capel St meets Parnell St, the entire length of which is like our Chinatown. There's loads of restaurants but the best are Sichuan House, Charming Noodles (cheap n' cheerful) and a Korean/Japanese restaurant called <a href="http://www.hophouse.ie/findus.htm" target="_blank">Kimchi</a> at a pub called the Hop House. On Cathedral St, off O'Connell St, is another very good Chinese place called M&L. You'll also find the decent inexpensive sushi places Musashi (Capel St) and Mitsuba (Parnell St), and a nice new café<a href="http://brotherhubbard.ie/" target="_blank"> Brother Hubbard </a>(on Capel St) serving excellent coffee, homemade soft drinks and freshly baked goodies. </span> <br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Moving further along the quays towards O'Connell St you'll pass the 'Italian Quarter' or Bloom's Lane, off Ormond Quay. You'll see some nice Italian cafés and restaurants here, my favourite of which is <a href="http://wallacewinebars.ie/langhe.html" target="_blank">Enoteca delle Langhe</a> (for nice Italian cheeses and a glass of wine). Close to this on Millennium Walkway you'll find <a href="http://www.koh.ie/" target="_blank">Koh</a>, which does nice cocktails and Thai food, and also <a href="http://www.boojummex.com/" target="_blank">Boojum</a> the Mexican place which does lovely fresh burritos and great house made chilli sauce. New to the area, on Great Strand Street, is <a href="http://foamcafe.ie/" target="_blank">Foam Café and Gallery</a> - a quirky place that's fun to hang out in, with some nice artisanal organic lemonades and baked treats worthy of note.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinllsFaZN4XaASad6JOyZ9V5hEm3kAt8w4vq1sKvlR1njCjAKCxzkFcgTQ5bP3-ZbHxvbcMKMqOa0e1Pz7aOKnt0J2rfRNavgirYl2Wdd_3AALw1Zmbg8uihWTCObN-nLLTywoV5JLkFTI/s1600/emilia_1053811t.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinllsFaZN4XaASad6JOyZ9V5hEm3kAt8w4vq1sKvlR1njCjAKCxzkFcgTQ5bP3-ZbHxvbcMKMqOa0e1Pz7aOKnt0J2rfRNavgirYl2Wdd_3AALw1Zmbg8uihWTCObN-nLLTywoV5JLkFTI/s1600/emilia_1053811t.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taste of Emilia</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FG1T4FDUuu0RTOw8-etdOqaJjwLWuRbI1nZT9GWz9Jo8t-QoATYLaMQgmcVoBwQJkAjmh8KppVww-cJ7seR2aaNFvmamVMisRigEvmIpj5lEGTaN7nqO_G3vNLKYRBS_kfJ0cEYNd5VB/s1600/SmallSamuelBeckettBridgeDublin.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Continuing along the quays, you'll find Liffey St, which has one of my favourite wine bar/delis, <a href="http://www.menupages.ie/dublin/city_centre/city_centre_north/taste_of_emilia.aspx" target="_blank">Taste of Emilia</a> - great bruschetta and boards of Italian DOP meats and cheeses, and decent wine. And also on this street is a Japanese restaurant called <a href="http://www.menupages.ie/dublin/city_centre/city_centre_north/ten_thousand.aspx" target="_blank">Ten Thousand</a> (take-away called Kokoro beside it) which has some of the best value sushi in the city. You'll also find the <a href="http://www.epicureanfoodhall.com/" target="_blank">Epicurean Food Hall </a>between Liffey St and Abbey St, inside which are loads of cool food stalls - my favourite of which is Taco Taco (one of our best for Mexican street food). <br /><br />If you have the time and/or inclination I do recommend <a href="http://www.winding-stair.com/" target="_blank">The Winding Stair</a> on Ormond Quay - you have to book and it's not nibbles (more a serious feed), but it's Irish food at it's best and one of my fav restaurants in the country. I wouldn't miss it, if possible. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Luas goes through the IFSC to the Point Village</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">If you were to carry on down towards the IFSC (Irish Financial Services Centre) and the </span><span style="font-style: italic;">docklands,</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">you'll find loads of places down here, and it's a district well worth visiting. <a href="http://www.elywinebar.ie/restaurants/ely-bar-brasserie" target="_blank">Ely Bar & Brasserie</a> wine bar at CHQ is good for food or even just a glass of vino, and Enowine (or La Cuvee) and another Bar Italia are in the actual IFSC. <a href="http://www.harbourmaster.ie/" target="_blank">The Harbourmaster</a> is a pub right on the water that's worth a go just for the picturesque setting alone. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">South Side </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FG1T4FDUuu0RTOw8-etdOqaJjwLWuRbI1nZT9GWz9Jo8t-QoATYLaMQgmcVoBwQJkAjmh8KppVww-cJ7seR2aaNFvmamVMisRigEvmIpj5lEGTaN7nqO_G3vNLKYRBS_kfJ0cEYNd5VB/s400/SmallSamuelBeckettBridgeDublin.jpg" width="400" /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />The north and south docklands are connected by a couple of bridges, the most spectacular of which is the Samuel Beckett bridge that went up in 2009. If you cross this bridge you can head over to the Grand Canal basin, where the fab Grand Canal theatre has just opened - it's a really cool new part of the city and you should definitely see it. Also there's nice little places on Hanover Quay and <a href="http://www.elywinebar.ie/restaurants/ely-gastropub/" target="_blank">Ely HQ</a> (the gastropub version of the wine bar in CHQ) has a heated terrace so you can sit outside and watch the swans on the water over a drink and some food - which includes burgers grilled outdoors in summer. <a href="http://www.herbstreet.ie/" target="_blank">Herbstreet</a> beside it is also fab - I'd choose it over Ely just for the chicken wings, and you can still look at the water if you sit by the window. Across the way is a pretty good new Spanish-style café bar that does tapas, called <a href="http://www.menupages.ie/dublin/city_centre/city_centre_south/cafebar_h.aspx" target="_blank">Cafébar H</a>, where you'll often see live tango dancing on the terrace at weekends.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_EEgpinsJJ1Rw4TYMu6C-KOVRQxqhPj-6usAvcHfMAozrFZZ3qU0_BWfHfSehN9a4NLbyCK2BMPudHxRMeeofuYgDUsgTyhkt5XhofZnaCiWAcdYDYglNY19alBc37RO-u5BCavmD-BsQ/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_EEgpinsJJ1Rw4TYMu6C-KOVRQxqhPj-6usAvcHfMAozrFZZ3qU0_BWfHfSehN9a4NLbyCK2BMPudHxRMeeofuYgDUsgTyhkt5XhofZnaCiWAcdYDYglNY19alBc37RO-u5BCavmD-BsQ/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comfy couches at KC Peaches
