[Event] Bar 1661 pop-up from Bán Poitín

Several years ago I attended the Irish launch of Bán Poitín, and immediately loved their modern, vibrant version of this much-maligned traditional Irish spirit. Now, the Bán Poitín Bar 1661 cocktail pop-up is asking you to forget the traditional image of the illicit bottle wrapped in brown paper hidden under the kitchen sink, and instead experience the quality and style of modern poitín. 

For 6 weeks only, Bar 1661 will be located in a retro basement next to Berlin Cafe on Dame Lane where it will serve a changing cocktail menu based on just one spirit, poitín. In addition, drinks will incorporate under-used and under-valued native Irish ingredients, supported by over 25 producers, distillers, foragers and farmers. 

The Gaeilgeor and Leprechaun Zombie cocktails

[Review] Lucky Tortoise Dumpling Pop-Up

I got a little bit excited recently. That kind of excitement usually only happens to me when I get near the vicinity of real Chinese food. As a result, Capel Street and Parnell Street have the kind of effect on me that you normally only get when purchasing illegal pharmaceuticals. Show me genuine Sichuan or Hunan food, or some top notch dim sum and I am one happy lady. 

So you can imagine that my ears perked up when I heard about The Lucky Tortoise, a dumpling and dim sum pop-up at The Hill Pub in Ranelagh. Firstly, I really enjoy the Hill Pub. Friends and owners Derek Marsden and Darragh Nugent have done a great job revitalising this traditional pub with superb pub food and a fantastic selection of craft beers. Secondly... dumplings! Thom Lawson, the man behind the Lucky Tortoise, is bringing his creative take on high quality and affordable food to the historical tradition of the dumpling and dim sum. 

[Review] EATily Pop-up, Parliament Street, Dublin 2

What does an award-winning chef do when faced with the challenge of developing a new restaurant bang in the middle of Dublin city centre? If you're Oliver Dunne, former holder of a Michelin star at Bon Appetit, you launch a very time-limited pop-up while thinking about the more permanent presence.

EATily, located at the former Fiorentina premises on the corner of Dame Street and Parliament Street, is the result of a collaboration between Dunne and chef Aaron Carroll, formerly of Casadelmar in Corsica and Dunne's own Bon Appetit. Dunne  has long been a proponent of Italian food, and one of the finest meals I've ever enjoyed was his celebration of La Pergola in 2013. With a name that's confusingly close to New York's "Eataly", the concept at EATily is simple. It's a fixed price menu for three courses, with cichetti (little bites), tea/coffee with petits fours and a bottle of house wine. Wine upgrades are available at an additional cost.

Pre-dinner Negroni cocktail at EATily

We enjoyed a brief catch-up with Graham Dunne, Oliver's brother and more than capable front-of-house-man, as we relaxed with two fine Negronis, from a short selection of Italian-inspired cocktails. The selection of cichetti (an Italian phrase for small plates or bites, originating from Venice) were a welcome warm-up. Crisp grissini with ricotta and pesto, glazed roast Chantenay carrots, hummus and finally olives. We decided to go with the bottle of Sicilian house white wine, which turned out to be a very enjoyable dry, minerally wine.

[Review] Taco Taco, Dame Court, Dublin 2

Bank holiday weekends are great in Dublin. A lot of people have left the city which means that it's easier to get tables in restaurants and easier to find taxis. Even Dublin's hottest, newest pop-up restaurant Taco Taco was largely empty on Easter Sunday, which is always good in a restaurant that doesn't take reservations. 

Taco Taco comes from the team behind San Lorenzo's, namely chef Temple Gardner and promoter Anthony Remedy. The incredible success of the San Lorenzo's #brunchofchampions convinced them that there was a need for a pop-up restaurant for the brunch crowd and hence Taco Taco was born. It's located on the ground and basement floors of the Odessa building on Dame Court. The ground floor isn't large, and the tables are relatively small. But that doesn't matter somehow. This is a restaurant for the younger people, who want an easy, casual meal, preferably accompanied by some killer cocktails and tunes. 

