SMALL IS BEST

CASTELLI’S IN PRINCE’S STREET

First impression was that this place was so small but as they say the best is to be found in small parcels and certainly the first visit to Castelli's Italian Restaurant in Prince’s Street was well worthwhile. The room is cosy, comfortable and seats about 30. Service is friendly and efficient.

From the nine or starts on offer, we both choose the Mussels (With tomato, onion & basil). The soup-like accompaniment certainly lifts the mussels to another tasty level. Top marks for this one.

My main course was a medium size pizza: Primavera (Aubergine, olives, tomato, pesto, peppers & red onions). It was done to a T, well endowed with the vegetables and a pleasure to polish off. The Advisor plumped for their version of Pollo alla Cacciatora (Chicken, onions, tomatoes chilli in tomato sauce, with fries or potatoes). The difference is made by the chilli and, while this dish too went down well, the extra spice may not be to everyone’s taste, so watch out for that.

A 50 cl carafe of house wine (Soave), medium dry with quite a robust flavour cost just €11.00.

The full bill came to a few cent under €55.00. Great value and it seems their early bird is even better value. So now you know!

Castelli’s own words:
Offering an excellent selection of Italian and Mediterranean dishes, Castelli's is the perfect place to enjoy casual lunches and sophisticated evening meals. The "early-bird" specials are particularly popular: a three-course lunch. The restaurant has daily specials as well as offering a regular selection of pasta, salad, and pizza dishes. Its small, warm surroundings allow for good and fast service. Perfect espressos and cappuccinos are available to round off a good inexpensive meal.
Contact Details: Princes Street, Cork - 021 427 3888

BARN STORMER

EXCELLENT RESPONSE

MEAL GOOD ALSO!!!

The Adviser recently made a booking at the Barn and there was an error, on the Barn side. But the response was brilliant. Their hands went up straight away and there was a generous gesture on the next visit.

The Barn, on the Mayfield-Glanmire Road, in case you didn't know, is a reliable fixture at the top end of the Cork restaurant scene. The welcome is friendly, service is good and the seating arrangements are generous in regard to space and comfort. The fixed evening menu costs €50 a head and the wine begins in the mid twenties.

Had a drink at the bar before going in, made our choices from the menu and chose a tarty long tasting Pinot Grigio (which turned out to be a lovely lively wine) for the meal.

Started off with a tasty duck salad, and that was followed by a top drawer bisque. Main course was red snapper with a smoked haddock spring roll, an excellent plate. Desserts comes from a three tray trolley. You are certain to find something sinful to suit you (I took the Mille Feuille) and tea or coffee is available to finish off, unless you want to go to the bar, where you can enjoy a glass of port for €6.00.

The Adviser was well pleased with the evening and we promised to go again, a promise that will be kept.

ROYAL RECEPTION

AT THE YING PALACE

What a welcome we got at the comfortable Ying Palace Restaurant in Mayfield the other night and, more to the point, what a meal! And what value!

We took Selection C on a huge menu. By the way, in addition to the main a la carte menu, there was an even better value introductory menu where you could get four courses for about €15.00. Our selection cost €19.00 per person.

Starter was Shredded Aromatic Duck, served with a fresh green salad and a hoi-shin sauce and thin pancakes to wrap it in. It was beautiful, a very promising start to the evening.

Next course was the soup; this had a most delicate taste but was so beautiful. It was a crab and sweet corn soup, a little gem.

The main course was a combination of turf and surf. On one hot plate, we helped ourselves to very tender, beautifully cooked fillet beef with a black bean sauce; from the other plate, we picked our tasty king prawns, served with a Szechuan sauce. Fried rice and chips were also served.

And we finished off with a cup of coffee each.

Finished off? No way. Our hostess for the evening had been pleasant, talkative and attentive and as we finished our wine (a Chenin Blanc at €18.30), we were offered a little vase of Saki. So we filled our little bowls (twice) with the warmed liquid which she said was about the same strength as the wine.

But she mentioned she had something stronger and soon she produced that. It was a Chinese Rice Wine. It was about four times stronger than the wine and packed quite a punch! Again, there were two little bowlfuls for each of us in the warmed container and it certainly was strong. What a finish to a delightful evening!

Total cost? About €56.00, plus tip of course.

BACK TO SOURCE

SILVER SPRINGS ENCORE

An almost accidental return (my first booked restaurant, nearby, was closed unexpectedly) to Silversprings gave me the chance to try out the Watermarq restaurant again. Aside from some over-cooked vegetables, there was nothing to complain about and we paid about €93.00 for two starters, two mains, two desserts and a bottle of wine.

My starter was a Tomato and Mozzarella cheese salad. Nothing spectacular but certainly up to scratch. The other choice, probably the better one, was smoked (lightly) duck breast with salad.

For mains, I chose the rack of lamb. The quality was good and at €22.50 it was reasonably good value. Medallions of venison were also on the table and again it was tender and tasty. The aforementioned veg, though close to soggy, did taste surprisingly well.

