Bellini’s at the Maryborough

Bellini’s at the Maryborough

Lunched at the luxurious Maryborough Hotel at the weekend. Bellini’s is a beautiful restaurant with many well padded nooks and crannies but what struck me was the simple arrangment of the food on the plates. Nothing at all complicated about it and since the food was well handled, well cooked and well presented, we enjoyed an excellent meal.

The restaurant was slack enough at the time, but the bar, which also serves food, looked much busier. Service was excellent and info on the day's specials was delivered with the menus and water to the table, all without delay.

We got some nice breads - loved the Sundried Tomato loaf - as we studied the menu, quite an extensive one. No shortage of soups and sandwiches, the latter including a tempting looking Ploughman's Lunch that included the local Carrigaline cheddar.

The Sundried Tomato loaf was the base for their €10.50 Steak Sandwich (Chargrilled minute steak, crispy onions, beef tomato, vegetables marmalade and mushrooms ketchup on the bread).

I enjoyed my Roast Chicken Supreme, with Boulangere potato, tomato and balsamic puree, caper and raisin pesto. Good flavours and textures and a lovely dish for €16.50. We also had the Marinated Duck leg at the table, another at €16.50. This, with Spiced Mango and cabbage and a plum sauce, also went down well.

We also had one of the specials: Cod with capers and tomatoes and served on a well made bed of mashed potato. This got the thumbs up as well. Indeed all four dishes were well received as were the bowls of vegetables, mainly cauliflower florets, broccoli, and carrots, again a simple bowl but very well cooked indeed.

Not everyone went for dessert and some sharing was agreed on. There was a tempting list though, including Tunisian Orange Cake and a Raspberry and Pistachio Frangipane Tart. My pick was the Millefeuille of Apricot and Raspberry. Both it and the Chocolate Mousse Special had their admirers and there was a bit more sharing than intended!

An excellent meal in an excellent location. Next time, I’ll have to go for the dinner. Or maybe I’ll treat herself to the Afternoon Tea special (3.00 to 6.00pm), a very tempting mix of savoury and sweet, all for twenty five euro for two.

The Maryborough is one of the most popular hotels in the city and is also the AA Hotel of the Year for 2014.

Greene’s Superb Early Bird/Pre-Theatre astoundingly good and great value

Greene’s Superb Early Bird/Pre-Theatre

astoundingly good and great value

 Early last week, in an initial burst of praise, I tweeted: The Pre-theatre/Early Bird menu @Greenescork is astoundingly good and great value. It is now almost two weeks later and my opinion is reinforced. An early evening visit to the McCurtain Street venue is well worth while; the theatre bit is up to yourself!

Just to get the value bit upfront. Three courses here, each with a terrific choice of dishes, costs €29.00 and, wait for it, an amuse bouche and tea or coffee is included. Bryan McCarthy is the chef here and you are in excellent hands.

Hake

Let’s go back to our visit early last week. As we studied the menu, there are about six choices for each course, we were served the amuse bouche, a delicious beetroot mousse with yoghurt. Soon we made our choices.

Greene’s is well known for variations of pork belly and feather blade and they also do a terrific Ballyhoura Mushroom risotto but we went for the fish on this occasion. And each main dish was top notch. And the vegetables on the side were another almost unexpected highlight: just a bowl of peas, florets of cauliflower, potato and so on but so well cooked and such an enhancement of the fish.

CL had the Wild Cod, a special for the evening, with samphire, Morteau sausage, and Roast Chicken Veloute. And this is Early Bird! My Seared Fillet of Hake was served with oyster mushrooms, leeks, baby gem and fennel oil. Another magnificent fish dish. Indeed, the freshness of the fish on both plates was absolutely outstanding, so fresh and so well handled in the kitchen. Service and presentation is also top notch.

The starters had also been excellent. Mine was the Cured salmon and smoked salmon rillettes, with blood orange, fennel, seaweed and squid ink and wasabi mayo, a great mix of colours, textures, and flavours, all getting the taste buds up and eager for more.

Goats cheese

It was the same story at the other side of the table with the Duo of Orchard Farm and Ardsallagh Goats Cheese (verrine and beignets, textures of poached pear, candy walnut and raisin purée) earning bags of kudos. Must stress again that this is all part of the early bird, three courses and more for €29.00.

Sometimes, more often than not, with us, dessert is shared but there was a special on here and no sharing pact agreed. Just as well, as the Poached Pear and Almond Cake with ice-cream and more was such a delight that at least one per person was mandatory!

