Stitch and Bear

Seagrass, Portobello, Dublin 2

2012-01-26T03:41:00.000Z

One Saturday night a few weeks ago, we decided to go out for dinner. Regular readers of the blog might mutter that this isn't a surprise. We hadn't made any reservations, which is the height of folly in the current Dublin dining scene. Despite the economic pressures, good Dublin restaurants are experiencing high demand, and diners really need to reserve tables in advance. After a short hop on the bus, we found ourselves at Seagrass, Portobello, which appeared to have some free tables.

Seagrass was reasonably full when we wandered in at 8pm, but lots of diners appeared to have finished eating. This lead me to brilliantly deduce that there must be a popular Early Bird, confirmed later by the menu posted at the entrance. In another moment of Holmesian deduction (craft beer bottles on one table, bottles of cava on another), I realised that Seagrass must also operate a BYOB policy. In case I hadn't figured it out, droves of diners were arriving in with all kinds of plastic & brown paper bags. This appears to be one of the best kept secrets in Dublin. The most impressive thing about the BYOB policy at Seagrass is that they don't charge a corkage fee!

Chef Seán Drugan has a simple policy - offer great food and service at affordable prices while sourcing the best local and international produce. The Irish provenance was apparent in his starter of sauteed Kerry & Sligo mussels and wild clams with chili, herbs and lime (€9). The shellfish were perfectly cooked, served plump in the shells with a tasty broth that was both light and creamy.

Clams & Mussels

My slow braised beef terrine with tomato ketchup, mint cream and capers (€8.50) came served on a wooden board with a crazy shock of rocket leaves hiding the terrine. Digging underneath, I found what looked like a slice of set gravy. I have to admit that the mixture of cold & wet gravy just didn't work for me, despite the tasty tomato ketchup. The addition of mint cream and capers just added to the bizareness of the dish.

Slow braised beef terrine

At this point, we were at a fork in the road. His starter had been top notch, while mine caused the mind to boggle. I wondered aloud if we were dealing with a crazed genius chef. The score was tied, only the main course could decide for us. We had ordered the special, a lamb platter (€40 for two, or €25 for one). What arrived at the table was a thing of beauty, with immaculate presentation, worthy perhaps of Masterchef. Other diners even muttered appreciatively as it arrived at the table.

Shoulder of lamb platter with roast vegetables

The lamb was succulent and juicy lamb with the crusty flavoursome end bits also included, accompanied by hearty roast vegetables and sweet, sharp gravy. Our questions about the creativity of the chef were definitively answered as there was undoubtedly a cook of ability in the kitchen (if sometimes a little off-track).

We finished up and left satisfied, but other diners lingered after us. Clearly there is no pressure from Seagrass staff to turf out customers in order to prepare the table for the next set of diners. Seagrass was a refreshing discovery for us - excellent value (Early Bird offers 3 courses for just €21 all night Sun - Thurs, and 5-7pm Fri & Sat), relaxed service and a 100% free BYOB policy. The BYOB trend is surely set to grow this year, as wine sales in restaurants suffer due to over-priced wine lists. Well done to Seagrass for being ahead of the pack.

Seagrass is that rare elusive beast - the lesser spotted, good value, creative local bistro.

Addendum: Following our dinner, we organised to visit again with a party of six, where we dined on the Early Bird, and took advantage of the BYOB policy. Some of the quirkiness experienced on our first visit was still here, but there were zero complaints and lots of praise from our group for the meal. The fact that the meal cost only €150 (including some supplements and service charge) was an additional bonus.

Seagrass, South Richmond Street, Portobello, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 (0)1 478 9595
URL: www.seagrassdublin.com
Twitter: @seagrassdublin

Jake's Wayback Burgers, Mebane, North Carolina

2012-01-24T01:48:00.001Z

So I'm in the US again for 3 weeks of work. When I left work on the Friday evening of Week 1, I went out to Raleigh Durham Airport to pick up my reserverd hire car. It turns out that Americans don't understand "hire car", so I'm starting to learn to use "rental". Sheesh!

Anyway, I had a few drinks at the hotel bar on Friday night to celebrate the end of the week. Obviously, I suffered the inevitable consequences of over-indulgence on Saturday, and having to sit through a work-related conference call at 10am didn't help matters much. Still though, by midday, I was feeling much better, and a group of us headed off for some outlet shopping at Tanger Outlet Mall Centre in Mebane, North Carolina.

After 90 minutes of shopping, I needed to take a break and give my melting credit card some time to cool back down. There's a reasonable selection of dining options in the Tanger Mebane outlet including pizza and juices. However, Jake's Wayback Burgers caught my eye.

I ordered the Jake Cheeseburger ($5.59), which comes with a wide range of toppings, free of charge. I wanted to keep it simple as I'm not a fan of large amounts of cold salad in my burgers, so I simply added grilled onions & relish. A side of fries ($2.99) and a vanilla malt milkshake (3.99) completed my order.

Burger & fries at Jake's Wayback Burgers

My burger came simply served on a platter lined with greaseproof paper. It consisted of two thin, but very juicy and tender patties with good flavour. Fries came with skin still on, and the vanilla malt was excellent, and gave a great contrast to the salty fries. The burger simply melted in my mouth and into the soft burger bun. It reminded me of a cross between a gourmet high end burger and a burger from a famous burger chain. It was thin and easy to eat (like the burger chain version) but juicy and succulent (more like a gourmet burger).

Later, I found the website for Jake's Wayback Burgers, which describes how the brand started as a single burger joint in 1991. It's grown since then, but still strives to deliver an authentic burger, with a home-cooked, old-fashioned feel (hence the Wayback title). All I can say is that I'm glad to have found a burger chain that provides a burger that is both great value and real.

Jake's Wayback Burgers, Unit 100 Tanger Mall Outlet Centre, 4000 Arrow Head Blvd., Mebane, North Carolina 27302
Tel: +1 919-563-2888
URL: http://waybackburgers.com/homepage/
Twitter: @waybackburgers

Brancott Estate Wine Tasting Masterclass (and a chance to win tickets)

2012-01-18T20:18:00.002Z

I just received a press release in my inbox which may be of interest to some of you Dublin-based wine lovers out there (particularly if you are a Sauvignon Blanc drinker). Personally, I love Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs, which have really rocketed in popularity recently. Unfortunately, I can't attend on the evening, but maybe one of you can. Read on for more details...

On Tuesday, 31st January, Brancott Estate winemaker,Jamie Marfell will host a free wine tasting masterclass in the Odessa Club, Dublin. This will tie in with Marfell's visit to the New Zealand Wine Fair, where he will be promoting Brancott Estate's Sauvignon Blanc. Jamie will offer 30 guests hisexpert tips on wine as well as a unique insight into wine making in the Marlborough region having grown up on a farm overlookingthe Brancott Valley and working for the brand forover 20 years.

On the evening Jamie will be joined by Irishwine expert Jean Smullen who will help him to guide the audience through thewine tasting process. Guests will be treated to a selection of delicious canapésand will have the opportunity to try five wines from the Brancott range; threefrom the classic range (Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Brancott Estate PinotGrigio and Brancott Estate Pinot Noir), one wine from the Letter Series Range,Letter Series B and one of the newest varietals to the range, the sparklingBrancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc Brut NV.

The Brancott Estate wine tasting masterclasshosted by Brancott Estate winemaker Jamie Marfell and Irish wine expert JeanSmullen takes place in Odessa Club on Tuesday 31^st January at7.00pm. Tickets are free and guests can register for spaces by emailing brancottestateireland@gmail.comwith their name, date of birth, contact details and address or they can findout more information through the Brancott Estate Facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/brancottestateireland).Tickets are allocated on a lottery basis and guests will be notified ofattendance by Friday 27^th January.

Skinflint, Dublin 2

2012-01-18T15:12:00.002Z

It seems like Dublin restauranteur Joe Macken cannot sit still. First Crackbird appeared as a pop-up fried chicken restaurant in Crane Lane, then it closed, it reappeared on a somewhat more permanent basis on South William Street, and it will close again shortly. (You can read about my visit to the original Crackbird here). In the meantime, he has also launched Momma's Place in Temple Bar, and more lately, the grilled pizza joint Skinflint.

Skinflint occupies the original Crackbird premises on Crane Lane, but the interior has been cleaned up to give a more open space. Tables consist of old painted wooden doors, laid flat on trestles and topped with thick sheets of glass. The menu comes printed on small sheets of thin brown paper and mainly features a set of grilled pizzas named after the mothers of various staff members. A few small snax options are also available as well as more of Joe's now-trademark home-made lemonades.

The new Skinflint interior at Crane Lane

Everything here is meant to be cheap and cheerful (hence the name!), right down to the brown paper wrapped industrial rolls of tissue paper that take the place of napkins. (Given the stories I've heard of cloth napkin theft at Crackbird, the tissue paper must be a far more economical option). We kicked off with a plate of beetroot caviar - fantastically hued with thin strips of what I presume was pizza base to scoop it up (€4.24). Some salt was needed to bring this to life, but the earthy flavour of beetroot shone through.

Beetroot Caviar

Our friendly table companion

Skinflint's pizzas are made with Odlums Irish flour (no Tipo 00 here) and come served on long rectangular wooden boards. Our friendly server whipped out a mezzaluna and made quick work of chopping the pizzas into more manageable pieces. My Vonie pizza consisted of harissa, mozzarella, egg and serrano ham (€12.00). For me, the harissa did't quite work as a tomato substitute, but a drizzle of the chili-infused Firebee honey bought some sweetness to the pizza. Himself chose the Tess, a combination of pulled pork, fennel seeds, braised fennel and marscapone (€13.00). Although I'm not a fennel fan, this was a magnificent combination and I especially loved the creamy texture from the marscapone.

We dined courtesy of the popular #tweetseats offer that frequently runs in Crackbird and Skinflint. Simply follow @skinflintDUBLIN on Twitter and keep an eye open for the next #tweetseats offer. Secure yourself some places by following the rules, and you can enjoy one main course per person free of charge. Simples! We paid for extras, so one beetroot caviar and some drinks bought our total to €9.20. Unfortunately, espressos were not available on the day we dined, but filter coffee is priced at just €0.99 a cup.

It looks like Skinflint is yet another winning creation from the Joburger team. It's quick, tasty and cheerful. In addition to the pizza, there is one daily meatball special, which is promoted daily on Twitter. Skinflint doesn't have quite the same addictive quality that Crackbird possessed, but it does promote good Irish produce and the pizza sizes are more than generous. I don't know how long Skinflint will last (I'm sure Joe already has the next project planned), but I'd definitely recommend giving it a whirl while still around.

The bill at Skinflint

Skinflint, 19 Crane Lane, Dublin 2
Tel: No telephone
URL: skinflint.joburger.ie
Twitter: @skinflintDUBLIN

My Favourites from 2011

2011-12-31T17:44:00.003Z

It's time for a little retrospective on 2011, courtesy of Stitch and Bear...

Personally, 2011 was the year that I got back into blogging. Prior to 2011, Stitch and Bear had been a mishmash of topics. But once I returned from my 13 month stint in Amsterdam, I decided to focus purely on food matters, and more specifically restaurant reviews. I put my technical hat on and purchased the www.stitchandbear.com domain as well as fixing my Google ranking issue. I made many new and interesting acquaintances on Twitter as well as attending a great food photography workshop hosted by Bord Bia.

I had the opportunity to eat out a lot this year, as well as try out lots of great Irish products. Here's a selection of my top picks.

Best Meal of 2011

A meal is more than just food. Service and atmosphere all contribute to a great meal, and the memories will linger with you long after the food has been digested. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great experience, but this year both of my my front-runners for 2011's best meal were Michelin star venues - Chapter One and Bon Appetit. Both meals were fantastic examples of moden Irish cooking, but they were also true experiences. Trying to choose one over the other was akin to splitting hairs, but I'm going to give the gong to Bon Appetit (all because I want an excuse to go back and try their downstairs tapas bar).

Best Ethnic Restaurant 2011

I am addicted to spicy food (as well as Twitter and Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc), and the Chinese cuisines of Hunan and Sichuan are my firm favourites. However, my best ethnic restaurant of 2011 has been Kinara Kitchen in Ranelagh. This location delivers flavoursome and authentic Pakistani and Eastern Indian food in a beautifully decorated dining room. Top tip: Try the Champ Kanddhari (grilled spicy lamb chops).

Runner up: Mandarin House for some excellent, authentic and great value chinese food.

Best Restaurant 2011

I had no difficulty at all in choosing my winner in this category, despite the sad fact that it is located in Drogheda. Owners Jeni and Reuven have created a wonderful and magical emporium and I have no hesitation in naming the Eastern Seaboard Bar & Grill as my favourite venue of 2011. Going for a meal in this quirky but quietly sophisticated restaurant makes me very happy inside, while visits to the sister Brown Hound Bakery bring about a return to the wonder of childhood. The Eastern Seaboard is a shining beacon of creativity and excellence in a vibrant Irish dining scene.

Runners up: Bibi's Cafe for casual food and The Fatted Calf, Glasson for amazing food in a pub.

Best Irish product 2011

The Irish craft beer industry has been growing strongly for some time now but my favourite Irish product of 2011 has been the Cork-made Stonewell Cider. This cider features a mix of fresh juices from different Irish apple varieties and the finished product has a wonderful apple taste. Drink this and you will not want to ever again pollute your mouth with mass producted ciders. This is currently only available in the Munster region due to limited quanitites, but plans are afoot for greater production in 2012.

Runners up: Great beers are coming from companies such as Eight Degrees Brewing, Metalman, Dungarvan Brewing Company and Trouble Brewing. (Is it coincidence I wonder that the first 3 companies all come from the same corner of Ireland?) Get yourself to one of the emerging pubs specialising in these beers (such as L Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter or the BierHaus in Cork), and you can have a fine night tasting the best of the Irish brewing industry.

Other highlights of 2011

Redisovering Coolea mature cheese - this is a sweet, nutty and smooth Dutch-style cheese made since 1979 in the Cork Muskerry Gaeltacht (my home region). Purchase some in Sheridan's Cheesemongers (or your local store) and eat at room temperature. There is none better.
A vanilla panna cotta with coffee & truffle ice-cream and espresso jelly at Mulberry Garden. I think this is a dessert that you'd either hate or love. I loved it.
Wonderful Irish whiskey from the Cooley Distillery. Until recently, this was the sole remaining independant distillery in Ireland, but their recent sale to Beam doesn't change the fact that Irish whiskey is having a resurgence in popularity. Try the Greenore 8 Year Single Grain or the Kilbeggan blended whiskey.
A perennial local favourite of mine is the fantastic range of jams and relishes from Cúil Aodha based Folláin. I simply love their Exotic Fruit Relish, particularly in a grilled cheese toastie.
The emergence of proper cocktails, firstly at Harry's on the Green (although it's prone to loud music) or more lately, at the Cliff Town House. My love affair with cocktails reached new heights with the tableside preparation of the perfect martini at the Sheen Falls Lodge.

Looking forward to 2012

My wish for 2012 is to see more variety and independance enter the Irish dining and drinking scene. We need establisments with more character and uniqueness.

I think that the Celtic Tiger destroyed the pub culture in Dublin City centre. Too many beautiful and traditional bars had their guts ripped out to become late night bars which poured forth bad loud music and drunkenness. Let's turn down the music and get back to talking in our bars, preferably over a glass of Irish beer or cider.

O'Brien Chop House, Lismore, Co Waterford

2011-12-29T20:04:00.000Z

Back in early December 2011, we found ourselves driving between Cork and Waterford. As we passed by Youghal, I saw roadsigns for Lismore, reminding me that I was yet to visit O'Brien Chop House (which has been open since 2009). Being a creature who demands immediate satisfaction in matters of food, we quickly decided that lunch in Lismore would be a very fine idea indeed.

Lismore is a beautiful town, sitting on the Blackwater river at the foot of the Knockmealdown mountains. Old shopfronts have been preserved and the entire town just breathes history and tradition. O'Brien Chop House is itself located on the premises of an old Victorian pub. As you push open the narrow wooden door, and walk across the tiled entrance, you will find yourself in a piece of old traditional Ireland. The original bar, shelving and snug have all been maintained, while the dining room extends out to the rear.

After ordering, we received selection of freshly baked breads served with a pat of Glenilen Farm butter. The breads were excellent, and it's really nice to see farmhouse butter starting to appear in different restaurants. The menu at O'Brien's regularly features a fizz and on our visit, spiced apple fizz was a nod to the season (€3.50). Elderflower fizz also features frequently, thanks to abundant crops which need to be used and frozen.

Selection of fresh breads & butter

Pork crackling popcorn

We ordered a portion of pork crackling popcorn as a snack while waiting for our mains. Little puffs of crackling came served in an old, battered pewter cup lightly dusted with paprika and sea salt (€2.50). To be honest, we found them somewhat compulsive eating.

We shared one of the daily special starters - Dry aged McGrath's beef steak tartare (€12.50). This was served with a stunning yellow duck egg yolk sitting on top. Once the yolk was broken and mixed through the meat, we was found the tartare to be wonderfully flavoursome with a smooth, dense texture. Delicious stuff.

Steak tartare with duck egg yolk

My main course was Ballyvolane House Saddleback pork chops, apple and onion jam with pan juices (€21.50), while he chose another special, pan-fried ray wing with lemon and caper butter (€19.90). Wonderful roast winter root vegetables and a portion of fries accompanied our mains. The ray wing was a simple piece of cooking with plenty of firm, meaty flesh and it caused us both to wonder why ray wing isn't featured more frequently on restaurant menus. The pork chops were substantial, with the pink hue that comes with really good pork. Despite all this, the roast root vegetables were the stars of the show. Piled high in a blue & white china bowl, they were warming and hearty with all the goodness of the roasting pan.

Ballyvolane House saddleback pork chop

Pan-fried ray wing

O'Brien Chop House sources local, seasonal produce, with an in-house garden kitchen. On the day we visited, the menu featured a special of whole, roast mallard, and I gained much amusement watching a fellow diner wield a knife to the whole duck. Although the duck may have lost the battle to the gamekeeper, it was definitely managing to defeat my neighbour. As we left through the old bar, I imagined myself back again, only this time in the evening, and with a local beer in hand. O'Brien Chop House draws you back, it's that kind of place.

O'Brien Chop House, Lismore, Co Waterford
Tel: +353 (0)58 53 810
URL: www.obrienchophouse.ie
Twitter: @obrienchophouse

Bar Lunch at the Cliff House Hotel

2011-12-28T18:20:00.000Z

I reckon that I've driven over 1,300 km in the last 2.5 weeks. Although I live in Dublin, my newest client is based in Cork, and I've also been trekking between Cork and Waterford for family Christmas obligations. In the two and a half years I've owned my beloved car, I've nearly doubled the mileage on it and I've only slept in my own bed 2 nights out of the last 20.

The funny thing is that I kind of like being out on the road. I love driving, and although I dislike being away from home, I also do some of my best work when I'm cooped up in hotel rooms, removed from the distractions of home. Still though, it's no substitute for your own bed and sofa.

Thanks to all this drving between Cork and Waterford, I've finally been able to visit two establishments that have long been on my wish list. Several weeks ago we enjoyed a pre-Christmas lunch in O'Brien's Chophouse in lovely Lismore, followed recently by lunch in the Bar at the Cliff House Hotel perched high on the cliffs over Ardmore Bay.

Although we arrived a little late in the afternoon, the Cliff House bar was doing a brisk trade with late-lunchers and cliff-walkers seeking some warmth after the icy winds. We got lucky and secured a table along the windows with a stunning view out over the sea. We initially put our eyes on the smoked haddock salad and crab claws as the front runners, but unfortunately they were not available, due to "supply chain issues". However, I consoled myself with an excellent Tinpot Hut Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (€9 per glass).

McGrath's Spiced Beef

We shared a starter of McGrath's spiced beef with hazelnuts, parsley "pesto", cheddar and rocket (€9.50). It came carpaccio style with a tender pink centre and generous drizzles of pesto. I loved this twist on a Cork classic, and it tasted even better on a slice of the fresh brown bread.

Helvick cod fillet

Slowly roasted pork belly

Initially himself had chosen a seafood and barley risotto, but clearly Sod's Law was ruling that day as the waitress returned from the kitchen to tell us that it was no longer available, so instead he chose the fillet of Helvick cod (€23.50). A substantial piece of dense meaty cod came served with a spinach crust, topped with toasted flaked almonds and a creamy white wine sauce. Slowly roasted belly pork came with butter fried onions and a rich gravy (€23.50) and we shared some lovely baby potatoes gratin and roasted root vegetables.

Coffee with a tasty treat

We finished with two very good coffees which came with a little plate of tasty mini-cakes studded with fresh sharp raspberries. The coffeees were listed on our bill at €4.50 each, but I was later informed by Adriaan Bartels (General Manager at the Cliff House Hotel, and all round good guy) that we should have been offered a pot of coffee for two, which comes with a lower price tag.

I literally had to drag myself out of the chair in order to leave. A feeling of wellbeing and relaxation had crept through me as we watched the rain sweep across the bay followed by a shimmering rainbow. After all the Christmas rush and mayhem, this had been the short tonic I required.

The Cliff House Hotel, Middle Road, Ardmore, Co Waterford
Tel: +353 (0)24 87 800
URL: www.thecliffhousehotel.com
Twitter: @cliffhousehotel

Show some manners!

2011-12-26T12:09:00.001Z

The run up to the Christmas season is obviously a busy time for restaurants, generating much needed revenue (with over 20% of the annual restaurant income being generated in in 3 weeks). Office and work parties mean that large tables are reserved well in advance allowing the restaurant managers to plan, purchase stock and organise work rosters.

Over the past year on Twitter, I've noticed the occasional tweet from assorted restauranteurs about confirmed bookings who fail to show. These no-shows caused annoyance as it means that managers have turned away other bookings as well as the loss of income.

As Christmas came closer, the frequency of these "no-show" tweets gradually started to increase, turning from a trickle into a flood. Restaurants who hadn't previously commented started to share their experiences. Here's a selection of tweets from the run up to Christmas.

