Click & Collect Takes Off At 12 Tables

Click & Collect Takes Off At 12 Tables

12 Tables Douglas 
(021) 241 9196

Dave and Cat from 12 Tables in Douglas have been in touch to tell me about their Click & Collect service for brunch and dinner.

"We started doing takeaway dinner service on 8th of May. Since then, we had four nights of takeout services (Friday/Saturday w.e. May 10th and Friday/Saturday w.e. May 17th). All of those nights were success given the response of our customers in local community and the feedback given via social media."

"As of this week we expanded takeout option with our brunch menu. We are offering  brunch "click and collect" menu this Saturday and Sunday (11am-2pm) and a dinner "click and collect" menu for this Friday and Saturday (5pm-8pm). Customers can pick their meal and book their collection slot on our website : www.12tables.ie . We have allocated certain number of slots every 15 minutes in order to avoid queues"

"We are following the government and HSE guidelines in terms of providing the appropriate equipment (masks, gloves etc.) for our employees and making sure they are following the rules of social distancing. Food collection point is located in our garden so no people other than our employees enter  the restaurant promises. Garden floor has stickers on it ensuring social distancing between people waiting for their food."

Menus:

TablePath's Helping Restaurants Go "Click & Collect"

A classy take-away from Greene's!

TablePath's Helping Restaurants Go "Click & Collect"

With the food service industry being turned inside out these days, you have to be quick to adapt.  And helping Cork restaurants such as Greene's Sage and Da Mirco take the Click and Collect route is well established restaurant booking service TablePath, making it easier for the restaurants simplify and automate what can be a complex process. 

By the way, one of the partners in TablePath is Martin Poucher who is also the tech brains behind NeighbourFood with Jack Crotty, another brilliant food related service and one that doesn't seem to be getting the credit it deserves.

I just clicked into DaMirco's website there and here's what it looks like for this weekend.Tempting - you'd better hurry.

Other local restaurants on the TablePath system are:

www.greenesrestaurant.com (Bryan)

www.theglasscurtain.ie (Brian)

www.sagerestaurant.ie (Kevin)

www.12tables.ie (Dave & Cat)

www.damirco.ie (Mirco)

www.thewhalestail.ie

www.freddysbistro.com (Limerick)

www.oneillsbistro.com (Tipp)

Andrew Monaghan, Sales Manager with TablePath: "All their orders come through to them on their TablePath account and they can decide how many orders they can handle every 15 minutes and the system will work with that figure. Can also handle the maximum amount of orders they can handle per day.

The system automates all the payments, orders placed and time slots. Many of those now working with us had initially gone down the ‘pen & paper’ route of taking orders, payments etc. but once we had given them a demo on how simple the TablePath system was they were happy to work with us immediately!

from The Glass Curtain.

We manage all the set up (free of charge!) and we also manage all their Menu / pricing updates so there is very little for the restaurateur to do except process the incoming orders and drop them to the hungry customers in their cars.

With ‘Social Distancing’ going to have a big impact on the number of diners each restaurant can handle from June 29, we believe that the takeaway aspect of each restaurant will work ‘hand in hand’ with their core business once they re-open their doors! Our system integrates with STRIPE who handle the secure online payment process. 

We are delighted to work with many of Corks top restaurants and look forward to working with more over the coming weeks!"

12 Tables & Tandem Winery. In vino veritas.

12 Tables & Tandem Winery
In vino veritas.

José María Fraile

In vino veritas. And truth to tell, there was good wine, good food and good company as some fifty diners enjoyed the Tandem Winery Tasting Dinner at the 12 Tables in Douglas last Wednesday. 

The welcome drink

The truth of another Latin saying, Dove regna il vino non regna il silenzio (Where wine reigns, silence does not) was also well illustrated on the night. 

But, what’s with all the Latin boy?

It is a theme at the Navarra based winery. Tandem itself is Latin for “finally” and nothing to do with bikes while the names of the individual wines are in Latin (or derived from it): Casual, Inmacula, Ars In Vitro, Ars Nova, Macula, Ars Memoria, and Inmune.

Tandem is of much more recent vintage than the ancient Latin tongue, founded in 2003 by by Alicia Eyaralar, José María Fraile and a small group of wine-loving relatives and friends. José was in the 12 Tables having left Pamplona at 5.00am that morning on a route that brought him to Cork via Madrid and London.

He was introduced by Nicolas Sicot of O’Brien’s Wines who import the Tandem wines. “I love organising these events, love to share the wines. It's great to meet the people behind the label and delighted to have José here. Dave Farrell has worked wonders and has come up with a great menu to go with the wines.”

José admitted to being delighted with the full house. “It is incredible. I hope you enjoy the dinner and the Navarra wine. I feel very humbled and proud; it would be hard to match this crowd in Spain!”

Duck

The vineyard is quite close to Pamplona and on the northern edge of the Navarra wine region. “We like freshness and elegance and luckily we’re in the coolest part of the appellation. It is super green where we are, a big contrast with the desert in the south. The Atlantic influence, the cool summer nights and picking late in the season is good for the grapes and we get that natural acidity.” We would soon see how that acidity helped with the food pairings.

