Restaurant Reviews. Food. Markets. Wine. Beer. Cider. Whiskey. Gin. Producers. . Always on the look-out for tasty food and drink from quality producers! Buy local, fresh and fair. The more we pull together, the further we will go. Contact: cork.billy@gmail.com Follow on Twitter: @corkbilly
Facebook: Billy Lyons
Some of the botanicals used by Bombay Sapphire, clockwise from
top left: Liquorice, Orris, Cassia bark, Angelica
Bombay Sapphire East, 42%, widely available at about €35.00
Okay. First that EAST bit. Two additional botanicals (from the east!) are at play here, additional to those in the regular Bombay Sapphire that is. These are the fragrant yet crisp Lemongrass which comes from Thailand while a subtle bite is provided by the Vietnamese Black peppercorns.
I've long had a grá for the original UK made Bombay Sapphire, at least for as long as I’ve been travelling to France with Brittany Ferries (made my first trip in 1980 from Tivoli). The Pont Aven, their ferry out of Cork, has an onboard display (above) of the botanicals used and they include: Juniper Berries, Grains of Paradise, Lemon Peel, Cubeb Berries, Coriander seeds, Cassia bark, Angelica root, Almonds, Orris root, and Liquorice.
Light, with a bite, is the first impression of the EAST and it makes a superb G & T. Of course, the original is regarded as light and floral but the EAST is that bit different and a terrific alternative as the quality is just as good. The difference seems to be a softer hit of the essential juniper, the earthy hit of the pepper and the citrusy notes of the lemongrass combining to make it even easier to drink than its older sibling. The EAST too has an intense, the spice at play here too, lingering finish.
If my Christmas present buyer reads this, I’d like a box of the EAST please, though I wouldn't be at all disappointed with a mixed case! Even a bottle!
If you like a spicy gin, here's another one, available at
Bradley's, North Main Street, Cork, bringing
the total number of gins available here to 40.
Just the other day at dinner, the dog got worried. We were eating away and, unusually, not a word was being said. He had assumed his usual begging position but nothing was coming his way.
He got up, meerkat like, to better see what was going on. But he was still ignored. Blame it on Ummera. The famous Smoked Bacon Rashers from West Cork were in a delightful combination with local liver and there would be nothing left for the mutt.
Ummerais a small family smokery near the village of Timoleague. Their Smoked Back Rashers are one of my favourites and the current Taste of the Week.
They are Dry cured in Traditional Sea Salt from Tavira in Portugal, Organic Raw Cane Sugar from Costa Rica and gently smoked over glowing oak sawdust. And thinly sliced. They are full of flavour as you might imagine and can be used in many ways.
Ummera Smoked Dry-cured Bacon is available from a number of retail outlets in Ireland and the UK, as well as direct from the smokehouse. The packs are approximately 250gms and contain both back and streaky bacon, thinly sliced, rind on.
It was seafood all the way at the new Seafood Cafe in the Blue Haven last week. And why not? After all we were on the Wild Atlantic Way. Not that there much wild about it on one of the best days of the summer. Naturally enough, by the time we arrived after a noon cruise around the harbour, the sunny outside seats were taken and we were accommodated inside. No hardship there.
Both the starters came from nearby Oysterhaven. Jamie’s Oysterhaven Mussels, a big pot of them for €9.95, were served with a garlic, white wine, parsley and cream (lots of it) sauce and garlic crostini. Very tasty.
For €6.95, I got the oddly titled Quarter Dozen Oysterhaven Oysters, served on crushed ice, with a Guinness shot, lemon, and seaweed soda bread. The Oysters, all three of them, were top notch, a taste of the Atlantic for sure.
By the way, my server suggested Carlsberg and Heineken when I asked for craft beer but a few friendly words later and I was sipping a delicious local pale ale from Black’s Brewery. Indeed, they have a bunch of craft beers here and also that gorgeous local cider by Stonewell.
On then to the main courses. I thoroughly enjoyed my Char Grilled Swordfish Nicoise Style with Green beans, fondant potatoes, mixed olives, soft boiled egg, sun blushed tomatoes, pea shoots. The fish was perfectly cooked and the rest of the dish added more texture and flavours. (Cost €21.95).
CL was happy too with her Jamie's Claypot King Prawns and Gubbeen Chorizo, with chilli and garlic butter, shallots, parsley and served with garlic crostini. Another good flavoursome mix here for €12.95.
Two Affogatos later and we were back out in the sunshine.