So there you are. An excellent meal and a couple of cups of outstanding coffee for twenty nine euro. It is a must-try and Very Highly Recommended. The good news is that it is available Sunday to Wednesday all night and between 5.30 and 7.00pm Thursday to Saturday.

Greene’s Restaurant http://greenesrestaurant.com

48 McCurtain Street (opposite Everyman Theatre)

Cork

T: 021 455 2279

Sweet end!

Wines by Aresti. Some of Chile’s Best

Wines by Aresti

Some of Chile’s Best

Jon Usabiaga, winemaker at Aresti in Chile, is highly regarded by his fellow wine-makers. He was in Cork late last year and I met him at the Hayfield. “The main aim for me is to show the real character of every variety. If someone is choosing a Cabernet Sauvignon, it should taste like a Cabernet Sauvignon”.

I reckon he got it right with the two wines below. Makes me want to try a few more from Aresti, including the Trisquel Assemblage, the Trisquel Syrah and the Family Collection.

Jon (right) and Yours Truly

Aresti Trisquel Sauvignon blanc 2013 (Leyda Valley, Chile), 13%, €13.00, was 15.95, SuperValu

Colour here is a medium gold and it is quite aromatic, fairly typical of the variety, with vegetal and herbal notes. Flavours are certainly intense, it is fresh and very well balanced, with a long dry finish. Very Highly Recommended.

Aresti Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2010, 13.5%, SuperValu

Some serious sniffing here or, at least, some serious rewards as beautiful fruity aromas greet you. In the mouth, you'll note that delicious blackcurrant, also a gentle drift of spice, an imposing character, the smoothest of tannins. There is an excellent balance and the finish is a match for all that has gone before. Another superb wine and again Very Highly Recommended.

Taste of the Week. An Elegant Cider from Orpens

Taste of the Week

An Elegant Cider from Orpens

Orpens Apple Cider Medium Dry, Vintage 2012, 5.3%, stockists include Bradley’s, North Main Street, Cork

A beautiful golden honey colour enhanced by a fountain of bubbles rising and sparkling in the Easter sun. Lovely fruit aromas arise too, cooked apples mainly, and even a hint of cinnamon.

On the palate, this fresh pressed cider is rather elegant and refined, slightly tart, refreshing, and with a good dry finish. One for sipping rather than slugging! Perhaps not surprising, considering the amount of wine connections and wine-making knowledge among the principal players at Orpens.

Indeed, quite a few of the new wave of Irish craft cider producers have strong wine connections including, for example, Simon Tyrrell of Craigies who, lucky fellow, makes wine in the Rhone and cider in Wicklow.

Orpens are listed among the Irish craft cider makers in Slainte (pub. 2014) by Kristin Jensen and Caroline Hennessy and you may find out more about the company and their stockists at www.orpens.ie

• Wasn't too sure what glass to taste this in; eventually settled on the Riedel Restaurant series Riesling/Sauvignon blanc. Thought it worked well and showed the cider at its best but then it looks as if most tulip shaped glasses would be suitable. Open to suggestions here!

Aroi’s Tubby Buddha’s A Good Food Sign

Aroi’s Tubby Buddha’s A Good Food Sign

Char-grilled duck

There’s a tubby Buddha in Aroi - you’ll see him on the stairs as you enter. It’s a good sign. You’ll be well fed here. And at a fair price.

On your entrance, you’ll see lots of well-dressed staff. Another good sign. They'll take good care of you. You won’t even have to ask for your water glass to be re-filled. And there are smiles all round.

You’ll also notice lots of customers here in the Carey's Lane venue. You may even have to wait a few minutes for a table. Another good sign. You are in an excellent restaurant, serving Asian street food, all mains for a tenner.

Aroi started in Limerick about twelve months back but this is the Cork Aroi, boy. Both are proving very popular and there has also been much praise from the critics for chef Eddie Ong Chok Fong.

Aroi's menu is on your table when you arrive along with the chopsticks (don't worry - knives and forks and spoons too!) and it looks neat and tidy but there is much reading in it, great choices under headings such as Curry, Stir Fry, Grilled, Rice, Wok Noodles, Noodles Soup, and Salads. Twenty four dishes in all described in detail for you, the hotter ones marked with an “S”.

Each of the mains costs €10.00. But do check out the sides as well. There are about nine of them, most of them costing a fiver, great to share if you are part of a group. By the way, the lunch-time menu is the same and the usual deal here is one mains and a gelato dessert for ten euro.

