Ten Top Dinners. And Lunches. 2014 Highlights

2014 Highlights

Excellent for Dinner

Oysters at Au Mille Saveurs

Au Mille Saveurs (Arcachon)*

Ballymaloe House*

Cliff House Hotel*

Fenn’s Quay*

Le Flora (onboard Pont Aven)*

Ravioli. Le Flora

Le Patio (Arcachon)*

MacNean House*

Out of the Blue (Dingle)* F

Sage*  

Zuni (Kilkenny)*

Sage. The 12 Mile Plate

Amicus
An Canteen (Dingle)

Blair’s Inn

Brook Inn
Cafe Gusto

Cafe Serendipity

Church Lane (Macroom)

Club Brasserie

Cornstore

Electric F

ely Wine Bar (Dublin)

Fleming’s

Greene’s

Huguenot

Jacque’s

La Dolce Vita

Market Lane

Mitchell’s (Clifden) F

O’Connor’s (Bantry) F

Oysters F

Pier 26
Rising Tide F

Star Anise

The Square Table

Tuscany Bistro (Ballina, Tipperary)

West End (Killarney)

Excellent for Lunch

Barnabrow

Auberge des Vignes (Sauternes)*

Barnabrow*

Cafe Lavinal (Bages)*
Cornstore*

Farmgate (English Market)*

Forest Avenue (Dublin)*

Heather (Gap of Dunloe)*

Nash 19*

Bakestone Cafe

Ballymaloe Cafe

Bramley Lodge

Bula Bus U

Castle Cafe

Greenbarn (Killeagh)

Griffin’s Spinning Wheel

Isaac’s

Iyer’s

Pie Cafe (Dingle)

Sage (Youghal)

The Workshop

Toons Bridge Dairy

Excellent Hotel Dining Rooms

Cork International Hotel

River Lee Hotel

Newcomers to Watch

Aroi

CoqBull

Heather (Gap of Dunloe)

Huguenot

Pho Bar

Square Table

* Exceptional meal on visit

F  Great for fish

U  Most unusual lunch venue (in a parked bus)

All above visited last 14 months. Lots of other good places out there. If I didn’t get to your place last year, maybe we’ll meet in 2015! Hard to keep track - might need a reminder!

Nash 19. Special at Christmas, and All Year Round

Nash 19. Special at Christmas, and All Year Round

Sweet!

Mentioned some time back that Nash19 pay attention to detail, to the small things on and off the plate. Was reminded of that last Friday when in for lunch. Two of those small things stood out: their delicious crunchy brown bread and the scrumptious roast potatoes. Roast potatoes? Yes indeed. Some establishments around town serve up roast pops that you could use for a score of bowls.

It was very busy in the Prince's Street venue, even the gallery at the back was full. But service was still top class, as efficient and friendly as ever. That, and the food of course, makes Nash 19 a top restaurant all year round.

Hederman platter

Isn't it great to take a menu in your hand and say immediately: “I could eat everything there.” Well it could take you a week or two to work your way through it. So, on the day, you have to choose. You could perhaps take the Producer Plate as a shortcut and you wouldn't go wrong with that choice.

But, on Friday, I went for the Frank Hederman Smoked Fish Plate as my starter, various versions of his famous smoked mackerel and salmon. Swapped a few pieces for a couple of large spoonfuls of CL’s Soup (Red Lentil Dahl topped with Riata). It was a fair exchange. The fish was excellent, as we’ve come to expect, and the soup was terrific, the spices provided by Green Saffron, and, all the while, the brown bread was going down well. The white bread, moistened (should really say soaked!) with their excellent olive oil, was long gone.

St Tola

Time now for the mains. The Tim McCarthy Lamb Shanks had all been eaten but there was considerable consolation in the O’Connell Spiced Beef Rump with Christmas Casseroled Red Cabbage, a perfect combination enhanced by the perfectly cooked vegetables (including those spot-on roasties).

Ten out of ten for that and CL was also thrilled with her dish: St Tola Goats Cheese Warm Salad with Spiced Almonds, and Beets two-way, and also pickled plums, a terrific blend, well thought out and well dispatched. Two empty plates went back to the kitchen.