Puddings were an art form in themselves, as they are today in Baghdad, where bakers’ shelves buckle under piles of pastries drenched in honey. There was muhallabiya (rice pudding); zalabiya (fried batter dipped in boiled honey); katayif (delicate crepes filled with ground nuts and sugar, scented with rosewater, musk and camphor); mugharak, ancestor of the modern baklawa; khushkanaj (filled pastries….); Coloured sugar and nuts were festooned around the puddings…
from Baghdad, City of Peace, City of Blood by Justin Marozzi
I am eating a Fish Pie, a simple fish pie. It contains Whitefish, Smoked Fish, Salmon, Milk, Onions, Butter, Flour, Potatoes, Seasoning, Breadcrumbs, Cheese. Nothing exotic. Nothing than I can’t spell. No preservatives, no artificial colourants. Mainly it contains fish. It has been baked in the oven for 25 minutes and a bunch of broccoli has been added to the plate. Simple stuff but simply superb.
I’ve also been sampling fish cakes and they too are excellent, easy to prepare and easy to eat! The cakes and the pie are encouraging signs that Irish fishermen are taking more control of their own destiny. They’ve been produced in Rosscarbery by Fish Seafood Deli and much of that fish has come from their boats.
Ex fisherman Peter Shanahan founded the business in 2011 when he opened a retail shop in Rosscarbery. Since then he has been joined by Monica Buckley and her husband Niall Deasy. Niall operates fishing trawlers out of Union Hall port, fishing for prawns and whitefish primarily. And the business has expanded.
Many of you travelling in the area will be glad to see one of their outlets, the Fish Basket in Rosscarbery, on the main road west of the Celtic Ross Hotel. This is a busy spot and yes fish and chips is the most popular buy. But you can also get a prawn sandwich here, maybe a crab salad.
Fish Seafood Deli now employ 15 staff, between :
2 Retail premises (Rosscarbery and Clonakilty);
2 mobile units serving the Cork area;
Wholesale business supplying Hotels & Restaurants with fish directly from the fishing boats of Union Hall/Baltimore & Kinsale;
2 full time chefs producing cooked products e.g fish cakes, fish pies, Prawn Cocktail, seafood quiches, breads.
Fish Basket located at Newtown, Rosscarbery, serving fish and chips and specials such as crab & prawn parcels with pineapple salsa.
Monica tells me the mobile units have regular spots they sell at. “For example one of the units is in Whitechurch and Carrignavar each Monday. They would have different towns they go to every day of the week. The mobile units sell fresh fish and also a selection of our cooked seafood range.”
The retail shops each have a wet area where you can buy the freshest of fish. The Rosscarbery one is just east of the village, located next to Ryan’s Service Station, on the main road to Clonakilty. We got some cod there for dinner last Saturday night and it was just first class, the flesh pristine on the plate.
You can also buy the cooked seafood range here. Indeed, the company’s kitchens are here. The Clonakilty shop does both fresh and cooked and is in Ashe Street.
Peter spent almost three years working in Glenmar fish factory in Skibbereen before training as a carpenter. But it wasn't the best of times to be in the construction industry. Following the collapse of the Tiger and two P45s in quick succession, he returned to the fish industry and spent several seasons on prawn and tuna trawlers.
The idea of opening a fish shop had been in his mind for a while and became a reality in July 2011, when he opened the doors to Fish Seafood Deli just outside his home town of Rosscarbery.
“I feel that in an ever-increasing health-conscious society that fresh fish is something that people are going to want more and more of. I also believe that West Cork has some of the finest seafood in the country! And if you don’t believe me – call into our shop and see for yourself!”
I think we’ll be hearing more from Fish Seafood Deli!
Start without preconceptions, start simply. I like. I do not like. Then try to explain why. But always return “to the notion of pleasure”. This wine made me happy . Did not make me happy. So yeah I bought. No, I did not buy.
I was also talking to Joe Karwig about the Mouret and he admitted that he loves the blend. He was speaking to the converted. Still, the question remained: Would this wine make me happy?
The blend of Sauvignon blanc and Semillon can vary quite a bit but this is of classic proportions with sixty per cent SB. The nose and finish are probably more Sauvignon. On the palate it delivers fruit and refreshment; it is light, clean and crisp. Green fruit, herby and grassy aromas are followed by a bright acidity in the mouth, all the characteristics you’d expect to find in a blend of these proportions.
This classic example did indeed make me happy and is Very Highly Recommended.
When people chat about Riesling, there is often a noticeable division of opinion between those it pleases and those who don't like it. This one could go some way towards bridging the divide as, on the label, it is recommended for a chat. It is also recommended for chicken, salads, fish and seafood.