Their rosé, or at least the very first version of it, was more or less an accident and hence the name Casual. A very enjoyable accident though, as we appreciated on arrival.

The kitchen, with chef-patron Dave Farrell at the head, produced an excellent starter: Serrano wrapped Monkfish, spiced crevettes, roast pepper purée, pistachios pickled samphire and Parmesan cream. And the wine was the Immacula (meaning without blemish), a blend of mostly Viognier and 15% Viura. It is fermented in French oak (not new) and kept on its fine lees for three months to gain texture and volume. “It is very successful for us and highly rated and there is nothing of it left at the winery.” We were on a winner.

Immune was the next wine, a 100% Garnacha paired with Gubbeen Chorizo, Ardsallagh Feta, Olive Tapenade, Romesco, Physalis and Avocado Oil. “Immune, to failure, to critics!”, joked José. “This is a powerful expression of the Garnacha (the vines are 70 years old and more); great depth and structure, a stunning wine that fills the palate.” He, and we, were enjoying the meal: “Amazing dishes.”

Up next was Jack McCarthy’s black pudding rosti, caramelised Radicchio, golden beets, wild mushroom, Crozier blue cheese and aged balsamic. Quite a lot going on in that plate and José had a favourite wine to match, the Ars in Vitro (art in glass), an unfiltered, unoaked wine with fruit and fragrance and a silky palate, raised for a minimum of two years. “How wine for me should taste,” remarked Jose. 

This 2014 has been raised in concrete. “Nowadays, concrete is accepted, the epoxy lining has made the difference, more complexity, more tannins, more colour, finesse and elegance.” It is a blend of Tempranillo and Merlot.

The wines and the food reached a high point with the main course. Jose introduced his Ars Nova, a 2014 blend of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, fresh, fruity and long. Ageing is a minimum 24 months in concrete vats plus 9 months in 300-litre French oak barrels. “More complex, more spice and great with lamb.”

Great too with duck as it turned out as the kitchen pulled out all the stops with Tea Brined Skeaghanore Duck breast, Almond and Apricot roulade, potato confit, charred onion, baby carrots and roast shallot purée. Quite a climax.

We eased out with a Trio of Artisanal Cheese with Fig Jam. The cheeses were Roquefort, Milleens and Tipperary Cheddar and the wine was Mácula, described as “a masculine wine of good length” and a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from 2011. Tandem are slow to let their wines off to market. This, for instance, spends a minimum 24 months in concrete and 26 months in 300-litre French oak barrels.

José was delighted with the reception for his wines. “It has been an incredible dinner, fantastic being here. I'm so happy.” Nicolas thanked the kitchen and front of house at 12 Tables saying “We’ll do it again!”, a sentiment that went down well. In vino veritas.

You may view a video of José talking about Tandem and its wines here. 

Check the Tandem wines in stock at O’Brien’s website or just call in to Nico at their Douglas branch!

All the news, including menus, from 12 Tables in Douglas is here; also on their Facebook page.

Gonna be A Burger of a Week. Big and Bad Boys to Rock Cork

Gonna be A Burger of a Week

Big and Bad Boys to Rock Cork

The first Cork Burger Festival runs from January 30th until February 5th. The local cafes and restaurants have climbed aboard in impressive numbers and, if you love your burger, you are going to have some tremendous choices over the week. Below you'll find a selection of what is on offer. More details on the Festival Facebook page here. 

The White Horse in Ballincollig have a Seven Day Burger Battle on, with a tasty clash each night. Friday's duel between the Texan and the Mexican looks saucy with a repeat thrown in on Saturday if you want to switch sides.

Soho Bar have joined in the fun with their Three Rebels, three different sliders and a pint of beer for a tenner.

If you’re in Son of a Bun, watch out for the Wonka ticket. Each burger special you order on this fantabulous week will be hiding a Son of a Wonka ticket. If you happen to be the lucky winner of one of their 7 golden tickets you will be in for a treat! “For the next 5 months you will get to have our burger of the month on us!”  Limit 1 burger each month per ticket holder.

New Douglas restaurant, 12 Tables, are running a Burger Battle Royale. On one plate you've got the Mick O’ and, on the other, its The Big Fella. That’ll take some sorting.

If you’re up to big, then maybe the Oliver Plunket is the place to be. Here’s the challenge. The Big Boy (he who dares, WINS) 32oz burger topped with Bandon Vale cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onions served with a side of fries; €30, finish it and it's FREE!

If you can't make it to a restaurant, Davidson’s Craft Butchers have offers on burgers all week. Keep up to date here.

You’ll find the Great Griffin in Dripsey at Griffin's Garden Centre. It looks tempting. Check out their Facebook page for giveaways.

And be sure too to tie up the horse at the Bad Boys where you can tuck into their 8oz Smoked Rodeo Burger topped with Chilli Con Carne Cheese and Sour cream. Bad!

The Meatball Place are also on board with a selection of Speciality Burgers, not just for the week, but for the month!

Nine Market Street in Kinsale are doing a four-course Burger meal (dessert is an ice-cream burger). A fab meal at a great price of €25.00 the lot. Date is Saturday the 4th from 6.00pm.

Lots more places involved including the Silly Goose (with Ali’s Kitchen). Check it all out on festival’s Facebook page here.