Maryland crab cakes (€11.95) were chunky patties of fresh crab meat, served simply with a rocket salad and sweet chili sauce. A retro-inspired pint of prawns was a real treat, inviting us to peel the shells away from the sweet, plump prawns (€11.95), while a little pot of sriracha mayo provided a touch of heat. A simple but great start to the meal.

Maryland crab cakes

Pint of prawns with sriracha mayo

All our group ended up ordering from the taco section of the menu, but there are plenty of options to be found such as super nachos or the epic sounding Kansas City truck stop burger. The taco selection ranges from €14 for a halloumi vegetarian option all the way to €23 for tuna sashimi tacos. I initially thought that the prices seemed a little steep, but decided to reserve judgement until later. Our small table rapidly piled up with plates as orders arrived from the kitchen, including five spice Chinese duck tacos (€16.95), shrimp popcorn tacos (€18.95) and Jamaican jerk chicken (€14.95).

Everything was pretty tasty, but for me, the portions were far too large. By the time I had eaten one jerked chicken taco, I simply had had enough. I'd personally rather pay per individual taco and create a selection based on what I fancy. 

Side portions of poutine fries (a Quebecois favourite of french fries topped with gravy and cheese curds) were simply stellar. In the Taco Taco world, the poutine fries are crunchy pieces of scalloped potato topped with smokey bacon, black pepper sauce and mozzarella (€3.50). Top notch indulgence food. 

Jamaican jerk chicken taco

Five spice Chinese duck taco

Popcorn shrimp taco

Pineapple and chili salsa 

Poutine fries

The famous San Lorenzo's Nutella cheesecake is available on the Taco Taco menu (€7.95) for the die-hard fans. However, my eyes were firmly on the salt caramel popcorn option (€6.00). Now, I don't know which genius came up with the idea for this dish, but awards have been given for less. A combination of popcorn, lashings of salted caramel sauce and scoops of peanut butter ice-cream results in a dessert that is definitely not for children. Like the poutine fries, I found myself thinking of this dish long after leaving. 

San Lorenzo's Nutella chocolate cheesecake

Salt caramel popcorn with peanut butter icecream

Multiple rounds of margarita later (one of which managed to end up in my handbag!), we staggered out of Taco Taco. We were full and we were happy. Bizarrely, the tacos were not the star of the show for me, although I did particularly enjoy the popcorn shrimp variation. They were just too big and "too much of one thing". But I definitely will return for another look at the non-taco section of the menu, and most definitely for the poutine and popcorn dessert.

UPDATE: I've been informed by Anthony Remedy that the kitchen at Taco Taco is quite small, and they just can't handle the individual taco idea. So if you want to experience many different tacos, get in there as part of a group and order loads!

Taco Taco, 14 Dame Court, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 (0)83 449 9584
URL: www.tacotacodublin.com
Twitter: @TacoTacoDublin

[Review] Pomona Pop Up Restaurant

This week's post isn't really a review but a brief run down of my recent dinner at Pomona Pop Up restaurant which took place over the October Bank Holiday weekend. Chefs Jason Walsh (L'Ecrivain) and Lumir Tousek (former head chef at L'Ecrivain) served up an impressive ten courses at their two day event on Thomas Street. At €80 per head, it wasn't exactly cheap, but the professionalism of the staff, lovely venue and generous meal did much to make it feel like good value. 

Thomas Street cafe, The Food Gallery, with its lovely high ceilings and classic parquet floor was converted into a white linen fine dining establishment. I received a warm welcome and exchanged my bottle of Pouilly Fumé for a glass of prosecco. Wine was BYOB with no corkage, which meant that there was a wild and wonderful selection of alcohol throughout the room. 

Pictures of the courses follow below. Beautiful modern presentation, featuring colour and texture, combined with clever use of seasonal, local ingredients and quirky touches was the order of the night. I loved additions such as fermented oats, roasted egg white and malt. Stand out items for me were the foie gras macaron, the hen's egg dish, the crispy skinned sea bass and the rich gnocchi. As I was sitting at a table for one, I received a whole bottle of the lovely Highbank Proper Dry Cider as a precursor to the dessert courses. Such generosity was hardly required after most of a bottle of wine, but it was definitely liked.