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Across the main road (Pearse Street) is <a href="http://kcpeaches.com/" target="_blank">KC Peaches</a> - owned by a really nice American girl called </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Katie. It does terrific brunch (especially the Healthy Howth omlette or fried egg sandwich) and also really good muffins and baked goods. Just up the road <a href="http://www.theartofcoffee.info/" target="_blank">The Art of Coffee</a> does, just as you'd expect from that name, amazing coffee. And across from that is <a href="http://www.ilvalentino.ie/" target="_blank">Il Valentino</a> artisan bakery - just in case you need to buy some snacks for the road!<br /><br />If you head up Pearse St back towards the centre, you'll see <a href="http://www.tcd.ie/" target="_blank">Trinity College</a> (definitely go in for a look) and you'll come to the Dame St, Grafton St, Stephen's Green end of things. There's loads to do around here, especially shopping, but a visit to this area won't be complete unless you go to <a href="http://www.fallonandbyrne.com/" target="_blank">Fallon & Byrne</a> on Exchequer St. It's foodie Mecca in Dublin - with a fab wine bar in the cellar where you can order cheese and paté etc, a nice deli on the ground floor where you can get food and bring it to the wine bar below, and a restaurant on the first floor. Personally, the ground floor and basement are my favourite places, I never bother with the restaurant. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dublin Castle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Also nice to visit around this area are: <a href="http://www.dunneandcrescenzi.com/#%21__main/about-us" target="_blank">Dunne & Crescenzi </a>on Sth Fredrick St (Italian café/wine bar); the <a href="http://porthouse.ie/" target="_blank">Port House</a> on Sth William St for decent tapas (stick to the more authentic dishes). <a href="http://www.havana.ie/" target="_blank">Havana</a> on George's St also does tapas, but its great atmosphere is its real selling point; in the Powerscourt Shopping Centre there's a gorgeous little café called the <a href="http://thepepperpot.ie/" target="_blank">Pepper Pot</a>, which has lovely food and a yummy citrus ice tea; <a href="http://777.ie/" target="_blank">777</a> on George's St is doing superb cocktails and interesting cosmopolitan Mexican food; and <a href="http://www.govindas.ie/" target="_blank">Govinda's</a> on Aungier St (also Merrion Row and Middle Abbey St) does some of the tastiest vegetarian food you'll find in Dublin, and very cheap too. KC Peaches has a second café on Nassau St with a <a href="http://kcpeaches.com/index.php/wine-cave/about-the-wine-cave/" target="_blank">wine bar in the basement</a> - this does an especially good 'Cal-Ital' style tapas menu in the evening and live jazz on Saturday nights (booking required). Finally, if you go to <a href="http://www.dublincastle.ie/" target="_blank">Dublin Castle</a> and the Chester Beatty Library, the <a href="http://www.silkroadcafe.ie/" target="_blank">Silk Road café</a> in the library is lovely. And <a href="http://www.queenoftarts.ie/" target="_blank">Queen of Tarts</a> across the road on Dame St is a venerable institution for breakfast, lunch or snacks - pastries, of course, are order of the day. And on Castle St nearby a little place called Toffoli does fantastic pizza, bruschetta and other Italian foods, with exceptionally good Italian ingredients, particularly the meats.<br /><br />If you're visiting 'Georgian Dublin' i.e. around Merrion Square, Fitzwilliam Square, Pembroke Street </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIm5OohD1XA4gh6KdKv4TBXkLJNYqece4jInYFTGGWsHujeunF53XN-rn-Yx8RpIV5OOOr6Qty4V0bjMsPdgUUcR80HTqQG567Bq-ufUx6Z_nldzr2Uz77ba8jZlL26m9ED4aIGRlej9Pp/s1600/2401592148_a7fc3fa6a5.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIm5OohD1XA4gh6KdKv4TBXkLJNYqece4jInYFTGGWsHujeunF53XN-rn-Yx8RpIV5OOOr6Qty4V0bjMsPdgUUcR80HTqQG567Bq-ufUx6Z_nldzr2Uz77ba8jZlL26m9ED4aIGRlej9Pp/s320/2401592148_a7fc3fa6a5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful food at Pearl
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6PlDvliAqbxpIpR3zf2yNtiZkJJSqL2bDLACFznFK2CZxfVmrohwbWZCTyZf_PQflNngTQrQu60w5rmtNbgd9AyZXNTlRzxsofXGT8LjwS1M-Yu-iZdLelqpfP6Z8Nv8B1S35vwqOEv6/s1600/4757426193_21672089ec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-style: italic;">etc, look out for: <a href="http://www.dax.ie/" target="_blank">Dax </a>on Pembroke St (a French restaurant and café-bar), the restaurant's pricey but the café-bar does good nibbles and wines, and has live jazz on Thursday and Friday evenings; <a href="http://www.elywinebar.ie/restaurants/ely-winebar/" target="_blank">Ely wine bar</a> on Ely Place (lovely wine bar with good atmosphere); <a href="http://www.pearl-brasserie.com/" target="_blank">Pearl Brasserie </a>on Merrion Row (not so much for casual nibbles but it's a great restaurant); and <a href="http://www.diep.net/leshaker/" target="_blank">Diep le Shaker</a> on Pembroke Lane (fab Thai restaurant, also a bit fancy). If you're near Baggot St on a week-day and fancy lunch on the run, try <a href="http://www.pablopicante.ie/" target="_blank">Pablo Picante</a> burrito bar (take-away only but great burritos)- they've recently opened a sit-down/take-away place on Clarendon Market close to Grafton Street (see my post 'Burrito Bonanza' for more details about these!) Also <a href="http://mantraa.ie/" target="_blank">Mantraa</a> is a great Indian restaurant on this street and does really good value lunch deals.<br /><br />If you go for walk out near the new rugby stadium (The Aviva stadium), find <a href="http://www.juniors.ie/deli-and-cafe.php" target="_blank">Juniors café</a> and <a href="http://www.juniors.ie/paulies-pizza.php" target="_blank">pizza</a> places, and the <a href="http://thechophouse.ie/" target="_blank">Chop House </a>gastropub nearby on Bath Avenue does exceptionally good food.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6PlDvliAqbxpIpR3zf2yNtiZkJJSqL2bDLACFznFK2CZxfVmrohwbWZCTyZf_PQflNngTQrQu60w5rmtNbgd9AyZXNTlRzxsofXGT8LjwS1M-Yu-iZdLelqpfP6Z8Nv8B1S35vwqOEv6/s1600/4757426193_21672089ec.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6PlDvliAqbxpIpR3zf2yNtiZkJJSqL2bDLACFznFK2CZxfVmrohwbWZCTyZf_PQflNngTQrQu60w5rmtNbgd9AyZXNTlRzxsofXGT8LjwS1M-Yu-iZdLelqpfP6Z8Nv8B1S35vwqOEv6/s320/4757426193_21672089ec.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Two good places on the South Side for beer and food are the <a href="http://www.bullandcastle.ie/" target="_blank">Bull & Castle</a> beer hall at Christchurch (a must for beer fans) and <a href="http://www.menupages.ie/dublin/city_centre/city_centre_south/against_the_grain.aspx" target="_blank">Against the Grain</a> on Wexford St, and both have on-street seating that's great for people watching. This second location is also a night spot - although Anseo is my favourite pub down here. Then I also love the<a href="http://www.theexchequer.ie/" target="_blank"> Exchequer Bar</a> on Exchequer St, beside Fallon & Byrne, for cocktails and night life, and it also does great gastropub food. While I'm on the subject of gastropubs, I must also mention <a href="http://mulligansgrocer.