Semplicemente bellissima. Da Mirco@Home Features Skeaghanore Duck in a Ragu’ from Padua.

Semplicemente bellissima. 

Da Mirco@Home. Skeaghanore Duck Stars in Ragu' from Padua

Panettone E Mascarpone. Resistance is futile!

Put a famous Duck Ragu’ from Padua and the stunning Skeaghanore duck together. That’s what Mirco Fondrini, owner of Da Mirco Osteria in Bridge Street, did for his “Celebration of Da Mirco @ Home” last weekend. And it was a stunning combination!

If you are lucky enough to visit Padua, do take time away from the ancient arcades and the medieval market places to visit the nearby hills. Here, find yourself an Agriturismo to stay at. Or just to dine in. Mirco himself is from Valtellina (near the Swiss border) but his wife is from Padua and on their last visit to the rolling hills there, their party of four enjoyed a four-course meal including wine for ninety euro! And the duck ragu’ features here and in many other places in Padua and beyond.

Our 3-course meal at home cost €45.00 and we were very well pleased indeed, even if we had to do a little (very little) “work” ourselves. We started with Parmigiana de Melanzane, baked layered fried aubergine with a tomato sauce and topped with Provolone cheese, Just beautiful.  A amazing mix of beautiful flavours and textures, and juicy, with that layer of cheese on top playing a key role. A thoroughly satisfying starter.

While that was being dispatched in a happy silence, the Fettuccine al Ragu’ D’Anatra was being prepared, the pasta being boiled, the ragu’ being reheated. You do get written instructions! The main dish consists of Fresh Pasta for 2 (300gr) + da Mirco's signature Duck ragú for 2 + pecorino cheese + side of homemade focaccia bread.

The minute the aromas of the Skeaghanore drifted across the table we knew we were on to another good thing. It was such a happy blend of Italian know-how and Irish produce. Silence again descended as we ate our satisfying fill. Semplicemente bellissima. I’d imagine it would have been much noisier had we been indulging in the same meal in a Padovan farmhouse where the honest food and fair prices draw lines of customers into the hills.

Pretty well full after the pasta, so a time-out was called. Not for long though! About 30 minutes later, our taste buds were in happy action again, this time enjoying the Panettone E Mascarpone, a Homemade Panettone Cake made in Bread & Butter Pudding style with Mascarpone. Oh sweet lord. The best Bread & Butter pudding ever!

Not too sure what Mirco and his team will have on offer this week but do keep an eye on their Facebook. When you see the offering (probable on Tuesday), don’t hesitate, order it, it will be good! While you’re on, study too his single dishes (you can make up your own menu), check out his wine list, and also his on-line shop of Italian delicacies! But don’t delay, I'll be there before you.

Succulent starter!

Last weekend’s 3-course menu for two (€45.00)

2x PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE

Baked layered fried aubergine with a tomato sauce and Provolone cheese

Continue with Main...

2x FETTUCCINE AL RAGU' D'ANATRA

This is a Pasta Kit of Fresh Handmade Fettuccine with an organic Duck ragu' in a Venetian Style. You need to boil pasta and reheat ragu'

Pasta Kit contains:

Fresh Tagliatelle for 2 (300gr) + da Mirco's signature Duck ragú for 2 + pecorino cheese + side of homemade focaccia bread

Panettone E Mascarpone

Homemade Panettone Cake made in Bread & Butter Pudding style with Mascarpone.

Availability: Wednesday to Saturday from 3:30pm to 7pm. But check Facebook for updates!

Thompsons Do The Walk All Right

Thompsons Do The Walk All Right 

Peruvian style chicken from Clonakilty!

Fresh pint and those 1826 tiles

When you walk in the door at Thompson’s you’re walking on the original steel tiles from 1826. You’re also walking towards a delicious meal and some excellent beer brewed in the onsite micro-brewery.

