Small Plates by Chef Pat Kiely a Big Success at Vikki's

Small Plates by Chef Pat Kiely

a Big Success at Vikki's 

With the fire gently warming the room on winter nights or the sunshine in the garden in the the longer days of the coming spring, along with Chef Pat Kiely in the kitchen, an improved menu and an improved wine list, you have all the ingredients for a lovely meal here at Vikki’s Kitchen and Garden in Sundays Well. 

“Chef Pat Kiely?”, you may well ask. “The chef that was in Les Gourmandises?.” The very man. Regarded by some of his peers as one of the best in Ireland, Pat can now be found in the kitchen of Vikki’s bringing his skills, his experience, his attention to detail, to an attractive menu of small plates.

Pork Belly. Pic via Vikki's

And the upgrade from tapas to small plates is not the only one at the pleasant venue that was once the local post office. During Friday’s visit, I learned that the wine lists has also improved (including ports and sherries) and that there are plans afoot to lift quality at the restaurant in general, not that there was much wrong with before. So positive news from a venue that, like all others of its kind, has endured close on two bumpy years.

So how did opening night go last week? Very well and full of promise for the months ahead as far as the two of us were concerned. The highlight was perhaps the Malabar Baked Cod (13.50). The flesh of the cod was pristine, firm enough yet moist and that pearly white was lifted to exquisite heights by the marinade of fragrant coconut masala plus a moderate spice from the curry leaf mayonaisse.  Umami or what?

Delicious Basque Cheesecake

There are no starters as such - well there is a soup: the classic French Onion, served with Cheddar Cheese Crouton. Another that might fit that category is the Ham Terrine that’s accompanied  by apple purée, hazelnuts and sourdough croûtes.

We ordered two dishes to start with and two to follow. One of our earlier ones was Roasted Aubergine (9.50) and this came with crispy tofu, baby onions, confit tomato and rocket salad. This expertly executed plateful may well have converted me to tofu. Certainly Mr Kiely’s cubes were rich and satisfying and the best example of the food that I’ve come across and will make me more inclined to try it in the future.   

Miso and Ginger Braised Pork Belly (12.50), served with sweet and sour apple and peanut crumbs, was a terrific pairing indeed. Quite a little riot of texture and flavour going on here and we really loved it, the soft flesh beautifully flavoured with miso and ginger, the sweet and sour of the apple slices and the gentle crunch of nuts.

Panna Cotta 

And all those dishes were sped on their way thanks to two lovely wines, one from Beaujolais and the other a Picpoul de Pinet. I can also recommended their own Blue Haven Collection Sauvignon Blanc by Better Half in Marlborough, New Zealand. Look out too for the the Abadia de Seixo Albariño and you find other by-the-glass options on the list and in their wine of the month selections, a trio of red and a trio of white. The list is quite long and deserves more time than I gave it! Would be a help if it appeared on their social media - then I could have a long leisurely look before I visit!

Aubergine

Just a week or so after we enjoyed a gorgeous Basque Cheesecake at 51 Cornmarket, we were surprised to see another version in the trio of desserts at Vikki’s. This one though was totally different, done individually (while the 51 is part of a full cake), and served with a spiced rum caramel sauce, soaked up by a topping of raisins. Also gorgeous. Which one is the best? Hard to say but I will say it’s great to have them both! Certainly the cheesecake overshadowed the Vanilla Panna Cotta with poached pear which, in fairness, was another excellent dessert.

Quite a meal as Chef Kiely took us off piste and out of the routine. See the menu details here.  

Greenwich Café. Where New Kid On The Block Dermot Smoothly Settles In

Greenwich Café. 

Where New Kid On The Block Dermot Smoothly Settles In

There’s a mean Reuben on the menu at Greenwich these days. Chef and new owner Dermot O’Sullivan calls it “a taste of NYC on Caroline Street”. 

And his phrase also answers a question frequently put his way since he took over the former Idaho Café a few short weeks back.

The Greenwich refers to the famous “village", once offbeat now high-end, in New York, the centre of the city’s creative culture of the 1960s and where artists (Jackson Pollack for instance) and musicians (including Bob Dylan and the Clancy Brothers) did their thing. The new name has nothing to do with the Greenwich of mean time fame!