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/beer-tasting-and-other-assorted-tales.html" target="_blank">L Mulligan Grocer </a>over in Stoneybatter - this is one of the oldest original pubs in Dublin and also happens to be one of the finest. With over 200 whiskeys and over 150 craft beers (with regularly changing draught), and some damn good grub, it's latest owners have managed to create something very special indeed for modern tastes while hanging on to all the old world charm. <br /><br />Finally, the <a href="http://www.imma.ie/" target="_blank">Museum of Modern Art</a> is in Kilmainham and the <a href="http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/" target="_blank">Guinness brewery</a> is in James' Gate - a visit to the Store House at the brewery is worth a look, especially for the view over the city. <br /><br />This is just a synopsis, I'm sure you'll have great fun discovering the rest! Hope you have a brilliant time! </span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">PS. My current fav restaurant is <a href="http://www.michiesushi.com/" target="_blank">Michie Sushi</a>. It's the best sushi in Dublin - the other's aren't at the races at all by comparison. It's outside the centre in a lovely village called Ranelagh - only a few stops on the Luas from St Stephen's Green, and down a tiny street called Chelmsford Lane. It's only a little nook but it's soooo worth the effort if you like good sushi, and it has that feel of a secret place. Ranelagh's also nice to see, and there's a lovely wine bar just under the Luas station called <a href="http://www.flavourofitaly.net/Pinocchio.aspx" target="_blank">Pinocchio</a>.</span>Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-25228457704552457442010-08-17T00:23:00.000-07:002010-09-28T15:03:33.937-07:00Burrito bonanza!With a rake of new openings in the recent past, the Dubs are going Tex-Mex mad for filling cheap eats of all shapes, sizes and strength of chilli pepper hotness. Burritos are the new panini, it would seem, and with this taste-value ratio it's not hard to see why. From new takeaway bars such as Burritos & Blues and Pablo Picante to old stalwarts like Café Azteca and Taco Taco that are still doing their good hot stuff for now even keener prices, we’re loving the Dublin Mexican wave.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Burrito & Blues, <span style="font-style:italic;">2 Wexford Street, Dublin 2 </span></span><br />Literally just open, this funky little corner space couldn’t be more welcome in the young, happening end of town that is its new neighbourhood. Build your own burrito how you like it – with a choice of four strengths of hot sauce from mild to ‘blow-your-head-off’ salsa – or choose a house favourite such as the Silver Bullet ‘king of burritos’ with all the trimmings. Quick and tasty on the hoof or sitting in listening to some suitably delicious blues, this burrito bar won’t be long becoming a local favourite. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pablo Picante, <span style="font-style:italic;">131 Baggot Street, Dublin 2 </span></span><br />Another burrito bar that opened to much aplomb last year, Pablo Picante is one part serious Tex-Mex street food, one part masked Mexican wrestler (we kid you not, check out his effigy on the walls of the establishment!) Perhaps the menacing figure represents the power of their house made chilli sauce, as demonstrated in the legendary heat of the ‘Super Picc,’ that’s reported to be hotter than most can handle. Whatever he means, the quality of the food – such as the Carnitas of slow roast pulled pork or the filling Victorio Verde veggie burrito replete with zingy house made guacamole – as well as great value prices, have people queuing out the door daily. Get there early for lunch.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Boojum, <span style="font-style:italic;">Millenium Walkway, Dublin 1 </span></span><br />Inspired by the no-nonsense taquerias of Mexico, the young owners behind Boojum brought their take on the concept first to Belfast and now to Dublin. The idea is fast food based on fresh ingredients, great flavour and good value, and, in the words of Lady Gaga, hot like Mex-i-co! Burritos are built to order with a choice of salsas: mild tomato or corn, medium heat tangy salsa verde, or smoky hot salsa roja. The result is fresh, healthy and super tasty. Their well-known value extends to good student deals too.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sabores de Mexico, <span style="font-style:italic;">Harcourt Street (Thursday), Temple Bar and Leopardstown Markets</span></span><br />“Muy Auténtico y muy bueuno! This is the first and only time I've found real Mexican food in Ireland in the last four years,” gushed one enthusiast for Gustavo and Theresa Hernandez’s authentic street food. Newly installed at the Harcourt Street food market, Sabores de Mexico has been on the Dublin market circuit for some time. Fancy a chorizo taco with frijoles refritos and homemade salsa? You’ll also find them at the Temple Bar Market on Saturdays, Leopardstown on Fridays, or further a field in Brooklodge in Wicklow on the first Sunday of every month.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Cactus Jacks, <span style="font-style:italic;">Millennium Walkway (Middle Abbey St), Dublin 1</span></span><br />A good value restaurant offering a range of Tex-Mex and steak dinners, including some nice coeliac and vegetarian options, Cactus Jacks is becoming a hit with Dubs and visitors alike. Possibly most striking on the menu are the prices. With an early bird offer of three courses for €19.95 including a glass of house wine or soft drink, daily from 4 to 7pm, or the three for €10 tapas deal, or the free meals for kids under 12 on Sundays, you get a lot of spicy bang for your buck.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Cortina’s, <span style="font-style:italic;">The Pembroke District , Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 14</span></span><br />More delicious and filling Mexican food, this time as an oasis in the retail jungle that is the Dundrum Centre. This recently opened restaurante offers everything from Mexican style tapas and sandwiches to starters and mains. Salsas such as mango, lime and chilli and salsa de mole are made in house, and the smoky corn chowder entrada is a popular choice. These folks know their achote from their agave, just beware cocktail offers that may not be all that they seem.