Souped-up with Green Saffron spice

But just one dessert came out. We were getting full so decided to share the Winter Berry Tart, hot, with cream and custard. Tart and sweet, a lovely warm finalé to a hugely satisfying meal, the earlier courses washed down with Heritage des Cedre Malbec (France 2011), rich, fruity and fresh, sending out a message that Cahors is not about to roll over to Argentina in the battle on for Malbec supremacy.

The meal overall illustrated that Nash 19 is sticking to its guns, supporting local producers all the way. Suppliers, in addition to those already mentioned, include: Little Milk Company Cheese, Ummera, Waterfall Salad Leaves, Horizon Farm, Crowe’s Meats, Lismore Food Company, Hans Sloane Chocolate, Kitty Colchester Rapeseed Oil, Llewellyn’s Cider Vinegar, Arbutus Bread, Sheridan Cheese Biscuits.

Spiced Beef

Christmas Opening Hours at Nash 19

Mon 15 Dec to Fri 19 Dec 7.30 am to 4pm

Saturday 20 Dec 8.30am to 4pm

Sunday 21 Dec 12 to 5pm

Mon 22 & Tue 23rd Dec 7.30am to 4pm

Christmas Eve 7.30am till 1.30pm

Opening after Christmas on January 2nd @ 7.30am

021-4270880

The Square Table Launched

The Square Table Launched
Big Night for Coolea Sisters

Top left: Graham Neville (l) with Lucy and Mark of Ballyhoura Mushrooms.
Top right: Cheers! Martina and Yours Truly.

“I wish the two sisters all the best. They have shown great courage,” said Michelin Star chef Ross Lewis as he helped officially launch The Square Table restaurant in Blarney last night. The two sisters are Patricia and Martina Cronin, both originally from Coolea and now well experienced in the restaurant world. Patricia is front of house while Martina (who has worked with Ross) is the head chef.

Martina has also worked with Graham Neville, Head Chef at Restaurant Forty One, who also spoke at the opening. Graham is rather modest and it took Ross to step in and remind us all that Neville is the reigning Food and Wine Magazine Chef of the Year.

The two girls also spoke and their first priority was to say a big thank you to the people of Blarney for their support over the past few months. Martina said they simply wanted to present good well sourced Irish food and had big thanks for three mentors in particular: Kieran Scully (Bayview Hotel), Ross Lewis (Chapter One) and, of course Graham Neville.

Their suppliers too came in for praise as did their local staff (“absolutely fantastic”), all their friends, family, especially Mum and Dad.

Ross Lewis, from Cork himself, said he knows the Cronins well! “The heroes of today are those who employ people. I started in 1993 and I know that success will come.” But he warned that staying power was needed to deal with the special demands of being an employer, including PAYE, PRSI, banks, teaching employees.

“The complexities are enormous. It is a very daunting task. But I know the Cronins are determined. Martina has the doggedness of a lion. It is amazing and great to see people that we’ve worked with get out on their own”.

The sisters were hardly on their own last evening. There was a terrific turnout. Suppliers present included River Wines, Ballyhoura Mushrooms and Pat O'Connell. The media and blogger world was well represented by Joe McNamee, Jack Power, Caroline Hennessy, among others. And no shortage either of fellow restaurateurs, including Nash 19 and Jacques.

The family were naturally up in force from Coolea and customers were also among the attendance. And, after the speech, Matina was back in the kitchen sending out a stream of gorgeous little bites including Durcan’s Spiced Beef, Ardsallagh Goat Cheese, Liscannor Crab, Michael Twomey’s Wagyu Rib-eye, Ballyhoura Mushrooms, and Old Millbank Smoked Salmon.

On the sweet side there were Macaroons, Poached Blackberries, Chocolate Brownies and a Lemon Cream and Blueberry meringue, all gorgeous. And no shortage of wine to wash it all down.

Thanks for the invite ladies and the best of luck in Blarney!

Taste of the Week: Nash 19 Olive Oil.

Taste of the Week: Italian Olive Oil at Nash 19

On the lookout for a good Olive Oil? Then check out this excellent Italian Single Farm Extra Virgin Olive Oil, sourced by Country Choice in Nenagh and available at Nash 19 in Prince's Street for €11.95. 

Once, in Tuscany, a wine and olive oil producer told me the best way to make olive oil is to immediately cold press the just picked olives. He was scathing about the big companies who dragged in olives from all over the Med and were still able to claim that their oil was on a par with his. The longer the olives are hanging around (or in transport) the more the acid is a factor. Some big producers filter out the acid but also much of the goodness.