@OliverDunne
4 confirmed tables no show so far, somethings will NEVER change.

@AlexisDublin
We lost 40 people between Fri and Sun through no shows..needs to be highlighted.

@OliverDunne
Last night 12 people didn't turn up @bonappmalahide but thankfully we had a few walk ins so it was a good night :-) #noshows

@FennsQuay
on Friday we turned away a few & 8 no showed sun & 2 tables of 6 no show I know of another rest on sat night 3 groups no show

@ElectricCork
a nearby restaurant where a full house would be 70 covers, 1 nite last wk had 30 no shows & late cancellations

@OliverDunne
Since 5pm today 42% of my bookings @bonappmalahide tonight have cancelled or not turned up and the nights not over yet!

This problem isn't limited just to Irish restaurants as I've also noticed similar complaints emerging from English tweeters. Understandably, restaurants are annoyed at these no-shows and late cancellations and the Restaurants Association of Ireland started a press campaign to highlight this issue. Many venues are considering implementing a deposit scheme at the time of booking, which will be refunded against the cost of the meal.

The message is simple - if you can't make your reservation, please get in touch with the venue to cancel, preferably giving as much notice as possible. It's just manners after all.

Heineken launches thisisbeer.ie

2011-12-17T16:19:00.003Z

I've written recently about Heineken's efforts to promote the pairing of food and beer. As part of this initiative, I was invited to a session in the Siam Thai Dundrum, where we learned a huge amount about beer from a master beer sommelier, as well as seeing how beer works with different foods.

Heinken Ireland continue to promote the matching of food and beer and have recently launched a new webiste thisisbeer.ie. Described as a "beer hub built to celebrate the natural goodness of beer", the website is intended to act as a venue where experienced and novice beer drinkers can discuss and learn about beer.The website will provide details on the different Heineken brands, as well as providing recipes to showcase how beer can pair with food.

Sometimes, it's easy to forget that beer is a wholly natural product, made from just four ingredients: water, barley, hops and yeast. As a natural product, beer is a perfect accompaniment to food and with a wide array of brands on offer from Heineken Ireland (including Tiger, Zwyiec and Paulaner), there surely is a beer out there for everybody.

For more information on beer and food matching, visit www.thisisbeer.ie

Quick & Easy - Puff Pastry Pizzas

2011-12-13T21:52:00.000Z

Everyone needs a surefire recipe for the Christmas season. It has to be easy, quick but still produce a result that is delicious and suitable for this period of indulgence. So here's my suggestion of puff pastry pizzas. The beauty of these pizzas, or tarts, is the ease and speed with which they can be made. But once that buttery, flaky pastry comes out of the oven, there is a feeling of luxury and specialness. Perfect for Christmas.

I think ready made puff pastry has to be one of life's greatest inventions. Making puff pastry from scratch is no mean feat (usually reserved for Masterchef competitors), so why bother at home when you can purchase it chilled and ready to go? The commonly available option is Jus-Rol frozen pastry, but I've never fully liked it. However, I recently tried Tesco's Finest chilled puff pastry and really liked the results. It also has a shelf life of several weeks, which means that you can keep it in stock for ad-hoc cooking.

First of all, you'll need a tomato sauce for the base. I love my own recipe for pizza sauce but you can use whatever you have to hand. Preheat the oven to 180C, get the chilled puff pastry, cut into four equal pieces and place onto some baking sheets.

Chorizo, feta & carmelised red onion

Place some tomato sauce onto the middle of each sheet and spread out, making sure to leave bare strips on the sides. Doing this means that pastry will puff up at the edges, providing a lovely flaky crust to your pizza. Top the tomato sauce with some shredded or grated mozzarella. Finally, add your toppings. Recent favourite combinations of mine have included parma ham and fresh shredded basil as well feta cheese, chorizo and carmelised red onion with a light dusting of chili flakes.

Parma ham, mozzarella & basil

Place the pizzas in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are puffed up and golden. Once out of the oven, leave the pizzas to sit for a few minutes to give the cheese time to set a little before eating. To add some extra flavour and aroma, scatter some fresh basil on the parma & basil pizza.

Cut the pizzas into smaller portions and serve. Just make sure to catch all the delicious buttery flakes!

Dressler, Brooklyn, New York

2011-12-10T19:07:00.001Z

I spent two whirlwind days in New York in November. I was scheduled to travel to North Carolina for work purposes, and we decided to wedge in two vacation days and make a pitstop in the city that never sleeps. I only got the green light for the business trip one week beforehand, so all our personal arrangements were made in a flurried hurry.

As a result of all this rush, we didn't work out an eating plan in advance. But we did promise ourselves that we would try to hit one really good restaurant, ideally for that New York institution, brunch. For a change of scenery we stayed in Brooklyn, as opposed to Manhattan. This turned out to be a real brainwave and we got to see some new and upcoming areas in Brooklyn.

Dressler is a Michelin-starred restaurant on Broadway (not THAT Broadway, but the Broadway in Brooklyn). It's very handsome inside, with old tiled floors, iron chandeliers and backlit metal grilles. The dominant colours are dark red and black with soft lighting. It all adds up to a feeling of aged sophistication.

Fig, blue cheese & prosciutto salad

Smoked trout & apple salad

The brunch menu is a nice mix of light fare, egg-based dishes and more substantial sandwiches and burgers. The menu is rounded off with oysters and a nice selection of brunch cocktails to help on those hairy mornings. We both started off with salads, a fig, prosciutto and blue cheese salad ($12.00) for me, while he enjoyed a smoked trout and apple salad ($12.00). Both dishes were light with a good balance of flavours from the different combinations.

Pork BLT

Turkey club sandwich

For main courses, he chose a turkey club sandwich ($15.00) while I chose a pork BLT ($16.00), both of which came served with fries. A little bowl of pickles completed the plates. As it was Sunday, and I was on holidays, I also chose a La Batida cocktail ($12.00) to enjoy with my brunch. I ordered the cocktail just a little before midday, which meant that I had to wait for the clock to tick over before the barman could make and serve it to me. La Batida is a Brazilian coconut-based cocktail which features fruit mixed with cachaça. It was creamy and gently sweet, with the bite of alcohol. Very tasty indeed.

Our meal was Sunday brunch food at its best, satisyfing and tasty. Dressler really seems to exemplify modern American cooking. The relaxing and unique dining room is just lovely, and service, as you'd expect, was attentive. Two good americanos meant that our total bill came to approximately $90. By any standards, that's a lot of money for brunch, but Dressler was worth the trip.

Dressler, 149 Broadway, Brooklyn, NYC
Tel:+1 718 384 6343
URL: www.dresslernyc.com
Twitter: @DresslerBrookly

A Beer & Food Tasting with Heineken

2011-12-04T17:39:00.001Z

A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to attend a beer and food matching evening, courtesy of Heineken. Several different sessions were taking place in Cork and Dublin and I put my name down for the dinner at Siam Thai in Dundrum Town Centre.

I was curious to see what Heineken would offer at this event, and how they could make their big name brands stand out. It's possible to argue that they are Goliath, striding into the growing Irish craft beer movement, potentially at the expense of the smaller breweries. However, I have to say that I enjoyed the event immensely and found it very educational. The knowledgeable Fiona Smith from the F&B Partnership was our tutor for the evening, and she gradually took us through the different ways of experiencing and tasting beer.

A special menu had been selected for us at the Siam Thai. We were to have a mixed starter plate with each starter being paired to a particular beer. This would be followed by our choice of main course, again with a suggested beer pairing. All tables were set with a selection of large wine glasses, which were used for tasting the various beers.

Starters

Chicken and pineapple skewers with Paulaner
Salmon cakes with Zywiec
Laab gai salad with Tiger

Main Courses

Sweet and sour chicken with Zywiec
Lamb with Thai herbs with Paulaner
Panang pork curry with Moretti
Massaman chicken curry with Sol
Red curry prawn noodles with Heineken

Fiona kicked off by informing us that beer had the same basic properties as wine, particularly when it came to pairing with food. In fact, beer actually has a broader spectrum of flavours than wine and comes in different colours including dark, amber and white (naturally cloudy or unfiltered beers).

The quick guide to tasting beer..

When pouring beer, the glass and bottle should never come in contact
Take short sniffs of the beer to get the aromas
Stir the beer with a spoon to build up a head, which you then taste to get an indication of the hop level. Hops attach to the CO2 contained in beer, so the head on a beer will contain lots of hop flavour
Taste the beer in slurps (yes slurps!). This will get lots of air into the beer, giving you a chance to taste the flavours

We moved onto our first beer, Paulaner, which was paired with chicken & pineapple skewers. We poured the beer into the wine glasses, swirled and sniffed as instructed, revealing tropical fruit smells. Paulaner is a Hefe-Weissbier from Bavaria, but I really pleasantly surprised to find lots of banana flavour in the beer, something I'd never noticed before.


Zywiec beer and a tasting notes booklet

Next up was the Polish beer Zywiec (pronounced zee-vee-ek), a darker beer made from barley. As a result this had a darker, maltier aroma and flavour. In fact, I thought of Maltesers when I sniffed it. It has more hops than the Paulaner as well as hints of lemon, which meant that it paired very nicely with the salmon fishcakes

The last of our starters, spicy Laab gai salad, was paired with the Malaysian Tiger beer, which has been brewed since 1932. Author Anthony Burgess even named a novel "Time for a Tiger" after the famous advertising slogan "It's time for a Tiger". This was hoppier than the previous beers, but it's light and fresh flavours meant that it balanced the spicy chicken salad quite well.

Suggestions had been given for our main course pairings, but I declined the suggestion for my main course choice of lamb with Thai herbs, and instead chose another bottle of Zywiec. This beer had been my clear favourite of the 3 tasted so far and I wanted to enjoy it some more. Himself chose Moretti to accompany his red curry prawn noodles. As we were eating and slurping beer, Fiona was doing some rounds of the tables, answering any additional questions that we may have.

The big lesson of the night was to serve beer in glasses that are wide enough to give you a chance to really smell the beer. I had been surprised to see big red wine glasses on the table, but they were the perfect vessels for the beers. Some of my previous thoughts about beers were overturned on the evening. Prior to this event, I would never have ordered a Paulaner of Zywiec, but this tasting event really opened my eyes (and nose) to their fruity aromas and flavours.

A big thank you to Fiona and the crew from Heineken and Thinkhouse for organising this great event. For more information on the Heineken family of beers, events, and suggested food pairings, visit www.thisisbeer.ie.

Locks Brasserie, Portobello, Dublin 8

2011-12-03T18:15:00.001Z

I've been so busy with work lately that I only realised my birthday was imminent a few days before the event itself. To celebrate my 33rd year, Himself booked dinner at Locks Brasserie, located in a little terrace on the banks of the Grand Canal. I was delighted with the choice as the restaurant always looks so captivatingly lovely at nighttime, with light spilling out over the canal and swans sailing serenely past. Memories of Patrick Kavanagh and "stilly, greeny" canal water come flooding back.

After arriving, we sat at a small table in the bar area to enjoy some aperitifs and read the menu. Perhaps it was due to the canalside location, but I thought there was a slight smell of damp in the air. We were going to order something fizzy, but then we saw the barman making martinis for some other customers. Shortly after, we found ourselves sipping on two excellent gin martinis with a twist. Martinis ooze adult sophistication and these babies definitely oozed gin. In 2002, Roger Agnell wrote a wonderful essay about Martinis for the New Yorker magazine - definitely worth reading if you have any interest in this wonderful cocktail.

After a few minutes, we sailed on a cloud of oily gin to our table. Our lovely waiter gave us plenty of time to make our selections, which in turn gave us time to look out from the warmth to the cold night outside. The downstairs dining is simply decorated in cream wood panelling, letting the charm of the old building shine through. It is, in short, a very comfortable and welcoming space.

My starter of a single large langoustine and lobster ravioli came served on spinach, with the waiter pouring a lobster bisque at the table. At €15.50 this was a pricy starter and it just didn't work for me. The ravioli was lovely with sweet meaty flavours but I just didn't like the bisque, which seemed to have a slightly burnt, over-carmelised tone. His chosen starter of celery veloute (€7.00) was deemed to be quite nice, with a sweet creamy flavour (I can't abide celery, which means that it's banned at home, so he grabbed the opportunity to enjoy).

The lobster bisque hadn't suited me and things didn't get any better with the arrival of our mains. He had chosen the wild mallard, served with pumpkin gnocchi, savoy cabbage and blackberry vinaigrette (€26.00), while I had opted for the dry-aged rib-eye steak, served with bone marrow, french fries and Bearnaise sauce (€28.50). The major fault with these dishes was the disparity in size - the steak was large enough to feed a caveman, while he received a few meagre slices of what must have been a rather skinny duck. It really amazes me that a chef saw these dishes at the pass and never paused to question the asymmetry.

When ordering, himself had inquired if he would need to order a side dish. Our server had been quick to assure him that the duck would be plenty large, so the resulting small size was doubly galling, and to add insult to injury, the duck was dry. We ordered an extra portion of fries to provide some bulk, but like the duck, the portion sizes were on the small side.

I should mention that my steak was cooked excellently, and I really did like the small piece of accompanying marrowbone. But there was no escaping from the fact that the size of my dish meant that I was eating long after he had cleared his plate. The imbalance was striking. On the flip side, desserts were excellent. I ordered an iced whiskey and honey parfait with wonderful homemade honeycomb and tiny little pearls of mulled pears (€10.00) and while he had crème brûlée made with free-range eggs (€6.00).

We did have a very nice time in Locks. Service was wonderful throughout and the dining room has a lovely atmosphere at night. But the disjointed food left us feeling disappointed with the meal and we just didn't feel that we got value for money. At this end of the money scale, a customer should expect all aspects of a meal to deliver. Lock's does offer a value menu, which features a limited range of courses from the a la carte menu, so I suspect that I might be back to try again, but at a better price.

Locks Brasserie, 1 Windsor Terrace, Portobello, Dublin 8.
Tel: +353 (0)1 420 0555
URL: http://www.locksbrasserie.com

A Tribute to my Grandmother (and Bramley apples)

2011-11-28T20:16:00.001Z

About a month ago, an invitation was issued to members of the Irish Food Bloggers assocation to enjoy a tour of the Bramley apple orchards, located at St. Margaret's, Dublin (courtesy of Keelings). The mere suggestion of Bramley cooking apples sucked me into a time vortex (thankfully sans swirly lights and music) back to my childhood and to the time when I received my first introduction to cooking.

My educator was my maternal grandmother, known to me as Ma. She lived about 2 miles from us, on her own in a farmhouse that had never really been modernised. Her sole cooking devices were an open fireplace and an old enamelled gas cooker, which lurked in the back kitchen, clearly playing second fiddle to the fireplace.

When it came to cooking meat and two veg, Ma definitely came from the old-school style of cooking. This could also be more accurately described as the "lash it all into the one pot and boil until grey" style of cooking. I used to be entranced by the fact that she would boil whole onions, which would be served translucent on the plate alongside the ptoatoes and meat du jour. My fascination however, never extended to actually eating one.

Ma was a serial visiter of funerals and upon receipt of the daily edition of The Cork Examiner, she'd turn straightaway to the funerals section and mark out her travel itinerary for the next few days. She would then use her pensioners' allowance from Telecom Eireann to deliver the driving orders to my mother. Once I gained my first provisional licence, she quickly realised that she now had two drivers at her disposal. And thus it was that I spent many days driving up narrow winding country backroads in West Cork and Kerry, delivering my grandmother to removals, rosaries and wakes. One of the major (but mainly useless) benefits of this was an in-depth knowledge of church and funeral home locations Also, I developed an unnatural ability to predict when I would next encounter a single sheep in the middle of the road.

Sheep detection skills aside, the key benefit of accompanying my death-obsessed grandmother was the fine food presented in the parlours and front rooms. Victoria sponges with fresh cream and home-made jam, snowy white with icing sugar. Fresh scones again with more home-made jam. (I should point out that the word "preserves" would have never been uttered, it was always simply "jam"). And there was always an apple tart. A home-made tart, in the shallow country-style, with golden encrusted seams where the juices had escaped during baking.

I was convinced that my Ma made the finest tart of them all. She would never have held with the modern styles of deep dishes or the addition of cinnamon or other spices. She knew one way to make an apple tart, but by God, it was a good way. First out would be the mixing bowl with flour, measured by china cup, along with butter, egg & milk. Pastry made, it was used to line the enamel dish, into which she would then layer sliced "cookers", or Bramley apples, a sprinkle of sugar and then the pastry lid. A quick coating of milk and into the oven. Her pastry never rose, and her style was quick and rough, but some magical alchemy happened in that oven. What emerged was heavenly, a transubstantiation, if you will, of the coarse, tart Bramleys into a sweet, fragrant dish.

The shallow old-fashioned apple tart, made with Bramleys will forever remind me of my grandmother. There is nothing else that transports me so quickly back to her kitchen, with its open turf fire and wooden settle. I still sometimes make this style of apple tart when I'm at my parents, and best of all, my mother still has the old enamel dish my grandmother used to use. Some things just can't be beaten.

Written in loving memory of Margaret Scriven.

A recent weekend in Cork

2011-11-21T19:33:00.001Z

Let me take you on a whirlwind tour of Cork and some of the fine eating & drinking I enjoyed there recently. As well as all the treats listed below, we also visited the Fish Wife chipper on MacCurtain Street and Market Lane restaurant on Oliver Plunkett Street. Separate blog posts will follow for those locations.

After checking in at the Gresham Metropole hotel on MacCurtain Street, we headed out for some drinks. We wanted to enjoy some craft beers, so we headed to the Bierhaus on Pope's Quay. As well as serving a great selection of beers, it's also possible to enjoy a pizza at your table, courtesy of neighbouring pizzeria Uncle Pete's. On a previous visit, the smell of warm fresh pizza and basil had permeated the bar, leaving me salivating. On this visit, I was able to resist until the walk home, when I conceded defeat to a slice of margherita pizza for a mere €2.

The tasty Howling Gale Ale (from Eight Degrees Brewing) at the Bierhaus

I must give a shout out to the great Mitchelstown-based Eight Degrees Brewing. I've become quite partial to their beers, particularly the Sunburnt Irish Red. Unfortunately, it wasn't available in the Bierhaus that night, but I quite happily made do with the Howling Gale Ale.

A breakfast bap from Cafe Idaho

The problem with beers is that they tend to have an impact the next day, which often takes the form of a craving for fried food. Thus it was that we found ourselves enjoying a breakfast bap in Idaho Cafe, tucked away behind Brown Thomas on Caroline Street. This small location, which can be a tight squeeze at times, offers coffee, pastries, cakes and light food throughout the day. It's a very nice spot to stop and relax while in town.

Cafe con leche with chocolate chips at O'Conaill's Chocolate Shop

Later in the day, I needed more coffee, so I called into O'Conaill's chocolate shop on French Church Street. Although the interior has changed since I last visited (and not in a way that I like), the coffee is still good and a little paper cups of chocolate chips (milk, dark and white) bought some sweetness to my afternoon. These tasty chocolate chips can be purchased as part of a hot chocolate making kit for your enjoyment at home.

Shandon Century Stout from the Francisan Well Brewery

I made one final stop on my walking tour of Cork by calling to Bradley's of North Main Street. My grandmother used to call regularly to this great value grocery, but given that she was a Pioneer, I don't think she had much interest in their range of wines and beers. The back of this shop is a true shrine to the brewer's art. Many craft beers are on offer in a 4 for €10 deal but they also stock some Cork treasures including the delectable Stonewell cider from Nohoval and the limited edition series of beers from the Francisan Well Brewery on the North Mall.

I opened the bottle of Stonewell cider as soon as I got back to Dublin. When I was finished, my only regret was that I hadn't bought more bottles. It features a mix of 3 different types of cider apple juice which is blended with fresh juice at the time of bottling. Right now, it's only available in Munster due to limited quanities, but I've been promised that much more will be available in 2012.

Himself and his brother cracked open the numbered special edition bottle of Shandon Century Extra Stout. It's pretty strong for a stout at 7.5%, but was easy drinking with a lovely caramel flavour and dark malts. I've heard from the knowledgeable Michael (of Bradley's fame) that the stout is now all sold out, but he has also reassure ment that there will be more special edition beers from the Well.

Locations visited & Goodies tasted

The Bierhaus, Pope's Quay, Cork.
Tel: +353 (0)21 455 1648
URL: http://thebierhauscork.com/
Twitter: @BierhausCork

Uncle Pete's, 31 Pope's Quay, Cork.
Tel: +353 (0)21 455 5888
URL: http://www.unclepetes.ie/

Idaho Cafe, Caroline Street, Cork
Tel: +353 (0)21 427 6376

O'Conaill's Chocolate Shop, French Church Street, Cork.

Bradley's 81-82 North Main Street, Cork
Tel: +353 (0)21 427 0845
URL: http://www.bradleysofflicence.com/
Twitter: @bradleys_offlic

Franciscan Well Brewery, North Mall, Cork.
Tel: +353 (0)21 421 0130
URL: http://www.franciscanwellbrewery.com/

Stonewell Cider, Nohoval, Belgooley, Kinsale, Co. Cork
Tel: +353 (0)21 234 8878
URL: http://www.stonewellcider.com/
Twitter: @StonewellCider

The Fish Wife, MacCurtain Street, Cork

2011-11-20T23:02:00.001Z

When in Cork, I pretty much always stay at the Gresham Metropole. It's has free wi-fi throughout, clean white bed linen and is very centrally located. Best of all, prices can be quite keen and I love the old style and corridors. As far as I'm concerned, it's a far better offering than some of the newer, more expensive hotels in the city.

Ever since I've moved to Dublin, I've missed Cork chips. Dublin chips are good, but they're a different style and sometimes only chips from Lennox's or Bartie's will fill the void. The fact that the Fish Wife chip shop is located just across the road from the Metropole is just another plus for this hotel.

