FOUR LIARS BISTRO

AT THE FOUR LIARS

GOOD VALUE, NO KIDDING!

Founded in 1992, Brendan Murphy’s Four Liars Bistro, in the shadow of Shandon, is still going strong, still offering good food at decent prices.

Take the current early bird (5.30 to 7.15) as an example. You can pick from about six starters. Mine was simply described as: Pork and Veal Terrine on a Burnt Orange Glaze. But it was much more than that. It was accompanied by a generous crunchy salad and a few tasty strawberries combined well with the terrine. All for a fiver.

Then on to the main course. Again there is quite a choice, prices ranging from about €12 to €15.00. I picked the Baked Fresh Salmon in Dill and Cream Sauce, served with a Croquette and Puree of vegetables. He doesn’t write it all down though. The fish is served on a beautifully flavoured mash potato and, be warned, meat or fish portions are generous.

Being generous is not much good if the food is poor. Have no fears here though. Brendan has cooked around the world and this salmon dish was excellent.

Too full to chance the desserts (this man puts sherry into his sherry trifle), we took our time and finished off the wine, which was the house white, a Domaine Virginie Terret/Sauvignon sur lie. Refreshing was my first comment on sipping the tasting sample. It is a rare combination in these parts but is appealingly dry, fruity and with good lasting favour. Price €20.00. The four Liars is a BYO restaurant which means you can bring in your own wine and the corkage charge is €5.00.

Brendan has cooked for George Bush, Liz Taylor, Willie Brandt, Jackie Kennedy, Elton John, Richard Burton and Queen Elizabeth II to name but a few. He is also a keen artist and drawer, and many of his works can be found on display on the walls of the Four Liars Bistro and at http://www.fourliarsbistro.com/

WEDDING MOVES


HITCHED OUT OF TOWN

Once upon a time, in the last century, you’d hear of the rare couple skipping off to Rome to get married but now out of town weddings have become increasingly popular. And to increasingly exotic destinations at that. The Canaries are quite popular and next month at least one Cork couple will be getting hitched on the shores of Lake Garda.

At least in the case of European venues, the couple have a decent chance of getting a crowd but pity the lonesome twosomes who take off to some island in the Pacific or Indian Ocean to end up on their own with the hotel chef and receptionist as the best man and bridesmaid.

I was at an out of town wedding recently. In the middle of nowhere. Well, while Springfort Hall is just 500 metres from the junction of NewTwoPotHouse on the Mallow-Buttevant Road, thankfully the old Georgian pile isn't that far away. One can get a taxi home to the city rather than pay the rather excessive room price.

For all that, it is a popular venue. I have been at a few functions there over the years and the facilities and ambience for such are excellent and the food is regularly good.

This menu, in common with many current weddings, had choices. I picked melon for my starter. It was well presented and went down a treat, to be followed by a big bowl of soup. The main course choice was either salmon and cod or beef. I took the fish and, like the beef, it was excellent, both served with a selection of spot-on veg (cooked but not overdone).

Dessert was a slight disappointment. My choice was the Bailey’s Chocolate Roulade but it was very much on the extra dry side. The other choice was a Pavlova with fruit and I heard one or two arguments as to whether it was meringue or real Pavlova. But overall the meal was excellent, the coffee was good and the service was friendly and excellent.

GOOD AND EARLY

EARLY BIRD MAKES GOOD

Are you suspicious of early bird offers in local restaurants? I am. Sometimes, you can get caught, as the offering is nothing more than a mean cut-down version of the regular serving.

There should be something for both parties in a genuine early bird offer. The punter should get some reward for coming out early while the establishment has its peak hour rush somewhat reduced.

After a few less than rewarding experiences, it was with some trepidation that I headed for the Silversprings Moran Hotel recently. But all anxiety vanished as we opened the menu. The early bird charge was €25.00 for a four course meal and that very same offering costs ten euro extra after 7.00pm.

It was great value and, all in all, a fine meal. We began with a duck starter; four or five slices of nicely cooked meat on a tasty salad. A good beginning.

Then on to the main course. I plumped for the Darne of Salmon, filled with a prawn mousse and served with a leek cream sauce. It was an excellent dish, served with some mashed potato and a tasty and not overdone dish of veg. The Advisor picked a Chicken and Mushroom dish, served with Suace Chasseur. It too came with potato and veg and both dishes went down very well indeed.

