ORIEL COURT

SECOND BITE...............
...........................COSTS MORE


How can the Oriel Court Hotel justify the massive price increase it has imposed on its lunchtime diners? Especially when it is accompanied by a drop in standards?

Just last August, I was loud in praise of the food there and the prices. Everything on the lunchtime menu was under a tenner.

Not anymore. The Cajun salmon salad that I enjoyed for less than €10.00 last August (August 2007, I must stress), now costs €11.50 and everything else has gone up has well, including prices at the carvery (where the beef plate now costs a whopping €14.00).

The food wasn't quite as good either. The hot salmon was slightly overdone and the garlic bread (one piece now as against two in August) that accompanied the salad wasn't up to the standard of the previous visit (see August review below).

At least, the multi-national service was efficient and friendly. But the totally unjustified price increase left a sour taste, leading perhaps to a detour next time I'm in the area.

SING OUT LOUD

GO TO THE CABARET
BUT NOT WITH GEORGE!


Food and music can be a good mix. Not always. I was a guest at a recent club dinner where the former You’re A Star contender George Murphy was the main attraction of the post meal entertainment.

The meal over, we were looking forward to George. He made his entrance and started off with a string of ballads. All were delivered with a shouting style. The words flew at you, just loud words, no emotion, no feeling. Where’s the soul man? James Brown might have had asked. Where’s the duende, might have come from the Spanish poet Garcia Lorca.

But George kept on roaring it out, even Blowing in the Wind came in for the sand-blasting treatment, in between refreshing gargles of course. Then he took a bar break and left the two guitarists on stage and they changed the atmosphere and entertained with some rock numbers such as Roll it on the River.

George was soon back again and we got more of his almost deafening delivery, no attempt at a rapport with the audience. The crowd were willing and tried a few choruses but I have never seen such relief, even from us greybirds, when the trembling tones of the Bee Gees announced the start of the disco.

Pity really, as the five course meal was top class at the Convention Centre in Silversprings. Manager Eoin Daly was on hand to supervise the clockwork operation as the food was distributed with precision and no little attention to the 250 diners. The main course was beef and it was spot on and everyone was absolutely satisfied on this count. So well done once again to the Moran Silversprings.

If you’d still like to try food and cabaret, there is one venue that you should seriously consider. It has been highly recommended. At the Quality Hotel in Shandon, there is a cabaret featuring Neasa de Baroid every Thursday night. It was regularly sold out last year and the trend continues this year. But, if you book the dinner, you are guaranteed a seat at the entertainment. Sounds like a good deal!

CURRAN'S

CURRAN’S CHEF SCORES
CUSTOMER WINS

I have never been let down in Curran’s in Adelaide Street. I have been in there with parties big and small and never a complaint.

The latest visit produced the same result. Good friendly service and top class food, well prepared and at a decent price.

Guidebooks regularly recommend that you check out the Plat du Jour when you are on holiday. I wasn't on holiday but I did take the Chef's Special on my most recent visit to Curran’s. I’m glad I did.

It was pan-fired monkfish, accompanied by vegetables (spinach, carrot, onion – cooked to a perfect point, not too hard and, the spinach excepted, not at all soft), and laid on a bed of potatoes with mozzarella and served with a rich lemon sauce. It was a tasty and substantial treat for €24.95, a bit more that I would like to pay for a main course but well worth it on this occasion.

The wine, which cost €17.95 for the bottle, was a Pinot Grigio Chardonnay from Italy (Pasqua). It was dry and crisp, a hint of green apples in the taste, and went extremely well with the monkfish and the rich sauce.

Dessert was a Pavlova with fresh fruit. They do a good Pavlova here, the real thing, but the fruit, while nice, could have been a bit more exotic. There was just too much apple in it.

All in all, another enjoyable visit to Curran’s. The restaurant has an upstairs room for large parties. I had one there last year and I was glad to see it fully engaged the other night with sounds of joy and laughter coming down the stairs.

Verdict? 9.75 out of 10. Now if there had been more variety in the fruit that accompanied the Pavlova….

AMICUS

AMICUS IS HOT
But avoid the draught!

The lively Amicus restaurant, in its relatively new location in Paul Street, is about as central as you can get in the city. It has an extensive reasonably priced menu and produces good food. It doesn’t do reservations and sometimes you have to wait for a table.

Our latest visit started for me with a bowl of Moules Mariniere (dear enough at €10.00), with the traditional white wine, garlic and onion sauce. The cooking time was obviously spot-on and they were very tasty, though I could have done with a piece of bread. The Advisor began with a small bowl of Olives (€3.00). These too can be recommended.

