RESTAURANTS AND FOOD

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

My Favourite Festival Returns for 2023: Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Street Carnival, a feast for foodies and fun for all.

A 2023 feast for foodies as

Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Street Carnival returns

Dancers Paul Hogan and Mae Kiely add some jazz to their step as they celebrate the return of the ‘Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Street Carnival 2023

Amazing summer day of food, live music, and activities for all the family!

West Cork’s renowned annual street carnival returns to Clonakilty on Saturday 17 June 2023 after a four-year break due to Covid restrictions.

Since its inception in 2016, the Clonakilty Street Carnival has seen huge crowds flock to the multi- award-winning sea-side town. The colourful main streets are transformed into a foodie haven of culinary delights, and first-class dining is catered for by local restaurants and an array of excellent artisan producers.

The Carnival is delighted to announce Irish Yogurts Clonakilty as their main sponsor again for this year’s event, an award-winning family-run company based in Clonakilty since 1994.

Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Managing Director at Irish Yogurts Clonakilty said; “We’re excited to be involved once again in supporting the wonderful Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Street Carnival. It’s a highly anticipated social event in the town’s diary, and we are absolutely thrilled it’s returning this year after being so sorely missed. It’s sure to be an exciting day out and we can’t wait for all the festivities to begin again.”

This year’s event will be officially opened by renowned chef Eunice Power, a regular on the RTE One Today Show where she hosts live cooking demonstrations of her delicious recipes in the studio. Eunice Power Catering is one of Ireland’s leading gourmet event caterers, offering first-class food made from scratch with the very best seasonal ingredients. As well, she owns an award-winning restaurant AndChips located in Dungarvan, Co Waterford.

Eunice Power said, “I am absolutely delighted and honoured to be opening the Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Street Carnival on Saturday 17th of June. This is such an important event for Clonakilty, where a spotlight will shine on all the wonderful local producers, chefs and businesses. I understand the commitment and hard work that communities put into these events, and I am looking forward to spending this wonderful day with the Clonakilty community."

The gastronomic day out promises a unique dining experience unlike any other! Rows of tables will line decorated streets to create Clonakilty’s longest dinner party, as thousands of diners get to feast on mouthwatering dishes from street food stalls by the town’s top restaurants, with meal tickets priced at €18 for adults and €7.50 for children.

Headline acts throughout the day will keep audiences dazzled with live music, activities, and dizzying carnival style antics. The popular Family Fun Zone will return with hosted activities and street entertainment including bouncy castles, giant games, face-painting, and an enclosed area to keep the smallies amused, as well as a sensory play area as part of Clonakilty’s continued commitment to being an autism friendly town.

Kevin O’Regan, an organiser of the Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Street Carnival said; “We’re excited to be back and we’re hugely grateful to all our contributors, sponsors, and volunteers. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to create such a magical and memorable experience for locals and visitors to the Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Street Carnival. Clonakilty is a thriving town and a top-class food destination, and we’re thrilled to be able to showcase again the wonderful talents of our local food producers, businesses, and hospitality to everyone who comes to visit us on the day.”

The Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Street Carnival dinner places are ticketed so to avoid disappointment please reserve your meal tickets in advance. Tickets include adult and children’s meals with meat, seafood, vegetarian and vegan meal options, including drinks and desserts. All other festivities and event activities are FREE and accessible to all throughout the day as the town will be fully pedestrianised from 9am-6pm and open for business.

To keep up to date with the Irish Yogurts Clonakilty Street Carnival news and full schedule please follow @Clonakiltystreetcarnival on Facebook or visit www.clonakilty.ie / Instagram @Clonakilty.ie

Tickets can be purchased here: https://buytickets.at/clonakiltychamberofcommerce Or use the smaller link here:
https://tinyurl.com/bdfbwbjk Booking fee applies.

press release

Monday, May 1, 2023

360 Town Stay Excellent Base For West Waterford Trip

360 Town Stay Excellent Base

For West Waterford Trip

Baker's Table in Lismore

In the heart of Dungarvan town, 360 Town Stay offer a selection of studios and apartments. We stayed in one of the apartments during a recent mini-tour of the West Waterford area. Even though we didn’t meet a single human at 360 - everything is done online or via code - it worked out very well indeed.

The 360 house is entered from the large car park St Augustine’s/Scanlon’s Yard in the town centre, perhaps not the most promising of entrances on a dull day. Used our code to get the key from the black box and made our way up some fifty steps (not as difficult as it sounds).

360 front entrance

The apartment is spacious and comfortable. An average sized bedroom and separate bathroom had all we needed. Then we were into the living space. Sofas and armchairs to relax in if we wanted to watch the large TV (we didn’t, even though it had Netflix).