The Fish Wife is a relatively new addition to the Cork chipper scene, but it manages to bring a modern twist to this traditional food style. Alongside the old favourite of cod, you can find daily specials, which range from tiger prawns in filo pastry to fresh battered seabass. Even the packaging is novel. Instead of the traditional newspaper, the fish and chips come in a clever cardboard box, which makes a handy plate when opened out.

The daily specials at the Fish Wife, Cork

Chip portions are more than generous and they even carry a personal favourite of mine, the mushy pea fritter. The Fish Wife also sells a range of burgers, which I've been told are good, although I've yet to try them myself. Every time I've eaten at the Fish Wife I've found the batter to be very light and crispy, and a recent piece of seabass showed how any piece of fish can be battered. In a city where chippers are taken very seriously, the Fish Wife is definitely one of the best.

Fresh battered seabass with mushy pea fritter, chips and sauces from the Fish Wife

The Fish Wife, 45a MacCurtain Street, Cork
Tel: +353 (0)87 264 4266
URL: Facebook page

Market Lane, Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork

2011-11-20T18:55:00.001Z

On a recent weekend trip to my hometown of Cork, we found ourselves looking for somewhere different to dine. There seemed to be one main contender, the Market Lane restaurant which had received several good recent print mentions along with Twitter recommendations. I attempted to make a booking for a Saturday night, but once I navigated the irritating automated answering service, I learned that they do not take bookings for smaller groups.

In order to ensure that we got a table without any hassle, we arrived around 6.00pm, entering through thick red velvet curtains. Even at this early stage, the restaurant was very busy, but we were led upstairs and seated in one of the few remaining free tables. Placemats double up as menus and there were plenty of options from which to choose. In fact, I'd go so far as to say there was too much choice. I'd have preferred to see a smaller list of well-chosen options.

Country pork pate with chutney, toast & crackers

Staff were emerging at machine gun pace from the kitchen bearing plates of food and our starters arrived quite quickly. My generous portion of country pork liver and date pate with crackers, toast and chutney (€7.70) was reasonable, although somewhat grainy. The plate featured an unnecesary pile of sad looking wilted lettuce leaves which I left uneaten. I'd love to know how much money restaurants waste on plate garnishes that are returned to the kitchen.

Sweet potato with Crozier blue cheese, spinach & dates

Himself received sweet potato with Crozier blue cheese, spinach, dates and roasted pine nut oil (€7.20). When ordering this dish, we had to ask what it actually was, as the menu only lists the ingredients. Was it perhaps a tart or maybe a salad? It turned out to be a melt of blue cheese, spinach and dates, topped with crispy sweet potato strings and the unusual combination of salty and sweet ingredients worked really well.

Spinach and ricotta ravioli with wild mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes

When ordering, I had felt a craving for pasta. For your information, I generally don't order pasta in mixed-menu restaurants as it's usually overcooked, stodgy and coated in bad sauce. I should have followed my instinct in Market Lane. My main of spinach and ricotta ravioli with wild mushrooms, semi-sundried tomatoes, cream and parmesan (€13.95) was served compressed into brick-like solidity. The presence of meaty mushrooms and tangy tomatoes meant that the sauce was pretty good, but the stodgy ravioli just didn't do it for me.

Pork Wellington with Jack McCarthy black pudding

We had both been tempted by the Pork Wellington in flaky pastry with Jack McCarthy black pudding, fondant potato and carrot puree (€17.95) and it didn't disappoint. Lovely light flaky pastry with just-cooked pork and a lovely layer of spicy black pudding. This surely is a signature dish for Market Lane and I love the incorporation of McCarthy's excellent local pudding.

A glass of Southern Light Sauvignon Blanc and a bottle of Paulaner beer bought the total bill to a very reasonable €58.80. Market Lane is clearly a popular venue with a high table turnover on the night we visited. The pork Wellington was a particularly good dish, but I feel that Market Lane suffers from its popularity. There are too many choices on the menu, which gives a feeling that the restaurant is trying to be all things to all people. I'd much rather see a pared down menu, keeping the best dishes and losing the noise.

Market Lane, 5-6 Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork
Tel: +353 (0)21 427 4710
URL: http://www.marketlane.ie/

Twitter: @market_lane

Il Primo, Montague Street, Dublin 2

2011-11-10T20:17:00.001Z

I have a slight addiction to Masterchef. I watch it in all its variants, although I must admit that I'm not that partial to Masterchef Australia. Perhaps it's a bit too relaxed for me, which is probably the reason I adore the more high octance Bristish Professional version. In order to cook for Michel Roux Jr, the contestants must first pass the gauntlet ferociously guarded by sous-chef Monica Galetti. The withering looks from this woman are a joy to behold as the contestants inevitably fail to live up to her high standards. The standard is high, very high.

Therefore, it was with interest I watched the Irish Masterchef series. Dylan McGrath (from Rustic Stone) shone as our home-grown culinary superstar chef, and eventually the lovely Mary Carney was crowned the first Irish Masterchef. Mary's cooking in the final was superb (and looks like it was partially inspired by her stint at the great Chapter One), but my lingering memory of the entire series was the line "A hake died for no reason today". This putdown on a contestant's cooking was was delivered by Anita Thoma, head chef at Il Primo.

Her appearance on television reminded me that I had been passing by Il Primo for many years. The hand-written menu on the front window had often caught my attention, along with some tempting lunch time prices, but for some inexplicable reason I had never visited. One quick Twitter lunchtime booking and everything was put right. On arrival, we were warmly greeted and given two small flutes of prosecco to relax with while we read the menu and daily specials.

Veal salad at Il Primo

Salad with warm grilled vegetables and goats' cheese

We both decided to go for salads for starters - veal salad for him while I had warm grilled vegetables with goat's cheese. In my case, asparagus, courgettes and sweet grilled peppers mixed wonderfully with the tangy goats' cheese and the emulsified balsamic dressing. His salad of cooked veal slices and richly coloured leaves was equally substantial and well-dressed.

Crab and leek lasagne

Papardelle with sausage

Crab & leek lasagne sounded so intriguing that I had to order it for my main course. It featured dense layers of homemade lasagne sheets, sweet chunky flakes of crab meat and gently cooked leeks. A creamy tomato sauce bought it all together beautifully. Our server told us that it was one of the few dishes to constantly remain on the menu during the 20 years that Il Primo has been open, and it's easy to see why.

For himeself, ribbons of pappardelle with sausage was a winter warmer dish. The smoky meaty rich tomato sauce had beautifully coated the pappardelle, and a quick scattering of freshly grated parmesan was all that was required. This really was rustic, hearty Italian cooking done simply and done well.

The lunch menu offers 1 course for €13, 2 courses for €16 or best of all, 3 courses for €19. We might have stopped after two courses, but the daily menu featured chocolate cake with vanilla cream. The cake turned out to be moist and rich with a fudgy centre, but still have a light texture. A food contradiction! Two delicious espressos went fantastically well with the cake.

Chocolate cake with vanilla cream

My one regret about our lunchtime visit to Il Primo was that we hadn't visited earlier. The very generous portions meant that I spend the rest of the afternoon struggling not to fall asleep while a total of €38 represented great value for a lunch of this quality. Service was perfect throughout the meal, and the cosy nature of the interior means that it would also be perfect for a romantic and sophisticated evening meal.

Il Primo, 16 Montague Street, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 (0)1 293 3804
URL: http://www.ilprimo.ie
Twitter: @IlPrimo1

Indie Spice, Sandymount, Dublin 4

2011-11-06T22:25:00.001Z

With four locations in Ireland, Indie Spice is a well-established group of restaurants. The first was founded in Belfast over 20 years ago and expanded with newer venues in Swords and Naas. The latest addition to the chain is to be found in the genteel and sophisticated neighbourhood of Sandymount.

Located upstairs, the interior is modern and extremely stylish. It's so nice to sit in a restaurant with vibrant colours and design. Red lattice lampshades and jewel tones are balanced nicely by dark furniture, while an open kitchen pass allows diners to view the chefs at work in the kitchen. Personally, I like this kind of decor as I find it a refreshing change from the curry-house interior that persists in many, older restaurants.

The modern interior at Indie Spice

The menu comes as a fancy, printed brochure, while paper place mats feature recipes to try at home. Traditional, well-known dishes mingle alongside some lesser known dishes, including one of my favourites, the achari pickle curry. For starters, himself chose the fearsome sounding Piri Piri Prawns (€10.95) while I went for a favourite with the vegetarian Achari Paneer (€7.95).

The prawns came with scallops and pretty dots of different coloured sauces, providing a very meaty starter but the promised 2 chili rating didn't really materialise. This was probably due to the fact that despite being large and plump, the seafood was rather bland and watery. My paneer starter featured the same set of polka dot sauces, but needed lemon juice (stolen from his starter) to really zing.

Piri Piri Prawns & Scallops

Achari Paneer

I was feeling in the mood for something mild, so I had chosen Malai Chingri (€21.95), which promised jumbo prawns cooked in coconut milk and sweet spices. It turned out to be deliciously sweet and creamy with plenty of chewy coconut flakes. Himself has a big love of seafood curries so he opted for Malabar monkfish curry (€23.95), which featured dense monkfish chunks in a rich sauce fragrant with fresh curry leaves. However, both dishes were let down by the quality of the seafood itself, which, like the earlier starter, was bland and watery.

Malabar Monkfish curry & Malai Chingri

Like a lot of Indian restaurants, rice and sundries are extra, which is a bit much considering the price of the main courses. When a restaurant charges €20+ for a main, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect rice to be included. We added a light, fluffy garlic naan to our meal for €2.95. Our meal was settled with a Living Social voucher (2 starters, 2 mains and 2 glasses of wine for €39), which saved us over €35, based on printed menu prices.

To be honest, I'd really have my doubts about paying full a la carte prices. Although I did enjoy my meal, it wasn't a stand out Indian experience in the way that you can justifiably expect in venues such as Jaipur or Ananda. It's good, decent Indian food that shouldn't carry a big price tag. Thankfully, Indie Spice offer some great value set menus for lunch and dinner (which can be found on their website here) including a 2 course lunch for €8.95 and a 3 course Sunday lunch for €16.95.

Indie Spice, 23-24 Sandymount Green, Dublin 4

Tel: +353 (0)1 232 0220

URL: http://www.indiespice.com/sandymount

Twitter: @indie_spice

Beer & Food Tasting from Heineken

2011-11-06T10:29:00.001Z

I recently received a PR invite to attend a beer and food tasting event, organised by Heineken Ireland. As a large corporation, Heineken own many international beer brands (think Birra Moretti, Paulaner and Tiger). The growing interest in craft beers as well as food & beer pairings has not escaped their attention, and now they are offering diners the chance to attend some dining events in Dublin and Cork.

The venues have been well chosen with Ely Bar and Brasserie, Siam Thai and Roly’s Bistro in Dublin and The Cornstore in Cork all taking part. At each event a beer and food expert will be present to guide the diners through the tasting of beers from around the world and how they match with the food on a specially designed menu.

Many of us put thought into the wines we enjoy with our food, so why not apply the same logic to beers? Hopefully these events will offer some ideas to people unfamiliar with the pairing of food and beer, or else inspire new thoughts in beer lovers. Simply call the numbers listed below to book a place.

Roly’s Bistro, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Dublin Tapas style menu with beer tasting for €29.95
Monday 7th November at 7.30pm – 01 6682611

Siam Thai, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin
Two course set menu for €27.50
Tuesday 8th November at 7.30pm – 01 2964500

The Cornstore, Cornmarket Street, Cork
Three course set menu with beer tasting for €24.95
Tuesday 8th November at 7.30pm – 021 4274777

Ely Bar & Brasserie, IFSC, Dublin
Two course set menu with beer tasting for €24.95
Wednesday 9th November at 6.00pm – 01 6720010

161 Cafe & Bistro, Rathmines, Dublin 6

2011-11-05T10:02:00.000Z

I live in a beautiful area of Dublin. It's that bizarre part of Dublin where Rathmines begins to disappear but you haven't quite made it to Ranelagh, Rathgar or Milltown. Us residents, as well a significant amount of Trinity students, call it Dartry...

We are lucky to have a small stretch on the Upper Rathmines Road which is home to some fine food shops. Field & Vine is a superb little grocer, selling a great range of organic products as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. Lawlor's butcher provides high quality fresh meat and fish, as does Connolly's seafood, while Fothergills is a fine deli. Bizarrely, this little shopping enclave has been without a cafe or restaurant since the closure of Wild Lily's Cafe some years ago.

The arrival of the very stylish 161 Cafe & Bistro has thankfully rectified this gap. A simple facade in gray and blue hints at the sleek interior, which is decorated in light blue, with whitewashed floors, white bench seating and plenty of scattered cushions. Since it opened earlier in the year, it has established itself as a popular family-friendly spot with the locals, who pack it out for brunch on weekend mornings.

The charming interior at 161 Cafe & Bistro

We visited recently for a fortifying Saturday brunch before heading to the Honest2Goodness market in Glasnevin. Just about all the tables were occupied, with families featuring strongly, but we were able to snag a small two person table. The Brunch menu lists all the usual dishes, but I was intrigued by the description of the 161 Vegetarian Brunch which contains corn fritter stacks with avocado & portobello mushroom, grilled tomato and baked beans (€9.50). I received a carefully constructed tower , while homemade baked beans came in a little rammekin dish with freshly toasted sourdough bread on the side. I found the beans to be sharp and even uncooked in places, but the corn fritters were excellent, and a great alternative to the traditional meaty breakfast.

Vegetarian brunch at 161 Cafe & Bistro

Himself went for Steak and Eggs, which features a 6oz sirloin steak with fried egg and sauteed potatoes (€10.00). Simple and straightforward, this dish delivered the required morning after sustenance with the sauteed potatoes being exceptionally tasty.

Steak and egg at 161 Cafe & Bistro

We did experience a mix-up with our coffee order, but a smile and apology from the front of house helped make everything right. Regular americanos cost €2.20, rising to €2.50 for a large coffee. Fresh-squeezed orange juice, just baked pastries and scones and simple tasty lunch keeps the crowds coming during the day, while dinner is served until 10pm Thurs-Sat.

161 Cafe & Bistro is the kind of venue that every suburb or shopping area needs. Nothing overly fancy, but everything here is prepared to a high standard. Judging by the crowds I see in the window every weekend, lots of other people are enjoying it also.

161 Cafe & Bistro, Upper Rathmines Road, Dublin 6
Tel: +353 (0)1 497 8049
URL:http://161cafebistro.com/

Bibi's Cafe, Emorville Avenue, Dublin 8

2011-11-01T19:52:00.002Z

Sometimes you come across a restaurant or cafe that is so charming and lovely that you literally don't want to tell anyone else. News of its existence circulates via word of mouth (and through clenched teeth) as no one really wants it to get too popular. If you tell someone, it means that your chances of securing a seat have declined, so it's really in your own best interests to stay quiet.

Shhssshhh then, don't repeat what I'm about to tell to you to anyone else. It's just between you and me, right?

Bibi's Cafe on Emorville Avenue is a teeny-tiny cafe attached to sister enterprise, the Doll's Boutique. (Perfect for those folk who would like to combine some cool clothes shopping with coffee and tasty cake). Doll's is run by Petria Lenihan, while sister Maisha Lenihan looks after the culinary action in Bibi's (which is named after their grandmother, Bibi).

Sitting at the outdoor tables in the sunshine on a street of residential redbrick houses is hard to beat, but you can head indoors in inclement weather. Inside, there are a few small tables along a banquet seat with additional stools providing seating at a tall counter (but in order to sit there, you'd have to elbow aside all the fabulous looking cakes). A proper multi-ring gas cooker lurks behind the counter, providing the beating heart of Bibi's.

The cosy interior of Bibi's Cafe

We visited recently for Saturday brunch and were given a hand-written photocopied menu. It's not too often you read a menu where you could happily choose any dish, but this was one such case. We dithered between delicious sounding dishes such as Eggs Florentine, brioche French toast, spciy beans on toast with chorizo before making our choices.

We both initially had our eyes on Bibi's version of a toastie - a pan toasted sandwich with ham, Gubbeen cheese and homemade chutney (€7.50). Made from thick toasted slice of bread, golden brown on the outside and with cheese oozing down the sides, it was simply the best toastie ever! (Disclaimer - may contain slight exaggeration). Granted, the homemade chutney could have been spread a little more evenly, but the generous melted cheese content won my heart.

Pan toasted ham and Gubeen cheese sandwich

The inclusion of roasted butternut squash in a breakfast dish intrigued me. It came served in hearty chunks with two poached eggs, garlic yogurt and a coriander & chili butter (€9.50). The squash was cooked beautifully and worked really well when dunked in the punchy garlic yogurt and punctured egg yolk. The only slightly disappointing aspect was the chili & coriander butter which could have been stronger - after all, the butternut squash can take heat really well. The dish was served with 2 toasted slices of the same crunchy bread as used in the toastie.

Roasted butternut squash with poached eggs & garlic yogurt

We were enjoying brunch as Bibi's so much that we lingered for a second cup of good coffee, which comes with mini portions of their tasty cakes nestled in the curves of the spoons. On the day we visited, it was a scrummy tangy lemon cake. Americano coffees were €2.50 while lattes were €3.00, and takeaway coffee is available if you're in the neighbourhood.

So there you have it. Grudgingly, I've shared the word on Bibi's. I really shouldn't have though, as I want to keep it all for myself. So don't go there, alright? And let me remind you one more time - don't tell anyone else.

Doll's Boutique & Bibi's Cafe, 14b Emorville Avenue, Dublin 8
Tel: +353 (0)1 454 7421
URL: bibis.ie
Twitter: @bibiscafe

Bon Appetit, Malahide, Co Dublin

2011-10-29T18:35:00.001+01:00

Have you ever wanted the chance to critique a Michelin-starred chef and actually have him listen to you? Over the course of two weeks in October, Bon Appetit offered diners the chance to enjoy 6 courses for just €40. In return for this exceptional value, chef Oliver Dunne and his team sought feedback from the diners which they could use to refine and improve their new winter menu. Bon Appetit has a strong reputation, so this open invitation to would-be critics was hardly going to cause any consternation in the kitchen, but it was still a brave move on their part. You could also argue that the request for feedback represents how sophisticated Irish diners have become.

Well, I think all my readers know that I like a bargain, just as much as I like to eat good food, so I duely put my money where my mouth is. An early arrival into Malahide meant that we could spend a few relaxing moments looking at the boats in the marina. Wistful dreaming complete, we headed up the steps into Bon Appetit for an aperitif at their very fabulous and well-priced tapas & wine bar, Le Bon Vin. As I was driving, I decided to order a Kir Royale, which would be my sole alcholic treat for the evening. Dining at a Michelin restaurant is always a special occasion, hence the glass of bubbles.

We were escorted upstairs to the dining room which is a very calming and elegant space with the tables set well apart. The ever watchful staff even provided a little footstool on which to rest my handbag. (Heaven forbid that it would have to rough it on the floor.) The beauty of a tasting menu is that you don't have to choose your courses, which means that you can sit right back, relax and wait for the chef to perform his magic.

As a little appetiser, we received two warm simple choux puffs fragrant with Gruyère. We were also offered a selction of fantastically light and crusty homemade breads, which were easily the best that I've enjoyed in any restaurant. Our 6 course tasting menu consisted of the following dishes (no photos are available due to the low light levels).

Amuse Bouche of white onion & thyme veloute - beautifully smooth with a lovely sweetness coming from the onion.
Pan-fried foie gras, confit rhubarb, hazelnut snow, wild rice crispies, rhubarb puree and parsnip custard - The rhubarb confit caught the eye due to its vivid pink colour, but I found the foie gras to be a little underseasoned. The little drifts and clumps of hazelnut snow had a beautiful nutty flavour which complemented the butteriness of the liver.
Pan-roasted brill, cauliflower 3 ways (roasted, pickled & puree), couscous & cheese macaroni - A perfectly cooked piece of firm fish, served on plump, juicy couscous. The accompanying mac'n'cheese had been made with goat's cheese whose tanginess overpowered the delicate fish.
Rump of lamb, sweetbread with herb praline, Madeira reduction, creamed leeks and glazed baby carrot - I simply loved the sweetbread served alongside the lamb. It reminded me of the foie gras served earlier, but it was the glazed carrot that I will remember the most. I never thought a carrot could taste that good.
Fig & Hibiscus purée, star anise foam with carmelised nuts - Served in a pretty little shot glass, this fruity liquid tasted of Christmas and spicy winter warmth.
Peanut parfait, chocolate & chocolate tuille, pear sorbet & poached pear- This came to the table looking like a fabulous Philip Tracey creation. A large circle of tuille was perched atop a little square of parfait, with a quenelle of sorbet sitting in the loop. I simply loved the combination of peanuts and chocolate and the pear sorbet added a cool refreshment. However, when I tried to cut the poached pear with my spoon, it damn near rocketed off the plate and across the table.

We finished off our meal with coffee and homemade choclates. I loved the colourful elegant Wedgewood coffee cups, and while the chocolates were delicious, I would have liked something a little lighter (perhaps a macaron?) to finish the meal.

The only serious critique of our meal would be in relation to time it took to serve our food. Other couples who came in later in the evening caught up with us over the course of dinner. A well-paced service is to be expected when indulging in some fine dining, but this was a bit too lengthy. However, we occupied ourselves in the intervals between courses by imaging what the other diners were doing. Older men and younger women are always good for speculation.

Our total bill for the evening came to over €150. Food totalled €80, drinks and sparkling water , coffee and petit fours were €5.95 per head, while the remainder was due to a 12.5% service charge. Sometimes I forget how much drinks and extras can add to a bill. However, in return for that hard-earned money, we received excellent food, smooth (albeit a little slow) service and a very relaxed evening. On our drive home, we debated the relative merits of Bon Appetit and Chapter One, which was our favourite restaurant to date. The jury is still out on that decision, but one thing is clear. You won't go wrong at Bon Appetit.

