Just returned from Cork, after travelling down for the launch of Denis Cotter’s book. Woeful food on the train, of course, after all the ballyhoo a year or so ago about the Robbie Millar (Shanks) inspired menu on the Belfast run the will to improve matters seems to have been lost. High-priced stodge with the ...
FoodI came over to live in Dublin in the late eighties, when most of the populace seemed to be going the other way. Half way across on the ferry, we passed its counterpart bound for Holyhead. It looked about six feet lower in the water. On arrival I mooched round Dublin for weeks, familiarizing myself ...
Restaurant ReviewsFor a long time Dish was probably the best and certainly the friendliest restaurant in Temple Bar; a place where those fortunate enough not to be caught up in new dynamic Dublin could linger over lunch or dinner. A totally hassle-free experience, it was not unknown for certain diners of my acquaintance to hide away ...
Restaurant ReviewsAccording to fellow members of the Irish Food Writers Guild, Biddy White Lennon is a bread and cake maker whose talent verges on genius. In a better world Home Baking would be a glitzy hardback, with creative typography and the sort of photography you can eat. Alas, despite having been Maggie in the Riordans, Biddy’s ...
Books & EquipmentOf all the independent guides to drinking, eating and staying in Dublin this one is the best. The strength is in the independence of the assessors who, because the entries are not pay-in, have carte blanche to make their feelings felt. It’s re-assessed each year and conscientiously edited. Also, it’s put together in an enthusiastic ...
Books & EquipmentWritten by an American opera buff who went to Italy to study and hung on in there. A great read – even if you’ve never been to Italy and don’t intend to go the book will get under your skin and might persuade you. Checked it out on three towns I know – Alba/Siena/Ravello and ...
Books & EquipmentHere we go again! The book we love to hate is just out; the new edition of 100 Best Restaurants in Ireland, bigoted and truculent as ever. John McKenna – “disagreement is the cornerstone of culture” – is one of those guys who goes into a quiet bar, lets drop a couple of contentious remarks, ...
Books & EquipmentTo understand Spanish wine it’s necessary to understand two things. One is that near everyone in the country, North to South, East to West drinks it. By the mid 1980s it had more land under vines than any other country in the world yet in production terms it only ranked fourth, trailing behind France, Italy ...
Tasting NotesThe chef Auguste Escoffier, having established a dazzling reputation in Europe, was lured to London by a Mr.Ritz who ran a hotel. He eventually got fired for endorsing products without the consent of his employer – prepared sauces, with his name on the jar. For this and for his writing he was, without doubt, the ...
RecipesParadiso Seasons, the new cookbook by the mega-talented vegetarian chef Denis Cotter of Cork’s Cafe Paradiso is out tomorrow – Monday June 23rd. This guy is the chef (or “cook” as modest unassuming Denis prefers) who has taken veggie food light years beyond the “brown rice/brown plates/brown sandals” brigade and made it look and taste ...
Books & Equipment