Right now, I don't think there are any future plans to repeat Pomona Pop-Up but follow them on Twitter (@PomonaPopup) or on Facebook for updates. 

Pig's head sandwich and foie gras macaron

Cream cheese with Goatsbridge caviar

Organic hen's egg yolk, roasted egg white and crispy shallots 

Scallop with fermented oats and squash

Seabass with romanesco sauce and Ballyhoura mushrooms

Linden cordial with apple cider sorbet 

Venison with beetroot, seasonal leaves and malt

Pork belly with carrot, gnocchi and dandelions 

Highbank proper cider

Plum pudding

Lemon polenta cake

Petits fours at Pomona 

[Review] Salt Lick, Ranelagh, Dublin 6

Back in my student days, I remember a cafe in Cork that used to open as a tapas bar in the evening. Apparently a visiting Spanish chef had struck a deal with the cafe owner to use the kitchen at night, which had the dual purpose of giving me delicious tapas as well as meaning that the venue was busy both day and night. 

From what I recall, the deal didn't last long (there was some gossip), but I thought the idea of a multitasking venue was clever. I can't really remember many examples of this taking place in Dublin, which is surprising considering the high cost of rents. Plus, it's a great opportunity for some young chefs to take charge of a kitchen, trial out dishes and test them on a willing audience. 

Given this, I'm delighted to see that every Friday and Saturday night, new venture Salt Lick will set up shop in Hobart's Cafe in Ranelagh. It is the brainchild of Brian McCarthy and William Toft and comes with a very simple idea. Every month will see a short, themed Table d'Hote menu (it's currently Taco month) with two courses for €20 or three for €25. As Salt Lick doesn't have a drinks license, you can mosy up with a bottle of your favourite wine or beer, with recommendations available from nearby Redmond's of Ranelagh. Alternatively, bring a bottle of your chosen spirit, and the clever Salt Lick people will mix you up a cocktail using their house ingredients. 

The simple menu meant that ordering was a doodle. My starter slate of beetroot, avocado puree, pickled fennel and crumbed feta was very much of the current fashion, but lifted away from the norm by the addition of the fennel. A portion of deep-fried cubed bacon was deliciously fatty and crunchy and each of the three dipping sauces (beetroot syrup, ginger beer glaze and sriracha aioli) was well-chosen to deal with the fattiness. This was the stuff that bacon dreams are made of.

(Apologies in advance for the extremely poor photos - it was pretty *romantic* in there).

Deep-fried bacon with dipping sauces

Mains consisted of a plate of three tacos, with 3 different taco flavours on offer. So, rather sensibly, we got one of each variety. The clear winner for both of us was the confit lamb belly with cannelloni bean, parmesan and olive smash with herby feta salad and streaky lamb belly bacon. Delicious flavours and lovely balance. Next was the classic braised pork taco with adobo, salsa, sour cream and tempura pickle. It had all the classic slow cooked pork flavours but with a little touch of freshness. Finally, there was the slow roast shin of beef, miso duxelle, horseradish creme fraiche, capers, rocket and crispy onion. Unfortunately, the capers completely dominated the beef and horseradish, leaving only saltiness. However, we loved the deeply crunchy fries and peppery rocket and parmesan salad served on the side.

Taco selection

We declined dessert (although the fried bread with dips and the three milk coffee & caramel pudding both sounded tempting) but we were delighted to receive some perfect little meringues with our bill for sweet nibbling.

The bill with those perfect little meringues

We didn't have time to organise ourselves with a bottle or naggin of spirits (which might have invoked memories of student days), so we didn't get to try the tasty sounding cocktail options at Salt Lick, and instead we made do with a bottle of prosecco. Next time out, I'm bringing a couple of bottles from the spirits shelf and I fully plan to let Salt Lick do their best. I love a good cocktail and I'm up for the challenge. 

Long and short, it wasn't 100% perfect at Salt Lick. But it's also worth stating that it was their first weekend in business. It was obvious from the (literal) dancing in the aisles that the staff are enthusiastic and enjoying their gig. In the end, there were more than enough high points (that deep-friend bacon, that sriracha aioli and those lovely fries) to make me want to return and sample another of their one-off menus. At €20 a head (for 2 courses), it's a good night out.