Bon Appetit, James's Terrace, Malahide, Co. Dublin
Tel: +353 (0)1 845 01314
URL: http://bonappetit.ie
Twitter: @bonappmalahide

Melting Moments Biscuits

2011-10-28T12:06:00.001+01:00

Everyone needs a party piece when it comes to baking. It should be something that you can make quickly with a minimum of fuss and ingredients, but delivers maximum impact. When I saw Mary-Anne Boermans bake some tiny, dainty biscuits on BBC's The Great British Bake Off, I was intrigued. She used a minimum of ingredients, 5 to be exact, but the judges oohed and aahed over the results.

I found Mary-Anne's recipe on her blog, Time to Cook - Online, and the more I read, the more I liked. The biscuits are super adaptable, delicious served plain, but also capable of being dolled up with buttercream or filling of your choice. They go especially well with coffee.

My version of Mary-Anne's Melting Moments

Ingredients
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
58g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
250g plain flour
58g cornflour

Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius for fan-assisted ovens, or 200 Celsius for conventional ovens. Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

In a bowl, beat the butter for several minutes until pale and creamy. Sift the icing sugar into the bowl and continue to beat for another minute or two until well incorporated. It is worth having the butter as soft as possible before starting as this is the main source of liquid in the recipe. The softer the butter is, the easier it will be to pipe the biscuits.

Add the vanilla essence and quickly beat in.

Sift the flour and cornflour into the bowl and beat well until mixed in. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that all dry ingredients are incorporated into the mixture.

Once ready, fit a wide star nozzle to a strong piping bag (preferably canvas) and fill with the mixture. Pipe evenly onto the baking sheets. Placing a template guide under the greaseproof paper will help you produce even results. Depending on your piping skill level, you can pipe swirls or simple stars, as in my photo above.

Mary-Anne recommends placing the baking sheets in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm the mixture before baking, but I don't have the freezer space to do this, and my biscuits have turned out pretty good without. Place into the oven and bake for approx 12 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for a few minutes to harden. They are too delicate to move while still hot from the oven. Once cool, transfer gently with a palette knife to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy on their own, or sandwich together with fillings such as jam, buttercream, chocolate or caramel. Only your imagination will limit you.

Melting Moments sandwiched with chocolate buttercream

CheapEats.ie Cake Sale in aid of Barnardos

2011-10-25T22:14:00.003+01:00

If you're a keen baker, and fancy helping out a worthy cause this October Bank Holiday Weekend, while also getting to eat some goodies from other bakers, then read on.

Childhood charity Barnardos are running a week long fundraising effor in conjunction with RTÉ 2fm. The Dress Up for Barnardos week involves getting dressed up for Halloween while raising some much needed money. It's really easy to take part and all contributions will go to a good cause.

The good folk at CheapEats.ie are organising a cake sale this Saturday, October 29th with all proceeds going to Barnardos. In order to gather foodstuffs for the sale, they are calling on all Irish food bloggers and keen bakers to get working in the kitchen to create some tasty treats for donation to the sale. If you would like to bake something for this, please email jean@cheapeats.ie so they know of your participation, and so that you can receive some top tips.

The cake sale will take place Saturday afternoon in the Grand Social bar, on Liffey Street, alongside the Hapenny Flea Market with all the stallholders dressing up for Halloween. Donations will be accepted between 11.30 and 12.00 on Saturday, but get in touch with Jean to organise an alternative time, if required.

Gourmet Burger Company, Ranelagh, Dublin 6

2011-10-23T20:14:00.000+01:00

It was Friday evening, and we were faced with a dilemma - what to do with ourselves. I'd had a stressed week at work, which when combined with two hours of daily driving, means that I'd finished the week tired and drained. I'd managed to leave an hour early for the weekend, and all I wanted to do was to relax and not do anything strenuous, but he wanted to get out of the house for a bit. As a result, we decided to go out but stay local, and after a quick Luas trip, we were in Ranelagh.

A few days earlier, I had purchased a Living Social voucher for the Gourmet Burger Comapny which had offered four beers or glasses of wine with a bowl of buffalo wings (€14) or two steaks, salads and glasses of wine (€27). As I'd been to Gourmet Burger before for burgers, I went for the steak voucher. I hadn't reckoned on using it so soon after purchasing, but it fitted nicely with our desire for an easy evening.

Gourmet Burger Company is one of those fancy burger joints that seemed to appear everywhere a few years ago, but it has the distinction of trying harder than its competitors. We took a seat close to the window, and I did take some small pleasure in watching all the late commuters on their drive home. It felt good to be home and not out on the road in the dusky light. Himself asked if he could swap a glass of wine for a beer, but our waiter informed us that this was not possible. Not to mind, and a Flensburger Pilsener beer was ordered, which comes in a flip-top bottle (€6). I chose a glass of the house white wine, which was a very serviceable Sauvignon Blanc.

Flensburger Pilsener beer at Gourmet Burger Company

I'd heard great things about the chicken wings at Gourmet Burger Company, so we decided to share a bowl as a starter to our steaks (€9.75). With several sauces to choose from, we went for the Suicidal sauce, which turned out to be just right. Not too hot but still with plenty of tang and bite, the wings came served with an unfortunately dull blue cheese dip and crunchy batons of carrot and celery. The portion size was extremely generous and one bowl of these wings would easily serve as a meal in its own right. If these was a best wings in Dublin competition, these would be serious contenders.

Chicken wings at Gourmet Burger Company

Our steaks came served on a half-ciabatta, with garlic mayonnaise, fresh horseradish and portobello mushroom. Perfectly cooked, they were juicy and well-sized. A simply dressed side salad comprised the advertised "salad" from the voucher. Being greedy gits, and not realising our own limitations, we had also ordered a side of hand cut fries (€3.40) which were excellent chips, crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Grilled rib eye steak at Gourmet Burger Company

We took our time over dinner and service was excellent throughout, managing that fine line between friendliness and over-familiarity. The decor is simple and clean, with dark wood against lime green walls, leather seats and little amusing motifs featuring the little character from the branding. All burgers are 100% Irish organic beef, and if you're looking for something a little bit different, it's even possible to enjoy a Kobe beef burger.

Our total bill came to €19.15, once our voucher had been deducted. Ranelagh is a suburb that demands sophistication, particularly in its restaurants, and Gourmet Burger Company more than meets these requirements. Personally, I'm already contemplating another trip for some more of those spicy chicken wings.

Gourmet Burger Company, 97 Ranelagh Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6
Tel: +353 (0)1 497 7821
URL: ww.gourmetburgercompany.ie
Twitter: @GourmetBurger

Tullamore Dew whiskey tasting at L. Mulligan Grocer

2011-10-21T19:00:00.001+01:00

Twitter can be really good to me sometimes. Last week, I saw a tweet from Stoneybatter gastropub, L. Mulligan Grocer, offering places at a whiskey tasting where Tullamore Dew whiskey would be paired with specially made desserts from the L. Mulligan team. Best of all, places were free! One email later and I had secured two places at the event.

Glasses at the ready for Tullamore Dew at L. Mulligan Grocer

The tasting was scheduled to commence at 8pm sharp, and attendance was high, with the dining area at L. Mulligan packed out by ~~freeloaders~~ whiskey fans, keen to get their hands on some free whiskey and tasty desserts. Every place was set with 4 whiskey glasses, each containing a small sample of some Tullamore Dew brands. Alongside was a description of the desserts to be paired with each whiskey and some pointers on flavours.

The Tullamore Dew samples at L. Mulligan Grocer

The keen crowd at L. Mulligan Grocer

Our two tasting guides from Tullamore Dew introduced themselves and the show got underway. We started with the standard Tullamore Dew Original whiskey. This was not paired with a dessert as it was simply meant to get us ready for the treats to come. I was pleasantly surpised by this whiskey, being light and smooth, with sweet and citrus flavours. A very drinkable everyday whiskey.

The first dessert pairing came courtesy of Tullamore Dew 12 Year Old Special Reserve and a plum & oat madeira cake with orange drizzle icing and ginger pouring cream. This was my favourite pairing of the night as I thought that the sweet almond and vanilla tones of the whiskey matched the cake beautifully, while the whiskey's spicy tones were complemented by the warmth from the delectable ginger pouring cream.

Plum & oat madeira cake with Tullamore Dew 12 Year Old Special Reserve

Next, vanilla and orange zest spiced mousse served in an adorably tiny little jar was paired with Tullamore Dew 10 Year Old Single Malt. The vanilla and long citrus finish of this single distillery whiskey reminded the Mulliganers of Milky Way bars and orangette, leading them to create this zesty mousse. Although I thought the mousse reminded me of my 80's childhood favourite, Angel Delight, it did pair well with the malt whiskey, as the two nicely rounded off each others corners.

I found the the Tullamore Dew 10 Year Old Malt to be a very aromatic whiskey with lovely sherry aromas. The Tullamore Dew team explained that this arose from the long aging process whereby the whiskey is moved between Bourbon, Dry Oloroso Sherry, Madeira and Port casks. Phew - that's a lot of effort!

Vanilla & orange zest spiced mousse with Tullamore Dew 10 Year Old Single Malt

The last of our pairings consisted of Boyne Valley blue cheese, served with oatcakes, apple & grapefruit jelly and pomegranate seeds, paired with Tullamore Dew Year Old 10 Reserve. This was the least favourite of the pairings, as I found the whiskey to clash with this strong blue goat's cheese, causing an unwelcome sharp flavour in my mouth. Later, we were told that the original pairing was to involve Mossfield Organic, a Gouda-style cheddar, which I think would have worked much better.

Boyne Valley blue cheese with Tullamore Dew Year Old 10 Reserve

The tasting session finished up with a cocktail making challenge. Each table, or group, was given a cocktail shaker, a shot of whikey and a cocktail recipe. We drew a Chocolate Orange Old Fashioned, a challenge for which I felt adequately qualified. Thanks to the fabulous mixologist at Cliff Town House, I'm an expert in Chocolate Orange Old Fashioneds, so I set about the challenge with some gusto. And the best part - we won the challenge, receiving a gift card to spend at the bar later.

Unfortunatley, I was the designated driver for the night, so I was truly only "tasting" the whiskies and cocktail. Himself was the main beneficiary of the night, as he received all my whiskey surplus. However, I've got to admit that I kept all the desserts for myself! Somethings you can't share.

Overall we had a great night. I really can't recollect drinking Tullamore Dew in the past - iI'd go so far as to say that I had it confused with Irish Mist in my head. In fact, Tullamore Dew is a long established brand, being in existence since 1829, and is very popular abroad. It actually ranks as the No 2 whiskey in Eastern Europe. Other interesting facts learned on the night include that the use of the word "dew" in the title is not an effort at lyricism, but instead arises from the initials of a manager in the early years of the distillery, a certain Mr. Daniel E. Williams.

L. Mulligan Grocer will be running similar events in future, so keep an eye out for future dates via their blog, Twitter, or get added to their mailing list.

Food waste in our kitchens - Blog Action Day 2011

2011-10-16T18:38:00.002+01:00

How much unused food do you throw away? Are you one of the households where 50% of salad leaves get thrown out as green sludge? According to the website stopfoodwaste.ie, about 1/3 of the food we purchase ends up in the bin, costing the average household up to €1,000 per annum. The most common foodstuffs which find themselves in the bin are bread, apples and potatoes.

Food waste isn't limited to just households. Think of all those useless side salads on your plate in restaurants that you don't eat - the total effect of uneaten food in Irish restaurants comes to a stunning €125 million.

October 16th is World Food Day, an event used to mark the foundation of the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in 1945. October 16th is also Blog Action Day, an annual event whereby the global blogging community unites to focus on a particular topic of immediate concern. As a result, the selected topic for Blog Action Day 2011 is "Food" and registered participants are free to write on any relevant area.

As a poor Ph.D. student, I learned the hard way not to over-purchase when food shopping. It's all too easy when out in the supermarket or that lovely farmers' market to end up with trollies or baskets full of produce. Everything looks so good in the shop, but later on in the week when throwing food in the bin, you can feel the pennies slipping through your fingers.

Simple tips to help you avoid over-purchasing include the following:

Plan your meals in advance and purchase what you need. Granted, this requires some discipline.
Don't shop when hungry. This is common sense really, after all "Is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras"
Don't get suckered by multi-purchase deals (i.e. 2 for 1) deals that you don't really need. This also extends to multipacks. Do you really need a bag of 10 apples or will 4 loose apples suit your needs better?
Check best-before or use-by dates before placing the goods in the trolley. Supermarkets rotate stock on their shelves so that older produce is typically located towards the front. This gives you less time to use the product. Instead, look on the shelves for a further in the future date.

For more savvy tips and advice on fighting against food waste, visit Stop Food Waste. By taking some simple actions, you can keep more money in your pocket as well as reducing the amount of waste being generated for your rubbish collection.

The Box Tree, Stepaside, Dublin 18

2011-10-15T09:36:00.000+01:00

The Great Britain & Ireland Michelin Guide 2012 was recently released to some anticipation. Judging by the conversations on Twitter, several Irish establishments were keenly looking forward to the announcement. In the end, it was a bit of a non-event, as there were no changes in the 1-star and 2-star establishments on the island. There was a little more movement in terms of Bib Gourmands with the Box Tree in Stepaside and Fontana in Holywood both gaining a Bib Gourmand. Unfortunately, Cafe Hans in Cashel, La Maison in Dublin and Rosso in Dundalk all lost their Bib Gourmand. Thus Irish dining lost more than it gained.

The recent good news for The Box Tree, which has been open for just under one year, did prompt me to pick up the phone and make a lunch reservation. Eamonn O'Reilly (One Pico & Bleu Bistro) is the force behind this restaurant in the lovely suburban village of Stepaside where it shares a building with a sister gastropub, The Wild Boar. A two course lunch is available for the attractive price of €17.95.

The classic interior of the Box Tree

The Box Tree is a relatively spacious restaurant, capable of seating 100 people, but despite this, the tables are nicely spaced. The decor is muted and relaxing, painted in that famous French grey-green colour whose name I do not know, although I must admit that I took a dislike to the fabric used on the upholstery. The menu offers 5 choices for starter and main, and we quickly homed in on several dishes which we were both keen to try.

Castletownbere crab salad

The Castletownbere crab salad with avocado crème fraiche, avocado puree and red pepper dressing came as a pretty little tiane of crab with lovely layers of white crème fraiche and green avocado. Although visually stunning, the red pepper dressing didn't seem to add much to the crab, which managed to be both rich and light all at once.

Old Spot ham hock terrine

I had chosen the ‘Old Spot’ ham hock terrine which came served on a wooden board with a caper & gherkin mayonnaise and apple chutne. The slice of terrine featured decent chunks of tasty, meaty ham, tiny onions and had been beautifully set in a casing of savoy cabbage leaves. Their bright green colour had been preserved, providing a great visual contrast with the meat.

Wicklow lamb, shallot & cumin pie

The daily special was a pie of Wicklow lamb, shallot and cumin served with buttered peas and mash. This arrived rather intriguingly as a set of components on the now ubquituous wooden board. A single, rather lonely-looking quenelle of mash sat in the middle of a plate, awaiting the contents of the pie. I could take umbrage with the definition of "pie" given that it consisted of a small tureen of rich, gelatinous filling with a golden puff pastry lid set on top, but it's hard to be finicky when something tastes this good.

Roast cherry tomato & goat's cheese risotto

My main of roast cherry tomato and goat's cheese risotto with rocket and goat's cheese beignet was beautifully cooked with a nutty kernel remaining in the rice and a rich sauce with strands of cheese visible when lifted away. A good risotto is a soul-satisfying experience, and I quietly worked my way through most of the dish with satisfaction. The sharp tang of the little beignets offered some taste contrast, but I thought they were perhaps a little too "chip-shop" for the dish.

I chose a glass of Domaine Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet 2010 (€7.25) which was full-flavoured with touches of citrus. With a large bottle of sparkling water and two coffees, our bill comes to a total of €52.15.

A holder of a Michelin Bib Gourmand is deemed to be a venue that offers good food at moderate prices. The publicity that comes with the awarding of such an accolade can boost the profile of a restaurant, and the Box Tree is a deserving recipient. O'Reilly has continued to do what he is famous for, namely offering good local food at prices that customers will appreciate. Such honest endeavour deserves to be rewarded.

The Box Tree, Stepaside Vilage, Dublin 18
Tel: +353 (0)1 205 2025
URL: www.theboxtree.ie
Twitter: @TheBoxTree

Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup

2011-10-12T11:20:00.000+01:00

Winter is starting to make its unwelcome presence felt, although that Indian summer is stubbornly holding on. It's getting darker a littler earlier every night, and even as I prepared the photographs for this post, the room has darkened noticeably. Sigh.

At least winter gives you an excuse to wear warm comfy clothing, and in the kitchen, you can start to make thick, warming soups. My recipe for sweet potato & coconut soup ticks all the right boxes - it's healthy and tasty. My secret ingredient of a Tom Yum stockcube (packed full of Thai flavours) adds lots of vibrancy to the soup, and you can play with the chili heat to suit your own personal tastes. In the recipe below, I list the chili as being deseeded, but personally, I leave the seeds in for a little more kick.

Even the simple act of making this soup involves lots of colour - the red of the chilis, the green of the lime and the lovely orange of the sweet potato. As you cook, fragrant aromas will fill the kitchen, helping to banish those dark nights.

Some points to consider

I use a Tom Yum stockcube in this recipe which should be readily available in any good Asian supermarket (see picture below). This stockcube can be used as the base for a Thai Tom Yum soup and is full of the sharp fragances and aromas that we have come to associate with Thai cooking. Like any stock cube, it contains salt, so keep that in mind when seasoning the soup.
Make sure to shake the coconut milk before opening the tin. This is to help mix back together the cream and the liquid which may have become separated while in the tin.
Palm sugar is a form of brown sugar commonly used in Thai and Asian cooking. Again, you should be able to source in this any Asian store, but if not, you can replace with brown sugar, or even white sugar.
Finally, I like to make my soups really thick, which means that I try to cook them with a minimum of liquid. Once I blend my soups, I then add more water/stock to bring it to the desired consistency.

Sweet potato and coconut soup

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1.5 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 red chili, deseeded & chopped
2 teaspoons palm sugar (or brown sugar if not available)
3 tablespoons sherry (or dark rum)
3-4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tin of coconut milk, shaken and opened
1 Tom Yum stockcube
Fish sauce to season
Juice of 1/2 lime

Heat some cooking oil (sunflower or peanut) over a medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the shallots and sautee for a few minutes until softened.

Add the garlic, ginger and chili and continue to cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes until all ingredients have softened.

Some of my favourite ingredients

Add the palm sugar and stir until the mixture starts to carmelise. At this point, add the sherry and stir until the alcohol has evaporated and the mixture has become a little sticky.

Add the sweet potatoes to the saucepan and toss with the onion mixture. Once all the sweet potato has been coated in the mixture, pour in the coconut milk. Crumble the Tom Yum stockcube to the mixture and stir well. Add extra water to the saucepan until the vegetables are covered. Add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and stir through.

Place the lid on the saucepan and bring the mixture to the boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat and allow to simmer, stirring frequently until the sweet potato is cooked through. Remove from the heat and allow to cool down sufficiently for blending.

Using either a handheld stick blender or a food processor, blend the soup until smooth. If too thick, just add some more water or stock until the desired consistency is reached. Stir in the lime juice and taste. At this point, I find that the soup usually requires more fish sauce, so add until you feel that you have the right balance.

Ladle the soup intb bowls and garnish as desired. Some suggestions could include dessicated coconut, coconut flakes, a spoonful of coconut cream or fresh coriander. Be creative and enjoy.

Il Segreto, Merrion Row, Dublin

2011-10-08T17:24:00.003+01:00

Il Segreto comes from the team behind Unicorn restaurant and opened in 2009 in a courtyard venue on Merrion Row. Head chef is Lorcan Cribbons, formerly of the Ivy Restaurant, London and neighbouring Bang Cafe. This little section of Dublin is home to Bang, Pearl, Hugo's and Il Segreto, so competition is tough.

We visited the restaurant to use a Living Social voucher giving us two starters, two main courses and two glasses of wine for €39. Apparently this had been a phenomenonally popular deal with over 1,700 people purchasing a voucher. Once we arrived at the restaurant, it was therefore no surprise to find ourselves seated alongside other voucher users, 4 other couples to be exact. Clearly the restaurant has the management of voucher diners down to a fine art.

The dining room, downstairs and upstairs, was full to the brim with all tables occupied. We were seated upstairs, where a large dinner group was celebrating a birthday. Lighting is dim throughout, providing what some may see as a romantic, intimate atmosphere, but what I consider to be just dark. Despite being voucher users, we were able to order anything from the menu without supplements or restrictions. Two glasses of house Sauvignon were quickly brought to the table after ordering. The bread basket was a rather drab affair with two slices each of bog-standard baguette and a better brown bread. Not enough butter was supplied for the bread, and it was hard to boot.

(Apologies in advance for the dark photos - the low lighting in the restaurant proved to be a challenge)

Foie gras with onion galette & cherries

Spiced duck salad

Our starters arrived shortly after ordering, giving the feeling that the kitchen was running a tight ship. I had gone for the seared foie gras served with onion galette and cherries (€11.00). The liver was cooked nicely with buttery, meaty gravy and sweetness from the cherries. However the dish was let down by the galette which was overcooked and actually bordering on burnt. His starter of spiced duck slices, with watercress and sherry vinaigrette (€8.15) was a bit of a non-event. The delicate flavour from the spiced duck was evident, but the salad was bland with a dressing that tasted of nothing.

Pan fried scallops with mousseline potato, pancetta & garlic butter

The conveyor belt efficiency continued with the delivery of our main courses. I had chosen a signature dish - pan fried scallops with mousseline potato, pancetta & garlic butter (€25.50). A large bowl plate arrived, with 5 scallops arranged on a small dollop of potato. The scallops were very uneven in size, ranging from massively plump to skinny-minny. They were cooked to perfection, with the beautiful natural sweet flavour shining through and a lovely carmelisation on the outside. But, for €25.50, this was a meagre dish and, scallops aside, pretty devoid of flavour. I had my knife and fork arranged together long before he had finished his course.