Still room for dessert and both choose the Passionfruit mousse. Nether was disappointed with this light tangy ending to a very decent meal indeed.

By the way, the wine list includes six house wines (three white, three red), all in the low twenties.

TAKE A WALK DOWN THE LANE

MARKET LANE

The Market Lane restaurant, on the lower end, close to Parnell Place, of Oliver Plunkett Street is a welcome addition to the scene in the city.

We called in last night (Friday). The place was very busy but we were soon seated and each of us started with a bowl of delightful marinated olives.

Main course was Grilled Sea Bass (bream normally) with a Mediterranean vegetables and bean cassoulet. It was a happy combination. The fish was the star of the show but the accompaniment was delightful also. This dish needed nothing else, well aside from a 50cl carafe of the house white (11.50). In this case, there was no need for chips or mash or any other bulky stuff to disguise the poverty of the main ingredient. Brilliant.

And the superlatives didn't stop there. There was room for dessert and I chose the Banoffee, a real banoffee this time as the three main ingredients were all present, the banana, toffee and biscuit base all combining to make a very sinful whole. The Advisor had an equally tempting Warm Berry Crumble and spoonfuls were swapped across the table.

The total cost, two portions of olives, two bass, two desserts and wine came to about €65.00. Service was efficient and friendly. So we paid up with a smile and a promise to return.

The Restaurant’s own info:
Market Lane is a new restaurant and bar over two floors that offers great food and amazing value. We use ingredients from The English Market and local artisan producers to make up our menu which has a wide range of fish, salads, meat, game and sandwiches, in addition to coeliac and vegetarian dishes and a healthy kids menu.

We take bookings for parties of six and over. For parties of fewer than six we operate a walk-in policy. Should there be no table available immediately, our large bar is fully licensed. Our upstairs section can accommodate up to 65 people. Reservation queries can be made by telephone to 021 427 4710 or by email info@marketlane.ie . The website is http://www.marketlane.ie/

HOT LUNCH IN THE WOODS

VIENNA WOODS

Quite a while since I was last in the Vienna Woods (where I once slaved in the kitchens).

Lunch was the object of the exercise today and I didn't leave disappointed.

Started with a decent Chowder. For just under 6 euro, I got nothing extraordinary but plenty of fish, plenty of veg. No complaints at all.

Then to the Cajun Chicken Panini with sun dried tomatoes and a nice salad. It was very tasty indeed. The Panini was done to a tee and the Cajun was reasonably spicy. Quite a substantial dish for just under a tenner.

So if you find yourself on the eastern side of the city, you may safely add the Vienna Woods to your list of places for lunch. The menu is packed with choice. Nice staff there too!

MERCIER PRESS SEEKS GRANNY'S RECIPES

Early this week, at 5.00pm today to be precise, Mercier Press will launch www.ourgranniesrecipes.com , a site that aims to collect 101 of Ireland’s favourite traditional recipes.

These recipes will be collected into a book for publication in October 2008 and the royalties from the book will be donated to Age Action Ireland. The book will be called Our Grannies’ Recipes, will be priced @ €14.99. It will be a hardback and will have 192 pages.

Although the site is not replete with amazing design features or fancy software, it is hoped to provide some exciting additions as the project advances:

Polling to uncover Ireland’s ultimate favourite sweet and savoury dishes
Voting on the final cover design
Direct submission of recipes from day one from here:
http://ourgranniesrecipes.com/?page_id=6

A Couple of Notes
Just a few things you might want to know:

Our first post goes live on Monday 4th February @ 5pm so if you do link to the site please be sure that it happens after that.

IMPERIAL DUCK

Downtown on Friday night

DUCK DELIGHT

THE PEMBROKE AT THE IMPERIAL

The waiter at the Pembroke in the Imperial suggested that we get the Roast Farmyard Duckling well done; otherwise we would miss out on the “smell”. He may not have had the words spot on but he knew what he was talking about. We took his advice and enjoyed the aroma of the well done duckling, not to mind the crispy fat.

It was simply gorgeous, very enjoyable, as were the accompanying vegetables and sautéed potatoes. Cost €23.50.

Dessert was a sinfully sweet Sticky Toffee Pudding while the Advisor has the Pear which had been poached in white wine. Happy campers both.

We had a quarter bottle of wine each, a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc which was excellent and a warm and generous tasting Rioja with good body, good flavour. Each cost €5.95. With one coffee ordinaire, the total came to €76.40. And of course, the smiling waiter got his tip!

SUPER SIZED STARTER

The Killumney Utd football team, pride and joy of mine host Michael Sheahan

SUPER STARTER, SUPER MEAL

at the KILLUMNEY INN

You won't be hungry leaving the Killumney Inn. Trouble is you could be full before the finish.

Take the potato wedge starter for instance. It is a huge dish. Better shared. It is quite nice too, the potato served with bacon and topped with cheese.

Main course was baked rack of lamb in a red wine sauce, served with a selection of vegetables, mashed potato and chips. All very nice, all very filling.

Still, there was room for dessert. I had a very enjoyable, very sinkable crepe with a butterscotch sauce and ice cream while the Advisor had the top class lemon meringue pie.