Salt Lick (at Hobart's), Ranelagh, Dublin 6

URL: saltlickdublin.tumblr.com

Twitter: @SaltLickDublin

[Listing] Ed Hick's Pork Pop-Up at KC Peaches Wine Cave

On Thursday 11th June, Ed Hick of Hick & Sons Irish craft butchers will host a pop-up pork fest in KC Peaches Wine Cave on Nassau Street. Hick has become known in Ireland for his passion for well-raised meat, and his love of one animal (the pig!) in particular is illustrated by his best known products.

KC Peaches, who have been buying Ed's excellent pork products for years, have teamed up with the butcher to present a night in celebration of the pig, whose value and deliciousness is sometimes under-appreciated when compared to beef or lamb in Ireland. Hick will lay on a smorgasbord of unusual cuts, including 'lachs schinken' (cured loin) and lardo (fat) from a single organic sow, along with spiced pork brisket and slow roast pork neck. Guests will also enjoy the aromas of the indoor spit roast, which is being brought in especially to do justice to Hick's gently smoke-cured 'bacon' ribs.

The menu will be as follows:

Braised pork neck broth served with Parmesan crouton and wild garlic creme fraiche

Ham hock terrine, pea puree, crispy quails egg

Hick's charcuterie plate (smoke-cured ham, lachs schinken and lardo from a single organic sow) served with bacon jam and Bretzel bread

Gently smoke-cured ribs (grilled table side) served with red cabbage and beetroot slaw

Spiced pork brisket served with baby veg, apple & hazelnut stuffing, roasted potatoes 

Iced summer berries with white chocolate ganache

All this delicious food will cost just €35 per person. To make a reservation, please contact the Wine Cave on (087) 984 5929 or email kcpwinecave@gmail.com (ask for Emilie).

[Listing] Glenisk Pop-Up Store

Irish firm Glenisk has just opened a pop-up store on Dawson Street in Dublin. Named Glenisk Upfront & Personal, the store will remain open for 10 weeks, demonstrating the versatility of Glenisk organic yogurt, through a series of creative flavour combinations, both sweet and savory. 

Glenisk Upfront & Personal is managed by Christine Jordan, who has spent three months developing recipes for the store. The dishes feature many leading Irish food producers, including Goatsbridge Smoked Trout and Burren Smokehouse Organic Salmon, while also embracing global food themes. In addition to the smoked fish, savoury options include carrot, beetroot & apple salad with orange harissa dressing; Greek salad and Mexican bean & avocado combinations. Each savoury dish is served with rosemary & olive oil crostini, baked especially for Glenisk by the Paris Bakery on Moore Street.

Irish smoked salmon 

Sweet treats include Greek style natural yogurt with dark chocolate, orange, pistachio & honey; Turkish figs in spiced syrup with toasted almonds; fresh fruit, granola & honey; and banana, caramel and milk chocolate. The store will also offer a wide selection of delicious cheesecakes and smoothies, prepared with Glenisk organic yogurt and crème fraiche.

Dark chocolate, orange and honey

Glenisk MD Vincent Cleary comments "Glenisk celebrated 25 years in business last year; our fantastic growth in recent years has been achieved largely through embracing new ideas and developing new products. As we embark on the next 25 years, our Upfront & Personal store hopefully demonstrates our ongoing commitment to innovation. We're delighted to have the opportunity to meet our customers in person and share our ideas; and we look forward to welcoming them into the store to hear their views. We can promise them a brand new approach to enjoying yogurt and the best of Irish ingredients."

The recipes will be updated each day and Glenisk hopes that customers will share their own suggestions for flavour combinations. Savoury yogurt dishes and smoothies are priced at €3.50, while sweet dishes and cheesecakes will cost €3.00. Glenisk's range of organic yogurt, fresh milk, cream cheese and crème fraiche will be available in the store, along with the brand's goats milk and goats yogurt. 