Be careful where you buy your oil and, once you have found a good source, stick with it. This oil, in the familiar gold wrapper, is a regular on the tables in Nash 19 and is our Taste of the Week.

Nash 19. The Twenty Fourteen Renaissance.

Nash 19. The Twenty Fourteen Renaissance

Frittata

Cheers!
Domaine Montmarrin (Fr.)
 Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Sometimes it is the big things. All this beautiful produce. Where does it come from? The answer is it’s local. How it is handled, cooked, presented? Brilliantly. And in the mix too are small things. Like those fresh-as-the-morning-dew salads. And that gorgeous creamy custard that comes with your fruit tart. Add them all together with a classy friendly service and you have Nash 19. Now add a remake from the sodden tatters of the floods and you have a new comfortable space in which all this happens. Bright and white, it is the Nash 19 Twenty Fourteen Renaissance!

After this display of determination, some things have changed but some remain the same. The must-try Producers’ Plate, a Taste of the Region, still tops the lunch menu, a menu that changes daily. Other favourites, like Ardsallagh Cheese and Jack McCarthy, get their share of the spotlight, all adding up to a terrific choice.

On Friday, McCarthy’s black pudding made an unusual appearance, as part of a Frittata with  caramelised apple and Brie. I did get a taster of this and it is lovely, highly recommended.

Delighted to also recommend my main course, the Mexican Chicken Warm Salad with Guacamole, tomato salsa and Horizon leaves. The Horizon Farm leaves also featured on our other mains: the Crab Cakes Warm Salad, another one to recommended.

And that smashing custard, a reminder of times past, featured in CL’s dessert, a beautifully done Mixer Berry and Apple Tart. My dessert, their famous Mille Feuille, may well have been misspelled on the menu but on the plate it was as delightful as ever. Glad that some things remain the same but glad too of the new bright surroundings, including that new ceiling window, in which the well loved Nash 19 operates. A bright future to all involved.

Nash 19. Always a Winner.

Nash 19. Always a Winner.

Something small caught my attention at lunch in Nash 19 yesterday. A green salad, served as a side dish. The mixed greens, that came from Waterfall Farm, were fresh and bright and absolutely inviting, and turned out to be sweet, crunchy and delicious. Just a side dish. But if Nash 19 give so much attention to this seemingly little detail, you'd reckon that the rest of the menu is well taken care of. And you'd be right.

It is this attention to detail that has seen the ever popular city centre restaurant survive and thrive for over two decades. The sourcing, the cooking, the assembly, the service, is all top notch. Always an enjoyable meal and always an enjoyable visit.

The menu changes daily and takes a wee bit of study as you nibble on their breads with that fabulous olive oil. We got, and accepted, recommendations for the main courses and started with a couple of soups.

The soups come in two sizes and we took the smaller bowl (€3.80) yesterday. I had the Tomato and Bean Soup with Chilli Salsa, a hearty mix of textures and flavours. CL’s Pea and Ham Hock Soup was more subtle but also a beautiful blend. The larger size will cost you €5.75.

They also do some tempting looking sandwiches, all around the tenner mark. Indeed, you may take the Toasty - Chargrilled Chicken, Caramelised Onion and Tipperary Brie Wrap and a cup of soup, all for €10.50.

The mains dishes, including their famous Local Producers Tasting Plate (€14.50), vary from €11.50 to €16.50. CL picked the Simply Grilled Fillets of Plaice, Lemon and Parsley Gremolata, vegetables and potatoes. This was expertly executed and rather expertly polished off as well.

The Aherla Veal Meat Balls, the veal from O'Mahony Butchers in the nearby English Market, were something else. These were served, Tuscan style, on Martelli Pasta, Lemon Parsley and Chanterelle Mushroom Cream, the pasta smooth and richly sauced, the meat pink and tender, and all enhanced by that special salad.

And a sip or two of wine of course. With Rhone Wine Week coming up, I opted for a glass (€6.95) of the Ogier Plan de Dieu, smooth, fruity and with a long finish. The fish went down well with a glass of Tuscany’s “refreshing and refined” Castello di Pomino BIanco (6.95). A couple of excellent coffees rounded off a very pleasant interlude.