We had previously been impressed with some of the curry dishes, including the Red Duck and the Yellow Fish, so we went for something different on this occasion. Nuea Pad Khing (stir-fried beef strips, scallion, ginger, chilli and wood mushrooms), was one under the general Stir-fry heading. Superbly cooked, this went down well.

No shortage!

The other mains was the Char-grilled duck served with Thai green vegetables and Tamarind sauce. Again, both the meat and vegetables were perfectly cooked, a joy to eat.

And then there were the sides. Went a bit overboard there! Rice in a separate bowl came with the beef and, in addition, we ordered: fish cakes, full of flavour in their own delicious sauce; superb crispy duck rolls, again with a delicious sauce; and a small stack of the crispiest chicken wings with dipping sauce.

After all that there was little room for gelato - their only dessert! No shortage of drinks here, by the way: wine, beer, soft, teas and coffees. No shortage of anything really! Excellent food, excellent value for money.

Amuse Bouche

Is there a recipe book for writers? Josephine wondered. Mix one cup of love with a dash of adventure, a few ounces of historical references, and two pounds of sweat. Let simmer on low heat, stir, sauté so it doesn't stick, let sit for six months, a year,...

Stendhal, supposedly wrote The Charterhouse of Parma in three weeks. Georges Simenon could bang out a book in ten days. But how long had they carried those books around inside as they got up in the morning, sipped their coffee, read the mail, watched the morning light on the breakfast table?

from The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol

Top 20 Posts for past Two Years

Top 20 Posts for past Two Years

1 Cork's Coqbull On An Early Charge

2 Happy Gaggle of Wine Geese

3 The Black Pig Wine Bar   

4 Aroi. Asian Street Food in Cork City 

5 Huguenot. New French Bistro

6 The Square Table - Great Addition to Blarney

7 The Sultan of Penrose Quay

8 Happy New Beer at Cotton Ball  

9Island of Asian Street Food at Phô

10 Electric. Easy to Book. Hard to leave.

11The Chapel Steps Celebrates

12 Cullen Wines at Cafe Paradiso   

13 Taste of the Week: Baklava  

14 Brendan is back with Gallo & Galetti 

15 The Greenroom at Sage 

16 Al Fresco at Cobh's Titanic Bar & Grill.  

17 Dining in Style at Pier 26

18 Top Ten Dinners, Top Lunches

19 Happy. On the Pig’s Back 

20 Top Wines 2014

Pearls of Portugal. Super Reds & A Port!

Pearls of Portugal. Super Reds & A Port!

Messias Grande Escolha red 2011 (Douro DOC), 14%. €16.30 Karwig Wines

Colour is an opaque purple and it has intense aromas, more or less the raisins and spices the winery itself mentions. In the mouth, the fruit is intense, some spice, silky smooth, tannins quite fine, with a dry and persistent finish. Very Highly Recommended.

This is a blend of traditional grape varieties: Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and Touriga Nacional.

Quinta do Valdoeiro red Reserva 2009 (Bairrada DOC), 14%, €19.20 Karwig Wines

Another gem from Messias, this from a different area and the blend here is the local Baga with Cabernet Sauvignon. Again, Very Highly Recommended.

It has a deep violet colour with complex aromas featuring mainly dark fruits. There is a superb supple structure, tannins are fine and the balance overall is excellent with an imposing length at the finish. Worth taking your time with this one; you'll appreciate it all the more.

Messias Porto LBV 2007, 19.5%, €21.85 Karwig Wines

Picked this up when I bought some Portuguese wines in Karwig’s and it turns out to be an excellent Late Bottled Vintage at a very good price indeed. Not one of the big names in port in Ireland but Very Highly Recommended. It is made from much the same grape varieties that go into the Grande Escolha above.

It is tawny colored as you'd expect, with a warm, rich and complex aroma with notes of dried fruit. It is satisfyingly full in the mouth, very smooth and finishes long. Well worth a try.

Messias was founded in 1926 and nowadays produces high quality wines from several demarcated regions: Dão, Bairrada, Douro, Vinho Verde, Beiras, Terras do Sado and Vinho do Porto.

Late Bottled Vintage, as the name suggests, is bottled later, remaining in wood between four and six years. All the fruit used is from that one year. During this relatively long period of wood ageing, an LBV matures and settles down.