Glenisk Upfront & Personal will also host a selection of foodie events, cookery demonstrations and supper clubs. To find out more information, visit www.glenisk.com, connect at Glenisk's Facebook page, or follow on Twitter @glenisk for daily updates. 

[Listing] Unique pop-up dining experience at Urbun Cafe, Cabinteely

I recently received news of what should be a very interesting pop-up dining experience. Chefs Yannick Van-Aeken and Louise Bannon will cook for two nights only at Urbun Cafe in Cabinteely Village.

What makes this special? Welll, Louise and Yannick have spent the past five years at Noma (Best Restaurant in the World and twice Michelin starred Noma) and are now touring Ireland, staging exclusive pop-up events. On December 16th and 17th, these two chefs will cook a five course once-off meal using locally sourced produce. 

Louise and Yannick have already produced outstanding results with recent pop-up events in Kai Restaurant in Galway and Ballymaloe in Cork. The quirky and laid back Urbun Cafe will make a perfect backdrop for this unique experience. Urbun's ethos, reflecting Yannick& Louise's own philosophy, is all about using locally sourced produce and quality ingredients to create tasty and hearty meals. 

The five course meal will cost €80 per head, including an aperitif, snacks and petit fours. Wine is not included but selected wines will be available on the  night at specially discounted prices. For reservations, call Urbun at (01) 284 8872. Please note that due to high demand, places are extremely limited and booking is required. A credit card will be required at the time of booking and a cancellation policy will apply. 

Urbun, Old Bray Road, Cabinteely, Dublin 18

Tel: +353 (0)1 284 8872

URL: www.urbun.ie

Twitter: @urbuncafe

Skinflint, Dublin 2

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

Jacobs Creek Pop-Up Wine & Dine Experience

Recently I was very lucky to receive an invite to attend the opening session of Jacobs Creek Pop-Up Wine & Dine Experience. Over the course of 4 nights, this event offered fans of Jacobs Creek the opportunity to learn about wine during a master wine class with David Whelehan (@Whelehanswines) while enjoying some canapes and a 3 course meal cooked by chef Clodagh Mc Kenna. All this was promised to take place in a super secret location, which would be revealed just before the event.

The location did indeed turn out to be surprise - the Crypt in Christchurch Cathedral. Upon receiving the news, I had visions of tombs & coffins, but the reality turned out to be far more sophisticated and elegant than I could ever had imagined. A mixture of low-lighting and candlelight created an intimate atmosphere against which we were treated to canapes, a classical string quartet and of courses, glasses of Jacobs Creek Sparkling Rosé. As a confirmed lover of all bubbly wines, I have to say that this rosé is light and fresh with lots of lovely berry flavours.

The Crypt at Christchurch Cathedral

After mingling and chatting, we were shown to our beautifully set tables. We were seated with the energetic Paula from Where's My Parade (who I also chatted with on the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail) and Joanna Schaffalitzky from the Irish-Danish food blog Smörgåsblog. 

David Whelehan took to the floor and proved to be both entertaining and educating as he went through some of the basic language of wine. Part of our challenge was to blind taste test some white and red wines. For this we had to don the provided eyemasks which definitely changed the whole experience. White wine 1 was no problem, as I quickly guessed a Sauvignon Blanc but wine 2 was a little more problematic. It seemed like a Chardonnay but much more sophisticated than normal with lovely caramel tones. It was revealed to be a Jacobs Creek Reserve Chardonnay - definitely one I'll buy in future and one which has caused me to reconsider my general opinion of chardonnays.

Blind wine tasting (in the dark!)

I was later pleased to also guess both reds correctly, particularly because red wine is not my usual tipple. A large part of the fun was to be found in discussing the flavours with my dining companions - many different opinions were expressed, and even though we might all have been in agreement on the wine variety, each of us tasted it in different ways. For one wine, I was hearing the words "muddy" while at the other end I could hear "blackcurrant". It serves to remind how wine can be an individual experience!

I want to thank Jacobs Creek for giving us the opportunity to participate in what was a fun and elegant night. BTW a tip we picked up from Mr. Whelehan when looking to impress in matters oenological - simply describe a wine as "elegant" with "bright fruits" and "sophisticated". Sounds just like moi, eh?