On to the main course, where I took a chance and went for the Roasted Vegetable Salad. It consisted of Courgettes, Aubergines, Peppers and Onions, laid on a bed of couscous and baby spinach and served with a few splashes of organic yogurt and pesto. There was quite a plateful. The spinach and couscous bed worked very well and I enjoyed the peppers and the onions but I must admit I found the Aubergine and Courgette fairly soggy and therefore heavy going.

The Advisor went for the Sicilian curry, the chicken version. That was served in its own bowl and accompanied, on the main plate, by rice, relish, etc. All nicely presented and a treat to eat.

We felt we had room for dessert but none of the seven on the list was very tempting so we gave it a skip and finished off the wine. The total bill came to €59.00, plus tip.

That wine was probably the highlight of the night. For €19.00, we got an organic Montgras Soleus Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. This is a top class wine that belies its price tag. It is refreshing with a strong herby flavour that lingers. It also comes with a 14% kick.

Maybe our Irish waitress was new to the job. She certainly didn't have any great knowledge of the menu. For instance, she was asked what vegetables accompanied a certain dish and her reply: “Peppers and things”. Could do better!

While Amicus is certainly a place to go to, there is one section within the place that you should try and avoid. That is around the entrance area. We have been there once or twice and felt the draughts. The entrance is screened off by big glass panels and there are tables right alongside. The trouble is that there is a small gap, running the full height of the panels, and the draughts get through there and make life uncomfortable (the big glass window onto Paul Street doesn’t help either). So if your waitress is taking you to a seat in that area, ask for a different table.

Ironically, having said all that, right outside is the smoking area and there, in a chilly September evening, the dedicated puffers, some in lightweight sleeveless tops, are enjoying themselves with no worries about draughts. It takes all kinds!
Amicus now have a Tapas bar in full operation upstairs and I look forward to paying a visit there and see how it compares with Boqueria in Bridge Street.

BUCKNUTI

GO EAST YOUNG MAN
BUT NOT TOO FAR
















Just east of the city, in Riverstown, you will find the Bucknuti Restaurant, adjoining the BK2 Bar in the Hazelwood Shopping Centre. The name is Thai and many of the dishes, but by no means all, are Thai influenced.

From the extensive menu, I choose the pan roasted Cod fillet with Provencal vegetables, mushy green peas and home cut chips (€17.95). It was a smashing combination, the roasted veg (mainly pepper and aubergine) and peas mixing well with the fish to provide a light delight and the chips too were a cut above the normal.

Most of the desserts are €7.00 and I was very happy with mine: Peach and Orange crumble, with sauce anglaise and ice cream. It wasn't quite the crumble I was expecting but rather a tart with a crumble topping. The filling was mainly peach with possibly rind of orange. The custard was used sparingly and all together the result was a tasty light sweet that satisfied without leaving you with that filled up feeling.

The house wine was a Grenache Sauvignon blend. It was light and refreshing but maybe not great value for the €19.00.

Other family members were out eating as well on this particular night and good reports came back from The Barn (reliable, if expensive, set menu) and Amicus (cheerful and cheaper). Chicken dishes were recommended at each location: chicken breast (stuffed with a cream cheese and wrapped in bacon at The Barn) and a chargrilled chicken breast (her “usual” at Amicus).

WONDERFALL

EARLY BIRD SCORES AGAIN

(but sting in the tail...)

Greene’s, the restaurant by the waterfall in McCurtain Street, is a little bit pricier. But it is also a little bit better. I sampled their early bird (€28.00) recently and felt I had struck a culinary jackpot.

Starter was the Prawns Scampi (see menu illustration). They and the wedges looked scarce enough on the plate but were quite sufficient as a starter. Not just sufficient. They were excellent.

Main course was the Salmon. Oh, so tasty. And the vegetable accompaniment was also brilliant. The Advisor opted for the Toulouse Sausage. She doesn’t go far wrong. Indeed, she wasn't wrong at all. It was absolutely splendid and the Red Wind jus was one of the best sauces of its kind that we’ve ever come across.

After all that, we said we’d settle for a simple dessert and the Crème Caramel seemed to fit the bill. Again there was surprise. The citron just made this plate. Again so tasty. Demolishable!!! But at a leisurely pace.

Service was the usual league of nations that we’ve come to expect in Ireland. But that is only half the story. The young people smiled. They were friendly and above all they were efficient.

By the way, my wine was yet another Pinot Grigio. Again this one (€22.5) was from the Venice region but was tarty and bright and came quite close to matching the bottle from the Trentino region that I found so appealing in Switzerland (see Swissroll07.blogspot.com).

Oh Oh! After that so positive review, sad to report that during that night and into the following day, each of us suffered from an upset stomach! Arret

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.