On the lookout for a Gluten free Christmas Pudding? Nash 19 have the answer and they tell me they are delighted with the way it turned out. "Outstanding!"

Nash 19 details

• 19 Princes Street
• Cork IRL

Phone	(021) 427 0880
Email	info@nash19.com
Website	http://www.nash19.com

Mon - Fri: 7:30 am - 6:00 pm

Sat: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Nash 19 goes French. With style!

Nash 19 goes French

Didn’t realise until almost too late that so many of the city’s restaurants were joining in the fun of the second Cork French Food and Wine Festival. Among them were Les Gourmandises who had a Roasted Duck Leg Confit from the Landes area; Cronin’s of Crosshaven were doing a Bouillabaisse; The Farmgate presented Blanquette de Veau while Star Anise might have had the inside track with Saddle of Rabbit from Lyons.

We ended our festival weekend on Saturday in Nash 19 who had also entered into the spirit and were indeed offering some good French wines at an attractive price (€4.50 per glass of a Sauvignon from Bordeaux).

By then, the Very Classic French Onion Soup had sold out but they did have a gorgeous Soupe de Poisson avec Croutons, a really flavoursome bowlful (a large one!), the fishy flavours mild, the texture smooth.

On then to the piece de résistance, the Salade Nicoise au Seared Tuna, dish of the Cotes d’Azur. I believe though that the citizens of Nice can hardly agree among themselves on the exact recipe for this traditional dish with some of the traditionalists saying you can’t have anchovies and tuna together. In England, the preference seems to be for canned tuna while here (and in the USA) we seem to relish the seared tuna.

All the arguments though, which probably apply in some shape or form to all traditional dishes, were far from our minds as we tucked into this splendid Nash 19 version which also featured the traditional hardboiled egg and one of the freshest and crispest salads you are likely to find. The tuna, by the way, was perfectly cooked, tender and moist, and polished off with some relish.

The French theme continued right to the end and dessert, a luscious Apple Tarte Tatin, was a superb example of the type. Apparently it was invented by a lady called Tatin by mistake. Jamie Oliver tells how: it was invented quite near where I was staying by the Tatin sisters. The story goes that one of them was making an apple tart but, for whatever reason, made a mistake and left it too long in the oven. However, she thought she could salvage it, so she ended up turning it upside down and her guests went mad for it.

Actually Jamie has a recipe for it here.  Don’t think that Nash 19’s Donna will need to look it up though. Her Tarte Tatin is perfect!

French touch at Nash 19!

Mairead of Nash 19 tells they are supporting the Cork French Food and Wine Festival with a special menu from today to the weekend. Worth a try, mes amis!

Nash 19 Restaurant and Food Shop Supporting French Food Trial Lunch Menu

Special French Wine by the Glass €4.50 to celebrate Cork French Food and Wine Festival

Soupe de Poisson avec Croutons                                                                    

Creamy Mushroom and Fennell Soup                                    

V. Classic French Onion Soup                                                                          

V. Warm Salad of St. Tola de Chevre Chaud with Polenta Crumb, Roast Peppers & Candied Pecans   

Fresh Oysters by the Dozen from the Market (10 Mins)                                 

Nash 19 Showcase Producers Platter                                                             

                                   

Salade Nicoise au Seared Tuna (Cotes d’Azur)                                                   

From the Market O Connell’s Roast Hake on Risotto topped with Cress                                                                                                                                        

Crowe’s Tenderloin of Pork Fillet with Cherry and Juniper Cream  

Chicken Korma Curry (Green Saffron Spices) , Lime infused Basmati Rice

                                                                                                                             

Durcan’s Sirloin of Beef, Roast Shallots                                                                 

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pie with Waterfall Greens                    

Roast Red Onion and Fresh Thyme Tarte topped with Ardsallagh Goat Cheese

                                                                                                                                   

Crowes Smoked Ham and Local Cheddar Toasted Sandwich With a Cup of Soup    

                                                                                                  

Sides;-Salad of the Day / Seasonal Vegetables/ Hand cut Chunky Chips in Sea Salt    €3.00

Restaurant Opening Hours; Monday to Friday 7.30am to5pm.  Shop till 6pm

Open Every Saturday 8.30am to 4pm