Cistín Eile. Slí Eile

Cistín Eile. Slí Eile

Starters

Cistín in the title of this narrow-fronted restaurant in a narrow Wexford street hints at bacon and cabbage and beef galore. And that is confirmed when you study the menu. But here, the bacon and the beef, and much more besides, is done in a different and delightful way, slí eile. Here, in this narrow-in-space but broad-in-mind place, your top local produce is stamped with the Warren Gillen imprint.

That long narrow space, divided into three rooms, each just a step or two up from its neighbour, has tables dressed in various colourful materials, mainly muted shades. Service too is calm and attentive without ever being in your face. A time and a place to relax.

And relax with a local beer from Cleverman, an amber or a pale ale, a Smoked Turf stout or a smooth light lager. You can also choose from the White Gypsy large bottle range: American Style Pale Ale, Russian Style Imperial Stout or a German Style Doppelbock. A pretty good, if short, wine list, includes a contribution from one of the modern Wine Geese, Wexford’s own Pat Neville who farms in the Languedoc.

Cleverman beers

Menus, water and breads soon arrive at the table. And one of those breads is dark and delicious and is made with the Clever Man stout and black treacle. A good start!

And starters? You’ll have quite a choice from the new Autumn menu that started its run on the first of September. Some stout too in my choice: The Glazed Pork-belly Salad (with stout and spices, red cabbage, curry and buttermilk). This was a delightful dish, great colour, texture and flavour, a great use of the popular Pork-belly.

Goats cheese is always popular on Irish menus. Gillen uses Bluebell Falls from Newtownshandrum in North Cork. It appears on the menu as Fried Bluebell Goats Cheese (with beetroot slaw, pear and hazelnuts). And appears on the plate as a delightful invitation to come and get me. And soon disappears with sighs of appreciation for yet another well constructed, well balanced combination. Each of the two starters costs 9 euro but the average price is eight.

Mighty mains.

And the same high standard continues into the mains, where the Bacon and Cabbage (Cistín Eile style) appears. He gets his beef from Doyle’s, a nearby butchers. It is a favourite here and Slow-cooked (10 hours) Doyle’s beef (with onion fondue, champ, carrot, and peppered cream) was my choice (17.00). It had been strongly recommended by the folks at our lodgings in Killiane Castle and so I was glad to be able to go back and report that it was absolutely brilliant, as they knew!

Cistín Eile is well known too for its fish dishes, the fish coming fresh from nearby Kilmore Quay. There was a special (18.00) on and CL went for it: Lemon Sole (with choucroute, rocket, home-fries, broccoli, citrus and herb aioli). Well cooked, well presented.

There are six desserts on the new menu, priced between seven and eight euro. We decided to share and agreed on the Gingercake, spiced caramel, rum and raisin ice-cream, rhubarb and chamomile. The agreement nearly ended when it arrived!  Let’s say the cake vanished quickly. A lovely finalé to a lovely meal. Very Highly Recommended. Recommended too to book in advance. Wonder if we could persuade Warren to move to Cork?

Cistín Eile

80 South Main Street

Wexford

(053) 912 1616

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Warren-Gillens-Cist%C3%ADn-Eile-103065613076369/

Opening Hours

Mon-Tue: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Wed-Sat: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm. 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

See also:
The Hook Lighthouse. Ireland’s Ancient East
Johnstown Castle
The Archways. More than a B&B
24 Hours in Wexford Ancient Castle to Oldest Lighthouse
Mr Jeffares Blackcurrants

Smokehouse Sauce Bringing the Market together.

Smokehouse Sauce

Bringing the Market together.

In 24 Days in 24 Ways, Smokehouse Sauce is bringing the English Market together. Together on a plate, that is.

Smokehouse Sauce, fast emerging as a favourite across Munster, is the guest trader for six weeks at the start-up stall in Cork’s English Market. Emma Kelly of Smokehouse: “The English Market is iconic, a quality place to shop for quality. Traders here know their growers and suppliers. There is an honesty here, now so important as people become more aware of the importance of sourcing.”