Dermot, as you may know, took over from the Jacobs (Mairéad and Richard) who had made Idaho one of the best-known and best cafés in the land. They have retained the brand and so Dermot had to find a new name and, like his predecessors here, looked west for inspiration!

And the new Greenwich is looking well. On a rare “day off” since the 25th of January takeover, Dermot took up the painting brushes and gave his Greenwich “a nice cosy warm olive green backdrop”. Some stunning @AlanHurleyArt paintings (including one of Michael D) will catch your eye as will the flowers on the curved counter and bright bunches of West Cork daffodils on the tables.

Welcome to Greenwich, a few yards from Patrick Street

Not too much change in the morning routine here as the salad leaves, freshly baked Arbutus and spiced beef are delivered to the door. And more colour with strikingly beautiful pink rhubarb (sourced from English Market) used for a topping on your porridge.

Not a porridge person? How about the Home-made Granola served with Greek yogurt and Berry Compote?

Regulars will be thrilled to see the Homemade Waffles retained on the menu. They, the waffles not the regulars, come with selection of toppings, including Chocolate sauce, Organic maple syrup and Butterscotch.

Fish Pie

You also have a couple of baps to choose from. Either a Crispy Irish Bacon and Sausage Flour Bap or a Crispy Bacon and Durrus Irish Farmhouse Cheese Melted Bap.

Lunch, if you wish, may begin with soup. Parsnip and Apple, Roasted Sweet Potato and Coconut, and Pea with Delicious Fresh Mint, have been among the early offerings and all  are served with Dermot's own wheaten bread baked that morning. We had a taste of that bread and it is excellent.

We were in for lunch and that takes me back to that Reuben. The spiced beef is from Tim Mulcahy’s Chicken Inn and is served with sauerkraut, Russian Dressing and Melted Monterey Jack, all served on Arbutus sourdough, and there’s also a small but excellent side salad. 

Thumbs up for that and also for our other main course, the Fish Pie, packed with fish from Pat O’Connell’s in the English Market. Bit of name-dropping there just to illustrate that local is high on the menu here.

The flowers on the curved counter share space with a colourful parade of tempting cakes, including Lemon and Almond, Red Velvet Cake, Coffee Cake, Caramel Squares, scones and more. 

Cake? Pic via Greenwich

We picked the Coffee and Walnut Cake, a very popular one and we could see why. Slices are generous here and we shared one along with a couple of cups of top notch coffee.

Quite a few weeks for Dermot and his friendly crew since the changeover on January 25th. Quite a lunch for we two! 

So all the best to Greenwich in the weeks and months ahead. I’m betting it just keeps getting better.

Taste of the Week. Miena's Handmade Nougat

Taste of the Week
Miena's Handmade Nougat 

"Made in small batches with locally sourced fresh ingredients, I have developed a recipe different from those used in France and South Africa. The result is a unique and uncompromising soft Irish Nougat."  It is our Taste of the Week, not for the first time. Her kitchen by the way is certified gluten free.

There is a whole list of tempting nougat flavours coming from the lush countryside of the Glen of Imaal in County Wicklow these days. You may have different flavours:  Almonds and Pecan, Almonds and Passionfruit, Almonds and Pistachio, Almonds and Mixed Berries, Roasted Almonds,  Almonds with Rhubarb and Strawberry, plus various selection boxes and tins. Presents (Valentine maybe) sorted!

I got mine from Bakestone in the Fota Retail Park at Cobh Cross but these scrumptious prize-winning nougats are widely available, including in Dunnes Stores Simply Better and at Miena’s own online shop. For a list of stockists, please click here. Abroad, you can find them in Harrods and they also have clients in Belgium, Denmark and the US.

My treat from Bakestone was the top box here!

A Quart of Ale± #91 On the craft journey with Whitefield, West Cork, Clonakilty. + news via Rascals, Killarney & Craic Beer.

 A Quart of Ale± #91

On the craft journey with Whitefield, West Cork, Clonakilty and Journeyman

(+ news via Rascals, Killarney &  Craic Beer.)

Whitefield Old Smoke Smoked Porter 5.4%, 500ml bottle Bradleys

Whitefield (formerly White Gypsy) is a brewery in Templemore, County Tipperary. Cuilán Loughnane is the main person here and, according to Sláinte  (2014), his fingerprints “are all over the Irish brewing scene”. I knew that he (through White Gypsy) had helped Cork’s Elbow Lane and Waterford’s Metalman get up and running by contract brewing their beers and more. 