I finished off with a large cup of pretty ordinary coffee.

I must mention the wine which was a velvety Chilean Merlot (de Gras). Absolutely smashing and great value at €17.50 a bottle. It is one of the house wines, three red and three white, all at this good price.

CASANOVA COOLING

NOT SO HOT SECOND TIME AROUND

BUT THERE WERE HIGH POINTS!

A second visit to North Main Street’s Casanova wasn’t quite up to the enjoyable first occasion a few months back.

Firstly, the little on the house teaser that we got on visit one didn't materialise on visit two. And then, the wine, a Gavi D.O.C.G. S'Orsola €23.70, was much too cold on arrival at the table and we had to wait quite a while to get the full flavour and other qualities of what turned out to be a very pleasant dry white wine indeed. It is produced with cortese grapes in the Gavi.

I went for the Calamari Fritti € 8.70 as starter. Not bad though I felt they were a touch on the heavy tasting side and the spicy tomato sauce on the side wasn’t spicy at all. I’ll be taking a different starter next time but must emphasise that this is a question of taste, not necessarily of quality.

The main reason I’d go back was because the Secondi Piatti was absolute brilliant. It was Pollo alla Cacciatora €18.70: Chicken breast, cooked with peppers, onions, olives and tomato sauce. The meat was spot-on and the sauce was full of taste, yet so light. This was a five star course and probably quite a healthy one.

I enjoyed my Tiramisu (apparently it means pick me up) and the Advisor was welcome to her Panna Cotta. Both cost €6.50. Finished off with an Expresso @ €2.50.
By the way, this is the second Italian establishment in a row that spelt the coffee with an X; Gambieni’s also use the X. I tend to go for espresso and I have regularly seen esspresso. Can anyone enlighten?

RESTAURANTS AND THE CALORIE COUNT?

IRISH RESTAURANTS COULD IN FUTURE GIVE YOU THE CALORIES FOR THAT STEAK.
NOT THE NEAR FUTURE..
according to foodie Ollie Moore..

I wrote an article recently on compulsory calorie labelling in the US, and asked some chefs and others in the food area in Ireland if the same should happen here. I have to say I wasn't expecting the chefs to be overly supportive of the idea, but I was suprised at the sheer range of disagreement. Compulsory calorie labelling in Ireland might take some time...


Imagine walking into a restaurant and seeing the calorie count of the meal you are about to have on an overhead display or on the menu? Would you think twice about that big juicy option? This is currently the situation in New York, where there has been an inordinate amount of twoing and frowing between representatives of the restaurant industry and fast food chains on the one hand, and food advocacy groups, pubic health officials and Major Bloomberg’s administration on the other.

Want to read more - then go to http://olivermoore.blogspot.com

HAPPY GROUP

GAMBIENI’S SERVE UP A TREAT

If ever confirmation were needed that a restaurant rather than a hotel is the place to go for group dining at Christmas, then I got it at Gambieni’s last Saturday night.

I had arranged for a group of 14 to dine at the Carey’s Lane venue and neither I nor my 13 companions (they all turned up) were disappointed. Both the service and the food were top class. The plates were polished off and everyone left with a smile.

Gambieni’s has been and is one of my favourite restaurants in the city. They do a good range of food from pastas to pizzas to steaks but the chicken dishes are a delight.

And pride of place here goes to the Pollo alla Picatta. I plumped for that again the other night (after a goat’s cheese starter) and it was top class. I wasn’t exactly watching everyone else at the table but the Adviser had a Pollo alla Romano (a tomato based sauce) and that too was superb. The chicken dishes by the way are all about the €18.00 mark.


We did have a bottle of white wine, a Pinot Bianco that I hadn’t come across before. It was a refreshing light drink and great value at €18.50.

Just one charming waitress looked after our table and she did it superbly, the service not too slow and not too rushed and it all added to the family occasion.

I’ll certainly be back and I’m quite sure that the restaurant picked up a few new admirers on the night. Well done, again, Gambieni’s. Not that I ever had any doubts.

KILLUMNEY INN - WE'LL CALL AGAIN

KILLUMNEY INN

A LOVELY LUNCH

Just to underline my point in the previous post, that is better to visit a restaurant this time of year rather than a hotel, I was part of a group, close to fifty strong, that visited Mick Sheahan's Killumney Inn (a bar cum restaurant in the Ovens area) for a Christmas lunch.

No problem. The food was good and so too was the friendly service from Tess and her staff. There were quite a few for lunch in the bar as well, so the place was very very busy. But we got our starters, mains, desserts, teas and coffees at an enjoyable pace, not too fast, not too slow and no hint at all that the place was under pressure.

I enjoyed my soup and my Chicken Supreme (accompanied by a spot on mushroom sauce and nicely done vegetable, not too soft, not too hard and by an almost fluffy mashed potato). There was quite a choice for all courses and I ended with a decent sherry trifle. I didn’t hear a complaint from anyone in the immediate vicinity.

Well done to the Killumney Inn. We’ll call again.