CORK COASTAL FOOD TRAIL

Photos: Millennium Hall (right) and Clarion Hotel (below)

CORK FOOD TRAIL

Now that Cork has been included on the Lonely Planet’s and Yahoo China’s top ten cities for 2010, I decided to get in before the crowds.


The Millennium Hall (pictured) was my destination last Saturday. It is the lesser known of the two halls within the Cork City Hall complex, all of us more familiar with the big Concert Hall. The new Millennium is about quarter of the size of its neighbour and can take 340 Standing/Reception or 200/250 Seated.

Both were busy last weekend. There was a big festival in the Concert Hall while the Millennium hosted the Re-Discover Cork tourism showcase. I paid a visit there, along with many others, to see the many attractions in the city and county ranging from the town of Youghal in the East to Castletownbere in the West.

Picked up a bagful of leaflets and brochures and a few money-off offers here and there and, as a direct result, am off to Youghal next weekend to sample the culinary expertise available at the famous Aherne’s Restaurant.

Aherne's is one of the places mentioned in a very handy brochure that I picked up on Saturday: Cork's Coastal Food Trails. It is an attractive booklet and manages to mention quite a few, though by no means all, of the eateries along the extensive Cork coast. It is a Failte Ireland publication and available form their Office in Aras Failte, Grand Parade, Cork or check out the website at www.discoverireland.ie/Cork

SPELT OUT

SPELT SPELLED OUT!

Sometimes groups of specialists, including foodies, use buzz words and expect everyone else to know what they mean. Spelt is one I’ve come across recently. What is is?

Found it well explained at Cathy's Spelt for Health 

“It is a member of the same grain family as oats and wheat but is a different species. Spelt breads are low in gluten, high in protein and are easily digested which makes them a very good option for people who are wheat intolerant.”

Now you know and, if you want to see the real thing then, if you are around Cork on Friday 12 of March, call in to Nash 19 and meet Cathy who supplies them with her fantastic Spelt for Health Mix. She will be in the Food Shop from 11 am to tell more about her products and to give out samples of her bread and flap jacks.

Cobh Farmers Market

COBH FARMERS MARKET

The Cobh Farmers Market (held in and around the Heritage Centre in picture) was a big let-down for me today with just a handful of stalls opening up, about six in all. It is supposed to be very good in the summer – looks like I’ll have to wait and see. In any event, won't be in a hurry down again.

Got some roughly filleted fish from a basic stall up the town.

The harbour town looked very well indeed and the walk along the West Beach area was very enjoyable.

Check out my review of Cobh Farmers Market - I am cork - on Qype

Bierhaus in Cork

BIERHAUS
Looking for a new beer experience? Then you could do worse than consider the Bierhaus on Pope’s Quay as your first stop.

They say, and it certainly looks like when you sit in the bar and look at the many boards and notices around the place, that they have over 70 beers from home and abroad to choose from, including Krombacher, Galway Hooker, O’Hara’s Stout, Rebel Red and Hoegaarden and also a special guest draft beer each month.

I was there last evening and went for a Czech lager called Staropramen (Star of Spring), brewed in Prague since 1871 and exported to dozens of countries. Enjoyed my full bodied pleasant pint, even though the bar was quite cold.

Oh, by the way, if you are not into trying out new beers and you are dragged along by your buddies, don’t worry as the Bierhaus does carry local favourites such as Murphy, Guinness and Heineken.

Check out my review of Bierhaus - I am cork - on Qype

HARDWOOD

HARDWOOD


Hard times? Let Hardwood come to the rescue. Every Tuesday and Wednesday evening, the Pope’s Quay venue is offering you a three course meal for just €20.00.

Called there last night and was well pleased. Started with Steamed Castletownbere Mussels, served with a generous Burgundy Roast Garlic Tomato “soup” and good brown bread.

Then to the main course. One was Braised Rustic Pork Hock, slow cooked pork shank served with rustic roast potato and onion with white wine steamed cabbage. The other was Cod with Pak Choi, Rice Balls with feta and a mango reduction. Both were different and each was gorgeous. Quite impressive.

The third course was a scoop of ice-cream and that is exactly what we got. Nothing special but a nicely flavoured scoop that went down well.

Overall, a fine meal for the price and one that would give you confidence that the skills are there to deliver on their a la carte from Thursday through Sunday. Service was friendly and efficient.

Just Food in Cork

JUST FOOD

Have been trying out some of the Just Food organic range recently.

They do a large range of soups, everything from Mushroom to Moroccan Chickpea and much in between, including Vegetable and Peanut, one of my favourites (not that I’ve tried them all yet).

They do Organic Pasta Sauces. But don’t just stick to the pastas. These sauces, just like the soups, are versatile and may be used in many ways. For instance, I used the Ratatouille with Cod to make a smashing dinner dish. 