And there’s more in this former bakery. Very comfortable seating for one. It’s a huge venue (seats 120, even with Covid19 rules) yet well divided into nooks and snugs and booths, even some intimate little hideaways. And the staff are welcoming and friendly.

Those steel tiles are not the only mementoes from the bakery’s past. There’s an ancient cash register by the front door, what looks like a mechanical dough mixer in the middle and, back by the bar, is where you’ll see their latest discovery: suitcases for wedding cakes!

With the micro-brewery on site, run by the Cotton Ball, there’s no surprise that the food is designed to match. Pizzas and burgers appear prominently on the menu. But this is a step-up on the usual tap-room fare.

Hot wings

Take our shared large starter for instance: Buffalo style wings are slathered in their 2-week house fermented Chilli sauce which is blended with vinegar, butter, honey, and spices served with blue cheese and celery. Hot and also packed with flavour, great texture in that sauce, there’s also a super dip, and that big piece of celery comes in handy! I’ve tasted quite a few wing offerings recently, in and out of town and also at home, and these are most impressive.

They also do a Sweet and Sticky version, with house made sweet chilli sauce with soya and sugar glaze, topped with sesame seeds and scallions and served with sweet soya sauce. Nachos, large or small, are also on offer, a couple of salads (including a Caesar) and also a Grilled Halloumi, Chickpea and Lentil salad.

Brewery tanks

Irish beef features in a few of the burgers and there’s also a chicken burger as well as a vegan version (with a spicy Chickpea patty). And some main-course salads, bigger versions of the Caesar, the vegan Beetroot, Carrot, Quinoa and Spinach and the vegetarian Grilled Halloumi with chickpea and Lentil.

We went to the rotisserie for one of our mains and the Peruvian style chicken was excellent. This Marinated Free Range Clonakilty Chicken is served with roasted jalapeno, a Red onion sauce, Salad and Fries. Quite a plateful and top quality (15.50).

There’s a terrific selection of pizzas, all on their 3-day proofed dough made from caputo flour. My pick was the Nduja Spicy Sausage and Honey Pizza (14.50). This one was slightly spicy, slightly sweet but very very satisfactory indeed.  There’s a vegetarian version and even a Ham and Pineapple. The other ones that appealed to me were the Chorizo, red onion and chilli and also the Chicken, red peppers and onions.

Must say we were pretty well fed at this point but there was no way we were going to leave a certain dessert behind. Considering the history of where we were sat, it had to be, for old times sake, the Thompsons Raspberry Swiss Roll, even if it was a shared one (5.95). But we did get two decent slices and lots of cream and enjoyed every little moist crumb.

Swiss Roll

We didn’t have any drink. Only kidding! Just had to sample a couple from the tap. CL sipped a glass of Thompsons Lite Lager (3.75) and pronounced herself happy with it. My choice was the superb Cotton Ball Indian Summer, produced first as a seasonal but now very much a core beer. And I could see why as I sipped my delicious pint (5.95).

Total bill came to €65.05 - would have been 56.40 without the tax!

Thompsons Restaurant and Brewery https://www.thompsonscork.ie/home-thompsons 

5-11 MacCurtain Street

Cork

Tel: (021) 603 1111

Thompsons, up and running since 6th of August

Da Mirco’s Italian Meal Matches Weekend Sun!

Mirco’s Italian Meal Matches Weekend Sun!

With the sun high in the blue sky, a call to Osteria Da Mirco’s in Bridge Street (Cork) provided just the food to match the occasion. Mirco, like quite a few restaurants these Covid days, is keeping in touch with customers via his Click & Collect service.

Ever since I enjoyed Cannelloni on a backstreet near Rome's Piazza Navona, I’ve been a fan of that Italian dish and, once I spotted it on Mirco’s menu, there was no doubt about my pick.

Hot in the city. Saturday.

There was lots more to choose from, of course, including Lasagna Bolognese, Parmigiana di Melanzane, Pollo alla Diavola e Nduja, and Polpette al Sugo (Italian meatballs), all available in trays for two or four people. All well-priced also; for example, our Cannelloni was €15.00 for two.

