[Review] A Weekend in Limerick

Booking a break just before Christmas had seemed like a good idea several months beforehand, but as Christmas looked closer, I was beginning to think otherwise. However, my voucher for No. 1 Pery Square Hotel & Spa was going to expire, so we drove off down the M7 to Limerick. We'd stayed at No. 1 Pery Square before, so I knew what to expect at this soothing & charming Georgian hotel.

It's a perfect hotel for a little secluded getaway. Limerick is only about 2 hours from Dublin by motorway, which pretty much drops you into the centre of Limerick. The bedrooms are elegant with typical French chic colour palettes and there are wonderful drawing rooms in which you can relax with afternoon tea or a cocktail. There's a spa, complete with thermal suite and a wonderful restaurant on the first floor.  Trust me, you'd be hard pushed to leave the comfort of No.1 Pery Square.

A bedroom at No. 1 Pery Square (photo taken from hotel website)

On Saturday morning (well, late morning), our first stop was at Canteen, a simple pop-up restaurant on Mallow Street. We arrived after the breakfast service but before lunch service. There is only one thing that you can do in this type of scenario, which is to have cake and coffee. Paul Williams is the man behind Canteen, where he aims to offer healthy fast-food. Blissfully for me, this means that all the cakes and snacks are made with Doves Farm wheat-free & gluten-free flours, or even completely flour-free. 

A slice of Super Bee chocolate tart was one of the best cakes that I have ever eaten. The addition of bee pollen and Manuka honey allowed me to fool myself into believing that this was a healthy cake Everyone should have a slice of this indulgent and tasty cake. A flat white made with Badger & Dodo coffee was the perfect accompaniment.

Delicious Super Bee chocolate tart at Canteen

I had tweeted several weeks beforehand that we would be in Limerick for the weekend. I should have known better. Ireland is a small place where everyone knows everybody and everybody knows your business! I was incredibly honoured when Lorraine (@italianfoodie) offered to have a special wheat-free lunch available for me at her Italian restaurant La Cucina. Considering that La Cucina is pretty much all about the Holy Trinity of Pizza, Pasta & Pannini, this was an incredibly generous gesture.

La Cucina was buzzing when we arrived, and it stayed that way throughout our meal. It's a small location that packs a lot into the space available. We had to wait a few minutes for some tables to turn over, but we were soon seated. A starter of bresaola with rocket, parmesan and balsamic was colourful and simple (€6.00). As I couldn't sample the pasta, himself took it upon himself to order penne boscaiola with chicken, bacon, peas & mushrooms in a creamy tomato sauce (€10.00).

The daily special featured beef polpette (meatballs) served with truffle parmesan potato roasties (€10.00) and Lorraine had ensured that there was a special wheat-free portion especially for me. The meatballs were wonderfully juicy and I particularly liked the simple tomato and garlic sauce. The roasties were spot on in terms of crispiness with enough parmesan and truffle to feel decadent. 

Bresaola e rucola with pasta boscaiola

Daily special of polpette (meatballs) with truffled parmesan potatoes

Two excellent espressos and it was time for us to say "Ciao" to La Cucina. But not before we received another example of Lorraine's generosity. We left clutching samples of Real Italian Foodie pasta sauces and a large Christmas panettone. (More about that later). 

O'Connell Street and the surrounding area seem to be dominated by the restaurants of the Jasmine Palace Group. These restaurants offer mainly Asian fare, in a variety of venues, although more European food is also on offer. Personally, I've only eaten in the Jasmine Palace myself, so I'm open to guidance on the other establishments. However, there's plenty for me to like about the Jasmine Palace.  They make decent cocktails, and the food is high-end standard Chinese with plenty of flavour. Szechuan mussels were plentiful (€8.50) while salt & pepper chicken had enough bite to challenge the tastebuds (€6.50).

Szechuan mussels and salt & pepper chicken at Jasmine Palace

One could be mistaken for thinking that the surname of every pub proprietor in Limerick is Flannery. This might be a slight exaggeration, but there certainly are an awful lot of Flannery's in Limerick. However, there's no mistaking the pub owned by ex-Munster rugby star Jerry Flannery!