The Cobh based company also do Hummus, Salads, Pestos and other items (including Muesli and Chicken Liver Pate).

Kevin and Deirdre Hilliard are the couple behind the small outfit, now based in the old Verolme Dockyard (Rushbrooke), and she was happy with the business when I met her last week.

Speaking of 2009, Deirdre (right in group photo) said that their sales were up: “Our existing shops kept their end up while our new outlets contributed to a rise overall. People are now eating in more often and are on the lookout for something different such as our soups, which can also be used as sauces.”

“In any event, organic customers are resilient, especially with regard to small ticket items. Besides, organic items are not always more expensive. Our soups for instance are cheaper per kilo than many of our non organic counterparts. Our marketing and packaging is honest. We don't give you a big packet with less content. Indeed, we use see-through containers.”

Last winter was really good for sales and the trend continues, the soups doing very well in January and February, perhaps because of the long cold spell. No wonder, Just Foods is looking forward to yet another good year.

All in all, it means that the outfit has come a long way since it was a “hobby” for the Hilliards as they sold their produce from the corner of a shared stand in Midleton Market. They have been in Rushbrooke for the past two and a half years and now employ eight people.

Deirdre is looking forward to the next big challenge: supplying a recently secured contract for six of the Dunnes Stores shops in the Cork area.

That contract is but the latest recognition for the Hilliards. Last year (2009), they repeated the feat of the previous year when winning five medals at the Blas na hEireann Food Awards in Dingle. 


Their Muesli and Cucumber Pickle were among the gold winners as was the Spicy Lentil Soup (getting it for the second year in a row). They are also happy with the good things said about them in the Bridgestone Food Guide (2010).

But even though they are doing well, Deirdre knows that you can't take anything for granted. Once, in the 60s and 70s, large newly built ships were “slipped” down to the river right where we stood talking. Hundreds were employed in that long defunct dockyard.

 “There is a lot of history in this place,” she says. Just Food is a firm with a promising future, making its own little bit of history. So far. So very good.

MID-WEEK UPDATES

 Twebt Mystery Bottle

Have you got your hands on the mystery bottle for the Twitter wine event (#twebt) on Sunday March 7^th? 

Time is running out if you want it delivered to your house for the fun event which apparently trended in Ireland last month; 12 noon tomorrow Wednesday is deadline for ordering by post. All the details are at here while the wine (€19.00, inc. delivery) can only be ordered from Karwigs

Cafe Gusto are introducing BYO (Bring your own bottle) to allow you to accompany their delicious range of mezze, antipasti and tapas dishes.

Sister establishment, the Liberty Grill, has announced a bunch of specials for March. You’ve got stateside specials like Sweet Potato Gumbo and the one I’ll be looking out for is the Dromoland Estate Rabbit with Napa Valley garnish (cooked in Zinfandel red wine). 

The Natural Foods Bakery in Cork

NATURAL FOODS BAKERY

The Blackrock based Natural Foods Bakery also has a cafe in Paul Street. They produce and serve handmade breads, luxury cakes, gourmet sandwiches and speciality foods (wheat free, gluten free etc.). The café also serves coffee and tea.

Cakes include a gluten free Chocolate one, a Cherry Bun and a zesty Lemon Cake. All very tempting but the one I picked recently at their market stall was a slice of Date Cake with dates, sunflower seeds and a touch of ginger. Must say it was very tasty indeed (I do like my dates) but is heavy enough and the slice was more than sufficient.

Definitely worth a look of you are passing Paul Street or the other locations

Check out my review of The Natural Foods Bakery - I am cork - on Qype

COAL QUAY MARKET (in new location)

COAL QUAY MARKET

For most of 2010, you’ll find the Saturday Coal Quay market at a new temporary location in Emmett Place, alongside the Opera House.

Here you will see your usual favourites such as O’Driscoll’s Fish (but be quick, they were sold out by noon yesterday), The Natural Foods Bakery and quite a few other food outlets as well as stalls selling shoes and boots and clothing and so on.

The Cornmarket Street area is being renovated, hence the move to Emmett Place. The new location is also very central and also quite spacious.

LIBERTY GRILL

LIBERTY GRILL

When you walk into the Liberty Grill, you are struck by the happy buzz. It is full again this Friday evening (we started at 6.45pm), all enjoying the good food, well cooked, well presented and served by a smashing staff.

A share of people are dining en famille. Don’t come across it much around town. The well behaved kids are well catered for here; they even get their food ahead of the adults.

Are you to limited to burgers and chips here? No. Far from it. There is a huge menu in this early 'til late venue. Burgers for sure, all made from the best local produce. Then there are tempting salads, fish, poultry, lamb and beef along with vegetarian dishes. Something for everyone.