He does a small selection of pizzas as well and there’s no shortage of sides and sauces, including his own Focaccia, his Insalata Caprese and more. Then there’s Patate Al Forno (Oven roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes) and Verdure al Forno (Oven roasted mediterranean Vegetables), each a fiver. We enjoyed the spuds there before, so that was our pick.

Artichoke

Desserts also on offer, including Tiramisu (which, you may like to know, contains alcohol!). And speaking of alcohol, just click the drinks tab and  you’ll see Italian wines and beers, and a couple of Irish drinks as well from 9 White Deer and Stonewell.

And that leaves the Shop tab. There’s quite a selection here of Italian specialities including coffee, cheese, deli meats, balsamic vinegars, olives and vegetables. Here, we found our Mediterranean Marinated Artichokes 200g tub (Small artichoke quarters. They are seasoned with olive oil, garlic and parsley. They can be served as delicious side dishes or used to garnish Da Mirco's homemade focaccia bread and savoury flans !) - another great fiver’s worth!

We used a few of those artichokes as a starter and used the rest of them in a couple of salads over the weekend. Different and delicious.

Chester Cake

The Cannelloni (Cannelloni Pasta filled with Ricotta Cheese, Spinach with Tomato sauce) was easily heated, didn’t take long, and it was absolutely superb. And with the sun still shining, I could have been right there in that Roman back street. Indeed, I think we had more sun here than in that narrow street where the tall buildings blocked out most of the sun.

I didn’t buy a wine from Mirco, simply because I had one  ready and waiting at home, a Barbara by fiercely independent Piedmont winemaker Water Massa, a light, easy-drinking and fruity Rosso (bought as part of a mixed 6-bottle box from Bradley’s). Its lovely acidity makes it a terrific table wine.

Satisfyingly full after that delicious meal, we waited a while for the dessert, also already in the house. Delighted to make the acquaintance again of the award-winning Chester Cake from McSweeney’s Foodstore, Burton Place, Gardinders Hill, Cork, washed down with an excellent Golden Bean Coffee (their Capim Branco,  Brasil). Ciao!

Da Mirco

4 Bridge Street
Cork
Ireland

 021 2419480

 infodamirco@gmail.com

Friday evening at Greene's. Almost like old times. Almost!

Friday evening at Greene's.

Almost like old times. Almost! 

In the car of a Friday evening and heading downtown. Park up and walking over to Greene’s Restaurant in MacCurtain Street. It’s almost like old times. 

Almost. We have clicked and are on the way to collect, all comfortably within the 5km limit. It is our first venture into the city since the lockdown began and, as it turned out, quite a worthwhile one.

You know there’s been some dispute among the restaurant fraternity about the value of click and collect or simply takeaway. But it keeps open the links with both suppliers and customers and also keeps some staff involved. And it also makes the possibility of slippage to processed food a little more remote, the processed food that ace American chef Dan Barber called “the lowest bar”, “It’s an insult.” (New Yorker May 24th, 2020)

Greene’s is one of the restaurants nearest to us and you just knew, takeout or not, there’d be no slippage in standards - just because there is a crisis doesn't mean you can't cook creatively - and so it proved as the quality of food they provided was so much better than regular takeaway. 

We stepped under the arch and entered to a big smiling welcome and were presented with our dinner in a long sleek box, packed full of good things to eat, each section neatly stored separately within. 

And inside also was one other very important item: a typed sheet with details of each element along with detailed instructions on how to finish the cooking! And, if you needed more help, you could look up Chef Bryan McCarthy’s video instructions available on both their Instagram and Facebook. 

Would you like a wine to go with that? No bother. Have a look at somm Frank’s suggestions videos on Facebook and make your choice. And of course the crew in Cask will sort out a cocktail for you.

At present, they are doing "Greene’s and Cask @ Home" three days a week: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The menu has variations each day and vegetarians are also catered for. 