But Sláinte also details his earlier involvement, first with Dwan’s Brewery (Thurles) from 1997 and, from 2002,  he was head brewer at Dublin’s Messrs Maguire (the forerunners of J.W. Sweetman) before setting up on his own as White Gypsy in 2009, a move that saw him join the “Second Generation: Mid 2000s to 2011” of Irish craft brewers.

He has grown his own hops and also brewed beers specially for food, beers in wine sized 75cl bottles and aimed at the restaurant trade. He is still going strong under the new label. By the way, this porter is named after Templemore legend, Old Smoke Morrissey.

They say: Traditionally, beers made in the midlands would have had a slight smokiness due to the malt being dried from peat fires. This stout brings out that combination of smoke and roast while remaining light on the palate.

Black as a newly tarred road between Templemore and Nenagh. There’s a tanned head, soft, and soon sinking away to the black. Aromas are smoky, a hint of bacon as you sniff. And it’s much the same combination on the palate. But nothing too extreme, all rather svelte and subtle, terrific balance right to the very satisfactory finish indeed.

West Cork Baltimore Bitter 5.5%, 500ml bottle Upstairs at Quay Coop 

In December 2014, Dominic Casey, Henry Thornhill and brewer Kevin Waugh launched the West Cork Brewing Company. The 1st Brew-Hotel to set up in Ireland and also the country’s most southerly brewery.

It is based in Casey's of Baltimore Hotel and they started with three beers, Sherkin Lass a citrussy Pale Ale 4.4%, Roaring Ruby Dark Red Ale 4.4% and Stout X Stout West a chocolate porter 4.3%, the crew intent on their beers matching the quality of West Cork’s artisan foods. 

This Baltimore Bitter is one of their latest. Colour is a very dark red with a tan head, soft, and slow to disperse. Aromas are moderate, notes of pepper. On the palate, there’s quite an amalgam, fruit, honey and a tang of citrus, lime perhaps. Quite a lip-smacking finish.  

Refreshing and somewhat different, with a bitter aftertaste, and I can see it playing its part in the suggested pairings of Pulled Pork and Smoked Gouda. “We have used our own well water and the most traditional methods.” It is unfiltered and vegan friendly.

Clonakilty Smuggler Irish Porter 6.0%, 500ml bottle O’Donovan’s 

Dark stuff this with a bubbly frothy tan head that sinks slowly. Moderate aromas of roast and chocolate as the head sinks another notch, just a thin disc now. And, now on the palate, it is sweet chocolate, coffee too and a medium touch of bitterness at the finish.

They say: We are passionate about making beer with no compromise, brewing small batches with big personality. Using locally sourced grains, the best hops and water from our own well, our beers are handcrafted with care…. 

Pour slowly for a smooth creamy head. Enjoy at 10-12 degrees. It goes well with dark meats, rich desserts and chocolate, and is delicious and satisfying on its own.

The Deasy family brewed beer in Clonakilty (known as the brewery town) for almost 200 years, including the famous Clonakilty Wrastler. The Deasys also had a legendary reputation as successful smugglers along the dramatic and rugged coast of West Cork.

Journeyman IPA 5.2%, 500ml bottle, X-mas gift

Hazy amber is the colour here and the white foamy head lingers a while. Expecting more middle of the road from the final bottle of my five pack (all different styles) but certainly more of a punch here. Big whack of hops on the palate - they say, and I agree, “bursting with fruity hop flavour”. And, as was the case in the previous four, the balance is good, thanks to the malt. 

No details on the hops or malt used, at least none that I can find. Not too many details at all. And certainly nothing about food pairings. All I can tell you is that it went down pretty well with the middle chapters of the John Banville piece of crime fiction playfully titled April in Spain, though hardly a playful mystery, at all, at all, as Banville’s Chief Superintendent Hackett might add.

But there is something of a mystery on the label, and indeed on all the Journeyman labels in the pack. It tells us you of need of a great barrel to make a great beer, that Journeyman is steeped in the tradition of the highly skilled craft of coopering. Are these Journeyman beers are matured in wood rather than stainless steel?