Outside Jerry Flannery's pub

We returned back to Dublin relaxed and well-fed after our Limerick weekend. And a little piece of Limerick came with us in the form of the 4 varieties of Real Italian Foodie pasta sauces. These lovely pots of fresh sauce were gratefully received over the next week or two as we came in late from work. The tomato & chili variety was heated up and fresh cooked prawns were added for a tasty dinner. We purchased good quality sausages from our local butcher and chopped them into large chunks to make instant meatballs, which were then added to the bolognese sauce for a warming dish. The good news is that Real Italian Foodies pasta sauces will soon be available from a major retailer - so keep your eyes open!

The Real Italian Foodies pasta sauces (photo courtesy of RIF)

And what about the panettone? Given that I don't eat wheat, I was going to have to be creative in my use of that gift. You'll be glad to hear that I put on my thinking cap and made a delicious Bread & Bailey's pudding which was served to my family at Christmas Eve dinner. 

No 1 Pery Square Hotel & Spa, Georgian Quarter, Limerick 
Tel: +353 (0)61 402 402
URL: www.oneperysquare.com
Twitter: @OnePerySquare

Canteen, 30 Mallow Street, Limerick
Tel: +353 (0)85 734 2320
URL: Facebook page
Twitter: @canteen_

La Cucina, University Court, Castletroy, Limerick
Tel: +353 (0)61 333 980
URL: www.realitalianfoodies.com/la-cucina/
Twitter: @italianfoodie (Lorraine) & @mritalianfoodie (Bruno)

Jasmine Palace, O'Connell Street, Limerick
Tel +353 (0)61 412 484
URL: www.jasminepalace.ie
Twitter: @jasmine_palace

Badger & Dodo Coffee Tasting

The lovely Emmanuelle and Beverly, owners of L'Atitude 51 in Cork, are great at organising events. They have created a lovely space upstairs which is ideal for hosting wine tastings and gatherings. Recently, they played host to a different sort of tasting. Instead of the usual wine, a small crowd was treated to a coffee cupping hosted by Brock Lewin of Badger & Dodo. Given that coffee played a major part in sustaining my PhD studies and now fuels my working day, I was intrigued by the idea of learning more about my daily addiction. 

Brock kicked off by asking if any one in the room still used instant coffee. Even if anyone did, they weren't going to admit it, so Brock progressed to asking who in the room ground their own beans. A fair amount of people raised their hands to this question, leaving me feeling a little remiss. Last Christmas we received  a present of a Nespresso machine, which replaced our old pressurised espresso maker. I must admit that I have become a massive fan of the Nespresso system, mainly due to its cleanliness, ease of use, and the fact that there are some quite good coffees in the range. No hating please from coffee fans.

Brock moved on to explaining the structure and scoring of a coffee cupping session. A bowl of freshly ground roasted beans is used for taking deep sniffs in order to assess the dry fragrance. Following this, off-the-boil water is added to the bowl and left to steep for several minutes. The crust formed by the grounds is removed and the wet aromas are inhaled. After a few more minutes, it's time to actually taste the coffee. This involves taking a spoon of coffee and slurping noisily, in order to get the coffee to coat the back of the throat.

Green yirgacheffe beans

We were split into small groups and we got to work sniffing, inhaling and slurping.  Three different beans, from two different regions. First was the dry processed Harare from Ethiopia, followed by the wet processed Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. The final selection was the dry processed speciality coffee, Canta Galo, from Brazil. Each coffee was quite different in aroma and flavour, but I struggled to find the words to express the differences. Brock explained that coffee is far harder to analyse than wine! It turns out that coffee has more flavour compounds than wine, which goes some way to making me feel better about my inability to identify the flavours. As we worked our way through the examples, Brock kept up a running discussion on roasting techniques, machinery and moisture!

Freshly ground roasted yirgacheffe

Yirgacheffe steeping before tasting

It was great fun to chat with my tasting companions and hear their take on the coffees we were tasting. The session wrapped up with some Q&A from Brock, whose enthusiasm for his topic was so evident. (Pro tip from Brock: use 60g of coffee grinds to every 1 litre of water). And we all got to bring home a bag of beautifully packaged Badger & Dodo beans. I might even invest in a coffee grinder and resurrect our old espresso machine. Ireland has a whole slew of micro coffee roasters, so if you're a coffee fan, there's bound to be a roaster out there to suit your taste. Badger & Dodo is available from over 70 cafes nationwide, several retail stores, or via their online shop.