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Cafe Azteca, <span style="font-style:italic;">19 - 21 Lord Edward Street, Dublin 2</span></span><br />This cheap and cheerful Mexican café has been pleasing the crowd for some time now, with its simple and great value snack food based on good ingredients – to which its evening cookery classes can attest. That’s right, Café Azteca not only serves up great tomales, pozole and taquitos, it also gives lessons on how to make them. Now open late from Thursday to Saturday, look out for its huevos rancheros wrap with fresh homemade salsa for breakfast.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Taco Taco, <span style="font-style:italic;">Epicurean Food Hall, Liffey Street Lower, Dublin 1</span></span><br />It’s hard to beat the value of a Taco Taco taco. When it comes to fast food, this is hard to beat all round. Service is friendly and the food is delicious, with more Mexican snack foods than you can shake a stick at, from tostada (corn tortilla fried in oil) to mollete (Mexican style crusty roll with refried beans and filling), sincronizada (filling between two tortillas) to grilled chicken torta (deep fried tortilla with chicken filling including fresh green tomatillo salsa), and all the usual suspects too. It’s no wonder regulars describe themselves as addicted to Taco Taco. With this kind of deliciousness available this cheaply and conveniently, it wouldn’t be hard.Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-77421038392531279952010-05-19T01:31:00.000-07:002010-05-20T03:52:36.296-07:00Food for the soulBeing a blogger and foodie facebooker (I did just make that up) I meet people with different interesting connections to food. For instance there's Chris, or Soul Man as I like to call him, the founder of Dublin's only major soul festival. I wasn't sure at first how I could play any part in his magnum opus - the festival he dreamed up for our fair city, now in it's fourth year - but turns out there's a space for food and foodie-ism just about anywhere. Makes sense I suppose, when your aim is to enrich the soul. Food has always been up there with music as an agent of those same heady, evocative properties.<br /><br />So after a few not brief meetings at various Dublin cafés and coffee shops - discussing music, food and everything else you can fit into the space of several cappuccinos - me and the Soul Man came up with the idea of a 'Soul Food Trail' or the 'Soul Food Restaurant Trail,' as it's turned out in the end. The basic premise was to see how many restaurants, cafés, gastropubs and so on would get involved in the festival: playing music, dressing up their space, but most importantly, having a signature 'soul food' dish on the menu for the duration. We hoped for other acts of participation too, like perhaps having special offers for festival-goers or giving away dinner vouchers as prizes, as part of the promotion of the festival. But the key thing was the soul dish, as the real point of engagement between music and food for the week that was in it.<br /><br />Naturally, times being tough 'n all, people were less willing and/or able to deviate from the daily business of surviving (for many, according to strict budgetary plans), but there was also a surprisingly good turn out for the trail, in spite of things. This upped the ante somewhat, so we thought: what could we do to drive our participants to greater heights of creativity, to really push the food experience of the festival to the level we were hoping for?<br /><br />Of course - and I know I'm biased - Bridgestone was the obvious catalyst! And Bridgestone being Bridgestone, they (John and Sally) couldn't resist the notion of such a sensory mélonge and, well, just the plain ol' thought of 'soul food.' So now we had a contest on our hands, making it the task of the Bridgestone judges to find the 'Best Soul Food' before the end of the week. <br /><br />As the week of the festival approaches, we have no idea what to expect and the highest hopes for this unusual event, most of all of seeing the potential for something even grander next year. On a personal note, I'm just dying to see this great mix of food and music, tourists and home crowd, and the whole cultural shooting match in full swing! <br /><br />It's also got me thinking quite deeply about what 'soul food' means to people? I like to think of it as a very broad term that could take on as many meanings as the imagination can allow, as long as it's edible and touches the soul in some way or other. The comfort food you reach for every time you need a happy injection. Or complex creations by a talented artist that make you close your eyes and think about it until you drift away to some other place. Or just something you make because the smell takes you back to another time in your life to which attaches some warm feeling or nostalgia you seem to need, explicable or not.<br /><br />I am REALLY looking forward to seeing 'soul food' in all its forms next week, and hope the trail becomes a fixture, as the festival itself has now become. On that note I'll part with a 'soul food' dish of my very own, which contains two of the most evocative aromas for this foodie - roast chicken and cinnamon §:) (Dublin City Soul Festival 27 - 30 May 2010, www.dublincitysoulfestival.ie)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Caroline's Spicy Barbecued Chicken </span><br /><br />One whole chicken<br />Olive oil<br />Chilli oil<br />2 cloves garlic (minced)<br />1 tsp cinnamon<br />Small pinch nutmeg (freshly grated)<br />Sprig fresh thyme (picked)<br />Good hot pepper sauce, to taste (such as Piri Piri, I love Smoked Tobasco)<br />1/2 tsp chilli powder<br />1/2 tsp smoked paprika<br />1/2 tsp sweet paprika<br />1/2 tsp dried oregano <br />Good squeeze of lemon <br />Sea salt (Maldon's my fav)<br />Black pepper<br /><br />I prefer to roast the chicken before grilling, for that essential roast chicken aroma, but the recipe can be cooked from scratch on the bbq (just be careful to cook it all properly).<br /> <br />1. Massage the chicken with generous amounts of olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then roast slowly until cooked and juicy (get a good quality bird to ensure best results).<br /><br />2. Once cooled, remove the legs (as drumsticks and thighs), wings, breasts, oysters, and any other good bit you fancy, and place in a large bowl of some sort. The carcass can be used for stock.<br /><br />3. Sprinkle the chicken with all the other ingredients, as evenly as possible, as well as some more sea salt and black pepper and toss (very carefully to keep the skin in place) to ensure it's all well coated. Cover and allow to marinate from anywhere between 2 and 24 hours.