The Silk Purse in Cork

THE SILK PURSE

At the Silk Purse last night. Ate some great food and met some nice people.

The people bit started with the phone call to make the reservation. Roughly like this..

Me: “Table for two, seven this evening, please.”

Purse: “No problem. Will you be staying with us, having a few drinks?”

Me: “No, not to-night. We’ll be going as soon as we’re fed!”

Purse: “We’d love to have you but if we thought the table would be free, we could take a booking for nine or nine fifteen.”

Me: “No problem. Work away.”

Isn’t that a much more pleasant way of putting it than the fairly usual sharp demand: “You’ll have to vacate the table by 8.30pm”. My usual response to that is: “No thanks. We’ll try another night.”

The Silk Purse website, http://themeatcentre.com/wordpress/?p=361 , gives a good indication of the place. Have a look at some of the vids, especially their St Patricks’ Day trip to their “twin” restaurant in Barcelona.

The cool laid back atmosphere was evident as we moved up the stairs to the first floor room. It takes about fifty and is very well lit by the string of large windows to the east and north. From my seat, I could see the City Hall, the Clarion Hotel block, the river in between and the “heights” of Montenotte in the distance. We were first in but it soon filled up to the limit.

After a friendly welcome, we were given the photo-copied menu. It was originally handwritten, squashed into the page with some quirky bits of shorthand e.g. cous² for couscous and humour e.g. “You wanna tortilla y salsa with your guacamole mister” include in the description of the peppered port beagle shark.

Had been expecting to see a big dash of Spanish or Catalan in it but there wasn't much and, in any case, the friendly men on duty were very helpful indeed. One or other would come to the table, maybe pull over a chair, and give you all the explanations you needed.

All the starters are €9.50 – it is quite expensive. My Lamb’s Liver Sautee with red lentils and porto was absolutely superb while my advisor was delighted with her Goat’s Cheese and Chard Tartlet with a beetroot sauce. These were fairly substantial, more or less equal to what you might get on a lunch plate in a cafe.

The waiter, with some pleasure, noted the empty plates and, swelled by the vote of confidence, marched off for the mains. There was no stopping us now.

I went for the Hanger Steak (€21.50), exceedingly flavoursome, the menu promised, with a puttanesca (Ladies of the night, I’m told) sauce and frites. Lots of meat, they said. And there was. And it was flavoursome. Great stuff.  And a very popular order at other tables.

The other mains was Silver Gurnard (€23.15), with organic greenery, ovened potato and a ramson (wild garlic) and sorrel crème. The gurnard is apparently plentiful around the Irish coast but the Silk Purse say you have to get to the markets early to get your hands on it. It is certainly worth it, a marvellous dish. Again the compliments flew: “The best fish dish I have ever had.” Amazingly, I have never seen gurnard on any other menu in Cork. Is the guy from the Purse buying it all up?

Other starters included: Red Mullet chilli-chilli, Fried haloumi, Revuelto de chorizo y pimentos, Kafkas, stir fried squid while mains included Peppered shark, spring lamb and potato gnocchi.

Desserts were rather limited though the chocolate cake we shared, which included elements of orange and rhubarb and truffle, and served with a little cream, was fine. The only other dessert was a cheese selection.

But the mains and starters are the stars here. You don't get a wine list as such but there are six or seven of both red and white on the blackboard. Some are cheaper but most are €7.50 a glass or €30.00 per bottle.  I had the New Zealand Paper Road Pinot Noir with my starter and the Diva Shiraz with the steak. Both were good but I did prefer the Pinot and it is a grape that I intend to follow. The advisor was very happy with the Pinot Grigio.

So happy all round then. May have been expensive but we had a lovely couple of hours and felt we got value for money. Oh yes, we were gone by nine, just! The Silk Purse is open three nights weekly (Thurs-Sat); otherwise their food is available in the Crúibín Bar downstairs where you may also enjoy some local beers, aside from the usual big brewery brands.

Check out my review of The Silk Purse - I am cork - on Qype

DINE IN CORK

Mark your calendar ‘Evening Echo Dine In Cork-Restaurant Week’ running from Friday the 30th of April to Sat the 8th of May

What’s On Offer In Restaurants?
Devised by the Restaurants Association of Ireland ‘Dine In Cork-Restaurant Week’ will see over 40 of the city’s top restaurants offering a special promotional rate of €25 per person for traditional three course dinner menus with tea and coffee – representing a 20% saving on traditional prices! From 7.00pm each evening customers will be presented with a three course special ‘Dine in Cork’ menu.

Get list of participating restuarants at http://www.dineincork.ie/ 

Iago Food Company in Cork

IAGO

Quick trip through the English Market this morning. Called to Iago and bought some Hegarty’s Cheddar and then on to the ABC, a regular stop, to get a seeded brown baguette. Lunch sorted!