I left the cupping session with many questions. The first and foremost was why I found it so hard to identify the flavours and scents of coffee. I could clearly taste and smell differences, but verbalising it was a whole different story. It's a good thing to be challenged and I shall definitely be looking at (and tasting) coffee in a whole new light.

Badger & Dodo
Tel: +353 (0)87 0532660
URL: www.badgeranddodo.ie
Twitter:  @BadgerAndDodo

L'Atitude 51,1 Union Quay, Cork
Tel: +353 (0)21 239 0219
URL: www.latitude51.ie
Twitter: @Latitude_51

Trivsel Espresso Cup and Saucer in IKEA

We picked up these fantastic little stainless steel espresso cups and saucers in IKEA yesterday. Priced at E5.59 per set, they are double-walled, meaning that the outside stays nice and cool, while the espresso inside remains piping hot.

Super smart and super sleek at a nice price.

Mixed Value from Insomnia

I was passing Insomnia Coffee in Rathmines the other day when I noticed the above sign in their window. The food deals look like good value, especially with the 'any coffee', but what caught my eye was the small print underneath.

This promotion is excluded from the Insomnia Loyalty Card programme

Personally I don't like that. They should continue to show a bit of loyalty to the customers that support them.

Thumbs up to Starbucks

I have a love of Starbucks. Despite the fact that they are an evil corporate empire, they make good consistent coffee and often offer a nice place sit and relax.

Recently I've noticed two good things about Starbucks.

They've added new gluten-free options to their cake selection. A Belgian chocolate slice or a Seville Orange cake are now available as options. This is great news.

In their Ranelagh shop, I noticed that they had big bags of used coffee grounds available to take away for free for anyone who wanted it for their garden. It lead me to wonder what coffee shops do with their used grounds, but I applaud Starbucks for offering them to customers for a green purpose.

Expensive Espresso in Cafe Bar Deli

Just back from a nice lunch in Cafe Bar Deli in Ranelagh. The only downside - being charged E2.30 for an espresso. Ouch...

I think that I'll start to compile a list of espresso prices. I've already been following prices of my favourite drink, Bulmer's Light, in the city, so I think that I'll put up a league table for both shortly.

Some Old Favourites

I like revisiting certain restaurants because they are just so good. I'm going to replug some of my favourites, and nominate a new favourite cafe.

I've been the Hilan Chinese and Korean restaurant several times in the last few months, and each time it's gotten better. We've ordered dishes such as steamed fish in chili sauce, scallops in chilli sauce (a huge plate for E14!) and smoked dried pork with snow peas. When we couldn't finish a plate of dumplings, we asked for boxes to take them home in and the waitress suggested frying them the next day with some garlic and chili. Talk about service.

Chez Max near Dublin Castle just keeps getting better and better. It's such a cosy restaurant with oodles of charm, quirky menus and excellent service. We arrived on a busy Thursday night and rather than turning us away, we were seated in the tiny but lovely alcove and served a glass of wine while a table was made available.

Cafe Cagliostro is one of my favourite cafes in Dublin. It's located in the Italian Quarter just off the Millenium Bridge and features great coffee made by Italians. Bravissimo!

Cork Coffee Roasters

Surprise, surprise, it was raining in Cork when I was visiting last weekend. I was actually smiling as we walked in the rain. There's nothing quite like being blown off your feet as you leave the shelter of Bridge Street and venture onto the openess of Patrick Bridge.

I was also smiling because I'd just had a great cup of coffee. Cork Coffee Roasters is a new (well to me anyway) coffee shop located near the corner of Bridge Street and McCurtain Street. It's a cosy room with eclectic seating scattered around. And it was packed on a very wet morning in Cork when there was barely a soul to be seen. That speaks volumes about the place. We ordered a latte and an americao, both of which were rich and dark. A great start to a bleak and mildy hungover morning.

All beans are roasted locally by John Gowan and it is possible to buy packs of their various blends to take home. How could I resist the chance to take some Cork coffee back to Dublin? It turned out that none of the packs on display were ground for an espresso machine, but the barista kindly ground a pack specially for me. At 5.50 euro a pack, it represents good value and it's great to support a local industry.