So the mission for Smokehouse is 24 Ways in 24 Days. That means changing the dish daily and Chef Stephen of Elbow Lane is the man putting it all together on the plate. The sauce was the brainchild of owner Conrad Howard and his daughter and has been perfected in the Elbow Lane kitchen. It is  available across Munster Stores of Supervalu, in the Food Academy section, and also from independent butchers.

“It’s amazing to be here in the old heart of the city, to be collaborating with the English Market, promoting it and the traders,” enthuses Emma. A recent dish, the Ploughman’s Sandwich, with sauce of course, involved no less than four traders. Brown spelt bread from Hassett’s, Cheddar cheese from the Roughty Foodie, ham from the Chicken Inn, and salad from Superfruit, lunch for just four euro!

Before that, they featured Smoked Pork Empanadas, the pork supplied by Ken and Helen of the Meat Centre who have been trading here for 37 years. The package also included an apple and courgette salad and smokehouse sauce (of course!).

Tom Durcan's Spiced Beef, Hassett's Rye Bread,
Sauerkraut and Coolea Cheese from
On The Pig's Back

And the versatility of the sauce was again underlined with On The Pig's Back goats cheese bon bons, with pearl barley, pea sprout and beetroot leaf salad and Smokehouse Sauce dressing. Day Three was an interesting one:  Ham hock and scallion terrine (using meat from Bresnan's Butchers), with Smokehouse Sauce and homemade red cabbage slaw. And it’s not just meat. Cod from Kay O’Connell’s was used in delicious frittatas and enhanced with the sauce.

“There is a hard-to-match quality here in the market. We want to highlight that and support local at the same time, by combining traditional meats with modern flavours. The sauce itself is tomato based and may be used as a dip, a relish and as a marinade. It is extremely versatile. Use it with grilled, roast or cold meats, fish, cheese and vegetables.”

Aoife and Chris at the Smokehouse stall

So what is today’s dish? Check it out on their Facebook page by all means but do call in and try it out! And you must see their lively video celebrating the sauce and its arrival in the Market. Here's the link

For more on the Smokehouse Sauce, including recipes and stockists, check the website here.

Taste of the Week. Carrigaline Original Cheese

Taste of the Week

Carrigaline Original Cheese

Despite so many new Irish food products appearing on a regular basis, sometimes it's best to go back to the originals. I did just that recently when I picked up a wedge of the Original version of the Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese. This is a semi-hard cheese and is very bit as creamy and mild as ever, a local classic with delicious flavours and our Taste of the Week.

After the original, they developed other versions, including Smoked and a very popular Dillisk Seaweed. You may read all about the range here

“I love the smoked cheese”, declared Padraig O’Farrell during my last visit to Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese. “It is indigenous to Carrigaline. The milk is local, and the wood, old beech, is local. And we smoke it out the back.” And it is not only Padraig that likes it as the Smoked is an award winner.

The Carrigaline story began close to thirty years ago when Ann and Pat, Padraig’s parents, first produced their semi-hard cow’s milk cheese from their own herd, after Pat had undertaken a six month cheese course at UCC.

Carrigaline Cheese is widely available in small shops and big. See the full list of stockists here

Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese

The Rock.

Carrigaline

County Cork

Tel: +353 21 437 2856

Website: http://carrigalinecheese.com/

A Premium Sherry. Follow My Apostoles

A Premium Sherry

Follow My Apostoles

Apostoles Palo Cortado V.O.R.S., 20% abv, González Byass (Jerez), c €23.95 (37.5cl) in Bradley’s, Cork.

This is an amazing sherry, a serious one, yet a wine to have fun with. Try it with your favourite paté. In the English Market I picked up some delicious Chicken Liver Paté, the brandy and garlic version, from On the Pig’s Back. This proved to be a superb pairing.

I was a little worried about complicating it further but couldn't resist adding a taste of Harty’s Cumberland & Port Jelly to the pair. Now, I had a triple to relish. Not quite a ménage à trois, but sexy! Cheese and red meats are also recommended as partners for the sherry.