Started with a Southern Fried Chicken salad: slices of southern fried chicken on a bed of

seasonal leaves with Jalapeño peppers, toasted cashews and tomato salsa. The advisor enjoyed the Deep Fried Cambozola (Italian cheese) with a cranberry coulis. Mine cost €7.95, hers €4.95. Promising start.

 My main dish was the Tennessee Flambé (17.95). This consisted of tender medallions of the very best beef, peppered and flambéed in a shot of Jack Daniels and served with mushrooms, sweet balsamic onions and crispy garlic potatoes. This was absolutely brilliant, couldn't recommend it highly enough.

The other main course at the table was a Salad Niçoise (14.95), a truly healthy and tasty mix of line caught yellow fin tuna, potatoes, hardboiled eggs, olives, French beans and seasonal salad leaves. This was quite a substantial dish and lived up to the description.

 There is an adequate selection of wines available, most between twenty and thirty euro, though the house wine costs just €17.25 (4.65 per glass). There was also a Wine of the Month available at 5.25 a glass. I enjoyed my Montemartel Cotes du Rhone (Syrah, Grenache and Carignan) very much.

 But the white, a Claire Moreau Muscadet Sur Lie, was a really gripping drink and you needed only the tiniest drop to become aware of the quality. Both wines are available at the Wine Buff, just across the road. You also have a number of sparkling wines available and a popular feature is the non-alcoholic Mocktail, a favourite with kids and adults alike.

Overall, the choice and the value are fantastic (through breakfast, brunch, lunch and evening) and you really need to check out the website http://www.libertygrillcork.com/ to get the picture. Even then, you won't see the bunch of seasonal dishes that are added every month.

Denis O’Mullane and Marianne Delaney own and operate the Liberty and also the nearly Cafe Gusto (another interesting venue for coffee and lighter bites).

We asked Denis how the name came about and what it signified in food terms.

 “It is actually a shortened version of our first shot which was ‘Liberty Belle Cafe and Grill’. After seeing the room with its large windows and dark furniture, we knew we were going to do an American East Coast Neighbourhood restaurant, where grilled foods make a rather large part of the menu.”

BL: Who are the key players?

Denis: “Our customers, staff and suppliers.  Our customers for their loyalty and critical honesty. Our staff who work extremely hard and who have the unenviable job of starting from scratch everyday to ensure most honest product possible without a lot of shortcuts. Finally our suppliers who have to listen to us moaning if the quality isn’t right.”

BL: You must be pleased with your Bridgestone listing? 

Denis:  To be honest I feel a little uneasy about professional reviews as Liberty Grill is a neighbourhood restaurant which can be found on every block in major cities in the US, with a very simple function to feed from dawn to dusk.  An eminent restaurateur on our street queried whether being a member of Good Food Ireland sets expectations which don’t marry with what we are doing, we are currently considering our position.

BL: What of the future?

Denis: Cork is actually buzzing on the food front with most restaurants doing pretty well. I think with a little more co-operative effort, we have an interesting couple of years ahead.

CURRENT FAVOURITES

UPDATE


Top five from recently visited restaurants in Cork:

Fenns Quay, Nash 19, Bramley Lodge, Liberty Grill and Continental.

Next five:

Boardwalk, Boqueria, The Brick Oven, Rising Tide, Farm Gate (Cork).

You’d expect the Farm Gate to be in the top rank but it is too bloody cold up there these days. I don't fancy eating lunch, no matter how good, in my overcoat.

Twebt Mystery Bottle

Have you got your hands on the mystery bottle for the Twitter wine event (#twebt) on Sunday March 7th? Time is running out if you want it delivered to your house for the fun event which apparently trended in Ireland last month. All the details are here while the wine (€19.00, inc. delivery) can only be ordered from Karwig Wines

CRAWFORD GALLERY CAFE

THE CRAWFORD GALLERY CAFE

The Crawford Cafe, in the art gallery of the same name, is a lovely place to visit, not least because of the friendly and helpful staff. With walls painted light blue and art works exhibited all around, the cafe is spacious and a great city centre spot to meet someone.

The menu is quite inviting with excellent lunchtime mains courses and plenty of drinks from water to apple juice to wine available also. The prices range from about ten to fourteen euro.

With a dinner date on the agenda for the night, I didn't need that much when I called at lunchtime today. Got myself the most beautiful tomato soup (€5.50) in a big bowl and that coupled with two lovely slices of brown bread was a decent filler.

Thought I’d finish off with a coffee (2.40) but then spotted some cakes and went for a chocolate and orange shortbread (pictured), recommended by the manager. Gorgeous, but will have to put the dinner back a bit.