Been a while since I called to Iago but entry from Oliver Plunkett Street made up my mind for me. The helpful assistant sliced the mature cheddar as ordered and then wrapped it nicely in the waxed paper.

If you get cheese there, don't throw that waxed paper, unless you know everything about cheese. They have loads of helpful info printed around the paper and it is certainly worth a read!
Iago:+353 21 4277047
Check out my review of Iago Food Company - I am cork - on Qype

Joys Jams (Inniscarra)

JOY’S JAMS

Met Joy from Joy’s Jams at the Ballincollig Farmers Market recently. She makes quite a range of jams but it was the marmalade that I was interested in.

I was looking for what we used to call thick-cut and Joy told me that I was one “of the ten per cent”. She didn’t have any but offered me a nice looking Seville orange marmalade where the peel had been pulped along with the fruit.

I’m trying it out at the moment and it is very enjoyable indeed but the ten per cent are stubborn and I do prefer the product from Nash 19 that has much the same darkish colour but has loads of tasty peel all through.

So Nash 19 takes the honours with Joy’s Jam in second. Other recommended marmalades are Bramley Lodge and Follains.

Check out my review of Joys Jams - I am cork - on Qype

BARRY'S TEA

BARRY'S TEA COMPETITION

Barry’s Tea was founded over a hundred years ago. Now, in 2010, they crank up the health credentials with two new additions to its tea family, Pu-erh and South African Rooibos.  With Pu-erh rich in anitoxidants and South African Rooibos naturally caffeine-free these high quality teas are an exotic, healthy alternative to traditional blends.

To celebrate these new additions to the traditional family, we have a really nice Barry’s Tea Speciality gift box as a prize for our email quiz.

Pu-erh Tea

Made using the finest ingredients, Barry’s Pu-erh Tea, which has a very pronounced earthy aroma and taste, is blended from a variety of the tea plant Camellia Sinensis and takes its name from Pu'er county near Simao, Yunnan, China.  Rich in antioxidants, there has been a growing demand for Pu-erh in the Irish Market as it is widely recognised for its varied health benefits and is claimed to aid digestion and reduce blood cholesterol. Answering Ireland’s call with this new blend, Barry’s Tea has crafted it’s Pu-erh Tea to appeal specifically to Irish pallets.

South African Rooibos

Made from 100% Rooibos, a herb sourced in the Cederberg mountain region of South Africa,Rooibos literally translates to Red Bush, which it is also known as.  Being a herb Rooibos is naturally caffeine free howeverunlike most herbal teas Rooibos can be enjoyed with milk, similar to traditional black tea.  Naturally low in tannin, Barry’s Rooibos is a deliciously aromatic tea, the ideal alternative to Black Tea. 

Barry’s complete tea range includes:

Main Range: Gold Blend; Classic Blend; Original Blend and Decaf.

Fruit Infusions: Very Berry; Cranberry and Orange and Lemon Ginger

Herbal Infusions: Organic Peppermint; Organic Camomile;

Green Tea: Organic Green Tea; Lemongrass infused Green Tea and Jasmine infused Green Tea.

To find out more about Barry's Tea check out www.barrystea.ie or become a fan on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/barrystea

The Quiz

Barry’s Tea was founded in 1901.
Where was their first retail shop? (A) Patrick Street (B) Prince's Street (C) Bridge Street?

In the event of a tie, all correct entries will go into the hat and the winner will be drawn. Email your answer please to cork.billy@gmail.com before May 1^st.

Jameson Experience in Midleton

JAMESON EXPERIENCE 

Our guided tour to the Jameson Experience in Midleton started unusually – with a fire drill. It finished, as usual, with a tasting, and then the conversations started between the Germans, the Irish, the Americans, the French and the rest!

A drink of the popular Irish whiskey is included in your ticket but you can also volunteer, like I did, for the tasting. That consists of sampling three different whiskeys: Scotch, Jameson and American. At the end you get a certificate of competence if you guess the right answer, which is Jameson, of course! All good fun.

The Old Distillery in Midleton ceased production in 1975 after 150 years of production and the Jameson Experience was opened to the public in 1992. The tour takes you through the history and you see the world’s largest Pot Still, an impressive and still working 160 year old Water Wheel and the original distillery buildings.

After your tasting, you may linger in the bar, check the souvenir ship or have a meal at the Malt House Restaurant. All in all, quite an interesting tour but remember the fire drill is not guaranteed. By the way, production continues in the new distillery on an adjacent site.

