The Barn: Changes, yes, but still a Comfort Zone

The Barn: Changes, yes, but still a Comfort Zone

comfort

While your eggs won’t be cooked in the compost here, as they do in another barn (Blue Hill, Stone Barns NY), there is much to be said for tradition and traditional recipes. Take the burger at The Barn, between Mayfield and Glanmire, for instance.

Burgers joints have been popping up all over the Irish food place in recent years, all trying to out-do each other with outrageous combinations of ingredients. Mostly though, it has to do with size: double deckers, stacks. More about quantity than quality. More waste; less taste.

Burger

No double decker here. No song and dance about the Barn burger. And I was a few bites into it before I realised that this was one of the best burgers I’ve had in quite a while. 

The Prime Beef Burger on a Brioche Bun came with excellent cheese, delicious mushrooms and was served with chips, salad and Garlic Mayo. The beef was certainly prime and I have a preference for brioche buns (even one half is enough!). Superb. 

Now, having said all that, now that facilities have been further improved, just wonder would the Barn consider some innovation in the menu (including a mention of provenance), and wine, offering.

Melon and fruit starter

With our original venue failing to let the public know of a much later than publicised opening time and with us not wanting to wait around in the countryside for an hour, we were at a loose end until on the way back we spotted the Early Bird sign at The Barn.

And, yes they were doing that Early Bird menu, offering a 5-6.30 window, even though it was Saturday evening. So okay, we could have had a main course or more off the regular menu but had Early Bird on the brain and choose that, not quite realising we were committing ourselves to three courses (priced at €25.00). It worked out well enough though.

wings

Did you know The Barn has recently completed a long-running major renovation? The comfort element here, always high, has been enhanced. One of the other benefits it that you can now sit outside on sunny evenings and sip your aperitif. Indeed, dine out there too, depending on the thermometer, of course.

We were inside as we started. Nothing overly exciting on the short list but my BBQ Marinated Chicken Wings, with Garlic Mayo and Salad was well up to scratch, very enjoyable and the provided bowl and wipe (sometimes, incredibly, you have to ask for these) came in handy. 

Hake

No mess for CL as she enjoyed her Melon and Fruit Platter with Passion fruit reduction and fruit coulis, a nice light appetiser, a regular here and seldom seen anywhere else.

She continued with their Fish and Chips which consisted of Hake, lightly battered with their crispy batter, served with mushy peas, lemon tartare sauce and chips. The hake was top notch, the batter nice and thin (no big empty air bubbles) and the sauce outstanding. Happy out.

Apple pie

The choice of dessert was from the Daily List, not from their famous trolley. No superlatives here. I had been disappointed with their regular Jam and Cream Mille Feuilles a few months ago so gave that a skip in favour of Dessert of the Day: a large chunk of coffee and walnut cake with a dollop of cream. Not bad at all. Particularly loved the creamy coffee bits. 

cake

And CL noted that the Freshly Baked Apple Pie, little chunks of apple this time, was markedly better than the one (more of a paste) she had here a few months ago.  

A couple of anonymous wines (one red, one white) brought the bill for two to sixty two euro. But reasonably happy overall with the food, the service and the place itself.

al fresco

Lunch at Rugby Legend’s Killaloe Restaurant

Lunch at Rugby Legend’s Killaloe Restaurant

Keith Wood's Up and Running at Home Venue

Chicken Burger

When up the country, and what a country it is, we often ignore the straight way home to Cork. Never know what you’ll find on a detour. 

Although, to be frank, when we left Galway and headed for Cork via Killaloe, we had a good idea of what we’d find on the delightful Shannonside. Call to Wood and Bell, we had been told, the restaurant opened last November on Main Street, Killaloe, by local and Irish rugby legend Keith Wood and business partner Malcom Bell.

We had been to Killaloe previously. It, and Ballina across the bridge in Tipperary, are beautifully located by the Shannon, just below Lough Derg. From Scarrif down, we were close to the lake and stopped at one spot nearer to Killaloe, where dozens of families were enjoying the sun both in the cool water (well, I presume it was cool!) and on the grassy banks.

Soon we were in the little town and looking for Wood and Bell. It is easily found, on main street, and we were lucky enough to get parking just outside. We were welcomed in and seated by the window with the menus at hand.

Lunch is served Wednesday to Friday between 12 noon and 3.00pm and you have a pretty good choice: salads, sandwiches, wraps, meatballs,  Nachos, scampi, burgers. Soup and chowder too but maybe a bit too hot for that particular day!

I go for the Crispy Buttermilk Chicken, Roast Garlic Aioli, salad leaves, tomatoes and crispy onions and fries of course. And I get quite a surprise when a burger arrives at the table. But that’s where I find my chicken - pity they didn’t say that on the menu. In any case, I get stuck in and enjoy every little bite.

No mistaken identity though with OBC’s choice: Open Wrap with Roast Mediterranean vegetables, mozzarella, pesto, rocket and olives. Quite a lovely dish, really full of flavour.

Wood and Bell has the advantage of having their own walled garden nearby, overlooking Lough Derg and the River Shannon. The garden, cared for by Wood and his wife Nicola, now produces much of the fruit, vegetables and herbs for the kitchens.

They do a Kids Menu here also and desserts. You can also get wine and bottled beer here (including some craft). We enjoy an non-alcoholic beverage on this occasion, one with a sporting connection. The VitHit range comes in a number of flavours, in 500ml bottles and is reasonably priced. We had the Lean and Green Apple and Elderflower one. Quite a treat!

By the way, they have a spacious and impressive room upstairs where you can enjoy dinner. Check the website for all the details.

After the meal, we headed down and over the bridge to Ballina. There was a cruise just about to set off for the lake. We were tempted but, as we had been on the boat on the Corrib the day before, gave it a skip, promising we’d be back to this lovely place, another gorgeous corner of the Hidden Ireland.

Wood and Bell 

Main Street,

Killaloe,

Co. Clare, V94 AK57

info@woodandbell.com

+353 61 517480

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.  

Classy Burger at Greene’s

Classy Burger at Greene’s

Not a regular burger man but all that could change after polishing off a tremendous one at Greene’s Restaurant in McCurtain Street. Called in there one wet lunch-hour last week and got a gorgeous surprise when welcomed by Sylvia. We were there to try the bar food, which they serve from noon ‘til five. Knowing the work of Fred, the chef here, we expected it to be good. Sylvia confirmed that and then of course the meal itself was proof positive.

Our waitress soon brought us the menu which has a soup, the Burger, a Pasta dish and a number of baguette sandwich choices, not to mention one or two desserts. Enough to be going on with. We each picked the Soup of the Day (Potato and Leek) and the Burger.

Started with the soup and then came the Burger, my second of the week. The first was a mini version at the launch of Fresco Bistro. And what they had in common was top quality meat. The Greene’s one was served with a Jalapeno relish, smoked cheddar cheese and duck fat fries.

The melted cheese added to the experience as did the excellent relish, neither as red nor as sharp as some others, and the fries. Quite a lot of eating here and great value at a tenner. Oh, forgot to mention the bap. I usually leave at least half but this was so tasty in its own right that barely a crumb survived.

Quite possibly the best burger I’ve tasted and glad to have had a glass of the quality house wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon, to accompany it. Excellent service too and comfortable seats in the bar area all helped.