<br /><br />4. Finally, when your barbecue is ready, put the chicken on the grill until it's nicely charred and the garlic and spices have had a chance to cook. (I find using a grilling basket makes life a lot easier for turning so many small bits - and it means it all gets done evenly). Serve sizzling hot with lemon wedges, and make sure to eat the crispy fat and get the chilli oil all over you face!Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-11965728518803409822010-05-02T03:42:00.000-07:002010-05-20T03:53:29.379-07:00What makes them special?You know those cafés which, by and large, you don't notice? They're sometimes quaint but mostly nondescript, sometimes bearing intriguing titles or frontage a good deal fancier than the bill of fare inside turns out to be. They quietly do their daily trade below the radar of journalists and food writers, which for the most part is understandable. <br /><br />Their ubiquity around Ireland seemed to accompany the burgeoning of the economy through the last decade, as indeed 'coffee to-go' and deli counter food - cornerstones of the modern foodservice and convenience offering - came to symbolise a new culture of 'cash-rich and time-poor' consumerism. Their standards seem to reflect the needs of their customers and their value for money perhaps a little more so nowadays than in the past. But in general they have one thing in common: homogeny. <br /><br />And yet, on the rarest of occasions, you will happen upon one that seems to be of a different breed. On first appearances, it may seem the same, perhaps owing to the presence of chicken tikka and tuna mayo, or other such regulars of the standard deli. But then something about it sets it apart, and what that is only some people will appreciate. <br /><br />I recently stepped into one of these 'special' coffee shops, just next to Patrick's Cathedral of all places. Almost instantly I began to wonder, 'what makes this special?' Is it little details in the decor or atmosphere - on this occasion, filled with the scent of cinnamon buns that were baking in the smallest imaginable oven - or perhaps the way they toast the bread, under an old fashioned grill?<br /><br />Is it the way they make good old fashioned scrambled eggs, without the addition of cream or chives, but cooked moist nonetheless? Is it the way their coffee is unexpectedly good? Or is it the way their steady stream of regular customers flit easily in and out, occupying their favourite nooks and rattling off their usual orders to staff with whom they have a comfortably friendly relationship? <br /><br />Truth is it's all of the above, but most of all, it's the owners of the business who give it its je ne sais quoi. Love, that is. Love of food, love of good service, love of the place. The most refreshing thing about 'it' when you do come by it is its authenticity, because it's something that can't be faked. Those little details that make a place special arise from a person's genuine interest in what they're offering, and a genuine love of what they do.<br /><br />Bite of Life on Dublin 8's humble Patrick Street is full of love! Established in 1997 by husband and wife team Jorinde and Conor Moynihan, its small, simply furnished interior is more than well-equipped to give as much pleasure as some of the most popular brunch spots in town. What could be more perfect than Saturday morning with the paper, in the window seat next to the cosy log fire, watching the world go by while enjoying a breakfast of simple pleasures and the smell of freshly baked, homemade buns? <br /><br />The food is simple: perfectly scrambled eggs and toast, with a choice of smoked salmon or bacon if you're feeling so inclined; perfect porridge with honey and banana; fresh homemade cakes and confections; and an array of homemade soups, salads and sandwiches on bread from Blazing Salads. And good coffee.<br /><br />There's nothing to stand out and grab your attention in the humble offering at Bite of Life, and perhaps nothing special in its homely space or cheerful yellow exterior. However, if you also have a love of food and those things which people like Jorinde and Conor Moynihan appreciate deeply, you too will see what's special about their café, and those other gems that share the same love. <br /><br />Review, 9th February<br /><br />Bite of Life<br />Café and juice bar<br />55 Patrick Street<br />Dublin 8<br /><br />T:01 4542949 <br />www.biteoflife.com <br /><br />Open Monday to Friday 7.30am to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm<br />Caters for offices (platters), ring before 11am to order. Free delivery.Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-82498805598805801472010-02-08T10:26:00.000-08:002010-02-08T10:30:38.373-08:00And all for a tenner!Speaking of all things cool and in the vicinity of Camden Street, I had to write to you about Green Nineteen, just in case no one else has. This place has become a hot spot and even hard to get into on a Tuesday night. Not surprising for a cool little eatery doing good food and all mains at 10 quid! And what a cocktail list too; a mint julep which comes in an icy cold metal cup, or the zingy Mexican Green, a blend of Tequila, Marachino Liqueur, pressed apple juice, fresh chilli and bitters. On my last visit I chose something called ‘All business’ (given it was a week day and that) which was a berry delicious concoction finished off with fresh raspberries and mint – very healthy!<br /><br />The food is also something to write home about, most of all because of the great value. The chicken supreme with mushroom and tarragon cream and lemon zest mash, adorned with a tasty selection of roast root veg, is a very generous portion for the price. And yum-looking, and wolfed down by one fellow diner. A bargain at €10, although no indication of the chicken’s provenance and no clue from our server. The menu does indicate that all beef cooked in the restaurant is 100% Irish.