Himself ordered the grilled rib of beef with fries and bearnaise sauce (€25.25) which arrived with a portobello mushroom on top. The steak was exactly cooked as requested (rare) , but the fries were presented terribly in a ceramic dish on the plate, while the bearnaise was a weak and insipid affair. One of life's greatest pleasures is steak frites with bearnaise where you get to dunk the steak and fries into the sharp & buttery sauce. Il Segreto's steak frites just did not deliver on this front.

The house Sauvignon Blanc was a very drinkable wine, which went well with the food. We were finished eating within an hour of sitting down, and we declined desserts and coffees as we just wanted to leave. We asked for the bill, which arrived nicely itemised, showing the deduction for our voucher and the "pleasant" surprise addition of a flat €10.00 service charge. I didn't recollect seeing this on the menu, and neither was it mentioned on our voucher.I presume this is an attempt on the part of Il Segreto to recoup some money from the voucher diners who will visit without ordering anything extra from the menu. In our case, we had ordered one extra glass of wine, which never featured on the bill, so we felt that the "free" wine roughly cancelled out the service charge.

Concluding thoughts on Il Segreto? Slightly overpriced and rather bland in places. It has the feel of a "pile them high and serve them fast" venue that cares more about the amount of covers served per night than providing diners with a quality restaurant experience. To put it another way, I'd return as long as someone else was footing the bill.

Il Segreto, 13a/13b Merrion Row, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 (0)1 661 8700
URL: www.ilsegretorestaurant.ie
Twitter: @ilSegretodublin

Recent Irish food winners

2011-10-05T23:00:00.000+01:00

I'm dedicating this post to some excellent Irish food & drink producers. In recent days, I've read of wins abroad for Irish cheese manufacturers Knockdrinna at the British Cheese Awards 2011, while at home, we've been busy celebrating great Irish produce through events such as the Blas na hÉireann National Irish Food Awards. Later this month, Irish food producers and enthusiasts will gather at Savour Kilkenny to continue the celebration of all that is good and great about Irish food.

Based purely on my personal preferences, I am going to write about three different producers, each of whose products I like for different reasons. One is an old childhood friend, one is relaxing in front of a fire and one is made from caprine milk (well, goat's milk).

The childhood friend - Folláin

I grew up in the Muskerry Gaeltacht (Gaeltacht Mhúscraí) and one way of earning a few bob in the summertime was to pick blackberries and other soft fruit for the small, local jam factory. We'd head to the fields with an empty bucket (formerly used to hold caustic soda for cleaning the milking machine) and pick blackberries from the briars. Every day I'd eagerly anticipate the small fortune that was to be made, but of course, by the end of the day, I'd have purple lips and tongue, while my bucket was definitely not overflowing.

The local jam factory was Folláin, which started by producing a grapefruit marmalade in 1983, based on a O'Lionáird family recipe. This family-run business is a true success story, growing from a small kitchen enterprise to a fully-equipped and high-tech production facility, while still remaining rooted in the small village of Cúil Aodha. While I've always loved their jams and preserves, my real love lies with their range of relishes, particularly the Fire Roasted Pepper and Exotic Fruit relishes.

Folláin Red Pepper & Exotic Fruit relishes

My favourite is the Exotic Fruit Relish, although 2fm DJ Rick O'Shea from is a well-known fan of the Fire Roasted Pepper Relish. It's delicious as the base to a cheese toastie, or else served with cheese and crackers.

Folláin have found a profitable side to their business in the production of own-label products for different supermarket chains and their quality was recognised at the Blas na hÉireann 2011 awards where their Supreme Fire Roasted Pepper Relish for Supervalu and Irish Country Relish Chargrilled Pepper for Aldi took Gold & Silver respectively in the Pickles & Chutneys category.

There's an old Irish saying "Is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras", which translates as "Hunger is a great sauce". Let me tell you, the old Irish folk got it all wrong, they really meant to say "Is maith an t-anlann Folláin" or "Folláin is a great sauce"

The fireside friend - Cooley Distillery

Irish whiskey is mainly dominated by large multinationals these days, and only one independently owned distillery remains in the country - Cooley Distillery. When created in 1987, it was the first new distillery in Irleand in over a century and it set about revitalising some old Irish whiskey brands as well as restoring the Old Kilbeggan Distillery.

Greenore, one of the Cooley brands, is a single grain whiskey, made with corn and aged in bourbon casks. Different age statements are available, and I'm particularly fond of the 8 year version. It's a smooth whiskey with tastes of caramel and toffee and makes for very easy drinking. It comes in a very attractive thick glass bottle with clear labelling which allows the colour of the whiskey to shine through. In 2010, Greenore was awarded a Best in Class and a World Whiskeys Awards Best in Class. I'm not sure how readily available it is, but I have seen it for sale in the Celtic Whiskey Shop on Dawson Street for €32.99

Greenore 8 Year (Image taken from Celtic Whiskey Shop)

Like Folláin, Cooley Distillery also manufactures spirits for own brand labels, and they too were successful in the recent Blas na hÉireann 2011 awards, where their Avoca Aged Blended Irish Whiskey and Avoca Irish Whiskey took Gold and Bronze respectively in the Spirits & Liquers category. My bottle of Greenore 8 is coming to an end, so I called into Aldi to buy the Avoca Aged Whiskey, which sells at the attractive price of €19.99. It's ever so slightly darker in colour than the Greenore, and is similarly smooth tasting. The flavours are sweet with a bit more wood than the Greenore. Personally, I'll be sticking to Greenore for my nightcaps, but when you consider price, the Avoca is good whiskey to have on your shelf.

Avoca Aged Blended Irish Whiskey

The Farmyard Friend - Knockdrinna

Kilkenny-based Kockdrinna has been making cheese since 2004 and now their range covers cow's, sheep and goat's milk cheeses. Their new goat's cheese Kilree swept the boards at the British Cheese Awards 2011, being named Supreme Champion in addition to winning the Best Irish Cheese & Best Semi-Soft Cheese.

My favourite Knockdrinna cheese, however, is the wonder Knockdrinna Snow. Made from goat's milk, it gets its name from the velvety snow-white rind. It is firm when young, but matures into melting softness. It has the most wonderful lustrous, pearl-like white colour, making it a feast for the eyes. Once you've finished gazing, you can get on with grazing as it is delicious smeared on cheese biscuits. I get my Knockdrinna from Sheridan's Cheesemongers, but it can also be bought online directly from the farm.

Knockdrinna Snow Goat's Cheese (Picture from Knockdrinna)

That's the end of my celebratory post of Irish food and drink. As I said earlier, these products are chosen purely on my personal preferences and childhood memories. I'm sure that everyone will have their own favourite candidates. Why don't you share your favourites with me, and take the time to explain why they are your favoruites. Perhaps I'll discover some great new products, thanks to your recommendations!

Ham Hock & Pear Salad

2011-10-01T21:11:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago I enjoyed a lovely, light lunch at Dax Cafe Bar. This is definitely one of my favourite spots for lunch when I'm working in town. It's a slice of Gallic heaven, serving great French-inspired dishes in a beautiful club-style room. I love their salads which usually feature just a handful of ingredients, but are executed really well with good textures and flavours. (Dax Cafe Bar is also open in the evenings, serving a range of "tapas" and other dishes. You can read more about it on one of my earlier reviews).

Tonight, we were cooking slow braised beef cheeks for dinner. These take time to cook, and I wanted to make a quick starter or salad dish as we waited for the magic to happen in the oven. Earlier in the day, I had visited the wonderful Byrnes Butchers on North Circular Road in Phibsborough, where I had purchased a smoked ham hock. My plan had been to put this in the fridge for snackage, but I decided to use it in a Dax-inspired salad. I simply tore at the ham hock until I had a pile of shreds. The different sizes and rough textures keeps the salad looking rustic and simple. I added some carmelised pear slices for a touch of sweetness against the mustard vinaigrette.

Smoked ham hock & pear salad

Ingredients

4-5 slices of pear, cored

Knob of butter

Olive oil

Cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

Strong mustard

Lamb's lettuce, or leaves of your choice

Shredded cooked ham

Salt & pepper to taste

Start by heating a pan over a medium to high heat and melt the butter. Place the pear slices in the pan, and cook for several minutes on either side, or until golden and carmelised. You need the heat to be above medium in order to get the sugars to carmelise, but make sure not to burn the butter.

Once happy with the pear slices, carefully remove from the pan, and place on some kitchen paper to drain off some of the butter.

To make the vinaigrette, combine olive oil, vinegar and some mustard in a bowl until blended. I'm deliberately not recommending quantities here, as everyone has different taste when it comes to dressing strength. Personally, I like my dressings to be really punchy, with lots of mustard flavour.

Arrange the lamb's lettuce on a plate and spoon over several teaspoons of the dressing. Place the ham shreds and pear slices on top, and finish with a little salt & pepper.

Once I had the salad ready, I took some quick photos. Later as I looked at them on the laptop, I was struck by the beautiful colours and textures. So here's a close-up from one of the shots for you to enjoy!

Close up of smoked ham hock & pear salad

Pay as You Please, Killarney

2011-09-27T21:11:00.001+01:00

Petty thievery in Ireland...If something isn't nailed down, there's a fair chance that some light-fingered kleptomaniac will pop it into their handbag or pocket and take it home. And to be quite honest, this will probably happen even if the item is nailed down.

This rather "socialist" view of property (i.e. belongs to all equally) was accepted behaviour in the student years when having the coolest road sign or beer glass collection was a sign of a true die-hard student. What is perhaps more worrying is that this tendancy never quite goes away. Irish people like "free" things. Recently, Stoneybatter gastropub L. Mulligan wrote a blog post pleading with punters to return pilfered items. Treasured childhood editions of Beatrix Potter books, old novels and even a wall painting have gone missing from the pub, which have lead the Mulligan team to placing an amnesty box on the bar counter. (It remains to be seen how successful this initiative will be.)

Given this rather free and liberal characteristic of Irish people, then why would anyone open as a "Pay As You Please" restaurant in Ireland? Fedora-loving Rob O'Reilly and Barry Bride have taken this bold step in the most touristy of towns, Killarney and business has been going well. Clever use of Facebook and Tripadvisor have raised the profile of this unnamed and unconventional restuarant. And it always helps that one of your chefs has trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School.

Located on New Market Lane, off High Street, the cafe is located in an old warehouse. As we enter, a tasty looking selection of cakes sit under net covers. Mismatched furniture and shabby retro chic are the order of the day here, matching the relaxed vibe emanating from the owners. On the day we visited, a silent black & white Elvis film was projected onto the rear wall, to the soundtrack of a mix of cool jazz & blues music.

Bohemian, relaxed interior at Pay As You Please

The menu is simple, presented on colourful plastic clipboards and feature a short selection of dishes. Hearty warm soups come in a bread bowl, or alternatively in a jar. Looking around, Tripadvisor is clearly working for the business as plenty of American tourists were tucking in. Tap water and glasses were provided without asking.

The changing daily menu at Pay As You Please

I dillied between the salad and dish of the day. The smoked mackarel fishcakes with beetroot salsa sounded delicious, but I really wanted a light lunch, so instead I chose the Nicoise salad, with tuna, potatoes, olives, egg and green beans. I received a punchy, well-dressed salad served on a retro enamelled plate. with the bright yellow yolk of the perfectly hard-boiled eggs shining like jewels on the plate rim.

Nicoise salad at Pay As You Please

Himself chose one of the pizza options, going for a classic prosciutto, parmesan and rocket. The pizza arrived on a wooden breadboard, along with a pizza cutter (genius idea- I really don't understand why more restaurants don't provide pizza cutters to diners). The pizza is cooked with all the toppings in the middle, allowing the outside edge to puff up while baking. The dough was light and crispy, with a lovely basil flavour shining through.

Prosciutto pizza at Pay As You Please

The only bad aspect to our meal at this little bijoux venue was the coffee quality. I'm not sure what brand was used, but it had a liqourice flavour that I dislike in coffee and came served in a French press. While living in Amsterdam, lots of restaurants used to serve Nespresso-type coffee via machines, which meant that it was possible to obtain high-quality cups of coffee in most venues. This could be an avenue for the cheeky chappies at Pay As You Please to explore.

Overall, very good cafe-style food. It's also worth mentioning that the cafe operates a BYO policy, meaking it an affordable spot for nighttime dining on Fridays and Saturdays. And how much did we pay? Well, we left behind €25 (broken down at €10 per main course and €2.50 each per coffee). I'd love to know what others think. Was this a fair price?

Pay As You Please, New Market Lane, Killarney, Co. Kerry
Tel: +353 (0)86 306 8253
Facebook: Pay As You Please

Electric, South Mall, Cork

2011-09-25T19:38:00.001+01:00

Ah Cork. My home city and possibly the most relaxed city in Ireland. Maybe I'm waxing a wee bit too lyrical, but that could be due to the effect of the singsong local accent. Bye bye to the harsh sounds of Dublin, and hello to the Cork lilt. Even after just a few hours in the city, I find my accent strengthening and returning.

The main contrast I notice betwen Cork and Dublin is the lack of bustle. Things are simply quieter and less busy in Cork. The South Mall is home to several legal and accounting practices, as well as many other businesses, but the street is pleasantly quiet. The remodelling of the Grand Parade means that people can now sit outside and relax with a coffee. Tis all very continental. And nothing is more continental than that most Corkonian of Cork institutes - the English Market.

I used to shop frequently, if not daily, in the English Market when I lived in Cork. I accepted its loss when I moved to Dublin and thought no more of it, but that loss comes home to haunt me as I wander the stalls. Good value butchers selling cruibins and tripe. Fresh bread, charcuterie, cheeses and of course, lots of fish and seafood. The prices and range amaze me - Dublin simply has nothing like it. (For instance, I've been trying to source ham hocks from a Dublin butcher. All have told me that they require a few days to obtain, yet here are ham hocks, both raw and cooked, piled high in the English Market, and priced under €2 each. I doubt I'll be paying that price in Dublin).

Just a few minutes walk from the English Market lies a beautiful Art Deco building that houses a newcomer to the Cork dining scene - the wonderfully named Electric. With a scattering of tables outside on the river bank, this venue mixes casual bar dining with a more formal first floor restaurant. The first floor also features an outside covered terrace, which is where we find ourselves on a sunny autumn lunchtime. The terrace offers views of St. Finbarr's Cathedral and Sullivan's Quay.

Outside terrace at Electric with a view on Sullivan's Quay

At first glance, the menu looks quite good with very attractive pricing. According to the website, the owner and head chef, Kevin O’Regan, is committed to Irish food and this appears to be reflected in the menu. We choose to share a starter of grilled halloumi and pesto salad with mango chili salsa (€6). This arrives with two thick slices of halloumi on a bed of lambs' lettuce and mixed leaves. I simply love seeing lambs' lettuce and other green leaves in salads (as opposed to horrible frisee or red leaves) so this pleased me. Unfortunately, there was none of the advertisted mango chili salsa (replaced intead by juliennes of mango) but the halloumi was grilled to perfection and the pesto was top notch (hopefully sourced from the nearby English Market?)

Grilled halloumi salad

For mains, I chose the fillet of organic salmon with mussels, leeks, samphire and creme fraiche (€12.50). I received a large piece of perfectly cooked salmon which sat atop a mix of fried leeks, baby new potatoes and mussels in the shell. The accompanying sauce was amazing, reminiscent of a bearnaise, with a light silky texture. The samphire had been cooked in the sauce, whereas I would have preferred it uncooked and brighter in colour, but otherwise, an excellent dish, which could command a higher prices in many other establishments.

Salmon with mussels, leeks and samphire

Himself was torn betwen the tagliatelle and cod, but in the end he chose the tagliatelle of sauté prawns & basil pesto (€11). When it arrived, the pasta looked very pretty on the plate with a smattering of leaves, parmesan and green beans. However the pasta was so overcooked that that it fell apart while eating. The flavour though was very good, with meaty prawns and more of the intense basil pesto that had featured on our halloumi starter.

Prawn tagliatelle

I indulged with a glass of Martin Codax Albarino (€6.25) which was straw-yellow in colour, aromatic and fresh - a very good accompaniment to the salmon and seafood flavours. Coffees were priced at a reasonable €2.00 each, and our total bill, including some drinks, came to €47.25.

Overall, I'm highly impressed with the value on offer in Electric. Main courses are excellent value, with a good standard of cooking (treating the overcooked pasta as a glitch in the Matrix) and generous portion sizes. The interior is lovely, with the Art Deco theme running throughout the interior design and branding. Electric has all the potential to become a Cork institution, a place to which diners will return regularly for watering and dining.

Electric, 42 South Mall, Cork, Ireland
Tel: +353 (0)21 422 2990
Twitter: @ElectricCork

Mulberry Garden, Donnybrook, Dublin 4

2011-09-18T22:30:00.002+01:00

There's no doubt that Ireland is deep in the grips of bad times. Friday evening drinks in the pub after work appear to have taken a severe beating and on a recent visit to Cork, I was literally gobsmacked at the empty state of some previously packed bars. I think that the goverment and CSO should forget about unemployment statistics and mortgage default rates. A truer measure of Irish consumer confidence would be to look at pub visits. The Irishman has always had a natural affinity with establishments that serve alcoholic beverages, so anything that perturbs that relationship must indeed be catastrophic. How about the Pub Punter Index?

(By the way, I am not being facetious with my previous comment. For all the bad news on the television, the deep impact on Irish pockets has been most apparent to me when visting my local.)

Conversely, certain restaurants seem to be booming. You can't swing a cat in Ranelagh village with the amount of people packed into restaurants and a recent visit to Chapter One on a Wednesday evening showed that there was no shortage of punters willing to part with their cash for food. Granted, consumers are looking for good value and restaurants are listening. All that said, it's a brave venture to open a new, high-end restaurant, especially one such as Mulberry Garden which operates a limited choice, €40 set menu only. This is compounded by the fact that Mulberry Garden is open only Thursday - Saturday evenings. Brave indeed.

Charmingly located on Mulberry Lane, near Kiely's of Donnybrook, the restaurant is centred on a little garden. The space is elegant with the mulberry theme running throughout the interior colour palette. Tables are set with crystal, silver and linen and everything is very gently lit. As we are shown to our table, we pass tables packed with besuited business men and couples. Looking around, we appear to be the youngest couple in the room.

As mentioned above, the menu is extremely short with just two options presented for each of the three courses. Given that one of the dessert choices is actually a cheeseboard, this leave only one true dessert choice, which may not be to everyone's liking. On the other hand, the menu changes on a weekly basis, with a strong focus on fresh seasonal ingredients. As we were dining as a couple, we simply ordered one of each item allowing us to taste the full menu.

In contrast to the short menu on a little piece of paper, the wine menu comes attached to what appears to be a wooden plank. After selecting a New Zealand Malborough Sauvignon Blanc (€30), I am left with a dilemma as to where to put the damn thing. In the end I lean it against the table leg. A selection of fresh breads appears along with a pat of smoked butter. I initially found the smoked butter intriguing, but after a few bites I wanted rid of it. The taste was overpowering and I would even have settled for that other horrid form of butter - unsalted. The breads were fine.

Due to the low-lit nature of the dining room, most of the photos I took didn't do justice to the food served. Therefore I'm only publishing two of the pictures.

Hereford ox tongue starter at Mulberry Garden

Starters

Poached free range hens egg with natural smoked haddock, sweetcorn, grilled spring onion and bacon crumb. I must admit that I found this dish a bit too salty, but the sweetcorn kernels dotted around the side added little pops of sweetness.
Hereford ox tongue with organic beetroot, corned beef hash, horseradish, shaved celeriac and watercress. This was very prettily presented, but the tongue just didn't stand out at all for me. The little croquette of corned beef hash was a winner.

Main Courses

Rump of Connemara Hill lamb with braised lamb shoulder, tomato tart fine, dried black olive, pine nuts and crushed aubergine. The lamb was cooked beautifully pink but the tart fine was the star of this plate with fantastic tomato sweetness. The dried black olive was wonderfully intense, but it overpowered the other flavours, particularly the delicate aubergine.
Lightly salted Atlantic cod with cauliflower, summer cabbage, caper brown butter, roast & pickled carrots and gratin potato. A very well cooked piece of meaty cod with a delicious butter.

Lightly salted Atlantic cod at Mulberry Garden

Main Courses

Vanilla panna cotta with coffee & truffle ice-cream, hazelnut biscotti and espresso jelly. When I ordered this, the waitress did ask if I would be OK with the taste of truffle in my dessert. Apparently a lot of people don't find the combination palatable. The dessert came presented in a spherical tumbler with layers of panna cotta and espresso jelly, topped with the (in)famous coffee & truffle ice-cream. I absolutely loved this flavour combination, mixing together coffee, sweetness and the oiliness of the truffle. A really unique dish.
Special dessert of chocolate cake with coconut sorbet. This dessert wasn't listed on the menu, but was suggested separately by our waitress. Given that the other option was a cheese plate, himself took the opportunity to have some chocolate. He receive a dense, moist slice of chocolate with a surprisingly creamy coconut sorbet.

Our total bill, including wine and some sparkling water came to €113.95. When booking, I had been skeptical about paying €40 for 3 courses. It seemed a bit too pricey particularly given the limited choice. Now that I've eaten there, I'm a little more convinced. This is a restaurant with the intimate atmosphere of a supper club. There is some really good cooking with excellent Irish ingredients, but many dishes had one touch too many and could benefit from a tiny bit of simplification. Ultimately though, the limited choice remains an issue. Go there on a day when the cards do not fall your way with dish selection and you could well feel cheated.

Mulberry Garden, Mulberry Lane, Dublin 4
Tel: 353 (0)1 269 3300
URL: www.mulberrygarden.ie

Mandarin House, Parnell Street, Dublin

2011-09-17T16:31:00.001+01:00

I love reading restaurant reviews. If I have eaten at the venue under review, I compare notes, while for unvisited venues, I make mental bookmarks to visit or avoid. It's fair to say that restaurant reviews are a subjective business and wars have been fought over lesser matters. You have to find a restaurant reviewer whose opinion you trust and with whom you feel an affinity. In Ireland, I am a fan of Tom Doorley, currently with the Irish Daily Mail, while in the UK I enjoy reading Jay Rayner from the Guardian, and reviews from blogger Chris Pople (Cheese and Biscuits). Just like Jay Rayner, I have a great love for spicy chinese food and thanks to his reviews, I have visited some great London Sichuan restaurants.