It has a light straw colour and pleasing floral aromas. Nicely balanced and pretty full-bodied with no shortage of fruit, no shortage of finish either from this crisp dry wine. Moselland, created over 25 years ago, is the largest wine-growing co-op in the Rheinland-Pfalz. It pleased me and is Highly Recommended.
Las Renas Monastrell 2013 (Bullas DO), 14%, €12.45 Karwig Wines
We reviewed the 2012 editionof this wine a few months back. The 2013 is also good, maybe even a little better. Monastrell is the Spanish equivalent of Mourvedre.
Bullas
Color is cherry red and it has rather intense aromas of red and black fruits. It is fresh, young and fruity, smooth, medium bodied, very pleasing and easy drinking, well balanced with average persistence at the finalé. An excellent well-priced wine and Highly Recommended.
Blauer Zweigelt, or just plain Zweigelt, is the grape here and the colour is a light red, almost see through. Red fruits, cherry (mainly) and strawberry, in the aromas. Fresh and fruity too on the palate, traces of spice, mild and velvety, with good acidity. Light and lovely indeed, ideal for summertime recreation rather than winter mediation. Delightfully different and Highly Recommended
This traditional West Limerick cheese has been handcrafted on Cahill’s Farm . It is wonderfully creamy and the chives give it a soft little crunch. It is an international gold medal winner* and our Taste of the Week.
I like producers who provide the consumer with hints and recipes and Cahill’s do just that on the back of the packet. They suggest grating it onto a pizza “for a gourmet twist”. They even suggest a wine: a spicy Syrah/Shiraz. Ideal they say for any cheese board - serve at room temperature with honey or red grapes. I didn't have red grapes handy but the cheese, purchased at Dunne's Stores in Ballyvolane, sure went very well with the excellent Lisanley honey that you can buy at Bradley’s, North Main Street. And it also matched well with a wee drizzle of Highbank Orchard Syrup. So there you go, plenty of ways to try the Taste of the Week.
* In 2014, it took gold at the International Cheese Festival which is held annually in Nantwich, England.
Wexford’s Johnstown Castle is a must visit. I enjoyed my first trip there more than a decade ago and it was even better second time around. It is the home of the Irish Agricultural Museum and current highlights include a Country Kitchens exhibition and a very informative Great Famine exhibition.
Barrel-top caravan and Horse-drawn bread delivery wagon.
The castle itself is not open to the public but you can take a walk around the grounds as well, see the lakes, the walled garden and the sunken garden and there is a Tearoom and Shop in the museum area. Today Teagasc, the Agricultural and Food Development Authority, is the owner of the Johnstown Castle estate and has a research facility on site.
The museum is divided into 18 exhibition areas. And the first section that caught my eye last month was the Transport area, in particular, the brightly painted bread delivery van, a horse drawn one. There are other horse drawn vehicles, carts and traps and a reaper, and more on display here.
Horse-drawn hay cutter and Ford Model 8 Nan Tractor (1947-52)
There is a Tractor Room, a Garden Machine Room, a display of Power-Driven Barn Machines. Poultry Keeping and Country Furniture also have their displays. Checked them all out and I also enjoyed a browse around the Dairy Exhibition. Dairying is one of the timeless industries, producing the same product as it has done for thousands of years. This exhibition traces developments in dairying from hand milking to mechanical milking machines. The traditional methods of butter-making are also explored here.
It is also worth lingering by the Bicycle display which exhibits a variety of bikes, dating from 1885 – 1965, including one with a solid tyre (marketed as a safety bicycle) and a garda cycle. This room also includes bicycles made by Pierce of Wexford who were primarily farm machinery manufacturers and who indeed are well represented in the various machine areas.
Must say that I enjoyed the Country Kitchens area as much as any other. This, and the Famine area, are designed for the younger folk but I had no hesitation in picking up the information leaflets, full of facts and well laid out.
The Kitchens Display includes an Early 19th Century Kitchen, two from the 20th century, an account of Rural Electrification and a display on Laundry (washing, soap, drying and ironing). Lots of artefacts on display to help understand the way we were.
An outdoor larder and Hand Wringer
The Great Famine Exhibition, is probably one of the best I’ve come across on the subject and, with words and artefacts, it covers Pre Famine Ireland, the Arrival of Blight, The Famine 1845-49, The Soup Kitchen, The Workhouse, Emmigration, Post Famine, Potatoes Today and the Lessons of the Famine.
A chart on the display says the Irish male was consuming 6.4kgs (14 lbs) of potatoes per day in pre-famine times. After the famine, people made sure they never became so dependant on the potato again. See also: Wexford's Archways, so much more than a B&B Mr Jeffares Blackcurrants
Used this "machine", on right, myself
to spray against blight.
