Fish:
Kelly's Oysters at Monks Ballyvaughan
Fish Pie on Scallop Shell at Tom Crean's Basecamp, Kenmare, Co. Kerry
Glenbeigh Hotel Seafood Mariniere (salmon, prawns, mussels, white fish)
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Poultry
Nash19 Chicken Crispy Chicken Confit of Leg with Korean Dressing and Charred Corn
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Dessert/Pastry/Cake
Passionfruit and White Chocolate Mousse at Holly's Kilkee
Terrific Festive Atmosphere At The Cornstore. Food's Pretty Good Too!
Enjoyed my return to the Cornstore on Cork’s Coal Quay the other day. The place was as full as could be under the current regulations and the well-decorated and comfortable venue was all abuzz.
Those regulations included checking our covid certs and that was done at the reception desk, efficiently and quickly, and soon we were seated upstairs. We were in for the Christmas Set Menu. At €55.00 a head, you’d expect a wide choice for the three courses and that was certainly the case. If you want more of a choice, or perhaps you want just two courses, then check out the A La Carte.
As it happened, I had my eye on a Pork Belly mains as I had seen it listed on their website. But it didn’t show on our printed menu. No bother was the reply from our helpful server. “I’ll arrange that for you.” And he did, just like that.
Glad I asked about it. Just a tip. Quite a few restaurants are under pressure and their websites, even Facebook pages, may not be updated as frequently as in the past. So if you are unsure about opening times or what menus are available at certain periods, then do make you reservation by phone and ask your question then to avoid any possible disappointment later on.
Anyway, back to the meal. Our other main course was the Confit Duck Leg, with sautéed baby potatoes, chorizo, Pak Choi, red onion marmalade and hoisin sauce. Another packed plateful. And another tip. Most of you will be familiar with the Hoisin which is a sweet, spicy dark red sauce made from soya beans, vinegar, sugar, garlic, and various spices, widely used in southern Chinese cooking. Might be no harm to ask for it on the side, just in case you don’t fancy the variation.
I had started with the Tandoori Monkfish Carpaccio that came with a lightly smoked mussel and lentil salsa, and pickled samphire. A superb combination of taste and texture. The lightly spiced monkfish was a delight, the plump mussels half-hidden in their shells, the vegetable crunch of the samphire. There was nothing at all redundant on the plate that went back with barely a trace of the colour! A dish I haven’t come across before and one I’d have no hesitation in trying again.
CL’s starter came crowned with a hefty piece of goats cheese. The Goats Cheese Crostini looked like a massive starter and the cheese came atop red peppers, fig jam, sundried tomato pesto, rocket and balsamic reduction but, massive or no, that plate was enthusiastically emptied, quite a recommendation!
They don’t note who produced the cheese but they do say: “We are committed to using all local produce, our chefs cook from the heart with a blend of the freshest ingredients as well as free range and organic produce that is in season. We have our own garden in Ballingarry Co. Limerick which provides us with garden to fork produce all year round.”
I was always going to have the Sticky Toffee Christmas Pudding and it hit the spot. Sweet, of course, yet lighter than anticipated. Our other dessert, the Hot Toddy Crème Brûlée, got the better of us and was not quite polished off, close though. Nothing wrong with it at all, very tasty, just a little too much after being so well fed through the other two courses.
PRESS RELEASE
BALLYMALOE FOODS COLLABORATE WITH MÓR IRISH GIN ON LIMITED EDITION CHRISTMAS SAUCE
Ballymaloe Cranberry and Mór Wild Berry Gin Sauce will be stocked in hundreds of supermarkets around the country including Tesco, Dunnes and SuperValu.
Maxine Hyde, General Manager of Ballymaloe Foods says, “We love collaborating with different Irish producers and we felt there was a good synergy with Mór Irish Gin. They were very keen to do a collaboration with an established Irish food brand and when we tested their Wild Berry Gin with our cranberry sauce the flavour was great. We always aim to bring something new to our consumers at Christmas and feel that limited edition sauces work well and were delighted to be able to work with Mór on this.”
During 2021, Ballymaloe Foods worked with Esquires Coffee, CoqBull restaurants in Cork and Limerick, Cornstore Restaurant and Toasted. It began working with two Northern Ireland based businesses, collaborating with Toast Office in Belfast as well as Blend and Batch in Banbridge.
Ballymaloe Foods has also teamed up with meal delivery service Drop Chef. Ballymaloe Fiery Relish is now included in the pre-portioned ingredients for several recipes like Steak Tacos and Shakshuka.
Dining Now Guide. This Week's Choices In Cork
(Contact me before 1.00pm Wed with a sentence or two, a pic and a link to menu)
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| Glass Curtain menu below contact: http://Theglasscurtain.ie/ |
MOTHERS DAY 
CORK www.cornstorecork.ie for CLICK & COLLECT CALL 
& COLLECT 021-4274777 opening times Thursday 4-8pm, Friday 2-8pm, Saturday 11-8pm and Sunday 1-7pm. ORDER at the DOOR
Comes with FREE ‘Always Cork’ tote bag (while stocks last).
The Oyster Festival may be over - and we did visit the Cornstore as one of the stops on the previous Saturday’s Gourmet Trail - but there is no shortage of oysters around. And they have quite a variation here with their Hot Grilled Buffalo Oysters, an unusual twist on the classic Buffalo wings that, with ginger beer pickled samphire, gives the molluscs a spicy lift!
CL loves her fish. As this is another speciality of the house, it was with confidence that she ordered the Baked salmon with grilled prawns with Fondant potato, tender stem broccoli, samphire and blood orange hollandaise. And that confidence was well placed indeed and well rewarded too.