Mount Congreve, with the Suir in background

Around the corner was the kitchen with fridge/freezer and cooker and lots more besides, and in another space was a fine dining table and chairs. You could easily stay here for a couple of days. And they also have a restaurant nearby. Check it all out for yourself here. We made good use of it before we had to depart, using that code again to put our key back. Still no human!

Our mini-tour had started with a visit to Mount Congreve Gardens which is of course nearer to Waterford city than Dungarvan. The house and gardens, café also, are well worth a trip, particular now that they are so much improved following a seven million euro re-furb. See post link below.

That evening, we had the most enjoyable meal in The Shamrock, a every short walk from 360. Really good local food and a very friendly atmosphere. All generations seem to dine here. Not fine dining that you get in the Old Bank for instance but good stuff and it is very highly recommended. See post link below.

Petit Fours at Cliff House

At The Local

We did of course have our spot of fine dining and that was a splendid Seafood Tasting Lunch at the Michelin starred Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore. The lunch was part of the West Waterford Festival of Food. It was a spectacular display by Tony Parkin and his team, very enjoyable indeed. See post link below.

After our meal at The Shamrock, we strolled the few yards to the square and ended up in The Local, also newly renovated. And it was busy, mostly with serving food. The willing and smiling staff were on their toes, serving food and drink, even charging mobiles for customer. Besides, they had a selection of the local Dungarvan Brewery beers (in bottle) and here we enjoyed their Mine Head American Pale Ale.

The following morning we were up on the Vee for a fairly early walk. We went up through Cappoquin and then on past Mount Melleray. We more or less had the sunny pass to ourselves and enjoyed the views and got some good photos as well before we headed back down to Lismore for brunch. See post link below.

Mount Melleray

Our venue here was the Baker’s Table. It was sunny but also cold as we strolled to the cafe and went on to enjoy a relaxed and excellent meal. See post link below.

Sunny out but fire on inside at The Bakers, Lismore

Vinilo is another baker in the town and we called in there. They have a table or two inside where they serve coffee and pastry. But they are most busy with customers calling for bread and cakes and also takeout coffees. We bought a sourdough loaf and it was quite a good one as well.

Vinilo sourdough

So that was about it for this trip to West Waterford, every bit as enjoyable as before. We’ll be back.

On this trip

Mount Congreve, Kilmeaden

The Local, Dungarvan

The Baker's Table of Lismore

Vinilo, Lismore

Marvellous Sunny Morning On The Vee (Waterford/Tipperary)

360 Town Stay, Dungarvan

The Shamrock

Seafood Delights at Cliff House Hotel Festival Lunch

CorkBillyBeers #21. Craft Wheat beer with Rye River, Tom Crean, Whitefield, Ballykilcavan.

CorkBillyBeers #21

Craft Wheat beer with Rye River, Tom Crean, Whitefield, Ballykilcavan

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Rye River Backwaters American Wheat, 6.2% ABV, 500 ml bottle Supervalu

Beers brewed in this American Wheat style do not exhibit the clove or high levels of banana-like esters that are hallmarks of the Bavarian wheat beer styles. And this is the case here. Regular European wheat beers use special strains of yeast that produce notes of banana and clove as by-products of fermentation.

Backwaters has the clear golden colour you’d expect from a wheat beer. Dank aromas rise from the glass in a diplomatic kind of way, nothing extreme, plus mild aromas of passion fruit and citrus. The hops, Cascade and Strata, bring bright fresh fruit.

With the darker colour and malt prominent, you are inclined to think lager rather than wheat beer. But everything’s fine in this beer garden from start to a very satisfactory clean and crisp finish, hops and malts combining more or less perfectly.

And that dankness? Well it comes from the Strata which has been described as “Passion fruit meets pot.” Along with the exotic fruit comes this herbal note of drifting cannabis (the dankness)

Cascade is one of the best known hops and has been described as the hop “that made hops famous”. Bursting with zesty grapefruit flavour and aroma, Cascade, with its bright citrus and some soft floral and spice, is a real treat and is credited with the making of American Pale. In this wheat beer, it also plays a crucial role. In fairness, Rye River have used their ingredients well and we have a good one in our hands.

Very Highly Recommended.

Geeks Bits

Malts: CARAPILS, VIENNA MALT, WHEAT, ALE MALT,

Hops: CASCADE, STRATA

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Tom Crean Druid’s Wheat Beer, 4.2% ABV, 440ml can, Carry Out Killarney

Druid’s, the wheat beer, “celebrates the landscape”, according to the brewery. “… a beer that gives acknowledgement to our rich local ancient history, we used delicately smoked oak malted barley, the reduced hop bill allows the full wheat and yeast flavours to dominate.”