Cooperage can be confusing. I walked past one earlier, in a building once owned by a distillery. It now houses the Aquaculture & Fisheries Development Centre, a research facility of UCC and embedded within the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences (BEES).

Brewery News

The Rude Couple Canned By Rascals

NEW BEER ALERT! Say hi to our next limited edition release: Rude Boy white stout and Rude Girl black IPA.

The former is a full-bodied pale stout with chocolate, caramel and coffee tones, brewed with coffee from our neighbours Imbibe, with oak-smoked wheat adding a lovely touch of character. The latter is a robust medium-bodied IPA with a unique blend and balance of dark roasted malts and piney, resinous hops. 

We're very excited for Feb 24 when you'll be able to get your hands on these. Not only that, we're also having a launch party! Click here for FREE tickets. 

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Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co.

We're on the hunt for waiting staff for the Taproom on Muckross Road in Killarney. The role is made for someone full of energy who enjoys the craic and would like to know more about brewing and our premium Irish beers. Does that sound like you? Send your CV across to Ivan at Ivan@killarneybrewing.com.

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Craic Beer Community - Brew Project Four breweries, four unique beers all packaged up exclusively for the Brew Project. Includes online tasting session as well as in person meet-up in Dead Centre Brewing, Athlone to taste and discuss the beers! €65.00  Only 24 boxes left!

51 Cornmarket. Anne and David keeping the sunny side up!

51 Cornmarket. Where Anne and David keep the sunny side up! 

Briskey

Chef David Devereaux is showing sunny side up after a “hectic” two years. As he passed through the dining room during our lunch last week, I wished him a very good 2022 for 51 Cornmarket, the restaurant he owns and runs with wife Anne Zagar. And he smiles broadly and says they had a good year in 2021! 

The duo have packed a lot into the last two years, having opened 51 early in 2020. A few weeks later Covid hit, for the first time, and not for the last. Like many, they opened, they closed, and opened again…., And, obviously, made the very best of 2021, including welcoming Max, their first born, who will be celebrating his first birthday next month!

Basque Cheesecake, with apple purée

In the meantime, the food being served up in the now popular Coal Quay venue kept getting better and better. The punters were impressed and so too were the critics. We were early admirers and were again delighted as we checked the menu last week. No problem finding something to my taste here. 

Indeed, just like my mother with the Grand National runners, I could have stuck a pin in the list and, like her, would have come up with a winner. I would eat every single dish here with great enjoyment and that is the second such menu I’ve seen recently - the other was at On The Pig’s Back in Douglas. So one for the Irish-American combination on the Northside and one for the Irish-French duo on the Southside.

What did we pick for lunch from the enticing list that included brunch dishes such as their French Toast and Duck & Waffle and more plus lunch specials like The Lough Bagel (salmon pastrami, herb cream cheese  and mandolin pink onion) and The Caesar (chickens Caesar mayo, Egg, parmesan, bacon crumb and cos on sourdough?

Pollox Boi

CL picked the Pollox Boi ( a linguistic twist on a local phrase) but here meaning Fried Pollock Hot Dog, Tartare, Shallot and Pea. And it also means deliciousness; it looked well on the plate and tasted well. Great to see the pollock getting a run on a menu - a terrific fish that I enjoyed on a few Mayo holidays a long time ago, cooked in foil (I think) directly over a turf fire.

Anyhow back to the present and my dish called the Briskey. They like their wordplay here and I liked this bunful of Beef Brisket, Celeriac Remoulade, Toasted fennel pangritata and pickled onion. Quality all the way here. We also had a helping of their fries and not a shred of either dish or the fries went back.

Happy out as we say around here and we were to get even happier. Two cups of fine Stone Valley coffee followed with a rare treat in these parts: a Basque cheesecake. I was thinking that it might be something like the Basque custard cakes you get there (at least on the French side) but this was a different level altogether, smooth as could be, firm enough and so easy to digest, sweet and silky and quite a treat.

No 51 has become rather famous for its egg dishes but we had this meal without seeing any - perhaps one or two was used in the cheesecake. Here, they boast of “using the best produce the county has to offer made by a super passionate crew”. The eggs don’t have to travel far - they come from the rooftop urban farm in the Coal Quay itself! 