Picture shows the still working 160 year old Water Wheel, more pics at Corkabout

Check out my review of Jameson Experience - I am cork - on Qype

Raymond's Restaurant in Midleton

RAYMOND’S

Raymond’s Restaurant, situated on the road into the well known Jameson Experience, was the venue for lunch today. Great reception from eh staff and, more importantly, we had a terrific meal.

Started off with a fine mushroom soup, the real thing, served with decent bread.

Main course (€14.50) was a combination of hake and an herbed John Dory, with a Lemon Hollandaise sauce. The fish was very well cooked indeed as were the accompanying vegetables, giving us a very pleasing top notch combination, which went down well with a glass of Sauvignon Chardonnay (€5.00).

We were out for the day, so dessert was ordered. I thoroughly enjoyed my date and butterscotch pudding and the seasonal fruit roulade was also excellent. Two cups of coffee finished off a lovely relaxed meal.
It was very well done indeed and I would have no hesitation in heading there for an evening meal.

http://www.raymonds.ie
021 4635235

Check out my review of Raymonds Restaurant - I am cork - on Qype

ON THE NET

IN THE NET

Slow Food West Cork is celebrating Granny’s Day at Hosford’s Garden Centre on Sunday April 25^th.  “We will be celebrating Grandmothers, their wisdom, their knowledge and of course their recipes. Come along to a day filled with fun, music and workshops. Ballinascarthy Bakers will bake fairy cakes and hopefully some soda bread, we also have lined up some amazing people to show us how to make homemade lemonade, chocolates and fudge. Children are more than welcome to get their little hands stuck in. Workshops will start at 1pm. “  More info here

Restaurants who will be taking part in the Dine in Cork event, starting April 30^th, are: The Rising Tide, The Cornstore, Greenes Restaurant, Jolas Restaurant Kinsale, Clancy's, Jacques, Isaacs Restaurant, Club Brasserie, Fenn's Quay, Boardwalk, Captains Table at the Flying Enterprise, Over the Moon in Skibbereen, Eleven West in Cobh, Cafe Mexicano, Eco Douglas, Jim Edwards Kinsale, Amicus Paul St, Amicus Douglas and Ambassador Cook St.

Seared Tuna Salad (9.95 /14.95) - A salad of Jersey royals, purple sprouting broccoli and young plum tomatoes in mint vinaigrette topped with seared line-caught yellow fin tuna is among the tempting dishes on the Liberty Grill new April menus.

Good luck to everyone involved in the Waterford Festival of Food this weekend, based in Dungarvan and West Waterford. Good Eating!

Blair’s Inn Beer garden now open for 2010, in anticipation of a wonderful summer ... we've surely earned one at this stage. See Video 

Interested in wine bloggers? Sour Grapes has published “The most comprehensive list of Irish wine blogs ever published, so far. “

Know your left from your right? We’re talking Bordeaux here, left bank and right bank. Curious Wines have an informative post right here 

Match food and wine. Check out what Karwig Wines have to say!

Like your desserts. Donal Skehan has posted Gizzi Erskine's Sticky Banoffee Pudding up on his blog

Augustine's in Cork

AUGUSTINE’S at the CLARION


Tempted by the reviews on the six course tasting menu at Augustine’s, now located in the Clarion Hotel (right of photo), we headed for Lapp’s Quay last evening.

In quantity, the six courses would probably equal that of your normal three course meal. But as regards quality, this was something else and worth the 25 euro even if the free glass of wine is no longer available.
Started off with the little glass of Spicy Tomato Consommé. This cold opener was served with some handmade breads, a delicious crispy brown along with a novel and very tasty tomato and fennel.

Next up was the fish course: a fillet of pan seared Sea Bass served with a Vegetable Escabeche. Cooked to
perfection, full of taste, generally gorgeous.

Then came a bowl with something white in the base. The waiter spotted the puzzlement and quickly said ‘just a second’ before filling the cavity with a Wild Mushroom and Truffle Soup. The something white, by the way, was Parmesan Crisp. Delightful.

Now for the Assiette (plate of pork). Well, it was actually a slate (like they use in Les Gourmandises) and on it were scattered rillette of pork and crackling, Confit pork, an apple membreo and parsnip purée. A smashing combination and more substantial that you’d think at first glance.

Then came the cheese course. Just one piece of cheese with a cooked plum. But that cheese was Bleu de Bresse, a pungent cows milk cheese from the same area where the famous AOC Poulet de Bresse comes from. Again, the cheese and the plum were brilliant together providing a few very tasty mouthfuls indeed. The only snag here is that not everyone would eat that type of cheese because of its patches of blue mould.

The finale was a selection of desserts. We had a beautiful Fruit Jelly and a lively Crème Brûlée. The only bum note of the evening was the Bread and Butter Pudding, mainly because of the introduction of chocolate which didn't work for us.