<br /><br />The grilled seasonal veg sandwich on brown toast with smoked Gubeen and Irish leaves was a very tasty and filling lunch, but ironically possibly a little expensive at €8.50. However, I do get it. High cost items like the cocktails, sarnies, cheese boards etc (which personally I really enjoyed and which cost the same at other venues) may be what allows Green Nineteen to offer its fab main courses at such a low price. And as I’ve mentioned, without moving more mark-up onto the rest of the menu than consumers will find elsewhere. <br /><br />The atmosphere is relaxed and funky, the cocktails are grrr-eat, and all in all, this is a genuinely good idea. So I count myself lucky to have Green Nineteen, and long may it satisfy our need for lovely hearty food at a keen price, accompanied by decadent cocktails. <br /><br />Review, 15th August 2009<br /><br />Green Nineteen <br />19 Camden Street Lower<br />Dublin 2<br /><br />T: 01 4789626<br />www.green19.ie<br /><br />Email: management@green19.ie<br /><br />Open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 11pm, and noon to 6pm on Sunday. Doesn’t take reservations for early sitting i.e. until 4pm, then kitchen closes until 5pm. Booking for evening is possible however, and advisable.Caroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-73548231863954686122010-02-08T10:18:00.000-08:002010-02-08T10:37:44.580-08:00Le pichet, s'il vous plaitOwners Stephen Gibson and Nick Munier describe their new venture as ‘a modern take on the classic bistro,’ which is fair enough. Modern incarnations of classic dishes such as citrus cured organic salmon, avocado, salmon wasabi crème fraîche and soy and mirin dressing (€9.00), and mackerel, brick pastry, horseradish, shaved fennel and <br />beetroot vinaigrette (€7.00) certainly live up to the reputation.<br /><br />Having visited last Sunday I think ‘an Irish take on the classic bistro’ is an equally apt description. Despite their complicated sounding titles, it’s clear that quality fresh, produce is the cornerstone of all dishes at Pichet, presented in suitably unfussy fashion so as to allow diners to appreciate them.<br /><br />Pichet bears the hallmarks of experienced restaurateurs. Although open only three months the operation appears to run like a well-oiled machine; the interior is well thought out and well finished, the service is friendly and professional, the menu is concise and appealing from top to bottom, and the wine list – as the bistro’s name implies – allows plenty of options by the glass, 250ml or 500ml pichet, and bottle. They also have beer and stout on draught behind the bar which serves as a deli counter during the day.<br /><br />We were impressed before we’d ordered a thing, and even more so when they obligingly brought my fellow eater his required balsamic vinegar and olive oil for dipping the fresh, crusty bread. After long deliberations (always a good sign when the menu is relatively concise) I opted for the Castletown Bere crab, chorizo mayonnaise and sour dough toast, and mussels and clams à la Grèque (€12.00), and cleared my plate. The crabmeat was fresh as a daisy and dotted with the tiniest bits of chorizo, which when combined with the creamy, yellow mayo was melt-in-the-mouth to the last bite. While the mussels and clams in their chilled herby tomato base gave a nice little taste of something else, just for interest. <br /> <br />The salad of crispy hens egg, Serrano ham, baby leeks, and caper vinaigrette (€7.00) also disappeared without a trace, as did the small pichet of rosé we to chose to accompany the first course (La Vie en Rose, VdP des Collines Rhodaniennes, Domaine du Monteillet, France 2007, €10.25).<br /><br />The mains were equally hard to choose for all the delicious-sounding options, but we did at last decide on the certified Hereford 10oz ribeye, (from Peter Hannon, <br />Co Armagh), béarnaise sauce, watercress salad, and chips (€26.00), and the confit suckling pig with puy lentils, Toulouse sausage, sauerkraut, and Dalkey mustard (€20.00). Despile my best efforts, I could not stop myself from finishing off the molten suckling pig and trimmings, the meat topped with generous slabs of salty crackling. And the steak was deemed to one of the best we’d seen in a Dublin restaurant – and I must also mention that the chips tasted as though they’d been cooked in a good quality fat, staying delicious to the end of dinner. <br /><br />To go with the second course, I had chosen a glass of Barbera d’Alba, Prunotto, Italy 2007 (€8.00) which proved to have been so popular that night they’d run out. So I went with a tasty pinot noir instead (Lake Chalice Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand 2007 €9.25), which worked perfectly with my suckling pig. My lad, being his own man, chose Sauvignon Blanc ‘Reserva’, St.Digna, Miguel Torres, Chile 2008 (€5.75) to go with his steak – each to their own!<br /><br />Seeing as I’d been so bold over dinner already we shared dessert (€6.00); a yummy puff pastry tart filled with caramelised apple and topped with banana ice cream (although it had said vanilla on the menu, the surprise substitution did it for me). And next time I vow to be a beast and try some of their other creations, such as white chocolate cheesecake with passion fruit jelly and raspberries. <br /><br />Pichet really has it all. By day it’s a nice little deli serving sandwiches, soups and pastries, as well as wine to takeaway. Then by night it serves up exceptionally good food for very reasonable prices, in cosy yet modern bistro ambience with great service. I haven’t a bad word to say about Pichet, it’s a star and one of the food highlights this year. According to Stephen Gibson they’ve been doing very well since they opened, booking out each weekend, so I have every confidence the bistro has what it takes to endure – it’s one of the few places delivering on the name ‘bistro’.<br /><br />Review, 23rd September 2009<br /><br />Pichet<br /><br />Café, bar/wine shop and restaurant<br />14 – 15 Trinity Street<br />Dublin 2<br /><br />T: 01 6771060<br />Email: info@pichetrestaurant.com<br />www.pichetrestaurant.com<br /><br />Open Monday to Friday from 8am to 10.30pm, Saturday from 10am to 11pm, and Sunday from 12pm to 9pmCaroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-84937748082784640962010-02-08T09:49:00.000-08:002010-02-08T10:18:34.453-08:00New pub for the old cornerIt was high time something opened in the prime spot at the Central Hotel on Dublin’s Exchequer Street. Fallon and Byrne and Ukiyo reside across the street, Odessa, Shebeen Chic and the Stag’s head occupy the far end of Dame Court and, of course, let’s not forget the Library bar above it. This corner has been sorely in need of something to complete the area, and something good too. <br /><br />Well it seems the perfect solution has just landed right in it. The Exchequer, which opened on Halloween weekend, is everything we could hope for from a modern Irish pub. By day, and evening, the kitchen turns out an assortment of gastropub fare, based on quality Irish produce and artisan ingredients. By night, its talented bar staff offer up an impressive range of beers and unique cocktails not to be found anywhere else.