I do think that Sichuan (and Hunan) food can constitute an addiction. I literally find myself craving that chili hit, with intense garlic and salty bean flavours. It took me a while to become accustomed to the numbing sensations of sichuan pepper and prickly ash, but now I would sit through a Hollyoaks omnibus in order to satisfy my cravings. (For reference, I think Hollyoaks is possibly the most absymal television ever made).

Here in Dublin, I think it's fair to say that Chinese food has been up and down. I ate in the first wave of authentic Chinese restaurants that opened their doors on down-at-heel Moore Street. Undoubtedly, the Health & Safety inspectors were pleased when some of those venues were closed, but the food was a revelation. The next wave of restaurants opened on Parnell Street, near Marlborough Street. It was clear to see that general restaurant standards were increasing, but in parallel with this was the increasing westernisation of the menus. Restaurants started opening on Capel Street, extending the availability of real chinese cuisine.

My favourite restaurant for a long time has been the Hilan Chinese & Korean restaurant on Capel Street. Friendly and pleasant staff combined with some amazing dishes has kept me coming back for years. But I think it's time for a new favourite. Let me introduce you to the Mandarin House on Parnell Street.

The restaurant itself is straightforward and plain (a lot of Chinese restaurants don't go for style) with utilitarian wipe-down paper tablecloths. The menu lists a combination of authentic Chinese food, "regular" Chinese food and there's even a Thai section. Some specials are taped to the inside cover of the menu, along with a value evening menu that includes a glass of wine. On previous visits I've enjoyed the belly pork slices with butternut squash, which can probably be described as a Chinese version of roast dinner. It's a unique dish, not very spicy and well worth a try if you want to experience something different.

On our recent visit we ordered crispy dumplings, served with soy sauce (5 for €4.50). These actually arrived last of our food order due to the longer cooking time, but they were fat and tasty, full of prawn mixture, with a crisp, pan-fried coating. Black vinegar and chili oil is also available on request to add some extra flavour to the dipping sauce

Crispy dumplings with soy sauce

Fried spicy green beans came piled on a plate mixed with deliciously crisp slices of fried garlic, dried chilis and minced pork (€10.00). If you've ever eaten alongside Chinese people, you will know that fried green beans is a very popular dish and this was a great example. The mixture of fresh and dried chilis provided different layers of heat and smokiness and I found myself picking out the garlic slices and savouring them with my eyes shut.

Spicy fried green beans

Our other dishes included cumin lamb (€10.00), listed as Northeast Supreme (I think?) on the menu and Chili chicken (€9.00) with fried rice (€2.50 per portion). The chili chicken was moderately hot with a bean-flavoured sauce. The use of thigh meat meant that the chicken remained soft and moist. The lamb was spiced as opposed to spicy through the use of cumin seeds and a smattering of the ubiquitous dried chilis.

Northeast lamb supreme (Cumin lamb)

The total bill for this feast came to €44.50, inlcuding two beers and some sparkling water. Given that we had 3 main courses, this represents great value for very tasty food. Our waitress was smiling as she cleared away our empty plates. Clearly our enjoyment of their food was appreciated.

Mandarin House, 179 Parnell Street, Dublin 1
Tel: +353 (0)1 878 3146

Little Jerusalem, Rathmines, Dublin

2011-09-12T23:23:00.000+01:00

Every city suburb needs a neighbourhood joint. In high-flying Ranelagh, the neighbourhood joints are pricy and packed. In nearby, but slightly dingier, Rathmines there is a joint that is just as packed, but far more affordable and easy going on the auld wallet. Rathmines has been hiding the light that is Little Jerusalem, probably in an effort to ensure that seats will remain for the locals, rather than blow-ins from adjoining suburbs.

Little Jerusalem, a Palestinian & Lebanese joint, is located on Wynnfield Road, which is also home to an internet cafe, an adult shop and an amazing little sports shop. It's not really a street that you stroll down, it's a street that demands a purpose. When we stepped inside the restaurant late on a Thursday night, it was packed to the rafters, with a single empty table. I muttered a short prayer to the restaurant gods, and they listened.

Another little secret about Little Jerusalem is that it's a Bring Your Own (BYO) venue, which means that you can bring in your own alcohol and enjoy it with your meal. Corkscrews are even provided on the tables. We bought along a bottle of the light and tasty Durvillea Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from O'Briens Wine which had been on special offer at €9.99. As we settled in at the table, we poured some wine and watched the chefs hard at work behind the counter of the original kebab joint. The interior is dimly lit with rugs scattered on the floor, contributing to the sense of coziness and intimacy.

The menu is printed on a simple cardboard booklet with straightforward selections of mezza (starters), with chicken, lamb, fish, vegetarian dishes and salads. I love baba ghanoush or grilled aubergine mashed with olive oil and seasoned with tahini and other spices (€5.50), so that was an easy choice for me, while he chose the tasty sounding Palestinian salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions, red onions, mint, parsley with a sumac and fresh pomegrante seed dressing (€5.50). My baba ghanoush came in a little dish accompanied by a fresh naan which was perfect to scoop up the smoky, richly flavoured mush. (Although it must be said that I ate most directly from the bowl - still on low carb). His salad however, was disappointing, with no real trace of the listed pomegrante dressing.

For mains, I chose the Mashawi Mushakla, which is a mixed plate of grilled chicken, lamb and kofta skewer served with hummous, tabbouleh, sauce and more naan bread (€14.99). The grilled meats were rasty, with the lamb really standing out due to a spicy flavour that reminded me of that Cork Christmas favourite, spiced beef. He chose Samak Mashwi, or seasonal marinated & grilled fish, which is served with rice and salad. (€13.99) The fish was fleshy and juicy, served simply with a tasty, spicy sauce, plenty of rice and more of the tabbouleh. By the way, this was well-made tabbouleh, featuring plenty of vegetable and a light smattering of bulgar wheat.

Little Jerusalem is a small, cosy spot that cheerfully feeds a crowd every night. All of the about cost us approximately €40, exlcuding the BYO wine. We were quite full after all this, but other diners around us clearly weren't and we watched little plates of baklava and tiny pots of Turkish coffee being delivered by the well-worked waiter. Little Jerusalem delivers. Now you've finally got a purpose to walk down that street.

Little Jerusalem, 3 Wynnfield Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6

Tel: +353 (0)1 412 6912

Old Kilbeggan Distillery, Co Westmeath

2011-09-11T10:27:00.003+01:00

The word whiskey descends from the Irish words "Uisce Beatha", which translate direcly as "Water of Life". Due to the similarities between the Irish language and Scots Gaelic, the Scots use the variation "whisky" for their national spirit. Currently, Scotland supports about 90 distilleries, while Ireland has just a mere 4, albeit each producing several whiskies. Only one company remains independant, Cooley Whiskey, which has resurrected the Kilbeggan Whiskey brand and invested in the Old Kilbeggan Distillery.

The town of Kilbeggan is located a few minutes off the M4 motorway between Dublin & Galway, on the old N6 road. It's just over an hour from Dublin, and it's well worth making a detour to visit the charming Old Kilbeggan Distillery. Located on the main street of Kilbeggan, the distillery is housed in an old set of whitewashed buildings. Daily guided, multilingual tours are available, or alternatively, it is possible to take a self-guided tour and explore the distillery at your leisure (This was our chosen option at €7.00 each).

Clutching the sheets of paper which comprised our guide, we set off to explore. The guide takes you through a sequence of numbered features scattered amongst the gigantic copper tuns (vats) and massive toothed gear wheels of the original water-powered machinery. Outside, the local river is dammed to provide a steady flow to the water wheel, and it is pretty amazing to think how the smooth-flowing small river powers the rotating iron gears and cogs that run throughout the building.

Chimney at the Old Kilbeggan Distillery

Gears from the water wheel at the Old Kilbeggan Distillery

The leaflet was full of straightforward facts and numbers, as well as providing some amusing insights into how the workers "acquired" the benefits of working in a whiskey distillery. Some of these perks were highly guarded secrets such as the pipe which ran from underneath the spirit receivers connected to the stills. From this, the workers could tap their own supply of the clear unaged spirit that would eventually become whiskey. Outside in the yard, it is possible to see copper stills which would have been used to distill the whiskey from a wash to a clear spirit ready for casking. Unfortunately, the stills on display are not the originals, which were sold for copper scrap in the 1960s, but they are old, coming from B. Daly's Distillery, Tullamore. Spent wash, which was not distilled into sprits but still contained alcohol, was dumped into the river where it had the effect of temporarily knocking out the fish, until they were washed downstream and literally sobered up.

Copper still at the Old Kilbeggan Distillery

There are rules and regulations which govern the production of Irish whiskey. They are relatively simple - whiskey must be distilled and aged in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland. The contained spirits must be distilled to an ABV of less than 94.8% from a yeast-fermented mash of cereal grains and lastly, the whiskey must be aged for at least three years in wooden casks. Thus, any distillery will have large amounts of wooden casks laid down at any given time containing whiskey that is maturing and aging.

Commemorative whiskey casks at the Old Kilbeggan Distillery

The last portion of our tour including a little tasting of Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey in the little bar. The standard Kilbeggan whiskey is a smooth, sweet spirit with a malty finish. Other more matured versions are also available, and we took home a bottle of 8 year old Greenore Single Grain Irish Whiskey. It's made from maize/corn and aged for 8 years in first fill ex-bourbon casks. Like it's relation, it's a sweet whiskey, with tastes of vanilla and caramel and is a lovely whiskey to drink neat.

Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey at the Old Kilbeggan Distillery

The Old Kilbeggan Distillery is a wonderful location to visit. It hasn't been glossed and polished to within an inch of its life. Instead, it's been bought back to working condition and the factory is allowed to sing its own song. The air in the yards is fragrant with alcohol aromas and it's not hard to imagine the hustle and bustle that once filled the buildings.

Eastern Seaboard, Drogheda

2011-09-10T23:28:00.002+01:00

I work as a management consultant for a major consulting firm. It's a great job with challenging work and interesting clients. During the 5 years I've spent with my current employer, I've had the privilege and pleasure to work with a wide range of firms, some of which have been well-known household names. Others have been less well-known, like one pharmaceutical firm but which is truly doing something special for people who suffer from rare, degenerative disorders.

My job involves travelling, and I have more familiarity with airport lounges than any sane person should have. I've lived in Brussels for 7 months and Amsterdam for 13 months, but right now, I'm currently back home in Dublin and commuting to Drogheda. To be quite honest, I used to think that the best thing in Drogheda was the M1 road back to Dublin, but that viewpoint has changed recently, thanks to the Eastern Seaboard Bar & Grill (and its sister venues Mo's and the Brown Hound Bakery).

The Eastern Seaboard & Brown Hound Bakery was the recent target of an Irish Food Bloggers Association field trip. Afterwards I read the results of the trip with increasing envy and jealousy. Check out Claire's Brown Hound & Eastern Seaboard summary from her An American in Ireland blog. The Katz Miaow went even further with a 3 part summary - you can start with Part 1 here. The professional accolades have been rolling in as well with Chef Reuven Diaz winning a Best Chef award at the 2011 RAI Leinster Awards.

I've visited the Eastern Seaboard 4 times in recent weeks and I have to say that it is a fantastic spot. It's large and open, with bare concrete floors and exposed walls. Warmth and charm comes from the funky art pieces and furniture arranged throughout and daily specials are chalked onto one of the main columns. In short, it's an inviting and relaxing space.

Fresh flowers on tables at Eastern Seaboard

So what have I sampled? I'll quickly run through the assortment of dishes that I've enjoyed. Word of warning - as I'm currently eating low-carb, I cannot comment on the bread in any of the following dishes, as it all got pushed to the side of the plate. On my first visit, I sampled the Irish beef burger with cheese, which comes with tangy tomato relish, fried onions and spicy mayo (€9.95 + €1.00 for cheese). This dish comes with one side, so I chose the garlic zucchini (courgettes to you and me). The burger was moist and tasty, I really enjoyed the sauces, but the garlic courgettes were the star of the show. Thin slices, gently cooked with a lovely garlic flavour - yum.

Burger with garlic zucchini

For my second visit, I decided to choose two of the smaller plates, so I ordered the Butcher's Board with saucisson, pork rilettes, black pudding & chorizo ballotine and parma ham (€8.50) along with the Ploughman's Plate which featured cheddar, apple and relish (€4.95). Both dishes came prettily served on wooden boards and featured lashings of crusty fresh bread. The Butcher's Board was a visual feast for the eyes, and although the ballotine looked amazing, it just didn't deliver in the taste stakes. Pork rillette was deliciously soft and flavoursome. The Ploughman's Plate featured large chunks of tangy mature cheddar with a rich, darkly sugary relish for dipping.

Butcher's Board at the Eastern Seaboard

Ploughman's Plate at the Eastern Seaboard

On my next trip, I decided to try one of my favourite dishes, Caesar Salad - with chicken and crispy bacon (€10.00). The bacon turned out to be crispy pieces of parma ham and I love the chargrilled flavour on the chicken. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough dressing on the leaves for my liking, and when I got to the bottom of the bowl, the dressing was diluted by the excess water which had drained off the leaves into a pool at the bottom of the bowl.

Chicken Caesar Salad with crispy bacon

My favourite dish however, came on my last visit. As I was feeling in a fishy kind of mood, I chose the sesame seeded Loch Duart salmon with soy butter (€14.50) which came with two optional sides - so again I chose my beloved garlic courgettes and wilted spinach. The salmon is described as being sustainably farmed and environmentally responsible and is cooked medium, unless otherwise requested. It arrived looking beautiful with a monochrome sesame seed coating, sitting in a golden brown pool of soy butter. Deliciously soft, flavoursome salmon and I found myself running my finger around the plate to catch every last drop of the beautiful sauce. A definite winner of a dish.

Sesame seeded salmon with soy butter

The Eastern Seaboard is the kind of restaurant that every town should have. (All the more amazing that Drogheda has it). I have been recommending it far and wide and with Drogheda Train Station only a hop and a skip down the road, there's no excuse not to visit. And after you've sated your appetite, you can head down to the delectable Brown Hound Bakery to select a box of delicious cupcakes or goodies to take home. You just might end up becoming addicted!

Eastern Seaboard Bar & Grill, 1 Bryanstown Centre, Dublin Road, Drogheda, Co. Louth.

Tel: +353 (0)41 980 2570

Twitter: @eseaboard

Michie Sushi

2011-09-04T17:07:00.002+01:00

Michie Sushi has been around for quite a while now, quietly tucked away on a little Ranelagh laneway. It's not a big spot, probably seating a maximum of 20 people in close quarters. Based on that fact alone, it's probably fair to say that it's authentically Japanese. The addition of a kimono-clad waitress and some top-notch food are only garnishing the experience.

We visited late on a Saturday afternoon, but despite this, there were enough customers present to make the place feel busy. You enter through a sliding door which you could easily pass by. Inside, the walls are painted a fresh shade of green with lightweight tables and chairs. We were given cups of a light green tea to drink while reading our menus, which featured covered lunch, sushi, hot food and specials. No shortage of choice here folks.

Plate setting at Michie Sushi

As I'm currently eating low-carb, my options were a tiny bit limited and I did cheat a little with my main course. We chose a plate of tuna & salmon sashimi (€9.95) to start which quickly arrived at the table with 5 slices of each fish along with some seaweed and a dollop of the fiery goodness that is wasabi. As you'd expect from a good sushi restaurant, the fish was impeccably fresh, with that sweet taste of really excellent sashimi.

Tuna and salmon sashimi

I chose a special of Tonkatsu (€8.51) for my main. I was cheating somewhat on my low-carb eating as this featured sliced pork loin in crispy Panko breadcrumbs served with a sweet homemade tonkatsu sauce. However, I did justify it somewhat by declining to order a side dish of rice to accompany it. The pork was fine on its own, but came to life when dipped into the excellent sauce or smeared with a little of the hot Japanese mustard that lurked behind the shredded cabbage. Despite all my years eating in Japanese restaurants, this was my first time experiencing Japanese mustard and I can now tell you that it a condiment that deserves respect. There's a reason that you're only served a small amount.

Tonkatsu with homemade tonkatsu sauce

He chose a salmon bento box (€10.95) for his main course. It featured a tasty miso soup, piece of delicately cooked salmon with courgette, rice, a lightly dressed salad and 2 large pieces of sushi roll. The main components of salmon & sushi were excellent and the salad was tastily dressed. A great example of healthy, balanced eating.

Salmon bento box

Our total bill for lunch came to €31.21, including one small bottle of sparkling water and unlimited free green tea. It's an absolute pleasure to eat lunch somewere like Michie Sushi. There are no pretensions and no fuss. Instead you get clean, exact food with the balance and delicacy that is so typical of Japanese food. This is truly food for body and mind.

Michie Sushi, 11 Chelmsford Lane, Ranelagh, Dublin 6
Tel: +353 (0)1 497 6438
Web: www.michiesushi.com
Twitter: @MichieSushi

Gambas Pil Pil

2011-09-03T23:44:00.001+01:00

Recently I've been eating low-carb. This is in an effort to knock off some weight, which I could frankly well afford to do. Several years ago I successfully lost 12-13 kg on a low-carb diet with lots of taekwon do training and kept it off for a few years. Then I moved to Dublin and started work as a consultant. Irregular hours, lots of travel, bad canteens and an eye injury meant that I stopped exercising and the weight crept back on. So, I'm back on the low-carb wagon and I'm running again. I'm only at at the start, but I already feel much more energetic. I do low-carb 6.5 days of the week, with one carby meal a week. I think this is psychologically as well as nutritionally important.

As any low-carb follower will tell you, eating out can be a challenge. I have ended up in canteens with the weirdest combinations of food - sometimes boiled broccoli from the hot counter with rocket and ham slices from the salad counter. My current work assignment has ZERO low-carb suitable options at breakfast time. So where's good to go when low-carbing?

Well, one clear option is tapas. I've been to Port House Ibericos in Dundrum twice recently, and both times I had the Gambas Pil Pil or basically prawns served in a garlic & chili oil. Plump juicy prawns that you can dip into the garlicky oil, what's not to love? Today, while shopping, I picked up some raw, peeled prawns and I decided to make Gambas Pil Pil at home. It's really easy, but the secret is to take your time and not overheat the oil. The results are amazing. I've listed quanities below, but don't get hung up on the measurements. I used 140g of prawns because that was the pack size I purchased.

I use a lot of garlic in my version, because that's the way I like it. Feel free to adjust to your own tastes. One word - the traditional recipe uses parsley, which I don't personally like, so I've omitted it. However, feel free to add some finely chopped parsley if that floats your boat. Pimenton, or smoked paprika, adds a real Spanish flavour of smokiness and warmth to the dish. It's readily obtainable in any good food shop and makes a valuable addition to any spice shelf.

Gambas Pil Pil and assorted snacks

Ingredients

140g raw prawns, peeled

6-7 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

1/2 red chili, finely chopped

1 knob butter

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon pimenton (smoked paprika)

Lots of olive oil

Sea salt (flakes are best)

The first thing required is to remove the prawns from their packaging and place them in a bowl along with some salt. This is not to add flavour, but instead to draw out some moisture from the prawns. Otherwise, when later placed in the oil, the water will leach out causing the prawns to boil rather than fry. Leave them to sit while preparing the oil.

Put a small skillet or heavy pan on a low-heat. Pour in lots of olive oil. The idea is that the prawns will sit in the oil and cook that way, rather than shallow-frying. As the oil warms up, add the knob of butter. I do this because it helps me see how hot the oil is getting. Reserve about one clove of garlic and a little chili. Once the butter has melted, add all the remaining garlic, chili and pimenton to the oil. They should be sizzling gently. The idea is to cook the garlic and chili very gently in the oil, so that it absorbs all the flavour. If the garlic shows any sign of browning, remove the oil from the heat until it is cooler. Allow the oil to infuse for approx 10 mins. Stir frequently and taste occasionally to see how the flavour is developing.

Place the prawns on kitchen paper and pat dry. Once ready, turn the heat up under the oil, stir in the reserved garlic and chili, then drop in the prawns one by one. Depending on the size, they should take no more than 2.5 - 3 minutes to cook. Serve either in the skillet or remove to a dish along with plenty of the tasty oil. Add a light sprinkle of sea salt and some crusty slices of bread for the people who are not low-carbing. Enjoy!

You may find that you won't eat or use all the oil. But this oil can be reused to cook more prawns, or reserved for use in a salad dressing.

Bellinter House, Co. Meath

2011-08-27T21:37:00.002+01:00

We recently spent a night at Bellinter House near Navan in Co. Meath. This hotel has been on my hit-list for several years now, but I could never quite stomach the expensive rates charged. Firstly, I can't stand hotels that charge per person, and secondly, I can't really get my head around a hotel charging more than €100-150 for a night's B&B. Only 5 star venues in great locations with perfect service can justify big-buck rates. Thanks to Boards Deals, I was able to secure a mid-week B&B stay in Bellinter House and two 30 minute spa treatments for the excellent value sum of €99.

The very first impression of Bellinter House is that of slamming on the brakes. The entrance is located on a bend with no signage beforehand. It makes me wonder how many people sail past, rubbernecking at the entrance they've just missed. A short drive leads to a fine example of Palladian house, designed by the same architect responsible for Russborough House, Carton House, Powerscourt House and lastly, Leinster House. Bellinter House has had a mixed history passing through the hands of landed gentry, the Sisters of Sion,and the goverment before finally arriving into the hands of the current owners.

As we climb the steps to reception, we are greeted by two running kids and their nanny. I can safely assume she was the nanny due to her ethnicity and the fact that Mammy and Daddy were following behind. I sigh. A luxury night away with spa treatments just doesn't seem the same when there are rugrats involved.

The public areas...