Wine was a sharp refreshing zesty Julio Buchon Sauvignon Blanc (Chile 2009), cost €25.00 per bottle. All in all, it was quite a meal, a very enjoyable experience, in no small measure due to the excellent service. Highly recommended.

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

twebt4 What???

Sunday April 25^th – 9.00pm is the date and the time for twebt4 to cork off. The Twitter wine event, a blind tasting, was started by a bunch of Cork enthusiasts but has spread throughout the land and O’Brien’s are the official supplier for the fun event on Sunday week.

You may buy the mystery bottle from their site  or in their shops in Beacon South Quarter, Donnybrook, Limerick and Galway or you can even contact them and buy it in one of their other shops! If you can't make the shops, the bottle will, as usual, be available to order and the delivery charge is just €4.00.

If you’re not familiar with twebt, you can read lots more about it on Brian Clayton's blog Brian was one of the original twebters: “We’ve been listening to your feedback, so this time it’ll be a white wine. I hope you can join us! We’re planning something special for this twebt, but it’s still a secret. Watch this space.” 

Tags: twebt, wine tasting

Fermoy Natural Cheese Company

FERMOY CHEESE
Met Frank from the Fermoy Natural Cheese Company at the Cork Good Food Week and meant to get around to their products before now. The small company is found in Strawhall, Fermoy and makes Raw Cows Milk Specialty Cheese. Frank and Gudrun Shinnick are members of Good Food Ireland and CAIS (Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers Association).

They make five different cheeses: Cais Dubh, Cais Rua, Saint Brigid, Saint Gall and Hibernian. Hibernian is not easy to find but the others can be bought at the farmers markets (at Mark Hosford's stalls) and at the Pig’s Back in the English Market. Nash 19 also use them in their restaurant.

And indeed it was Mairéad from Nash 19 that directed me over to the Pig’s Back where I bought a wedge of St Gall. This is a hard Swiss type cheese and was certainly a hit in our house and I immediately added it to my short list of favourites.

St Brigid didn't go down as well – let’s say we had a disagreement. It is a semi-hard smeared ripened cheese and, though described as mild, is somewhat more pungent than St Gall. I certainly didn't find it overpowering, or anywhere near it, and would love to have it on my plate at anytime. Still, if forced to make a choice I would go for the five and a half star St Gall.

The Gudruns are an award winning couple as they picked up a Gold Medal double in the 2008 World Cheese Awards. The cheese is made from the milk of their pedigree Friesians who graze in the fertile valley of the Blackwater.
Now for the Cais Dubh and the Cais Rua!

Check out my review of Fermoy Natural Cheese Company - I am cork - on Qype

THE GOOD FOOD SHOP

THE GOOD FOOD SHOP

The Good Food Shop is a regular call when I’m in the English Market. The stock and variety here is huge, everything from organic chocolate to smoked duck.

Today I was on the lookout for coffee and found a selection, both of type and sizes. In the end, I settled for  an organic Italian Roast and Ground with a promise of “dark, rich and gorgeous”. Cost of 227 gms of this Fairtrade (Equal Exchange) product was €4.94.

I’ve always found the staff here helpful and courteous and indeed knowledgeable, as one often has to request the location of a product in the narrow aisles of the shop. Today I found the coffee myself and the till service was friendly.

Funnily enough, I’ve never been able to find the Good Food Shop on the list of stalls on the market website at  http://www.corkenglishmarket.ie/   Checked again today, no change. Mystery!

The Bulman in Kinsale

THE BULMAN
Visited the Bulman in Kinsale (Summercove, near Charlesfort) for lunch yesterday (photo) and left a happy customer.

The harbourside bar, you park by the water, looked well in the sunshine yesterday. Still, just in case, a fire provided heat indoors where, unusually for Ireland, a large dog slept under a table as his minders dined.

The relatively new owners have give the place a revamp but the maritime theme is retained and now the restaurant upstairs is called Toddies and from there you have a fine view out over the harbour. The view downstairs is more restricted.

We ate downstairs in the bar and I went for the specials. Started with the Fennell Soup (€4.80). Accompanied by some nice bread, it was warm and well seasoned and very tasty indeed.

Then came a gorgeous little plateful: ham and smoked Gubbeen on ciabatta. Everything here was just perfect. The ham was the real deal and it and the tomatoes went very well with the delicious West Cork cheese and the whole thing was done to perfection. Cost €8.50.

Service was friendly and efficient. All in all, it was a lovely stop. If they can do the small things this well, then I’d have no qualms about driving down to Toddies for dinner some summer evening.
http://www.thebulman.com/
Telephone: +353 (0)21 4772131

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