Black Pudding and Pork Belly Beignets was our chosen starter and that came with an apple and celeriac salad with a superb dressing. Eight minutes later (that’s how long it took to heat up the beignets) we were tucking into it.  No bother admitting this was different class, even the salad came totally alive with that dressing and the beignets, with an aioli mayo, were also superb. A very satisfactory beginning indeed!

The other starter available was a Ballyhoura Mountain Mushroom Risotto (with pickled mushroom, Cep powder, and Coolea Cheese). Next time!

A break of ten minutes or so then as we “worked” on the main course: the Venison Pie. Would probably have been a few minutes less had we chosen the Pan Seared Hake (with Dashi cream and pea risotto). The third choice was the Vegetarian Jackfruit and Chickpea Stew (also about 10 minutes).

Anyhow, back to the very satisfying pie! Terrific chunks of meat with jus, big cubes of root vegetables and broccoli, not forgetting the spuds and extra mash. Superb. And a nicely judged quantity also.

The offer is two courses for two people for forty euro. You may also add sides or extras, maybe a meal for a 3rd person. Friday’s dessert offers were a Summer Berry Cheesecake, Sweet Woodruff Panna Cotta and Chocolate Brownie.

Didn’t get to study the wine list but one that I can recommend is the unoaked Flor de Crasto, a young, fruit driven easy-drinking Portuguese red wine produced from local grapes (Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Vinhas Velhas).

Our first experience of Click & Collect turned out to be a winner. We’ll be back to MacCurtain Street!

* Click and Collect at Greene’s and quite a few other restaurants use software provided by TablePath. I had some info up on that recently and you may check it out here. 

Greene's Restaurant

Class Cuisine at The Glass Curtain. New Kid on the Thompsons Block

Class Cuisine at The Glass Curtain

New Kid on the Thompsons Block

The Glass Curtain has made an impressive debut on MacCurtain Street, the latest food outlet in the bustling area of Cork city, with something for every palate and wallet. And the buzz goes on - lots more to come. Much of it in the old Thompsons Building, once a key bakery for the city. 

Brian Murray’s Glass Curtain is one of the smaller developments in the cavern of a building. There is much more space being filled between the street back as far as Wellington Road. Another restaurant, a bar and a micro-brewery are coming soon as the Lynch family (who own the Cotton Ball brewery) continue the exciting development.

"Low Fashioned" on the right

But back to Brian and the Glass Curtain. He is very much  supporting local and indeed the craft beers on offer are from the Cotton Ball. They also have about a dozen tempting cocktails including one that I enjoyed on my recent visit. The “Low Fashioned” is a very tasty combination of Kinsale “Wild Red” Mead, Angostura, Demerara and Orange. 

Other local drinks featuring in the cocktail list include Longueville Apple Brandy, Blacks Gin and Kalak Peated Vodka. And one cocktail that you may well fancy, some of you for nostalgic reasons, is the Turkish Delight (Lychee liqueur, rose, orange blossom and soda). Those of you who remember Thompsons in its prime probably know that Hadji Bey Turkish Delight was made across the road. Quite an extensive wine list also and spirits too. So that’s the drinks. What of the food? 

Pic courtesy of The Glass Curtain.

Those of you on social media will have seen the Glass Curtain publish their first food pic (above) in mid January. In the comments, chef/owner Brian said “the menu has been a living restless thing since we opened last month. Changing daily, still defining our style and still a lot of work to be done. Here’s one our guests and ourselves have taken a real liking to: the tandoori monkfish, chargrilled, with roast cauliflower, mussels, saffron and baby leeks.” 

As it happened we were in the evening the photo was taken and one of our mains was that very dish and we gave it a big thumbs up. Don’t think there’s too much work to be done on this one, aside from seasonal variations of course!

Pork and cabbage and "gravy", but not like Granny's

My mains that evening was based on a collar of pork. You don’t see this very often on local menus. More’s the pity as it’s absolutely delicious. And the Glass Curtain version was even more so. Pork collars are a familiar item in Europe and because of their intense marbling are used to make traditional sausages such as coppa. 

