It’s back again from Thurs-Sun this week, bargain fans.  Full selection after the jump.  One of the (many) things that I like about this offer is that you can get healthy choices – you can have salmon, veggies or salad and fruit salad. Or you can pig out and have cottage pie, wedges and millionaire’s shortbread.  It’s all good.  Continue reading »

Apologies for getting back on my boring old hobby horse about American wheat beers, but Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale happened to be at the front of my fridge and needed drinking. Another one of those boringly thin and vapid witless witbiers? Well, no, actually. But nearly. At the base of 312 there’s certainly a watery and dull bright yellow ale, lightly carbonated and easy to quaff, which is where a lot of brewers would stop.  Continue reading »

SUPERVALU
Supervalu in the old Roches Stores in Merchant’s Quay is not the place I’d normally think of when looking for beers with a difference. But time was short and I tried and found a decent enough selection there from both sides of the Atlantic.Stuck with the Europeans though. Got the Budejovicky Budwar (€2.78) – was this the one transferred across the Atlantic?  Continue reading »

A Good Food Ireland Showcase featuring member restaurants, hotels, cookery schools, food shops and food producers will come together to serve guests the best of local Irish food.
To celebrate St Valentine’s Good Food Ireland members in Cork City and County have come together for Good Food Ireland Week Cork from Monday, February 8th to Friday February 12th 2010.  Continue reading »

It’s mid-yawny-morning.
The doorbell rings.
I’m not expecting anyone or anything but, lo and behold, there is a man at my door bearing gifts (woohoo, I’m all for that!) – a basket of Denny sausages, rashers, ham and 2 still-warm, foil-wrapped breakfast rolls to be precise.
Score!
…or at least it would have been if I was given to eating porky products.  Continue reading »

“Blue skies, green grass and cold water”. That was the vision of Brent Marris, head winemaker at The Ned. His aim was to produce a Sauvignon Blanc that would reflect what New Zealand is all about. Well Brent… job done!

To view product page and for more details, click on The Ned Sauvignon Blanc.  Continue reading »

NASH 19Dreary dull sky today but got a shot of the Med sunshine at lunchtime in the spacious area known as Nash 19. What courtesy and service, taken by the hand through each inviting item on the menu.Even at that, it was very hard to make a choice, all were equally tempting. Settled for a Tomato, Chicken, Chorizo Spaghetti, topped with a rocket salad and parmesan (€13.95). Superb.  Continue reading »

Image from www.southwilliam.ie

Way back when we started this site, I nominated the South William as one of my favourite cheap eats in Dublin.  The South William is a bar near Grafton St that served pies, which were made in the wonderful L’Gueuleton around the corner, and were nearly perfect, with interesting fillings and delicious pastry.  They came with a simple side salad, were filling without being stodgy, and best of all, the price was right: only €9 per pie.  Continue reading »

…spem sine corpore amat, corpus putat esse, quod umbra est.
(“He loves an unsubstantial hope and thinks that substance which is only shadow”)

Don’t make, or think I’m making, Narcissus’ mistake.  Continue reading »

Cornmarket Farmer’s Market has relocated to Emmet Place in front of the Opera House. It’s a great location for the market although just temporary. Cornmarket Street gets a makeover….lets see how that works out

Gary O’Donovan of O’Donovan’s Off License is opening a Wine School next month. This comes to close the gap the closure of the Wine Board of Ireland (at least the teaching side) caused. Courses start in February.  Continue reading »

A tender, juicy steak is one of my favourite things to eat.  Continue reading »

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending the morning Trade tasting of the previously posted Evening in the Barossa, hosted by Wine Australia and Toby Barlow of St. Hallett Wines.

Six whites and seven reds were laid out in front of us, as Toby took us on a verbal and visual tour of the Barossa, around ten different wineries and a breadth of styles that would dispel in an instant any myth that Australia doesn’t “do” terroir.  Continue reading »

Julian @Bubblebrothers your time starts now …
Continuing with the recent interview with Wine Retailers I put my questions to Julian from Bubblebrothers – here is what he had to say
1.        How did you get into wine ?I just fell in.  I have a little French, and working for a wine merchant sounded interesting at a time when I needed a job.  It is interesting. Before that, though I drank wine, I hadn’t paid it any special attention.  Continue reading »

Chicken pot pies are classic comfort food in the wintertime. This version is a nice change from the usual ones made with stock, peas and carrots — what I tend to think of as nursery food — with the crème fraîche and tarragon lending it a more grown-up feel. If you make the slow roast chicken with vermouth and mashed potatoes with crème fraîche, this is a no-brainer to make the next day with the leftover chicken and since you’ll probably still have crème fraîche on hand as well.  Continue reading »

For my birthday The Doc invested in some fruit trees for me. We bought them at the Urban Harvest sale held every January, they also run my local farmer’s market. As we don’t know how long we’ll be in Houston we invested in varieties that will bear fruit in the next year, a Meyer Lemon tree, a fig and some blueberry bushes. A trip to Home Depot for some gardening supplies yielded a raspberry bush and a peach tree also.  Continue reading »

M&S can always be relied upon to provide some of the tastiest nibbles on the high street. Sadly the beer selection often does not match the quality of the food on offer. In Ireland we generally don’t get the beer that is on sale in the UK. I do not know who decides which of the available M&S beers make their way to Irish shelves, but he/she must be influenced by sales alone because until recently only the blandest of English ale made it.  Continue reading »

Pinot Noir is often cited as being a bit of fickle grape. You’ll also read that it’s a difficult grape to grow.
In the glass, it’s most often described as elegant, smooth and feminine with “gaminess” and “forest floor” often used too.
I caught up with Patrick Materman, Chief Winemaker with Montana wines in Marlborough, New Zealand. He was in town for the New Zealand Wine Fair last Tuesdsay, and was able to describe it a little differently.  Continue reading »

A London meeting was to be arranged; a flight from Cork was booked ahead of confirmation of meeting; meeting was delayed; what to do with 6 hours spare in London?
Quick phone call to Dan Mortimer of Mortimer & Bennett Delicatessen in Turnham Green Terrace and six hours filled! A tasting was arranged and so Anthony will be there available to talk, taste and answer questions.  Continue reading »

On Thursday in Dublin there is a trade tasting of wines from California, an annual event but one at which, for the first time, we’ll be on the other side of the tables, representing the wines from Cycles Gladiator that you may have noticed on our shelves, along with a few other interesting bottles from parent company Hahn.  Continue reading »

On Thursday in Dublin there is a trade tasting of wines from California, an annual event but one at which, for the first time, we’ll be on the other side of the tables, representing the wines from Cycles Gladiator that you may have noticed on our shelves, along with a few other interesting bottles from parent company Hahn.  Continue reading »