The dark amber liquid is complex, full of aromas and flavours of concentrated fruit, soft on the palate and so concentrated that a sip goes a long way. Savour it for a while, the hints of sweetness, explore the tangy notes, the salty notes and then enjoy that very long smooth finish. Smooth from start to finish in fact.

This Very Highly Recommended wine has been a long time in the making, thirty years no less. I’ll let the winemakers tell the story of this blend of Palomino (87%) and Pedro Ximenez (13%): As soon as the Palomino grapes reach the winery they are gently pressed using pneumatic presses without crushing the stems, seeds or skins. This must from the first light pressing is called ‘yema’ and is the most elegant and delicate must. The Pedro Ximenez grapes are lightly pressed separately. After fermentation in stainless steel tanks and classification, the Palomino wine is fortified to 18%, the PX to 15.5%.

The wines then enter their own separate Soleras of American oak barrels to begin their aging in contact with the air. After an average of twelve years, the wines are blended and enter the Apostoles Solera where they will remain for a further 18 years following the traditional Solera system.

To find out more about sherry, about Palo Cortado and this bottle in particular, please visit the González Byass website.

On Whiskey Trail in Mayo. Visit to the Connacht Distillery

On Whiskey Trail in Mayo

Visit to the new Connacht Distillery

Connacht Distillery

Last weekend, after a drive from Donegal, we made it just  in time to take the 12.30pm tour of the new Connacht Distillery in Ballina, County Mayo. What else would you be doing on a Sunday morning!

Aside from a spanking new distillery, you need water, barley and yeast to make whiskey. Connacht get their water, clean water, from Lough Conn and Lough Cullen. Lots of iron and calcium in the water so it has to be demineralised before being used in the distilling process.

The malted barley, having come through the milling stage, meets up with the warmed water in the boiler tank. This liquid-y mix is called the mash and is put into the mash tun, another tank.  The sugar, from the barley, dissolves and is drawn off through the bottom of the mash tun. The resulting liquid is called 'wort'. Lautering is the next process, in the third tank (the Lauter tun), and here the mash is separated into the clear liquid wort and the residual grain.

Now we are on to the three wash vats, all stainless steel. Here, the yeast is added and begins to act on the sugar in the wort, turning it into alcohol over a period of two to four days. This wash is low in alcohol, much the same as that of wine.

Our guide now enthusiastically points to their three gleaming stills, which were made in Victoria, Canada. They have different necks which influence character and texture etc. The first tank is called Wash; the alcohol evaporates up the neck and leaves this tank at about 20% abv.

On then to the Feint tank where the process is repeated and the alcohol increases, this time to about 35%. The final, the third, tank is called the Spirit. Irish whiskeys are traditionally triple distilled. When the Spirit has done its work, the liquid, still clear (no colour) has an abv of about 70%!

Ballina last Sunday (28.08.16)

You’ve heard of flying winemakers. Well Connacht’s distiller Rob runs two distilleries in Pennsylvania and flies over regularly to Ballina. He also sources the oak casks which are charred and impart flavour and colour and in which the Connacht whiskey will be matured. The casks are made in Kentucky and are ex-Bourbon. All bottling is done here, all by hand.

Like many new distilleries, Connacht makes some white spirits to get the cash flow going while waiting the mandatory three years (and a day) for the whiskey. They are planning their gin and there will be some interesting botanicals included! The Poitin was due to be bottled the day after our visit but we did get a taste of their smooth Straw Boys Vodka. This wheat based drink is good and smooth, with a hint of  pepper in the aftertaste. The Straw Boys are a Mayo tradition, a sign of luck if they turn up at your wedding. “They are all about fun and getting the party going!”.

You will have to wait until 2019 to taste their own whiskey but in the meantime, they have been putting their own finish to a bought-in whiskey. It is called Spade and Bushel (after the tools of the trade) and is light amber in colour, smooth and sweet, hints of caramel and a “great after dinner drink”. No bother agreeing with that. Be careful with it though. One thing that sets this apart is that it is a cask strength whisky with an abv of 57.5%! It comes in a 37.5cl bottle.

The Straw Boys love a party

 When their own whiskey comes on the market, it will feature a rather special logo, a Celtic Dragon with a bunch of corn stalks in his claw.