Amuse Bouche

In the area where meat was sold, the floor was slimy with blood that had dripped from the cutting blocks. They were greeted like family by their usual butcher, and Katerina was quickly served with one of the sheep’s heads that had stared at them from a bucket.

‘Why are you buying that, Yiayia?’

‘For stock,’ she replied.

‘And a kilo of tripe, please.’

She would be making patsas later. For a few euros, she could feed all of them for days. Nothing was wasted here.

from The Thread by Victoria Hislop

Taste of the Week. Clove Rock

Taste of the Week
Clove Rock

On a recent visit to Bantry, we called to the 100-year-old Evans shop, famous for its sweets. After a lovely chat with Jennifer who has been here for many years, we decided to buy some traditional clove rock, our Taste of the Week.  “They are very fresh,” she said. And so they were.
See more here.

Macroom’s Church Lane Restaurant. Blessed to have great food on the table

Macroom’s Church Lane Restaurant

Blessed to have great food on the table

Church Lane is a multi-room restaurant in the grounds of a church in Macroom. The building itself was originally used as the sextant’s lodge and later as a family home. Since 2012, sisters Laura and Cheryl have been feeding locals and visitors alike. Many of the visitors are travellers on the main Cork-Killarney road that runs alongside but quite a few now make a special trip as the restaurant is well known for its high quality.

We had enjoyed that quality via their super Tapas menu some time back but, on this occasion, we went for the a la carte. Reading the menu you notice that quite a few local producers are suppliers here and now they've added local craft beer brewers, including 9 White Deer, to their drinks options.

And this a heads-up for you. If you make it as far as dessert, then do please try the Tiramisu. It is one of the very best around, maybe the best! Unfortunately it is a special and you could be unlucky if it's not on!

There is a very good choice of starters. CL went for the House Salad and was delighted with the mix of sweet potato, cherry tomatoes, beetroot, Toonsbridge Mozzarella, pesto, and balsamic vinegar, all for €6.90.

And if she was happy I was even more so as I got a very pleasant surprise, both in its quantity and quality, with the Prawn Bruschetta (8.90), three pieces of gorgeous bread piled high with the prawns which had been pan-fried and were served with a dazzling garlic and cream sauce. An absolutely brilliant dish that also features in the Tapas menu.

My mains, though excellent, was almost mundane by comparison! But again it was perfectly cooked and delivered at the proper temperature and with a stylish presentation. This was the Pan-seared Lamb Cutlets with rosemary and garlic mash, fresh vegetables and a luxurious red wine jus!

The other mains was also dispatched with some gusto, this the award winning Skeaghanore Duck Breast on a bed of creamed spinach with potato gratin and wild berry reduction. Superb, as you’d expect and, of course, we had excellent side dishes as well.

Each of our mains cost €23.95. The amazing Tiramisu, that we shared, cost €5.75 as do all the desserts on offer. Had we known the Tiramisu was going to be so good, we’d have ordered two. Next time!

Top: Duck (left) and Lamb
Bottom: House Salad (left) and Prawns.

Two Special Days in West Cork. Bantry a Perfect Base

Two Special Days in West Cork

Bantry a Perfect Base

Bantry Library in the morning sun

Just back after two spectacular days in West Cork, two days when the sun shone non-stop. I drove through picture perfect scene after picture perfect scene: the sensational azure blue of the ocean and inlets, the bright yellow of the furze bushes. Just perfect. Lots of brown too, a relic of the winter, yet even that contained the promise of coiled up green waiting to shoot out to enhance and complete the picture in the weeks and months ahead.

First stop was Ballinascarthy, to take a look at the cross-roads memorial to Henry Ford, a full size model of the car-maker’s famous Model T. The slogan for this car, and for the stout of the same name now being sold by Black's Brewery of Kinsale, is: You may have any colour you like, provided it is black! The nailed-down Ballinascarthy model though is not black but a shiny silver. I suppose not too many would stop it were black.

Dunlough Bay

Next stop was the seaside village of  Schull with its lovely setting between Mount Gabriel and the sea. And just by the car park over the harbour, you'll find a cafe called Cois Cuain, perfect for a snack and, a tip, they have fantastic coffee here, Maher’s of course.

We continued west - we weren't taking the direct route to Bantry! Soon we were passing through Ballydehob and then lovely Goleen, heading for Mizen Head, Ireland’s most south-westerly point. A temporary cloud changed the light just as we arrived but the visit was brilliant. If you go out to the lighthouse - there is a reasonable fee - be sure and take the fenced path (with helpful hand-rails) up to where you can see the spectacular Dunlough Bay, probably even more spectacular on a bad day.