There were about four choices for each plate and the dessert choice also came from four. Each of us picked the Bailey’s Cheesecake, served with a dash of butterscotch sauce and that also was up to the standard of the rest of the meal.

The Hotel, as you might expect, has quite a long wine list, including some decent house wines. We went outside the house selection and picked a Pallavicini La Valletta Frascati, a zingy tarty yet full tasting wine that was well worth the €22.50 price tag.

Coffee was also included and this was not the mini cupful that so many restaurants serve. Instead we got a pot from which we poured four full cups. It might not have had quite the same class of some of the better restaurants but was very satisfactory at the end of a very satisfactory early bird. Well done to manager Eoin Daly and company.

SPOT OF LUNCH?

A PRIME SPOT

No shortage of places for lunch in the Ballincollig area but we stumbled on a real contender the other day: the relatively new Oriel Court Hotel ( http://www.orielhousehotel.ie/ ).

We had given the place a wide berth since a disastrous Christmas lunch there (the service was dire, though the food was good) but the recent lunch was a revelation in terms of service, quality and value for money.

I started off with a huge bowl of chunky chowder, served with a gorgeous dark brown bread. No complaints here.

Then onto the main course. One of us had an open toasted chicken sandwich which, with salad and chips, turned out to be a quite a substantial dish. Two of us went for the Cajun salmon salad and we were each delighted.

The salad was varied and well mixed in a Marie Rose dressing. Pieces of cold fish, salmon and mussel mainly, were scattered throughout and all topped with a warm salmon piece, mildly spiced with a Cajun crust.

And that wasn't all. We each got two pieces of garlic bread and each of us agreed that this was the tastiest garlic bread we had ever eaten.

Well fed at this stage, we skipped the desserts and finished off with coffee. All this is served in the spacious and luxurious Powder Keg Bar and believe, it or not, most (if not all) the main courses cost a tenner or less and that too applies to the carvery dishes, which also looked of very generous proportions.

We picked from a very large choice on the lunch menu, which the Oriel serves from 12 noon until 5.00pm, so that gives you ample opportunity to go to the hotel and sample.

If you are coming from the west and can’t quite make Ballincollig, then why not call to Mike and Tess Sheehan at the Killumney Inn in Ovens. They have been serving traditional pub lunches for years and have satisfied many hundreds of customers. Satisfied diners return again and again and it is hard to get a place for the very popular Sunday lunch.

Glad to hear too at the weekend, from one of my spies, that La Boqueria, the tapas bar in Bridge Street, continues to serve top class food and wine. Must call again soon!

End of story

FOOD EXPORTS

His ancestors painted the town green

AWFUL OFFAL

Amazing how some of us don't want to leave home behind us - even when we head off on holiday.

How often have you heard of a Corkman (and woman) packing rashers and sausages in the case as they fly out to one of the costas.

And when that supply runs out, the couple then seek out the nearest Irish pub or café selling the full Irish!

The Irish abroad have always hankered for the 'comforts' of home - it didn't start with package holidays.

Many Cork people will remember the Innishfallen, the passenger ship that sailed from Penrose Quay to England.

Back in the fifties, tripe and drisheen, a traditional Cork offal dish, now more or less the preserve of the older generation, was eagerly sought after by the many Cork exiles in England.

If you were visiting, you were requested to bring some with you. The white tripe and the brown drisheen were bought in the English Market in Cork and placed in water in the cabin sink to keep it nice and cool during the crossing.

It wasn't the only animal matter on board the ship as live cattle were also transported. They would have been driven through the city early in the morning, having 'painted' the nearby streets a slimey green. Their job done, the drovers could be found in the early houses (pubs, with a licence to open early).

LOVE AT FIRST BITE

You’ll love Casanova

Ristorante Casanova is a little gem, situated at 87 North Main Street (021 4851111). It serves traditional Italian cuisine and you can see its website at http://www.restaurantcasanova.net/.

The place is friendly, smallish and, as someone said, “cosy”. The first sign of this friendly approach came with a little something “from the house”: a tasty piece of Italian bread which had been pasted with olive oil and garlic and on which were loaded some small tomato pieces and a little salad. Very tasty and a promising beginning to the visit.