The collar is cut from the shoulder portion that runs from the neck to the tip of the loin. Bord Bia have a recipe on their site here and say that the cut is very good value and that leftovers can be used in pulled pork sandwiches.

Brian, who cooks with “a lot of love and a little fire”, declares on their website that “flavour is our holy grail” and he certainly got that spot on with this dish, the umami of sauce an outstanding factor. The menu description is: Pork collar, miso, grilled winter cabbage and peanut rayu. Tender and delicious. Go for it!

Hake starter

Starters here are called Small Plates. CL enjoyed her Confit Hake, house XO sauce, and grilled broccoli, while my Cured red gurnard in roast onion dashi also went down well. That dashi was probably the star and I asked for a spoon to make sure I didn’t leave one delicious drop behind.

Gurnard and dashi. Should have had a sake with this!

Just three desserts on offer and, while our shared Honey Custard Tart (with nutmeg and fresh cream) was not quite on a par with the earlier courses, it was nonetheless polished off. Perhaps you may prefer the cheese offering: a selection of Irish cheese, Peter’s Yard crackers and honey.

The place itself is comfortable, seats about 35, and the service is excellent. Some seats will give you a good view of the open kitchen. We were absorbed when they started cooking their Beef Chop. This “monster” is about three  inches thick, I guess, and is for sharing. It is 35-day aged and they grill it on the bone. You may need one of the side dishes here, perhaps the  Smoked Heritage Potatoes with Beef Dripping! 

The Glass Curtain 

Thompson House

MacCurtain Street

Cork

Tel: (021) 451 8659

Metropole Heritage Day Tour & Lunch

Metropole Heritage Day Tour & Lunch

This smart fellow
looks over the Lynch Suite

“The hotel was dry for the early decades,” concierge John Coleman (right) told our group as he took us on a Heritage Day tour of the Metropole Hotel, founded 122 years ago by the Musgrave family. The hotel quickly became known as The Met and the name endures. Guests around the turn of the century were mainly travelling salesmen.

What you may not have known, or may not remember, is that the ground floor of the building was given over to retail, with two shops on each side of the entrance. One of those, Hadji Bey, an Armenian that specialised in Turkish Delight, went on to become a Cork institution. Indeed, John told us The Met still serve the sweets,  now produced in Kildare rather than in Cork, to their guests.

The Met was also a great wedding venue, capable of handling up to seven weddings a day, wedding breakfasts in those days. I remember going there in the 1960s to a triple wedding featuring three sisters from the southside.

Afternoon tea?

John’s tour took us through some of the meeting rooms, all named after well-known writers. And there was a stop also at the Jack Lynch Suite to see the period detail, including an original radiator (still going strong). The current taoiseach has also stayed in this suite. Good views form the upper floors over the neighbours on MacCurtain Street. On the fourth floor we had a splendid views over the new Mary Elmes Bridge.

Pork

And John ensured we didn’t leave empty-handed as we were presented with a discounted offer on their classic afternoon tea and, after all those stairs (there was a lift too), we enjoyed their splendid homemade lemonade.

O'Flynn's Sausages

Last year, new owners (Trigon Group) spent millions on a refurbishment that included all the bedrooms, the new MET bar, restaurant and tea-room. Classy and comfortable is the result and do check out the snug too!

I had been checking the lunch menu here from time to time, thinking there was a nice bit of variety in the list and so, on Saturday, took the opportunity to try it out.

View over MacCurtain Street

Meeting rooms named
after famous writers

Just to give you an idea of the variety on offer, we could have had a Calamari Salad, a Classic Chicken Caesar Salad, a smoked Carrigaline Cheese, Fig and Onion  Tart (topped with crispy egg), the Mary Elmes Beef Brisket Burger and more.