There is another distillery starting up in Mayo, the Nephin, named after the county’s famous mountain. This is different. They are creating peated single malts made in a small Mayo village using locally grown barley, locally cut turf and triple distilled in traditional copper pot stills, then matured in unique casks handcrafted in their own cooperage. Must call there the next time!

My base for the night was the Grand National Hotel Ballina. They have a rather large bar and I was disappointed, considering the amount of breweries around the county, that they had no craft beer. Luckily, I spotted a Jameson Whiskey menu on the counter and spent an enjoyable hour or two sampling.

The new Connacht distillery. A new Greenway, from Ballina to Killala, starts alongside it.

The favourite was the Powers John's Lane Release at €9.00 a glass. The drop of water, the only other thing needed, was free! There is an abundance of aromas - don't stick your nose into the glass - just hover above it; it is full bodied, spicy and sweet and has a lingering finish. Think this is my new number one!

And if I can't get it, I’ll go for the Yellow Spot 12 Years Old, another single pot still whiskey, another smooth sweet customer at €9.50 a glass. It is complete from start to long finish with a distinctive sweetness at all stages. Sophisticated and complex they say. And it sure is. Reckon the Mayo distillery, indeed all new distilleries, have a fight on their hands. Perhaps, the best way to go about it is to avoid the direct collision and find your own niche.

Great for us customers though to have the choice!

Beers from the local Reel Deal

Aside from pulling a blank in the Ballina Hotel, craft beers, especially in bottle, were easy enough to find during this quick trip to Donegal Town and Ballina. Kinnegar Brewing and Donegal Brewing were available in The Harbour Restaurant in Quay Street in Donegal. And beers from the same two breweries were enjoyed over in the Village Tavern in Mountcharles. Last call in Donegal was the Olde Castle where the restaurant were offering their own beer called, appropriately, Red Hugh, and brewed in the county.

Ballina had started well enough with a couple of decent beers, the Irish Blonde amber ale and the General Humber French fusion ale, both by Mayo’s Reel Deel and both available in bottle in the upstairs restaurant of the lively Bar Square in Garden Street. And then came the blank in the hotel. The joys of researching. Still the whiskeys were a considerable consolation!

Killala, known to M. Humbert

Amuse Bouche

I was just doing my job, the same as the male soigneurs.

The fact was, I was terrified of missing handing an exhausted rider his feed bag. Those lads have suffered enough already. Often I'd have fight my way through crowds of fans too. Belgian fans were especially bad, running like hell from one point of a race to another, not leaving room for staff. In winter races I'd time my arrival at the zone to the last minute, so that the heavily syruped tea we’d made would still be warm enough to heat frozen hands.

From The Race To Truth by Emma O’Reilly (2014). Highly Recommended

Supporting Local. The Pantry, Kinsale

Supporting Local.
The Pantry, Kinsale

 The August sun is shining as we arrive in Kinsale, looking for lunch. The outside tables are full at the bistro across the road from St Multose Church. Doesn’t look good for a place inside. But there are a few and soon we are seated in the busy Pantry and studying the menu at the table and checking the specials on the board over the open kitchen where the crew are working hard.

Hadn't been here before but had heard good things about it from one of the natives. And she was right. We enjoyed a superb lunch here, terrific food and a lively efficient staff. Besides, they use a lot of local produce. Here are a few examples: eggs from the happy free range hens of Beechwood Farm; fresh fish from Jimbo O’Keeffe; Lordan’s of Ballinspittle supply the meat; while the coffee comes from the Badger & Dodo Roastery.

Lots of salads, sandwiches and a tempting quiche special available but we go for the substantial stuff. Quite how substantial, I was about to find out when my Boeuf Bourguignon arrived. “I could be a while,” I said to my server who promised that every piece was delicious. She too was right.

I should perhaps have read the description more closely and then wouldn't have been that surprised by the big piece that appeared in my bowl. I was expecting it in a bowl but not this much, not this good. Full description: 12 hour slow-roasted short rib of beef in a smoked bacon & red wine jus, served with creamed mashed potato, glazed carrots & asparagus. Very enjoyable. All that was left was the bone!

