Níl aon Mirco mar ár Mirco féin!

Níl aon Mirco mar ár Mirco féin!

While Omicron is still rampant, some of our restaurants are again taking the Takeaway or At Home route. Da Mirco in Bridge Street is one and one that you neglect at your peril as the North Italian Corkman's osteria is one of the best around.

By the way, I see that Omicron is the 15th letter of the ancient Greek alphabet. The good news that it is one of the shorter alphabets with its final letter, omega (a kind of “o fada), the 24th. So just 9 more variants to go?

Back to the food. He has quite a menu up for January, starters, mains and desserts, not to mention Italian wines and other treats. Our picks were Tagliere da Mirco (Da Mirco's Board with Italian Cured meats and his homemade favourites: focaccia bread, pickled vegetables and tomato jam) and a mains of Homemade Cannelloni with a filling of Braised Irish Venison Ragu. The board (€16.00) was for sharing and we ordered two lots of the Cannelloni (10.00).

That board was terrific, beautiful meats, a selection of cheeses and a whole load of accompaniments (including his own focaccia) to enhance the experience. It scored high on quality, a great mix of flavours and textures, and also on quantity as we had some cheese left that was nibbled away the following day.

I admit to being a lover of Cannelloni, the large pasta tubes served with a filling and covered by a sauce in Italian kitchens. But it is mostly those that come stuffed with spinach and ricotta that I’m familiar with. Not too sure that I ever had one in winter previously. Mirco’s generous serving came packed with minced Irish venison and was exquisite. As with all Cannelloni, they look innocent enough but they are very filling indeed!

We had an Italian red wine handy at home with suggested food pairings of cured meat, cheeses, red meat. Vincenzo’s Rosso (18.45 or so at Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman and 64 Wine both Dublin) was just the job.

The wine. Vincenzo makes a red and a white!

Imported by Le Caveau in Kilkenny, it is a dark ruby in the glass, a lighter red at the rim. This is quite aromatic: plum, blackberries, and black currant with a rustic background. Quite a depth of flavour and no shortage of spice either on the palate, lively and fresh, with ripe tannins towards the finish. The grapes used in the blend (from the northern part of the southern half of Italy) are Montepulciano (50%), Merlot (25%) & Cabernet Sauvignon (25%). 

Be sure and check out Mirco’s January Takeaway Menu here. Don’t forget to click on the @home tab as the restaurant menu is on the same page.

* Note for Mirco on the post heading; it means There’s no Mirco like our own Mirco.