All their beef is Irish and local producers such as Carrigaline above are supported. My pick was O’Flynn’s Pork and Sage Sausages with spicy roast red pepper and chickpea stew, crusty sourdough bread. 

The new Mary Elmes Bridge

Appropriately enough for Heritage Day I thought, as O’Flynn’s have been around long enough now to be considered part of the food heritage in these parts, a very enjoyable part indeed as Saturday’s lunch proved once again.

The Sticky Pulled Pork Sandwich with onions, toasted sourdough, fries, and a spicy slaw was CL’s choice and it too was excellent, full of flavour and the fries (which may not have been mentioned on the menu) were superb (I did steal a few).

Washed it all down with a glass of Murphy’s Stout, getting a little practice in for the upcoming Oyster Festival  that will be headquartered here in the Metropole but which will have events all over town and beyond from the 20th to the 22nd of September.

This Grand Old Dame of the Cork Victorian Quarter may well be 122 years old but she is still going strong, still able to teach the younger acts a hospitality trick or two. Well worth a visit!

Local Producers Shine as Cask Introduces Weekend Brunch

Local Producers Shine as Cask Introduces Weekend Brunch

French Toast

When Cork’s Cask recently introduced its weekend Brunch, there was no doubt that it would be local and seasonal. Head Chef Bryan McCarthy emphasised it in the notice: “For the brunch menu at Cask we wanted to keep it simple, offering no-frills brunch favourites with the focus firmly on the quality of the ingredients which we’ve sourced from some wonderful local producers. We’re delighted with how it has turned out and we think people are going to love it.”

I tried it out this weekend, enjoyed it and delighted too that Killahora Orchards, a producer just about five miles east of the city, figured so much in my choice. I should say choices as there was a cocktail involved as well! Well, it was a late brunch.

The menu is short, with favourites, such as Eggs Benedict featuring. Seated by the window, we ignored the busy street scene outside and studied the options. My choice was the French Toast with the Killahora Apple Syrup and Strawberries (bananas were an alternative).

So what cocktail? You have to smile at the names here but there is something a little more serious behind the one I picked: Bee Positive. Ketel One vodka, Killahora Rare Apple Iced Wine, Suze, Borage and local honey are the ingredients. And it comes with a packet of wildflower seeds to throw and grow! Aside from the needed nod to the bees, the drink itself is delicious, nectar springs to mind! 

In any event, the drink and the superb French Toast went very well together, I’m glad to report. CL meantime was enjoying her substantial plate of Avocado, Bacon, Tomato, Rocket, and Poached Egg on toast. That too was delicious, quite a feed. I know, as we swapped halfway through.

Like an increasing number of places, Cask offer a non alcoholic cocktail. Their Shrub consists of Ceders Non Alcoholic Spirit, Seasonal Shrub, and Poachers Ginger Ale. Tonic and soda are listed as alternatives but Dan, who was looking after us, hinted that the Poachers Ginger ale was just the job and he was talking to the converted as CL had recently enjoyed a cocktail with ginger ale in Kerry. This didn’t look all that spectacular, just the one flowerhead, providing colour, but it tasted very well indeed.

Cheers to the bees

Andy Ferreira, Cask bar manager and chief mixologist. “In recent years brunch as a concept has really taken off so we were excited to introduce it to Cask, but making sure to put our own unique spin on things. We’ve combined delicious food and a fun and intriguing drinks menu with the great craic that we’ve become known for - a killer combination!”

Having been asked to put it to the test, we can endorse that! Also on the menu are Eggs Benedict on Toasted Honey Spelt Bread; Potato, Black Pudding and Beef Hash with Baked Eggs. Lighter dining options include Granola with Natural Yogurt and Berry Compote, and Smoked Salmon with Scrambled Eggs and Chives.

Brunch is available here from 10:00am - 3:00pm every Saturday and Sunday. Cask is also open daily for lunch and dinner from 12:30pm - 10:00pm. 

Cask

48 MacCurtain Street

Cork

Tel:  (021) 450 0011