Open for breakfast, lunch and all times in between, the skilful youthful cafe exudes energy and enthusiasm with David and Anne both well-experienced in the restaurant business. The menus change here, depending on supplies, and everything is done in-house. You’ll find all the info on opening times on their Facebook but no menus as such. Lots of picture of dishes though, some with details, on both Facebook and Instagram.

Chef David cooks in a modern Irish style. The superb ingredients are handled with care and skill and the results are full of colour, texture and flavour. Presentation is strikingly neat and tidy - just look at their social media pics. Besides good food on your visit, you get smiles galore and a bit of craic.

The inside space (takes 20 plus) is narrow, white walls and ceiling, light coloured furniture, nicely lit, a line of tables on each side, counter towards the back with toilets in rear. And they have an enclosed outside area as well. Very Highly Recommended.

Bakestone Beef Hits The Spot After Wild Side Walk

 Bakestone Beef Hits The Spot

After Wild Side Walk

Nothing like a walk on the wild side to work up an appetite. And that old saying was proven once again last week when a walk on the very windy Harper’s Island was followed by lunch at the nearby Bakestone Café in the Fota Retail Park near Cobh Cross, just a few minutes away from the island wetlands.

There weren’t that many on the wetlands but it was a different story when we entered Bakestone for lunch. It was 2.00pm or so and the place was pretty full and this was a Tuesday. There is no booking though, walk-ins only. But they have a big open and bright space there and also quite a lot of tables in a well sheltered area between the glass wall of the main building and the garden centre around its south and east walls.

The first thing you see as you join the queue (a small one in our case) is a large breakfast menu and this is their signature offering. Many of my friends go there and enjoy it: all kinds of eggs, plain or  Benedict, Florentine, or Royale.  Then there’s Pancakes and French Toast and after that well you can try a pastry or cake from a large selection.

The lunch menu is not as extensive and, on a recommendation from our server, I picked a Beef Brisket Sandwich, the beef pulled, and served in a delicious bun packed with the meat, various greens and pickled cucumber. 

I picked from a large selection of salads and got myself a Beetroot one and also a Leaf one, each adding a euro to the basic price so that the sandwich cost a very reasonable €8.35 in total. They also do quiches here and they cost €6.25 each before add ons.

That beef sandwich was just the job after the walk and I was soon tucking in, really enjoying the flavour and the textures.  But is was quite substantial and it was finished at a slower pace! By the way, I noticed that quite a few people at nearby tables were enjoying breakfast dishes even at the hour!

After a pause, I decided on a cup of coffee and a pastry. Coffee is by Badger and Dodo so you are guaranteed a decent cup of Joe and I confirmed that for myself. The cake, a White Chocolate Tartlet with raspberries, was a really sweet one and half of it was packed into a serviette to be finished later on!. The main conclusion from the visit was that, next time, I would test that obviously very popular breakfast menu!

Harper’s Island Wetlands

The wetlands, open everyday 9.00am to 4.30pm, are a relatively new visit in the area. The entrance, with a small car park, is on the old Cork-Waterford Road, on the left roughly halfway between Glounthaune Village and Bakestone, just beyond the railway station but before the Elm Tree Pub.

Goodbye Geese!

Once parked, you make your way over an ugly concrete bridge and soon you are walking  onto the island. To your right, you can see Glounthaune village, straight ahead is the Cork-Waterford dual carriageway (the N25 or the East Cork parkway - its more fancier name), but mostly, including to your left, you see the wetlands and the various bits and pieces of this part of the backwaters of the massive Cork harbour.

Then you reach the first of the hides, a solid timber structure with plenty of openings for visitors to see the various birds. There are another two hides in the map and other points from where you may get close-up views. But nothing’s guaranteed as regards the wildlife and I was about to depart when I spotted the four large white geese in the distance.

What is guaranteed is a good long walk. When you come to the end of the first path (good solid surface, works vehicles have to get around here too, though there is no traffic as such), there is a looped walk that brings you back to this point again. 

Then you walk back to the car park with a view of houses on the slopes to the immediate north and you should be able to see too the house and farm where Killahora Orchards grow some of the earliest-ripening apples in Ireland and produce some very innovative products with their harvest. More on the wetlands here.

Other attractions close to Bakestone are Fota House and Arboretum, the Fota Wildlife Park, Barryscourt Castle (closed at present for OPW works), and Cobh (with its many attractions) is not too far away.