The Lounge at Bellinter House

All the receptions rooms are interlinked allowing us to wander from hallway to games room to bar to lounge. Only the library is separate, presumably to allow for some quiet time. Original features have been maintained, but there is a minimal amount of the expected period furnishings. Instead, there are leather loungers, velvet sofas and cowhide rugs. Fantastic Minotaurine paper lamps feature on the walls. Later in the night, when sated after dinner and full of wine, these provide a focal point for thoughtful gazing.

Paper lighting at Bellinter House

We arrive straight from work, so we don't have much time before our dinner reservation. We head to the lounge for a pre-dinner drink. Sitting on the comfortable seats, looking out the sash windows, we breathe deeply and relax. Big, tall rooms are always a good influence on me. It makes me wonder why we have an obsession with building box-like, identikit homes and apartments. Why have we abandoned the scale and elegance that our ancestors enjoyed?

Himself is pleased to find that the bar sells pint bottles of Guiness (priced at €5.20) while I go for a mojito. This is despite the fact that I cannot find a price list, an omission which comes back to haunt me the next morning. The mojito turns out to be quite poor and bitter, mainly due to the use of too-old limes, so I choose a much better glass of Sauvignon Blanc (€6.50) for my next drink.

Later that night, after dinner, and after the children have gone to bed, we invade the games room to play pool. Dimly lit with mis-matched balls, it's immense fun and feels like a secluded spot.

Pool table in the Games Room at Bellinter House

The food....

Dinner is not included in our deal, but when booking we were offered the option of dining at Eden for €25 per head. The restaurant is located in the old basement which turns out to be a space even more sparse than upstairs. I can't bring myself to like the swivel chairs and orange carpet. The menu offers plenty of choice and we enjoy the dishes listed below. Overall, the food is good in a traditional way. I get the feeling that Bellinter House is somewhere the whole family could eat. Meat & 2 veg grandparents all the way down to little ones will be satisifed with the food on offer.

Crispy slice of pork belly served with scallops, mixed Shiso cress, pancetta crisps and honey & soya dressing. Perfectly cooked scallops and very tasty.
Eden Smokies - smoked haddock, cherry tomatoes, scallions, creme fraiche and melted cheddar cheese. I'd been informed beforehand that I had to try the Smokies. Having done so, I now offer the same advice to all my readers. They are addictive.
Pan-seared fillet of beef, green beans & champ. The menu offers peppercorn sauce, which is a substance that I abhor so I request another sauce. The waitress looks at me as if I have two heads, but after some guiding, she suggests that the chef might be able to offer some garlic butter.
Braised pork belly served with crushed pea mash potato, carmelised onion and Calvados sauce. A massive portion of pork belly arrived. Clearly Bellinter House is used to catering for men with large appetites.
Chocolate pear and caramel gateaux with pear sorbet. Now why would anyone list a dessert as gateaux and then offer a single-serve dessert portion that bore no resemblance to a slice of gateaux. Descriptions - they're important.
Vanilla creme brulee with hazelnut biscotti

The famous Eden Smokies

Braised pork belly - enough for two!

Fillet steak - with garlic butter

The next morning, we're back in the same venue for breakfast. As well as the familiar, dreary continential buffet, we are also offered a selection of fresh-cooked dishes. The menu looks tempting, but it takes ages to get a waiter to take our order. The staff display an amazing failure to make eye contact and we eventually resort to grabbing the manager and asking (a little rudely it must be said) for service. Other tables around us suffer the same lacklustre service.

The freshly-cooked dishes are a nice change from the normal heat-lamp breakfast. My French toast with marscapone and berries is delicious, if drowning in berry coulis. Less is more. However, the long delay for service means that we are running late for our spa treatments and I have to wolf it down.

French toast with marscapone & berries

The spa...

We had both chosen the 30 body polish as part of our package, and we very much enjoy our treatments in the Bathouse. A mixture of sugar and lavender is used to scrub off all the badness and then we are left to relax in loungers with a snack of smoothie & fruit, which is very cutely served in Villeroy & Boch delph. We planned to continue our relaxation in the pool and sauna, but we find that the pool is infested with children. Any continued feelings of relaxation quickly disappear.

The room...

Our room was located in the West Wing and first impressions are good. A large white fluffy bed, a flatscreen TV on the wall and a well-appointed bathroom. Tea making facilities are provided via a set of 8 mason jar which contain everything from coffee and herbal teas to tea cakes. The ceiling is high, with exposed wooden beams which have been washed with white paint.

Tea cakes in the bedroom

However, things just don't work out for us in the room. The night is boiling hot, despite the fact that we've left the two small windows open. The rough finish on the plaster doesn't cut the mustard in the retro-chic stakes and the lighting control panel results in me blinding himself twice while on a late-night trip to the bathroom. I wonder what is wrong with basic switches. All that aside, despite a night of tossing and turning in our sauna, I can testify that the beds are comfortable.

The verdict...

Bellinter House is an elusive venue - it's all shabby chic, but with distincly unshabby prices. At checkout I am stunned to learn that my mojito costs €14. This leaves a sour taste in my mouth as I hand over my credit card. Leaving aside the sauna bedroom experience, I am somewhat happy with our stay. There is a lot of charm here, but it needs to acquire some polish.

Bellinter House, Navan, Co. Meath
Tel: +353 (0)46 90 30 900
Twitter: @BellinterHouse

Baked Mini Blackberry Cheesecakes

2011-08-23T22:43:00.001+01:00

Did you know that there's a National Cheesecake Day (well, in the US at least)? The official date was July 30th, and I have a whole heap of websites bookmarked following a blitz of cheesecake-related tweets on Twitter. My undoubted favourite of all these links is "10 rich recipes for National Cheesecake Day" from Yummly.com.Feast your eyes on the luscious photos in this link - don't they just want to make you run to the kitchen and start baking?

Lately, baking seems to be obessed with individual portion food. First there were cupcakes, now the trend seems to have moved on to mini-cheesecakes. Now, I can undoubtedly see the attraction of miniature cheesecakes. Perfectly sized for an individual treat, they also look adorable. Check out Irish blog Like Mam Used to Bake for Individual Strawberry Cheesecakes for a miniature take on the traditional cheesecake.

Like most Irish people, I grew up on the traditional cheesecake, but in later years, I've grown the prefer the American-style baked cheesecake. Thus, when I decided to make my mini-cheesecakes, I went Yankie-style. Autumn fruits are in season now, so it's easy to pick up plump, sweet blackberries which, when baked, will produce fabulous streaks of colour in the finished treat.

Baked mini blackberry cheesecake

Ingredients
1 pack shortbread biscuits
100g butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1x 220g tub of cream cheese
1 egg
70g icing sugar
1/2 small punnet blackberries

(makes approx 12 cheesecakes)

Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius. Line a bun tray with paper cases.

Place the biscuits into a plastic bag and smash with your rolling pin until broken with evenly sized crumbs. Alternatively, you can blitz the biscuits in a food processor. Meanwhile, place the butter in a saucepan and melt over a low heat. Once melted, add the biscuits and cinnamon and mix thoroughly.

Divide the mixture bewteen the paper cases (if you're falling a little short, then allocate the mixture so that you have a reasonably thick base, rather than too many thin bases). Tamp down the mixture and pop the tray into the oven for 10 minutes in order to firm up the base. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack, but make sure to leave the oven on.

Place the cream cheese into a bowl, along with the egg & icing sugar. Beat with a mixer until smooth and combined. Roughly chop the blackberries into large pieces and stir loosely into the mixture. Divide the mixture between the cases, filling up the top.

Place the cheesecakes in the oven, and bake until lightly golden, and the top has started to split. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecakes to cool in the oven. Once cool to touch, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!!

Baked mini blackberry cheesecakes

The Campaign for Raw Milk

2011-08-20T21:57:00.000+01:00

Raw milk is a nostalgic subject for me. I grew up on a small dairy farm in rural Cork, where we drank our own milk. One of my jobs as a child was to take a bucket and jug, walk down to the milking shed and fill up the bucket with the creamy, rich milk, straight from the bulk tank.

The bulk tank appeared as a fearsome device to the young me. It was a massive, enclosed, stainless steel tank whose cleanliness sat in stark contrast to dirt that comes naturally on a farm. It had two agitators which ran on a regular cycle to keep the milk from sitting still too long. My naturally jumpy disposition meant that I would leap a foot in the air if they started while I was in the vicinty. To get the milk, I would lift off one of the small circular lids and peer in. My nightmare scenario was finding the milk level to be low, meaning that I would have to drag over a milk crate so that I could reach in I feared falling into the tank, despite the fact that the aperture was really only about a foot across.

Back at the kitchen table, you quickly learned to shake the milk bottle, or give the jug a stir, before using the milk. Otherwise, the rich creamy top would pour out, causing disaster central when you were making a cup of tea. I drank this milk from infanthood through to my teenage years. I never thought anything about it until I departed for university and started to drink cartons of pasteurised milk Then I realised that there was something missing. The pasteurised milk tasted flat and thin. Don't even get me started on how low-fat and skim milk tastes.

Tiernan's Raw Milk available at Sheridan's Cheesemongers, Carnaross

I realise that I was a product of my environment. My parents drank raw milk and thus my siblings and I drank raw milk. Nothing more fancy than that. I realise that there are health concerns associated with drinking raw milk, just as there are health risks associated with eating or drinking any uncooked, or unclean foodstuff. (Trust me, grow up on a farm and you are used to dirt and sh*t, it's a natural part of life). I simply fail to see why there should be a complete ban on the sale of raw milk. Surely this is a simple matter of choice for the consumer?

Currently, the Irish government is proposing to ban the sale of raw milk before the end of 2011. This proposal is stirring up a debate on the internet and in the newspapers. Sheridan's Cheesemongers are supporting the pro-raw milk side, and have been involved in the creation of the Campaign for Raw Milk - an organisation of farmers, food sellers, food organisations and consumers who are opposing the proposed ban on the sale of raw milk.

Campaign for Raw Milk

In order to educate and inform, a debate has been organised for September 6th at the Sugar Club, Leeson Street, Dublin. Doors will open at 19.00 with the debate commencing at 19.30. The event will consist of a panelist debate with arguments for and against, with lots of audience participation and Q&A. The evening will be chaired by journalist Aoife Carrigy, one of the organisers of the For Food’s Sake series of debates. Panelists will include broadcaster and journalist Ella McSweeney, farmer and raw milk producer David Tiernan and retailer of raw milk Kevin Sheridan. Other panel members will include scientists and food and farming industry representatives (more details to follow, check the Raw Milk Ireland website).

Rustic Stone, Dublin 2

2011-08-20T19:42:00.000+01:00

If you know anything about the Irish food scene, then you will know about Dylan McGrath, once the Michelin-starred chef at Mint in Ranelagh, and now the chef at Rustic Stone on Georges St. I'm a bit late on the scene in visting Rustic Stone which is shortly celebrating its first anniversary. Still, better late than never.

We visited Rustic Stone as a party of four using the Irish Times reader offer, which consisted of a special menu priced at €25 per head. This menu offered a selection of bread'n'dips to begin, followed by a starter and pasta dish, then a main course with a side and finally, a dessert. This seemed like a fantastic offer, and it was clear from the packed restaurant that we weren't the only diners to think so. Arriving at 19.30, all the tables were fully occupied and waiting staff were zipping around resetting tables and dealing with customers. Clearly McGrath is doing something here that people like.

So what does an ex-Michelin chef do to keep his creative juices flowing? It seems that McGrath has chosen to go down the route of healthy, lifestyle-inspiring dining. Quoting directly from the Rustic Stone website

Rustic Stone’s philosophy is simple: tasty, nutritious, innovative cuisine that is accessible to all. Simple and scientific techniques are used to release the maximum flavour. Rustic Stone only uses the best of local produce, sourcing our ingredients from local producers.

So the word "simple" is mentioned twice in the blurb. However, when presented with a Rustic Stone menu, simple is not the word that jumps immediately to mind. It's jammed with little coloured dots, representing concepts such as gluten-free, wheat-free and super food. It's like a polka dot kaleidescope at times. In addition, each dish is accompanied by a verbose description that takes time to read. In fact, it might be an idea to order a glass of wine and kick back in your seat before you start to read the menu.

Our waiter took all our order, including dessert, in one go and following that, a wooden stand arrived quickly at the table, with a selection of breads, cumin-scented hummus and baba ganoush. Breads were ho-hum but the dips were tasty variations on the normal versions. Very quickly afterwards, our starters and pasta dishes arrived at the same time. In the space of about 10 seconds, our table went from empty to heaving, as each of us had two dishes placed in front of us.To be honest, although it may have made life easy in the kitchen, it felt over-whelming.

I had chosen a starter of cold marinated prawn which came served on little boats of scooped out cucumber. Despite the weird appearance, the cool, fresh flavours were very welcome on a hot sticky evening. My penne pesto was rich and very tasty with marinated tomatoes and black olives. I'm a massive cheese-fiend (my favourite dish could be described as grilled cheese served with grilled cheese) but even I half-baulked at the amount of parmesan on top of this little bowl of pasta. A special mention has to be made for the chicken wings, which were coated in a sticky, sweet soya sauce with sesame seeds and were utterly finger-lickin' good.

At this stage, we were all feeling pretty full. Two quick courses had dampened our appetites and any questions we had about limited portion size on this special value menu had disappeared. Thankfully, our main courses did not appear for quite a while. We had all chosen the meat for 2, cooked on a lava stone for our mains. Two lava stones were deposited on the table, covered in a selection of beef cuts. We could immediately feel the heat off the stones, and temperatures in our local vicinty rocketed up a few degrees. When combined with the smoke streaming off the stones, it felt as if we had been transported to a sauna where the naked inhabitants had a fetish for BBQ.

Meat on the stone

Overall, the meat cuts were excellent quality, but I really can't see much point in cooking the meat myself. The smoke and heat at the table is an unwelcome distraction in a restaurant like the Rustic Stone which is already warm and busy. My accompanying side of pesto chips were fabulous - four big fat chips, skewered and served with a dollop of pesto. It was the spot-on carby accompaniment to the steak-fest. Another side, green relish with peas, broad beans and spring onions was surprisingly rich and buttery, and definitely didn't feel as healthy as the name suggested.

Finally, we were ready for dessert. All four of us had chosen the Brulee Pain d'Epice, which was a baked, spiced low-fat custard served with a pear sorbet. Desite the low-fat tag, I found this to be an indulgent dessert with the pear sorbet cutting through the gently sweet creaminess. The portion size was quite generous, meaning that I left half of mine unfinished.

Brulee Pain d'Epice

By the end of the meal we were absolutely stuffed to the gills. But we were also hot, sweaty and uncomfortable. We called for the bill, which came to a very pleasant €130 for 4, people with €100 of that being for food, and headed outside to the fresh, sweet air of ... well Georges Street.

As an aside, Rustic Stone continues to offer a very similar €25 menu all day on Sunday, and between 18.00-19.30 Monday to Thursday. It must be said that this represents stonking value for money and is probably the way I will return in future. I cannot fathom why people would pay the same amount of money (or even more) for a single dish from the main menu. Next time however, I'll be looking for a table outside, or in a well-ventilated spot.

Rustic Stone, 17 South Great Georges Street, Dublin 2.

Tel: +353 (0)1 707 9596

Twitter: @rusticdublin

The Port House Ibericos, Dundrum

2011-08-13T22:50:00.001+01:00

Earlier this year, I received an invitation to attend a session of the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail which included a pit stop in the excellent Bar Pintxo in Temple Bar. This is part of the Port House group of venues, all of which are cosy, darkly romantic and very tasty. After this visit, I had marked my to-do list with the name of the latest Port House venture - the Port House Ibericos, located in the busy and movied-heaven of Dundrum Town Centre.

Despite being part of the newest and shiniest shopping centre in Ireland, the Port House Ibericos is housed in the Pembroke Cottages, which were a series of 3 developments built between the 1870s and 1880s by Lord Pembroke as part of his philantrophic efforts to provide housing for his estate workers and labourers. These charming cottages have been carefully restored under strict guidelines from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, providing a relaxing contrast to the glass and steel of Dundrum Town Centre.

Inside, the Port House Ibericos follows the same guidelines that have proved so popular in the other locations. Lighting is low, with fat candles providing most of the ambient light. Tables are small and cosy, nestled into nooks and crannies. Romantic and cosy is the vibe here. When we arrived (approx. 21.30 on a Friday night) the restaurant was just at capacity. We were invited to take a seat at the bar, but thankfully, we were quickly seated. Other later arrivals weren't as lucky as us, with many having to wait for longish periods.

The menu is a double-printed sheet of A4 paper, which later doubled up as a mat to absorb all the inevitable oil and foodstuff spillages. (In case you didn't know, my enthusiasm for my dinner often leads to "incidents" - I shall say no more). We were unsure as to how hungry we were, so we decided to order just a few tapas, promising ourselves that we could order more later.

Service proved to be quite slow, although we received our drinks quickly enough. He chose a bottle of Estrella (expensively priced at €5.00), while I chose a glass of Vina Esmeralda Gewürztraminer (€5.60). This was a really refreshing, light wine with delicate floral and honey flavours. Between the tasty wine and the long wait for food, my glass was bordering on empty when we finally got our food.

Our tapas selection

Starting from the bottom and moving clockwise, our tapas were as follows:

Garbanzos - chickpeas with black pudding (€5.35). The black pudding crumbs added a gentle warmth to the bulk of the chickpeas, which did require some additional salt.
Gambas Pil Pil (€7.25) came in a dish of garlickly oil, which still had the light flavour of green olive oil. Very moreish!
Patatas Mojo (€3.85) - The potates had a light golden crust with a fluffly inside, and the paprika-alond mojo sauce made for an interesting alternative to aioli and bravas sauce.
Caballa - makarel fillets on toast with tomato (€6.30). This was last, but most definitely not least. The mackarel was outrageously fresh, with juicy flesh and full of sea-flavour. A little dish of these would make for a fine lunch any day of the week.

Despite our original thoughts to perhaps order more tapas, we found ourselves quite full after these dishes. The carby nature of the chickpeas and potatoes provided enough bulk, while the rich oil of the prawns filled us up. Slow service aside, the tapas were excellent and the best part of the night came with the bill. Our total for the night was just €33.35!

The Port House Ibericos, 5-6 Pembroke Cottages, Ballinteer Rd., Dublin 16.

Tel: +353 (0)1 216 6133

A Ginger Beer Tasting

2011-08-12T18:47:00.002+01:00

I've always loved the taste of ginger. I think it comes from my mother who uses lots of it in her baking and and makes incredibly delicious ginger bread (see here for my mother's Ginger Nut recipe). I love the spicy warm taste of ginger when used in baking, or the bite that it brings when used fresh in curries. So the idea of ginger beer naturally intrigues me. It appears that the alcoholic ginger category in the UK is currently worth £21.8m and growing. So it seems that I've hit on a current trend, without even knowing it.

I've been seeking out different brands, and I've found that there are some big differences out there. Here are my thoughts on what's good, and maybe not so good.


Stone's Ginger Joe

Bottom of the pile was newcomer Ginger Joe (4% ABV), launched recently by Stone's. I loved the ginger tache on the bottle as well as the catchy name, but the drink itself was syrupy with no ginger bite or tang. I guess that it's ginger beer for the young or the alcopop generation. I've seen this drink in some specialist beer venues (Bierhaus Cork, I'm looking at you), and I am disappointed that it is taking shelf space from other, better ginger beers. (Available at Redmond's of Ranelagh)

Crabbie's Ginger Beer

Also sitting at the bottom of my taste test is Crabbie's Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer (4.0% ABV). Like Ginger Joe, this drink comes from a long-established producer of ginger wine. And like Ginger Joe, it suffered from too much sweetness and not enough ginger. It would probably be good over ice on a hot summer's day, but it just isn't enough for beer-loving taste buds. Not one I'm going to buy again. (Available at Redmond's of Ranelagh)

Williams Ginger Beer

Things improved dramatically when I tasted Williams Brothers Ginger Ale (3.8% ABV). This had a proper beer taste, but with buckets of ginger warmth as well as slight citrus. It has the lowest alcohol content of the all the beers that I've tasted, but it tastes the most beer-like. A definite favourite. (Available at Redmond's of Ranelagh).

M&S Ginger Ale (Courtesy of the Beer Bunker blog)

Marks & Spencer Ginger Ale (6.0% ABV) features a lovely hen motif on the label, but the label mentioned both Fentiman's and Robinsons. Confused, I was, so I turned to Google, where I learned that this is a blend of Fredrick Robinson’s Dark Ale and Fentiman’s Traditional Ginger Beer and is bottled exclusively for M&S. The fact that this is ale-based is easily determined upon tasting, and the ginger flavour is weak and doesn't linger on the palate. This retails at €3.09.

John Hollow's Ginger Beer

Top of my pile was John Hollows' Superior Alcoholic Ginger Beer (4.0% ABV). This was launched in 2010 by soft drinks manufacturer Fentiman's and I loved the warming tingle that it left my tongue. Despite this, it's a refreshing, crisp drink, probably helped by the fact that it contains pear juice. I've found it in Dublin at the Bull & Castle, but if anyone knows any other stockists, please let me know.

So there you go, that's my quick round up of ginger beer tasting. If you're sweet of tooth, you'll probably prefer my bottom two, but if you want more of a ginger hit, then I'd heartily recommend Williams Bros and John Hollow's.

Pork, Apple & Red Onion Sausage Rolls

2011-08-06T19:37:00.001+01:00

Sausage rolls are a guilty pleasure for most of us, right? I initially made sausage rolls in the mandatory Home Economics class in my first year at secondary school (I switched to Technical Drawing once I was given free choice). We made simple rolls by either wrapping sausages or sausage meat in pastry, and we were damn proud of them!

Fast forward to my early student days when Campbell's Catering had the catering contract at UCC. Despite the dubiousness of the daily "Student Special", they had fine sausage rolls which I enjoyed at the trestle tables of the Kampus Kitchen, located in the bowels of the Science Building. I loved these rolls, despite the fact that they were pale and flaky, with a very generic pink "meat" filling.