The Mussel starter, according to the menu, was to be served with a garlic, tomato and white wine accompaniment. This was far from the usual liquid that you get with mussels and indeed it was a beautiful fishy soup. Another surprise for €7.80.

We had come for the pizzas though and I picked a Capricciosa: Tomato, Ham, Mushroom, Salami, Artichoke and Mozzarella. The Advisor had a Paesana: Ham, Mushroom, Mozzarella and Tomato. The first cost €13.70, the second a Euro less.

Both were excellent 12” pizzas. Fillings were in quantities and quality that I have not previously seen in Cork and came quite close to matching those of June in Switzerland (see http://swissroll07.blogspot.com/ ). And then another surprise: a 50cl carafe of the house white (Soave) cost just €10.50.

We love you Casanova and we’ll be back.

ECO ENCORE

ECO

WORTH AN ENCORE

ECO in Douglas is one of Cork’s busiest restaurants and you have to book well in advance. Every bit of space is used here and the reception area is minuscule and not overly-inviting.

I had booked a Saturday night meal a few days earlier and was lucky to get a table for two, more or less isolated in a corner. Could have been unlucky as some tables for two leave barely enough room to squeeze in. We could have had one of those and ended up next to one noticeably sloppy adult diner who believed in overloading her spoon and or fork and then picking up the spillages off her chest. Distracting to say the least, disgusting to say the worst.

That aside, the meal went well. Warned in advance that portions are large, I skipped the starter and picked Sole al Forno as my main course. It consisted of Paupiettes of Sole with a prawn filling and a white wine sauce, served with vegetables (very nicely done and presented) and your choice of potato (eg wedges, fries or boiled).

The three parcels were delivered to the tables straight from the oven on a very hot pan. The potatoes and veg came in side dishes. Even though the chef had been a bit heavy with the cream in the sauce, this main course was excellent, very enjoyable.

Eco, better known in Cork as Eco’s, had a wine of the month promotion going and I picked a Rolling Chardonnay (Australia). It was one of the better of that variety from Oz and superb accompaniment for the sole. Cost was €19.95, quite a bit dearer than the house wine at four euro cheaper.

Finished off with a Pineapple and summer berry dessert. The pineapple rings (two) were topped with ice-cream. The hard “core” of the fruit had not been removed and that made it harder to cut it down to bite size pieces but, that little difficulty aside, it was a fitting finale to the visit to Douglas.

Indeed, the menu in ECO is so large and so varied that further visits are on the cards. By the way, this one, including the wine, cost just under €66.00 for two of us.

GROUP NIGHT OUT

Celebrating with a group? Where to go?

Got a celebration coming up? An anniversary, a birthday, a modest Lotto win? Where do you take forty or fifty people in Cork? Here are three suggestions.

Curran’s in Adelaide Street is one. I was there late last year for a 60th with about 30 people. We were accommodated in an upstairs area, which we had to ourselves. You can have a set menu (with a certain amount of choice) or you can go a la carte. The service and the food are excellent and the restaurant also has a good choice of wine and beer (some of which is on draught).

Most recently I was in the extremely comfortable and spacious Kingsley Hotel on the Carrigrohane Road. The celebration here was in the Arc suite. The bar is just outside the room but there is ample table service for drinks. This was a full three-course meal, plus tea or coffee and it was a great night. The only disappointment was that the rack of lamb was mostly underdone and had a high amount of fat.

The barbecue at the Silversprings Hotel is also worth considering. They have a grass area with garden furniture, overlooked by a patio, all backed up by a spacious room indoors. Just as well the room was available on our visit: the weather broke at just the wrong time and we all had to move in for the food.

It was typical barbecue fare: chops, kebabs, hot dogs and salads. It was top class and, with the very reasonable €15.00 a head tariff, very good value indeed. There was no bar in the room but the main bar is very close and they will carry your drinks to your table.

Morans have re-furbished this hotel in recent years but I remember working with PJ Hegarty Ltd in the foundations in 1962 . I had special permission from the ITGWU (thanks to Gerry Cronin in Connolly Hall on the Lower Glanmire Road) and was paid four shillings and ten pence an hour, two pence more than the general worker. I operated a steel-bending machine and helped the steel fixers. This as regarded as semi-skilled work and that was why I got the extra few pence. It was good money for a teenager on his summer holidays.

BOOZE BANANA

Billy's Booze Bananas

Just in case, the shy sun comes out and temperatures rise, here is a smashing way to finish off a barbecue.