 CL’s pick was also a winner. Her Moroccan style salmon, consisting of Harissa seared Atlantic Salmon, served with a warm couscous salad of baby spinach, roasted red pepper, basil, baby peas, mozzarella cheese & finished with a chive crème fraiche, was absolutely gorgeous.

So two very happy customers after the mains. What about dessert? Well, a time to share a large caramel square, quite a class one too, and sip our coffees, mine a well crafted Flat white, hers a concentrated espresso.

We had started here with a couple of cups of soup, her's a Butternut Squash (with Chilli Coconut), mine a  chowder, both excellent. You have a choice of a cup or a slightly more expensive bowl. Be warned, it is a big cup! So we paid up and bought a nice loaf of their brown bread (we had enjoyed a slice with the soup) on the way out to see that late August sun still shining down on the seaside town.

It was getting on now for two o’clock but The Pantry was still buzzing, departing customers being replaced immediately.

The Pantry

Guardwell, Kinsale, Co.Cork

Tel: +353 21 477 4453

email : thepantrykinsale@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Pantry-Kinsale-346474688786478/ Twitter @pantrykinsale

Hours: Tue-Sat: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sun: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Saturday is Cabernet Day. Two to enjoy!

Saturday is Cabernet Day

Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for nearly 65% of the vines planted in the Margaux appellation. “It gives wine structure, bouquet, and a potential to age.”

The related Cabernets, Franc and Sauvignon, celebrate their day this coming Saturday (September 3rd).

Cabernet Sauvignon is the most famous red wine grape. It is highly adaptable, will grow in different climates and soils. So expect good quality examples from many countries, especially from France (mainly Bordeaux), USA (California), Australia (below) and Chile (Cono Sur’s Silencio is a prime example, if an expensive one). Good Cabernet Sauvignon can pop in from anywhere, including from Craggy Range in New Zealand and Ernie Els in South Africa.

It is also a very well-known variety so its name on a bottle means that the customer has a familiarity with it and that gives the marketing people an immediate edge. No wonder it  sells well in so many countries.

But you still have to be careful. It is a high-yielding vine and that means producers can go for quantity over quality! So the words Cabernet Sauvignon on the label are not a guarantee of a good bottle. The two below though are good!

Cabernet Sauvignon originated in Bordeaux and is grown all around the region, invariably blended (though there is no universal formula for the mix). Regular blend partners are Merlot and Cabernet Franc and sometimes a little Petit Verdot is added.

DNA profiling (should we all get it done? Maybe not!) has confirmed Cabernet Franc is the daddy of Cabernet Sauvignon and that Sauvignon Blanc is the mammy.

Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Victoria (AUS), 13.5%, €18.25 Wines Direct

For decades now, Australian has been associated with top class Cabernet Sauvignon. Margaret River in the west has outstanding examples. Our excellent example comes from the east, from the Nagambie Lakes region of central Victoria, one of the nation’s premier viticultural areas. Since 2012, Tahbilk Winery has been certified Carbon Neutral.

Nothing neutral about this violet beauty though. Blackcurrants, and some spice, feature in the pleasant aromas. Some serious flavours on a well rounded palate, tannins are fine and the finish is good. A excellent example indeed and Very Highly Recommended.

Lalaurie T’Wines Cabernet Sauvignon - Syrah, Pays d’Oc (IGT), 2015, 13.5%, €11.75 Wines Direct

Once upon a time, according to Grapes and Wine (2015), the classic Bordeaux blend included Syrah. This blend is very popular nowadays in Australia but the one we’ve got comes from much nearer home, from the Languedoc.

Bit wary of these funny wine names, this one coming because the two leading women in the winery are twins (and one is a marketing expert!). But I needn’t have worried. This is a very engaging wine and good value to boot.

It has a bright ruby colour and the aromas are mainly of blackcurrant. It is very approachable, medium bodied, well balanced between fruit and acidity, minimum tannin presence. Not the longest but a decent finish nonetheless. Easy drinking and easy to Recommend!