Colour is a hazy pale lemon/yellow with a soft white head that soon loses height. The delicately smoked barley and the yeast has its say as seems to have been the intention here. Finishes with a refreshing tartness.

Not your classic wheat beer, but not a million miles away either. Brewer Bill Shepherd has his way of doing things. He has his fans. In Christmas 2021 the Independent’s Aoife Carrigy recommended this as one of her 10 great Irish beers to pair with festive food.

Bill was born in Chester in the northwest of England. He worked as a firefighter in the London Fire Brigade and later graduated from Chester University with a degree in Archaeology. He has retrained as a brewer and is turning out quite a range of Tom Crean beers, everything from the 1% Last man Standing to the Six Magpies Stout with lots of ales (pale and red and IPA) in between.

With a wide range of beers and ales brewed on the premises, including prize winners, their brewery bar is the perfect place to enjoy a refreshing pint and soak in the atmosphere. Head over to the brewery page here for more info…

For a recent post on the brewery go here.

Recommended

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Whitefield The Banker Weissbier, 5.2% ABV, 500 ml bottle No. 21

Whitefield’s Cuilan tells us about this beer: A slight twist on the German classic wheat beer the addition of rye malt gives a drier, lighter flavour profile and is very refreshing on warm summer days. Yes! I know we live in Ireland.”

The brewery kit in Templemore was made to make wheat beer. Really. “Our brewhouse was originally commissioned by Pauliner, so it is designed as a wheat beer brewery. The fermentation tanks are low, wide and flat bottomed to help maintain consistent flavour profile while using a volatile yeast. So it comes as no surprise that our best sellers in both draught and bottle are Weiss beers. This makes it tricky to brew drier hoppy beers, so we focus on the malty styles of beer with plenty of sweetness.”

Colour here is a mid-amber, no haze and you can see fountains of little bubbles rising. The head doesn’t hang about. Aromas are on the modest side, hints of spice perhaps, rye perhaps. On the palate, there is no shortage of flavour, banana and clove included. An excellent supple drink with flavours continuing to a refreshing finish.

Highly Recommended.

Recent detailed post on Whitefield here.

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Ballykilcavan Robinson's Revenge Raspberry Wheat Beer 5.00% ABV, 440ml can CraftCentral

In the winter of 1861, after a bitter quarrel, the famous gardener William Robinson stormed out of Ballykilcavan opening all the greenhouses to kill the plants in them. This American Raspberry Wheat Beer gets his name from that vengeful act. That’s the story, at least one side of it, behind the beer’s name.

Colour is a darkish amber/orange, murky (enough to enable dastardly acts). Aromas are modest with hops taking a firm grip early on. And never really letting go though the raspberry (listed in the ingredients) gets a turn in the mouth before the US hops closes its grip again.

Ingredients: Water, wheat, Barley, Oats, Raspberries, Hops, Yeast.

The producers: “Ballykilcavan Farm has been the home of our family for 13 generations. We have lived and worked here since 1639, and diversification has always been important to keep our farm viable for future generations. When I took over Ballykilcavan from my father in 2004, my motivation was to try to sustain it so that someone else would be able to take it over from me.”

Ballykilcavan is an amazing place. We recently published a post on the brewery there and you may read it here.

Recommended

Saturday, April 29, 2023

Achill Island In The Sun. And Wind!

Achill Island In The Sun. And Wind!

The classic shot of Keem Bay

Lucky to get a bright sun all day long on a recent visit to the beautiful Achill Island, one of the best parts of County Mayo. We drove on, as you must, at Achill Sound, and then cut left to do a loop along the coast, heading for Dooega, then back across to rejoin the R319, before driving on to Keem with its well-known bay.

Featherweight world boxing champion, Johnny Kilbane,
stands near the Achill Boxing Club

In the early part of the loop, from the R319 toi Dooga and back, there are some fantastic coastal views. Look out for the sculpture of world boxing champion Johnny Kilbane and the castle (or tower) associated with Grace O'Malley). Keem, the end of the line, has caught international attention as it was featured in the recent Banshees of Inisherin film.

Grace O'Malley castle with lifeboat.

Enjoyed the stop there and then began to retrace our steps. As it was getting close to lunchtime and having remembered that we had dined at the Beehive in Keel on a previous visit, we did the same again. Having made a reasonably early start, we had enough time on our hands to visit the Ballycroy National Park and that will feature in another post.