These days, petrol station or convenience store hot counters are usually another good source for a cheeky sausage roll. I often sneak a sausage roll from Centra into the cinema for a cheeky snack. It smells and tastes a damn sight better than that putrid popcorn they serve.

But can a sausage roll be made into an artform? I definitely believe so, and I found one such location when I lived in Amsterdam. I was lucky enough to secure an apartment just around the corner from Patisserie Holtkamp on Vijzelgracht. Holtkamp is a treasure, and I urge you to visit it if ever you find yourself in Amsterdam. It produces fine patisserie, chocolates, croquetten (a favourite Dutch snack) and finally, saucijzenbroodje (sausage roll to you and me). I would hop out of bed on Saturday morning, and hurry to the little shop, lined with dark wood and glass display cases, so that I could beat all the other locals and grab the best goodies. The sausage rolls were a wonderful combination of dense, flavoursome veal, mixed with spices and herbs, and wrapped in a thin, slightly flaky butter pastry. Absolutely fantastic.

Lately, I've been working on homemade sausage rolls and I think that I'm getting close to a great recipe. For convenience I'm using ready to roll pastry, and the last step in this process will be to make my own pastry. I also use good-quality butcher sausages as my meat source, but if you can get sausage meat from your butcher, then feel free to use that. Anyway, here's my favourite attempt to date (makes 8 sausage rolls).

Homemade sausage rolls

Ingredients

1 pack of good-quality butcher sausages (I used M&S Pork and Herb sausages 400g)

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 Granny Smith apple, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and finely ground

1 packet of ready to use puff pastry, defrosted

1 egg

Salt & pepper

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 170 Celsius and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.Prepare a little bowl of eggwash by breaking an egg and mixing with a fork.

Gently sautee the red onion and garlic in a little oil over a low heat, until soft and sweet. Take off the heat and leave to cool slightly.

Squeeze out the sausage meat from the packet of sausages into a bowl. Discard the sausage casing. Add the spices, onions, garlic and apple along with some salt and pepper. Using either your hands or a spoon, mix thoroughly so that the ingredients are well distributed throughout the meat.

I used Jus Rol puff pastry to make these previously, and I found that it was easiest to divide each of the 2 sheets into quarters, giving me 8 sausage rolls in total. Take a sheet of the pastry, and brush with the eggwash. Cut into quarters. In the middle of each quarter, place a thick "pipe" of the sausage meat and then roll up in the pastry. Place each completed roll on the baking sheet. Make 2-3 shallow diagonal cuts in the top surface of each sausage roll and then generously apply a coating of eggwash.

Place the tray into the oven and allow to cook for approximately 20 minutes before applying a second coating of eggwash. Multiple coatings of eggwash allow for a deep golden colour (like a varnish) to develop, making the end result all the more attractive. Bake the rolls for another approx 20 minutes, until golden and cooked.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before gently transferring to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

Best served with a pinch of salt and perhaps a fine relish or chutney!

The Fatted Calf, Glasson

2011-08-01T19:36:00.000+01:00

The Twitter machine is a weird and glorious thing. When I started out on Twitter back in 2008, I couldn't see the point, or how it was going to work. Fast forward a few years, and I simply love Twitter. By carefully choosing who I follow, I have gleaned lots of valuable foodie information & tips. I've gotten to go to free food events and film screenings courtesy of several PR firms. I've also entered and won several cool competitions.

The Irish food community has really taken to Twitter, with many food bloggers, restaurants and producers actively participating. It has produced some vibrant and interesting discussions, and Twitter is now my number one resource when I need suggestions or information. And so it was last Saturday when journalist Clare Kleinedler (@clairekleinedler and author of the blog An American in Ireland) tweeted that she was heading to the Fatted Calf in Glasson for dinner. This was a new venue to me, so a little bit of Googling informed me that not only was Glasson about 20 minutes from my hotel, but more importantly, it was run by Feargal O'Donnell (along with his wife Fiona), who was previously head chef at the nearly Wineport Lodge. Feargal is also currently Commissioner General for Euro-toques Ireland, so he is a man in the know when it comes to food.

Glasson is a postcard-pretty little village (you will think Tidy Towns when you see all the flower baskets!) and the Fatted Calf fits in beautifully on the main sign. The sign outside promises BBQ and smokehouse, two words which always leave me in a state of breathless excitement. As we were a little early for Sunday service, we walked around for a few minutes. This lead us to the cosy outside eating area at the rear of the pub and the gorgeous Tamworth (and perhaps Saddleback?) pigs busily eating in a small paddock. Pigs, BBQ and smokehouse... this was starting to seem like a little piece of heaven.

Inside, part of the old pub lounge has thankfully been left intact, but with the improvement of cushions and dancing cow ornaments! A larger and brighter dining area is to the rear which allows the venue to cater to different audiences. If you want to dine at the bar, the snacks menu offers tasty sounding onion bhajis and buttermilk-fried spiced chicken. (Makes a pleasant change from King crisps and Pringles).

The bright rear of the Fatted Calf

As it was Sunday, the menu on offer was a bit more traditional in style than the food still listed on the board from the previous night's specials. I was a little disappointed at this as I wouldn't be someone who goes out looking for a Sunday lunch. Too many bad carveries have left me with what borders on a pathological fear of lamp-lit roasts. Check out the photo of the blackboard below for examples of evening cooking - I think that I could have happily ordered every dish on that menu.

Evening specials

There was plenty of choice on the Sunday menu, which also listed the main suppliers used by the Fatted Calf. No messing around here when it comes to provenance. I decided to go for two starters so that I could sample a little more of the menu, while he opted for a main course only. I apologise for the lack of photographs, but the photos I took in the restaurant weren't really good enough quality to do justice to the food. While waiting for the first dishes, we snacked on some of the homemade bread left on the table, including a fruity brown Guinness & Treacle bread.

Our Sunday menu

Our courses were as follows:

Starter 1 - Warm salad of McGeough's black pudding, new potatoes, buffalo mozzarella and smoked tomato dressing (€8). The mozzarella was fresh and creamy smooth, the black pudding was smooth and spicy, but the real star of this show was the smoked tomato. It tasted as if it had been dipped in a turf fire and made a wonderful addition when chopped up and mixed through the salad.
Starter 2 - Barbecued pork terrine, celeriac remoulade & toasted sourdough (€8). I received two pieces of bread, topped with generous scoops of pulled pork and a quinelle of celeriac remloulade. The pulled pork was mixed with a sweet BBQ sauce, and combined brilliantly with the mustardy, sharp celeriac. I love pulled pork, but it's not something that appears on Irish menus very much.
Roast rib of Donald Russell Irish beef with pearl onion and rosemary jus (€15). This came with a Yorkshire pudding with a roast potato cheekily ensconced in the pudding. Himself also ordered a side of the ahdn-cut chips (€3) to round out his dinner. This was an awesome plate of roast beef - it was very tender and tasty (despite being cooked through) and the decent hefty slice satisified his appetite. The accompanying roast potato was nearly as good as my mother-in-law's (trust me, she makes amazing roast potatoes) and the whole plate was cleaned down to the last crumb.

I was in a state of bliss leaving the Fatted Calf. I wouldn't call it a gastropub, as I sometimes think that that particular title implies a sense of pretension or fanciness that is gladly lacking at the Fatted Calf. It's simply a bar that serves really good, creative food. Our total bill, including 2 coffees and 2 soft drinks came to €43. I'm already looking for an excuse for a return visit.

The Fatted Calf, Glasson, Co. Westmeath
Tel: (090) 648 5208

Camden Kitchen, Dublin 2

2011-08-01T16:38:00.000+01:00

I first visited Camden Kitchen just over a year ago (blog post here) shortly after it had opened. At the time, I had liked my food, but felt perhaps that prices were just a tiny bit on the high side. Recently, an offer came via Boards Deals to purchase a Sunday lunch for two for the sum of €32, with a quoted value of €77. The voucher covered a 2 course lunch, with Bellinis and tea/coffee.

So it was that we arrived for Sunday lunch on a wet & dreary lunchtime. However, once inside the door, we were warmly greeted and quickly given our two included bellinis. This might be the time to share a little fact about me: I love bellinis. If you're ever serving them at a wedding or event at which I am a guest, then make sure to stock up well. One of the things I must do before I'm too old is to visit Harry's in Venice (home of the Bellini) and indulge while sitting on the waterside.

The menu is full of seasonal dishes, with 5 options available per course. Daily specials were chalked up on the board behind us, and I really felt as if I had plenty to choose from. For starters I chose the confit duck boudin (€10.00) while he went for a special of French fish soup, with bright yellow rouille and croutons. The boudin was spiced, soft and crumbly, and partnered very well with the sweet apricots. Two decent chunks made for a good starter, though I didn't find any benefit from the harsh taste of the toasted walnuts. His fish soup was creatively served in a mason jar, which looked great, but posed difficulties when it was time to float the croutons in the soup. However, this was an authentic fish soup, rich and flavoursome, and I especially loved the bright orange-yellow of the saffron-flavoured rouille.

Confit duck boudin, poached new season apricots & toasted walnuts

Fish soup with rouille and croutons

For mains I chose the pea risotto (€14) while he went for another special, rare-breed pork chop served with the spanish flavours of roasted peppers and chorizo. My risotto was nothing short of spectacular. It was a bright green colour, which I can only assume came from the peas being pureed and added to the cream and parmesan when cooking. The consistency was creamy and rich (as a risotto should be) but came topped with a pile of crunchy green vegetables, including asparagus, salty samphire & pea shoots. This was a wonderful dish of summer cooking and I revelled in every mouthful.

Fresh pea risotto, summer vegetables, sprouting broccoli & pumpkin seeds

His pork chop came served with a pile of rich, stewed peppers & chorizo. The chop itself was thick and juicy, cooked perfectly. For some people though, the lack of further accompanying vegetables (requiring the addition of a side order) would be a bit offputting. Lack of additional veg aside, this was a substantial and tasty piece of meat and the spanish flavours were well-judged

Rare-breed pork chop with red pepper & chorizo

We declined dessert, as we simply too full to consider eating any more.One note - our coffees came served with warm milk, which wasn't pointed out to us, or noticed until we had poured in the milk. This wouldn't be to my taste, and I think it's a bit unfair of Camden Kitchen to assume that we'd like warm milk in our coffee.

Overall, I think that the cooking at Camden Kitchen is pretty damn good. It's casual and relaxed in atmosphere but the food is definitely good enough to feature in more prestigious establishments. (In fact, my confit duck boudin reminded me of a similar boudin enjoyed on a recent visit to Chapter One). In fact, the fabulous green pea risotto has inspired me to cook a version at home. So hats off to Chef Padraic Hayden.

Camden Kitchen, Grantham Street (off Camden Street), Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 476 0125
Twitter: @CamdenKitchen

Vegetarian delights at Cafe Paradiso

2011-07-27T20:20:00.001+01:00

Not many good things come from Macroom, possibly bar the road to Cork. Now, before anyone gets a bit snotty at this statement, I am nearly a Macrompian, coming as I do from the nearby village of Cill na Marta. Road to Cork aside, probably the only other good thing to emerge from Macroom is the amazing talent of chef Dennis Cotter.

Cooking from Cafe Paradiso on Lancaster Quay in Cork, which he established in 1993, Cotter has firmly proved to many sceptics and carnivores that vegetarian cooking can be as high-end and as satisfying as any other cuisine. A meal at Cafe Paradiso is a true pleasure and immensely soul-warming.

We used to live to the rear of the restaurant, in a little flat on Dyke Parade while we were both PhD students and in those days, our budget didn't extend very frequently to Cafe Paradiso. On a recent visit however, we treated ourselves to an indulgent lunch, kickstarted by two glass of prosecco with raspberries (€7).

Prosecco & raspberries to start

For my starter, I chose baba ganoush with tomato & avocado salsa, red pepper & cashew dip all accompanied by plenty of oiled, grilled sourdough bread (€7.50). My plate arrived with 3 little bowls of deliciousness - the baba ganoush was spicy with that lovely warming texture that comes from aubergine. It was balanced with by the sweet red pepper dip and the cool tomato flavours of the salsa. Best of all, there was more than enough of the tasty bread to scoop it all up.

He chose a starter of grilled halomi with gooseberry chutney and a warm salad of purple potatoes, summer beans with a citrus and herb dressing (€8). The grilled cheese had a wonderful buttery flavour which layered amazingly well with the sweet, spiced chutney. Although not tasting any different to regular potatoes, the purple potatoes added incredible vibrancy and colour to the plate. The citrus dressing provided a tangy counterpoint to the sweet, sweet chutney and the soft flavour of the cheese.

Baba ghanoush with salsa and red pepper dip

Grilled haloumi with gooseberry chutney and purple potatoes

Our starter plates were cleared away, giving us a chance to look around the restaurant and into the kitchen. What stood out about the restaurant was the amount of young people dining there. Given that most of the tables were occupied by couples, I'm guessing that a fair few of the men had been dragged their by their vegetarian other halves. An American family was seated at another table, who were on a return trip to Cafe Paradiso for the second year in a row. Immense praise indeed, that a family would cross the Atlantic for this cooking.

His main was aubergine involtini of spinach, almonds and Knocklara sheep's cheese with fresh cherry tomato sauce, green chili pesto and coriander crushed potatoes (€14.50). 3 aubergine parcels were dense and meaty in texture while the accompanying roasted cherry tomatoes provided sweet, intense pops of flavour. (If you want to try this dish at home, the recipe features on the Cafe Paradiso website here).

I had chosen a corn pancake with black kale, leeks, walnuts and Hegarty's cheddar (€14.50). Again, the clever combinations of dense green vegetables with cheese provided a denseness to the vegetables that would sate the most meat-loving of cavemen. Also on the plate was a tasty, juicy medley of baby courgettes, cumin, sungold tomatoes and new potatoes.

We declined dessert as we were teetering on the edge of a vegetable induced afternoon nap, but we did have two excellent cups of coffee (but priced at a steep €2.80 - possibly the worst value on the menu). The total bill for our lunch came to €64.60. Without the afternoon glasses of bubbles, this would have cost approx. €50 and to me, it really represents an excellent price for what is unique and fantastic cooking. The cooking is creative, fresh and light. It really shames the nuts & lentils brigade of vegetarians showing, as it does, how vegetarian cooking can be elevated to polished heights.

Aubergine involtini of spinach, almonds & Knocklara cheese

Corn pancake of black kale, leeks, walnuts & Hegarty's cheddar

Cafe Paradiso, 16 Lancaster Quay, Cork
Tel: (021) 4277 939
Twitter: @paradisocork

Pizza Pizza

2011-07-24T22:32:00.002+01:00

Sometimes there's nothing quite like pizza. And it's at its absolute best when it's a homemade pizza - thin and crispy with your own favourite combinations. I like to use a recipe for pizza dough from Jamie Oliver's Italy cookbook. It's simple and always delivers great results. The quantities given will create enough dough for 6-8 medium pizzas.

My tomato sauce recipe came from an old friend during my PhD days. He used honey and parmesan to bring the final sauce to life, a recipe that I still follow.

Final tips for a good pizza - make sure that the oven is hot and cook your pizzas on a pizza stone, or else directly on the oven racks. Don't use a baking tray underneath as this won't give as good results.

Pizza Dough

800g strong white flour
200g semolina (or instead use strong white flour)
2 x 7g sachets of dried yeast
650ml lukewarm water
1 tablespoon light golden sugar
pinch of salt

Pile the flour and salt in a bowl or on a board and create a well in the middle. Measure the water into a jug and add the yeast and sugar. Stir and leave to stand for a few minutes. Pour the water into the well (at this point, I also like to add a dash of olive oil also) and using a fork, stir in a circular motion from the inside of the well outwards. Gradually, a dough will start to form. When it gets too heavy for the work, tip it onto a floured surface and start to knead.

You will need to work the dough for about 10 minutes and your goal is a smooth, springy dough. It is amazing to see the dough transform as you work. Once ready, place the dough in a bowl and cover with clingfilm or a damp teatowel. Leave to rest in a warm place. When you return, the dough will have doubled in size and you will need to beat it back down with some more kneading.

Divide the dough into pieces, wrap in clingfilm and chill until required.

Tomato Sauce for Pizzas
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dried basil or oregano
salt and black pepper
honey to taste
grated parmesan

Gently sautee the onion and garlic in some olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan, until lightly coloured and soft. Add the tomatoes & tomato puree, sugar, herbs and season. Stir well and simmer until the sauce has thickened and reduced. Make sure to stir frequently. Add about 1 tablespoon of honey and stir in. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth (or alternatively use a handheld blender). Add approx 2-3 tablespoons of grated parmesan and blitz one more time. Let the sauce sit until ready to use.

Goat's cheese, carmelised red onion, artichoke and rocket

Prosciutto, pepperoni, roquito peppers & mozzarella

Cheers: A Weekend in Brussels

2011-07-19T21:54:00.001+01:00

When I was a young thirsty student, I drank a lot of beer. It was cheap, it was plentiful and it had the desired effects. Later, as I moved into my postgraduate years, those years of faux-sophistication, I decided that I should become better acquainted with beers. Dutifully, I drank my way though Schneider-Weisse, Warsteiner, Krombacher, Bitburger & Paulaner, to name just a few. The more I drank, the more I came to the realisation that I didn't really seem to like beer.

In a way, this realisation set me free of the obligatory student beer obsession, and I embraced wine, spirits and particularly G&Ts with gusto. I also came to realise that I didn't dislike all beers, I still had quite a liking for stout (Murphy's if you ask!). As a rule of thumb, I don't like overly-gassy beers, or very hoppy beers. In general light flat beers are much more to my liking.

However, despite all this, I remain a sporadic beer drinker. I much prefer to enjoy an occasional, but tasty beer, rather than drink it on a more frequent basis. I recently spent a weekend in Brussels, home to the Delirium Cafe, which many would regard as a true temple to all things beer. In fact, Delirium currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most beers available to purchase (2000+). It's a fantastic spot, with different themed venues, all located in a cosy complex centred on Impasse de la Fidelite.

The memorabilia-covered walls in Delirium

So what did I enjoy on a recent trip to Delirium? Well, I started with one of my perennial favourites, Lindemans Kriek. This is an unsweetened cherry lambic beer. It has the classic sour taste of a lambic, but the use of cherries makes for a sweet, richly flavoured beer, which comes in at 4% ABV. (I also love the Art Deco label and glasses).

Lindemans Kriek

We also tried Floris Cactus beer, which had the most remarkable green colour, due to the presence of cactus pulp. Colour aside, it was a light, refreshing beer with a limey taste.

Floris Cactus beer, on tap

I continued with Floris, this time trying a bottle of Floris Chocolat (surely this would combine two of the best Belgian products, beer and chocolate). At 4.2% ABV, it's a light lambic beer, but maybe a tad too sweet or cloying for my liking. There is a profound chocolate flavour with other tones of honey or sweetness. Looking around the bar, this particular beer has a clear novelty factor, with many females choosing to try it out.

Floris Chocolat

I decided to try another tap beer, this time choosing an unknown name (to me at least), Gueuze Tilquin. I received a small glass of an attractive golden cloudy beer with a nice light head. It turns out that Gueuzerie Tilquin is the first new lambic brewery to open in 15 years. It's a dry, sour beer (somewhat reminiscent of a really tart cider). It's garnering praise as a lambic, but to be honest, it was a bit too mouth-puckering for me.

Gueuze Tilquin

My last beer of the evening was a bit of an indulgent sweetness - perhaps the equivalent of a dessert wine. I went for the colourful yellow bottle of Mongozo Banana beer, 4.5% ABV. (If you order the coconut version, you can drink it from a coconut shell). It's quite yellow in colour, and smells strongly of bananas. However, it tastes somewhat better than it smells, but to honest, it's the novelty factor that makes this beer a popular choice with tourists.

Mongozo Banana

Simon Hopkinson's Porcini & Pancetta Pasta Bake

2011-07-18T23:09:00.000+01:00

Simon Hopkinson has accumulated much respect over his years in the cookery industry, but he maintains a low profile. One of his early cookbooks, Roast Chicken and Other Stories, was voted the most useful cookbook of all time in 2005, causing its sales to suddently outstrip Harry Potter. The funny thing was that Hopkinson had written the book 11 years earlier. He is praised for recipes that really work, which the home cook can understand and more importantly, replicate.

Now he has a series on Fridays on BBC, simply called The Good Cook. While watching the very first episode, a recipe for Porcini and Pancetta Pappardelle Bake caught my fancy. It looked simple, but the promise of a rich flavour from the use of dried, earthy porcini mushrooms promised something special. I decided to make the dish using rigatoni (the best dried pasta I had in my cupboard).

Additionally, I substituted some Irish bacon for the pancetta, but otherwise I used the same quantities as given in Hopkinson's recipe. For future reference, I would make extra sauce if using rigatoni again, as the sauce seeped into them.

Pasta Bake with Porcini and Pancetta

Baked Pappardelle with Porcini and Pancetta

500ml milk

20g dried porcini

40g butter

25g plain flour

Salt & freshloy ground black pepper

100g pappardelle

50g pancetta, cut into 2cm pieces

4-5 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

Preheat your oven to 190C.

Place the milk in a saucepan bring close to the boil. Add the porcini mushrooms, remove from the heat, and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Strain the milk into a bowl of jug, squeezing out all the juice from the mushrooms. Keep the mushrooms to one side. At this stage the milk will be fabulous, mushroom colour.

Heat the butter in a clean saucepan, add the flour and stir over a low heat for 2-3 minutes without colouring the roux. Pour in the flavoured milk in one go, whisking continously until smooth. Cook the sauce for 10 minutes or so until thickened. Season to taste and set aside. (Remember that there is still pancetta to be added).

Bring a large pot od salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Strain, place in a bowl and mix through with the pancetta, porcini and sauce. Pour the pasta into a lightly-buttered, ovenproof dish. Flatten and cover with 2 tablespoons of the parmesan. Cook in the oven for approx 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Serve hot with extra cheese.