On a holiday in the Dordogne some years back, I stocked up with as much of the local produce, especially booze, as I could squeeze into the car.

On unpacking, I found a litre of Sarlat Noix, one of the many nut liquors from the area. Never quite knew what to do with it until, my creative juices fueled by barbecue beer, I got an inspiration as a few bananas blackened on the barby flames.

When the bananas were ready, they were peeled and laid on icecream. Then a tablespoon or two [maybe three] of the liquor were added. The delicious dessert was quickly dispatched - it must eaten quickly - and it became a back-garden favourite.

The Sarlat Noix eventually ran out but red rum is a more than handsome replacement.

DEARER THAN SWITZERLAND?

No. You won't be ripped off in Switzerland!

PRICE COMPARISON
CORK V INTERLAKEN

Gambienis in Carey's Lane is one of my favourite Cork restaurants. The others are Curran’s, Amicus and La Boqueria.

Just back from a Continental holiday, I visited Carey's Lane recently and, aside from the desserts, myself and the Advisor weren't disappointed.

We both know and enjoy the Rustica starter and we weren't let down on this occasion. It is described as: Warmed Mixed Roasted Vegetables & Mozzarella Cheese On Ciabata Bread Topped With Chilli Pesto Dressing. The main ingredients are usually the same but the others can vary a bit. Still, it is always a very good starter.

Gamienis do some excellent chicken dishes and I had Pollo Alla Romano: grilled breast of chicken topped with red onion, roasted peppers, mushrooms in tomato & red wine sauce. The Advisor had Barbecued Chicken with tomato, onion mushroom and chili. Both were excellent.

We could have done without the deserts but, able to resist anything except temptation, we dug in. Portions were generous and sweet but they were heavy going and not worth the money. That revolving cabinet could do with a re-shuffle!

Wine was a Pinot Grigio delle Venzie, Vaja. The blurb read: A very pleasant, characteristic bouquet. Soft and dry, relatively full-flavoured with a clean, fresh finish.

It was bought specifically to compare with a Pinot Grigio from a neighbouring Northern Italian district (Trentino) that we bought a week earlier in Connobio on Lago Maggiore. Have to say that the one bought in Italy (it cost €9.80 in a wine shop in the town) was much better.

Of course that bottle in Italy was consumed on a balcony overlooking a sunny Lake Lugano and that may have given it an extra edge. After all, the only view from Gambienis was a windy and cold Carey's Lane.

We didn't bother with the coffee and the whole meal in Carey's Lane came to over €82.00. How does that compare with the holiday prices? Much higher, of course, than the likes of Portugal but how does it compare with Switzerland, which would be regarded as one of the best off countries on the continent. The prices there though are surprisingly good.

By way of a guideline, take the meal we had on the main street in the very busy resort of Interlaken. A six course meal, along with a bottle of mineral water and a 50cl bottle of local wine came to €60.00 euro for the two.

The only complaint one could have had in Switzerland was the fact that they just don't supply tap water to the table. Since coming back, I have been given the following tip: if you ask for 'hahnenwasser' you will get tap water, though some restaurants can be more obliging than others.

For more Swiss prices see swissroll07.blogspot.com

Gourmet Sausages

I want my sausages!!!

GOURMET SAUSAGES

The English Market is the bees’ knees!

No doubt about it, boy.

Gave it a little test recently. How about this for a meal? All from the pride of Cork.

This is just a meal suggestion - so don't expect a detailed list of instructions. I am assuming that all you langers out there know the basics. If, for example, you don't know how to do mash potato, then you'll have to look up D Allen or D Smith or some other Diva de Cuisine or ask the ma.

For starters, call to the Pig's Back and get yourself some country pate & French bread; all you need to add is some salad and relish, maybe some red currants from the garden.

Ingredients for the main course are gourmet sausages from O’Flynn’s {try Pork & Herb or Lamb & Rosemary} plus spinach from the organic stall. Just add your mash potato.

Finish off with a couple of tartlets from Heaven's Cakes. The lemon is highly recommended from this end.

Those O’Flynn’s sausages are great value as you get six for a fiver! Two Cajun were left over. Kept them in the freezer for a few days. Then they were hauled out, cooked and made two moderately spicy but very tasty hot dogs! Doubtcha boy!