Friday, September 23, 2011

Never a dull dish at Nash19


 NASH19

As its 19th birthday approaches, Nash19 would be forgiven for slipping into a routine. And, yet, there is a routine here: top class food and excellent and friendly service.

The ingredients are familiar, local gems such as Jack McCarthy’s beef, Crowe’s bacon and Durcan’s beef. Quality is assured by this policy and variety is ensured by the imagination of the chefs. You won't be bored with what comes out on your plate.

The policy works. Just look at the customers coming through. We were in early for lunch today (Friday) and, sure enough, the place was more or less full shortly after one and they were still coming in at two.

Started off with a couple of cups of soup (you may also get bowls). Sweet potato has really shot up the popularity charts in recent years and the Roast Sweet Potato and Cumin soup was tasty, spicy and excellent. I went for the Tomato, Bean and Bacon blend and this too hit all the right boxes, plenty of tasty bits, eating and drinking in it!

Main course for me were the Tuscan Style Meatballs (Durcan’s Beef) in a rich tomato sauce on organic spaghetti. An excellent combination of the three main ingredients, well balanced, light yet substantial.

No shortage of substance either on our other main course: Crowe’s farm reared Bacon Loin with Apricot chutney. This was a tempting combination of excellent tender meat matched by the sweet fruit though the accompanying sauce was a bit on the piquant side.

Christine was looking after our table (it isn’t every day you get served by a Master Chef contestant) and was quite proud of their new wine list. CL had a glass of the Amador Parreno Organic Tempranillo, a nice bit of spice and fruit quite typical of the grape and an attractive price of €4.50 a glass.

With my main course having an Italian slant, I picked the Masseria Pietrosa Malvasia Nera. This comes from the south of Italy and has lovely black fruits with hints of spice.

At this point, we could manage just the one dessert between us and the Strawberry Victoria Sponge with a rich vein of cream was well up to the task. Two cups of classic Bewleys coffee brought the total to a little over €57.00.

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