About four miles before Rosslare Harbour on the main road (N25), you’ll pass a B&B on your left. It is called the Archways and it is much more than your normal B&B. Certainly they get many customers from the ferries, some coming, some going, some both ways (people come back). But it is well worth a call even if you’re not heading to a ferry.
Okay, let us start with the usual B&B. The welcome from Eileen and Chris Hadlington is warm, the place is comfortable, the rooms are spacious, the bathrooms excellent, you have TV in your room and satellite TV in the lounge. And the breakfast is something else and was awarded the Best B&B Breakfast in the 2013 Georgina Campbell Awards.
It is a smallish B&B, six bedrooms, but the breakfast choice is huge and the quality is even more impressive. Where else would you get their own sausages, made from their own pigs? Add in Pat O’Neil’s dry cure bacon, Jimmy Meyler’s smoked fish and you get the idea. Of course, there is orange juice and a choice of cereals, lots of egg dishes too. You’ll be well fed here.
And even better fed if you book dinner. It is, of course, a Table d'Hote dinner, and you eat with the other guests, sharing travel experiences as you enjoy the fabulous food. Chris had been a chef for over forty years and just can't stop cooking.
Take our dinner last week. Starter was Meyler's smoked haddock with linguini and a watercress pesto. And where did that watercress come from? From their own garden, of course, where they have installed a aquaponic system.
Main course was loin of bacon (O’Neil’s of course) with a pineapple salsa and an excellent selection of vegetables including black kale, kohlrabi, parsnips, beetroot and potatoes, all grown locally by neighbour Karl.
Dessert was a Blackcurrant soufflé, the blackcurrants from Jeffares up the road. And the cream? Well Chris doesn't rate the cream sold these days and so he separates his own. Good stuff too. You may bring your own wine (no corkage) or purchase a glass or two from Eileen’s selection.
In the morning, we couldn’t leave without visiting the small herd of pigs in a nearby wood. The pigs, Saddleback Large White Cross, are usually kept from early Spring until late Autumn. In conjunction with two local farmers, they have a Hereford and Limousin in calf to a Wagyu and future customers can look forward to “some really fine beef”.
There were two grocery stores here. From what Decker had seen, the two most popular food items purchased there were Hamburger Helper by the kilo and sugary orange pop by the barrel. And the fast-food places also did brisk business, fattening both the young and old to impossible degrees and foretelling diabetes, cancer, stroke, and heart disease stats blowing right through the roof.
Lots of eating places in Baltimore. I’ve been to a few but last month’s visit was my first to Rolf’s Country House and it was an excellent meal in a lovely room with a friendly and efficient service all through.
Some rich fare on offer here, cream sauces feature in many dishes, and there is quite a middle European touch to the desserts. Here you can find (not necessarily all together) a Flemish Apple Tart, a Black Forest Gateau, Frederike’s Chocolate orange cake and do watch out for the Swiss Chocolate Tart.
Not all heavy though! My starter was the Fresh Brown Crab, served with salad and Marie Rose sauce (10.50). An excellent dish, flavour from the waters from the nearby ocean well matched with the classic sauce. CL too got off to a tasty start: West Cork Black Pudding, on a bed of caramelised apple and served with pan-fried quail eggs (9.50).
Starters and sunset
Quite a good wine choice at Rolf’s. Indeed, they have a wine-bar as well. But would we have red or white? In the end, we settled on the Vier Jahreszeiten Spatburgunder (31.00). This velvety Pinot Noir with its excellent aromas and flavour was a decent match for the various dishes.
Mains for me was the arresting 2 Quails Deboned, flambéed with cognac, and served with apricots and a cream sauce (24.00). This was dispatched, with delight. The sides of potatoes and vegetables were also cooked to perfection and CL got rice with her classic Beef Stroganoff, flambéd with vodka and served with onions and mushrooms and, yes, enriched with a cream sauce (24.50).
Stroganoff
Desserts (6.50) were not going to be ignored on this occasion! If you are giving into temptation, you might as well go all the way. More cream with CL’s delicious strawberries, vanilla ice cream and shortbread biscuits. And mine? Well that was Gertrud’s Dark Swiss Chocolate Tart, a sumptuous treat (including cream!). For the finalé, I did very much enjoy a glass of superb Warre’s Otima 10 year old tawny.
After all that, I had to “race” the mile down to the seafront to get a few photos of the spectacular sunset. Just about made it! Aside from the restaurant and all day cafe, Rolf's also have The Private Dining Room, now available for parties of 10-14 people.