<br /><br />The brainchild of partners Ian Tucker and Peter Rock (son of Dickie), The Exchequer describes itself as a gastropub – quite literally, as it includes a dictionary definition of the word on its website: “A public house which specialises in serving high-quality food.” I would venture to define it further however, as a quite distinctly ‘Irish gastropub,’ one which makes a conscious effort in every way to appeal to a new generation of Irish gastronauts – and socially and environmentally aware to boot.<br /><br />As we’re about food, I must draw attention first to the menu, which deserves some consideration. It gives plenty of choice – although not easy ones as it all looks good – but it doesn’t overreach and consequently, doesn’t overcharge. For starters I chose the Doran’s smoked chowder with potato and leek, at €4.95 a bowl. I always consider this dish to be a good benchmark and The Exchequer’s version, laden with tasty fish and seafood in the shell, over-delivers on price. We also sampled the potted Clogher Head brown crab with soda bread, severed with organic leaves (€8.95) and that was equally praise worthy.<br /><br />In subsequent conversation with proprietor Ian Tucker, we learned that almost everything on the menu is sourced in Ireland and locally as possible. Gold River farm in Co Wicklow supplies the organic leaves, meat comes from O’Malley’s in Limerick, and all fish and seafood is supplied by Doran’s in Howth – mostly from Carlingford and some from the west of Ireland – and 100% from sustainable sources. This principle is followed through on the menu with the choice of battered ling ‘fingers’ as opposed to cod or haddock. And it’s actually a bestseller, as ling’s light texture lends itself well to frying in batter, not to mention its lower price.<br /><br />The Exchequer is also a supporter of Irish artisan food producers, using Silke Cropp’s Corleggy Farmhouse goat's cheese in its warm roast organic beet salad, with prune and walnut relish and organic landcress (€11.95), and Desmond cheese from Sheridan’s Cheesemongers in its slow-cooked crispy duck salad with poached duck egg (€8.50). In addition, all air-dried meats and other charcuterie is supplied by James McGeough in Connemara, and the organic ice cream – apart from the delicious house-made stuff – comes from Tipperary Organic Ice Cream.<br /><br />As I said, the whole menu looks really good! Back to our own selections on the night we visited, I went with the bowl of steamed cockles and West Cork’s Roaring Waterbay mussels (€11.95), which comes in a lovely white wine broth. My companion meanwhile scoffed the chargrilled rib of beef, champ, roasted shallot and red wine jus (€17.95), which was amply hearty to stand up to a pint, if you were that way inclined. All was yum, the plates went back spotless.<br /><br />To it wash down, there is a selection of around 30 beers by the bottle, 11 special cocktails in addition to all the standards, and a very decent range of wines by the glass or bottle. In spite of it being a Tuesday, I couldn’t resist a list as tempting as this, so opted for a fragrant Basil and Elderflower Collins (€9) for an aperitif (heir cocktail menu is conveniently divided into starters, mains and afters), a glass of Kremser Kremsleiten Riesling (€8) for the starter, a Diva Chenin Blanc (South Africa, €7.25) to go with the cockles and mussels, and then finished with a Mr Exchequer (€9), a fab blend of bourbon or rum with clove syrup and angostura bitters.<br /><br />All the cocktails are original recipes from multi-award-winning mixologist Darren Geraghty, who was overall winner of the first-ever Irish Open cocktail competition and is competing for Ireland in the forthcoming world championship contest. At €9 his creations put the €12 and upwards offerings of other not-too-far-away establishments to shame. <br /><br />So finally, we rounded off our dinner with The Exchequer jelly and ice cream. (€4.95), which was served with autumn berries and homemade amoretti ice cream, and the chocolate platter which contains a sumptuous chocolate ganache tart, chocolate fondant, white chocolate mousse and organic chocolate truffle ice cream (€9.95). The platter is actually intended for two people to share, which makes it extremely reasonable price-wise, but if you’re feeling indulgent I advise you to go for it, you can always take the leftovers home. And the tart is great for breakfast with coffee….yes, I did just admit to that!<br /><br />All pastries and ice cream, save those from Tipperary Organic Ice Cream, are made by The Exchequer’s own pastry chef Isabella, formerly of Thornton’s restaurant.<br /><br />There’s nothing bad you can say about this new gastropub that has just blazed a trail into Dublin’s city centre. This is the pub we’ve all been crying out for and hope to see a lot more like it. It’s clear from their operation that its owners are genuinely into food and good old-fashioned Irish hospitality; they’ve just repackaged the Irish pub for today’s audience. So lets hope it succeeds and shows the rest how it’s done.<br /><br />Review, 18th November 2009<br /><br />The Exchequer <br />3-5 Exchequer Street<br />Dublin 2<br /><br />T:01 670 6787<br /><br />Email: info@theexchequer.ie<br />www.theexchequer.ie<br /><br />Open for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday, brunch and roast dinner on Sunday. Full late bar at weekendsCaroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030461440619896523.post-36066168876245171072009-12-05T10:30:00.000-08:002010-02-09T04:35:22.412-08:00Chapter One, where indulgence is goodIt was one of those great indulgent nights when you’d almost expect to wake up with gout never mind a hangover, but I woke the morning after our feast at Chapter One with neither. I can only attribute this to the excellence of the food and drink we’d consumed because, despite our indulgence, it’s just impossible to feel bad about something this good.<br /><br />I also put it down to the superb company I was in that night; fellow gourmands who know when it’s neither the time nor the place for restraint. Briefly among the company also was the man himself, chef-proprietor Ross Lewis, who treated us to a tour of his newly revamped kitchen and, very generously, to two extra courses during our three and half hour repast. <br /><br />The kitchen and the food that comes out of it are a testament to Lewis’ consummate professionalism and ability as a restaurateur. It is as aesthetically appealing as it is efficient in producing its world-class dishes. Tranquil and spotless, it turns out plate after plate of perfect food under the gaze of diners at the chef’s table and, of course, under the constant watchful eye of Lewis himself. <br /><br />Food is the star at Chapter One. The cooking is classical, although with unique personality, and designed always to allow the ingredients to take centre stage. Flare is used to showcase produce, every ingredient to enhance the diner’s enjoyment of the dish. No needlessly complicated embellishments, nothing to distract from the quality of the food.