Model T

Time then to head to Bantry, via Durrus. Our base was the Maritime Hotel. And an excellent place it is, with very courteous staff, from reception, to bar to breakfast. Comfortable spacious rooms here, all with a view over the harbour. And breakfast is good. There is a hot buffet but here it is regularly refreshed. And you have the usual juices, meats and cheese too, and breads of course. No shortage at all. The long low rise hotel has its own underground car park and that, with a lift up to reception, is very convenient. Recommended.

There was a still an hour or two left of the afternoon and the regular Friday market was winding down as we strolled up the huge impressive square where statues of St Brendan and Wolfe Tone stand.

Barleycove, on the way to Mizen Head

We were heading for the Evans sweet shop (great photo here by Nicolas O'Donnell), a shop that is one hundred years old. We joined the small queue. The woman just ahead of us was buying hard liquorice sweets for “a suck” that night. Then three young girls were next but they very courteously indicated that we should be take their place in the line. We declined but, seeing the kids were possibly still making up their minds on what sweets to buy, we did take up the option.

After a lovely chat with Jennifer who has been here for many years, we decided to buy some clove rock cubes.  “They are very fresh,” she said. And so we left with  a small bag, nostalgia for just a euro. We should probably have bought more as she had a great choice of old time sweets including Bon Bons, Raspberry and Custard, Pear Drops and more.

Market in the square in Bantry

Dinner, and a good one it was, that evening was in the Fish Kitchen. They are building their craft beer list there and we sampled a few and, later, across the street at Ma Murphy’s Pub - you go through the grocery store to get to the bar - we enjoyed some draft Green Bullet by the Mountain Man. Back in the lovely bar at the hotel, with a singer (Neil Young and JJ Cale songs mainly) on duty, I had a very impressive bottle of Galway Hooker Pale Ale. Great label design on that one.

The morning was cool enough as I strolled out to the pier and had a chat with a guy stacking full fertiliser bags in readiness for the Whiddy Island ferry. Then we drove off up the road to Manning’s Emporium in Ballylickey where Andrew told us of their plans for the season ahead, exciting plans too with an expanded restaurant service (serving local produce) and Culture Kitchen tours on the horizon with Val Manning as guide (should be fun!). We’ll bring you more details shortly when arrangements are further advanced.

Nostalgia for a euro

After the coffee, it was back to the car and on the road west. More of the spectacular blue water as we passed through sunny Glengarriff and headed for Adrigole and the Healy Pass. We stopped halfway up the winding road and immediately a car that had been behind us pulled in and the man got out and asked us if we needed help.

Healy Pass

Copper mines reminder

We didn't, we were just going to take a few photos. But then quite a chat ensued and question after question followed and I reckon he found out more about us - ages, children, and more - than any internet investigator would. The elderly man, a local sheep farmer, was also volunteering info about himself and we enjoyed the chat. Soon, he was back in his car and speeding up the windy road, leaving us well behind!

At the top, we paused again, this time for quite a while to drink in the amazing views of the mountains, the lakes and the sea inlets beyond. Amazing place. Then we dropped down into Kerry for a while before turning left on the Ring of Beara Road and back into Cork. And one word of advice. Do take that windy, up and down road that hugs the coast and do stop and enjoy the views.

 We passed through Eyeries and Allihies (above) and their colourful houses. Near Allihies, you’ll see remains of the copper mining industry and there is a museum and cafe in the village (it opens from April). And, of course, that amazing blue was out there to our right all the time, the frame changing from bend to bend. Our final stop was in Castletownbere itself and here we walked along the pier where many large fishing boats, not all of them Irish, were docked.

Ring of Beara

 Time now to begin the journey home, retracing our steps back to Ballylickey and then taking the road that takes you through Céim an Fhia, Ballingeary, Inchigeela and its lakes, past Toonsbridge and its famous buffalo and dairy/shop, past the magnificent Gearagh and onto the Macroom-Cork road.

Boats in Bantry

 Hunger was setting in now and we turned left to Macroom and the Church Lane restaurant. We had a lovely early dinner here and saw that they too have craft beer on sale, including one from the local 9 White Deer Brewery. Irish craft beer is certainly on the up.

About forty minutes later, we were back in the city after a brilliant two days in the west!

Our Bantry base

See also: Bantry's Fish Kitchen

Schull’s Café Cois Cuan