<br /><br />Knowing what we were preparing for and to do justice to the best of Irish cuisine, we spent a long time considering the wine list, with assistance from the very good humoured restaurant manager Declan Maxwell. To start off, the most experienced gourmand among us selected a developed gewurztraminer from Zind Humbrecht, as an aperitif to oil the wheels as we began the more serious deliberations.<br /><br />It’s a good complaint when you want everything on the menu, but with the long journey ahead I thought it best to select lighter courses thereby allowing me to fit more in. And of course, I would inevitably dip into my companions’ plates too.<br /><br />With breads selected – I opted for crusty white soda – and the last of our gewurtz slipping down nicely, the first amuse bouche arrived. A pretty arrangement of clams in a lively caper dressing with overnight oven-dried tomatoes and a few other morsels from the end of summer’s crop, it was the perfect opener for the seasonal feast on its way.<br /><br />Next came Lewis’ beloved organic Irish sweetcorn soup, with a delicate little cepe tortellini at the centre and drizzle of cepe-scented olive oil on top. Sunshine in a bowl. From the vibrant yellow colour to the sweet and nutty flavours, the soup is a celebration of the early autumn. And it was as refreshing to hear Lewis talk so enthusiastically about his sweetcorn supplier, whose stock has already been blanched, removed from the cobs and carefully frozen to provide the basis of delicious stocks and soups for the next number of months. His delight in the wonderful produce translated perfectly into the delightfulness in our bowls.<br /><br />At this point we took a quick pause to order a white wine for the approaching starter and fish courses; a densely mineral sauvignon blanc from the Chablis region which served as the perfect foil for the richness of my companions’ options, and a crisp, fruity compliment to my Langoustine spring roll with red pepper purée in the Basque style and basil oil. <br /><br />My starter was indeed as good as it sounds but more interesting again was the charcuterie selection being dished up with great ceremony to my left. A tender and meaty piece of strongly smoked venison, which was deep crimson in colour, melty cured ham, moreish black pudding and velvety fois gras on toasted brioche held our attention as it was carefully plated up. To my right, some golden roasted quail with a white truffle and honey glaze appeared, served on a bed of gratinated peas and girolle mushrooms in a smoked bacon cream, lifted by some aged sherry vinegar.<br /><br />Our plates were each returned empty, but not before we’d all sampled the glorious trolley and passed bites of juicy prawn in its smooth red pepper purée, and rich quail with creamy trimmings, around the table several times. <br /><br />Once more the plates were cleared, new cutlery was laid, and we arrested to choose a suitable wine for the main course. We had two fish and one red meat on the way, so we opted for a pinot noir; a very lovely Mercurey 1er Cru ‘Les Ruelles’ 2004 from Château de Chamirey, which was opened to breath while we tended our next course.<br /><br />Out came cod with a cassoulet of Morteau sausage, chopped green olives and fresh coco paimpol beans, fennel purée, and sauté queen scallops, compliments of the chef. The dish, which appears on the menu as a main course, was extremely tasty, and both fish and scallop alike were cooked to perfection. Again, the food was pretty as a picture but, more importantly, put together in such a way that you easily could construct good, greedy forkfuls, without necessarily appearing like a glutton.<br /><br />At last we reached our fifth and main courses. So far we were all still in fine form, clearing plate after plate with no leftovers and plenty of room for more. My halibut with aubergine purée, basil and tomato, roast violet artichokes, and Dublin Bay brown shrimp was a delicious mix of late summer produce and Mediterranean flavours to enliven the moist white fish and sweet little shrimp. I was more than happy with our choice of Burgundy along side this dish, as were my companions next to hake in a red pepper glaze and rib of Aberdeen Angus beef with acidulated onion and sage compote.<br /><br />What a pleasure to be served one course after another in the knowledge that each will be as perfect as the last, so all you have to do sit back and enjoy. Service was neither intrusive nor under-attentive, but friendly and helpful, making sure we got the most from our experience. <br /><br />With the main part of our meal behind us we decided to share a single dessert in order to save room for some good Irish cheeses afterwards. Warm chocolate mousse, orange and campari jelly with coffee cream and vanilla ice cream was actually enough for the three of us – although, truth be told, I would gladly have been a glutton and got the lime parfait, pineapple and orange salad and coconut emulsion as well – and it lived up to the high praise from other diners in the restaurant. <br /><br />After quick deliberations we decided on a plate of five cheeses including Durrus, Munster, and Glebe Brethan, and manager Declan Maxwell generously offered to add any further cheeses we might like to try. To top it off, we enjoyed a bottle of Rioja compliments of the chef, to quaff with our cheese and quince paste.<br /><br />Finally we rounded off the meal with a selection of handmade chocolates, toffees and nougat, which we nibbled over a digestif of assorted Irish whiskeys; 12-year-old and 18-year-old Jameson and the very fine Jameson Crested Ten. <br /><br />Our excellent hosts poured us out of the restaurant some three and a half hours after we came in, to go home and think about the feast we’d just had for days to come. Chapter One is everything you hope for from a fine dining restaurant, and everything I hope for from an Irish restaurant. Food is always front and centre in this establishment, and the customer’s pleasure is its ultimate goal. <br /><br />Review, 5th December 2009<br /><br />Chapter One<br /><br />Basement of Writers Museum<br />18 - 19 Parnell Square<br />Dublin 1 <br /> <br />T: 01 8732266 <br />E-mail: info@chapteronerestaurant.com<br />www.chapteronerestaurant.com<br /><br />Open for lunch from Tuesday to Friday 12.30pm to 2.00pm, and for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday 6.00pm to 11.00pmCaroline Byrnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06334055550840727949noreply@blogger.com0