Ard Bia Cookbook now available

Thu, Aug 23, 2012

I had heard a while back there was an Ard Bia cookbook in the pipeline. I had even debated it with a restaurateur friend of mine. “It’s too expensive, I think it’s mad. You can get cookbooks from big names for half that price,” I said. “You can get a lot of rubbish cookbooks for half that price,” he replied. “If it’s a lovely book as well as a good cookbook, it’s well worth the extra money.” Now, here are the most painful words I may ever have to write —Aran McMahon, you were right and I was wrong. It is not too expensive, it is worth every penny and more.

Great dining in the Square

Thu, Aug 16, 2012

Cafe Express is situated in a prime bit of Galway retail space, in Abrakebabra's old location on Eyre Square. The previous menu of doner kebab, chip butty, 'special' pink sauce, and the ever popular taco fries (imagine an Irish version of the French Canadian 'poutine') has been pushed aside for something completely different. While Abrakebabra surely has its fans, Cafe Express, it has to be said, is a vast improvement and a welcome addition to Eyre Square. On the corner, this is fast becoming the coffee destination for city centre workers commuting from the outskirts and tourists on sightseeing excursions. With the trains, buses and taxis all feeding into the square, the Lavazza sign over this door acts like a beacon that draws coffee lovers like moths to a flame, and it's certainly hard to fault their real Italian-style coffee.

The tables upstairs are one of the best kept secrets in Galway, nab one by a window and you are guaranteed reasonably priced, tasty, food with one of the best views of the city. It is a people-watching paradise. Aside from the growing popularity of the coffee and good WiFi, the menu is not over complicated in an Italian-meets-Irish way. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a few things in between.

Quality and value at Rouge

Thu, Aug 09, 2012

Open over a year now and a firm favourite with many a Galwegian, Rouge is the hottest ticket in town at the moment, and understandably so. The €15 for two courses price tag alone would be enough to get people in the door, but the fact that the food is fantastic has something to do with it as well. A small menu is usually a promise of good things to come in my eyes, a few things done right is far better than a long list of potential disappointments and Rouge has the shortest and sweetest menu of them all. I went at the weekend with some old ex-Galway friends (who must now regret leaving!) and we had a very lovely evening there.

Le Petit Rouge opens in ‘the dining district’

Thu, Aug 09, 2012

Le Petit Rouge, directly across the street from its ‘maman’ restaurant Rouge, has just opened, bringing yet another option to the West End's thriving 'dining district'. This is a more than welcome addition, as currently there are few places for the thirsty and peckish to go. This style and standard of wine, cheese, and charcuterie is really only available upstairs at Sheridan’s Cheesemongers, since Sheridan’s on the Docks was so cruelly taken from us before its time.

Intimate and rustic, Le Petit Rouge is a small but perfect wine bar with a strong personality. The long, narrow, space here is pure theatre, carefully considered lighting highlighting areas of a room that just stops short of being a stage set, with balconied shuttered windows and vintage posters adorning the exposed brick walls around the centrepiece, a gleaming cherrywood bar.

Foods of Athenry scoops seven Great Taste awards

Thu, Aug 09, 2012

Local bakery company the Foods of Athenry has been awarded seven Great Taste awards by the UK Guild of Fine Foods. These prestigious awards, often referred to as the Oscars of the food industry, are recognised as a leading benchmark for speciality foods.

Deadline fast approaching for entry to Blas na hEireann

Thu, Jul 26, 2012

The deadline for producers to enter the annual Blas na hEireann, National Irish Food Awards, is fast approaching. These awards, the largest of their kind in Ireland, recognise Irish producers for the quality of their produce.

Exciting new menu at the Cellar

Thu, Jul 26, 2012

This week sees the launch of the Cellar Bar and Restaurant’s new food menu, adding even more variety to the extensive range already available at this busy city centre venue.

Mindful of the loyalty of the huge customer base that gives the Cellar that great ‘buzz’, all of the favourites are still available, and are joined by several new and interesting choices, from Greek salad of feta cheese, olives, oregano, mixed leaves, cucumber, red onion, and sun-blushed tomato, to the prime Irish steak sandwich, a seared minute steak on a toasted ciabatta with garlic and wholegrain mustard mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and your choice of sautéed onions, mushrooms, and peppercorn sauce; or tomato relish, jalapeños, and Emmental cheese.

Brasserie on the Corner

Thu, Jul 26, 2012

Here in the middle of the summer that did not happen, it may seem promises do not count for anything any more. Garden trampoline accidents have now been replaced in the A&E by advanced cases of pneumonia and chronic trenchfoot as the leading summer time ailments (I made that up, but it could be true, couldn’t it?). So if a newly opened restaurant promises “quality steak, seafood, wine, cocktails — and so much more” should we believe it?

On the ground

Thu, Jul 26, 2012

Wines Direct this weekend has Château de Gaudou’s winemaker Fabrice Durou displaying on Saturday between 2-6pm. Château de Gaudou is between Bordeaux and Toulouse and makes wines from Malbec, a grape closely associated with the region around Cahors. Wines worth stopping by to taste include Gaudou Exception Malbec (€9) and Château de Gaudou Cahors (€10.50).

On the cookery book shelf

Thu, Jul 26, 2012

Wahaca
Mexican Food At Home

A History of Food in 100 Recipes

Thu, Jul 05, 2012

William Sitwell
Collins

Wake up and smell the coffee?

Thu, Jul 05, 2012

Last Thursday I was invited to attend a tasting of the renowned Kopi Luwak coffee at Mr Waffle, located on Scholars Walk, Newcastle. For those unfamiliar with Kopi Luwak, it is one of the world's most rare and expensive coffees, at almost €50 per cup. Not to put too fine a point on it, it is made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian palm civet. Yes indeed folks, this unique coffee has the dubious distinction of being consumed before the customer has even taken a sip. I will take mine with milk, sugar, and a good dose of scepticism.

Designer fabrics clearance at La Maison Chic

Thu, Jul 05, 2012

La Maison Chic is offering its customers a one-off opportunity with all fabrics on rolls priced to clear. Fabrics are down from €55 per metre to €9.99 per metre. The selection includes some Designers Guild, Casamance, and Au Maison fabrics.

Colourfence — the perfect replacement for frost damaged hedges or broken fencing

Thu, Jul 05, 2012

Colourfence has a permanent no maintenance solution to all your fencing problems.

The Great Gourmet Challenge set to promote the wonders of the west

Thu, May 24, 2012

Recently referred to as “one of the country’s most exciting chefs” by Taste of Ireland, Jonathan Keane, head chef at Co Mayo’s boutique hotel, Lisloughrey Lodge, has overhauled the entire menu and is setting himself up for a challenge to showcase the wonders of the west.

Delicious authentic Indian cuisine in Kashmir

Thu, May 24, 2012

Galway has always been known for its diversity — a town of exotic sailors and Connemara tribes, this medieval city has been a melting pot for as long as it has existed. We have well established Chinese and Thai restaurants, and more recently some terrific Japanese ones. For fans of Indian food, however, Kashmir has been offering consistently delicious examples of this varied cuisine to Galway diners for some time now. Indian food is the 'Marmite' of global cuisines — it evokes a love or hate attitude that other ethnic traditions just do not get. There is often an excess of heat over flavour that has alienated many a diner. Not so at Kashmir.

This is Indian food cooked as it should be. Nearly every dish is labour-intensive with very few that can just be thrown together. Vegetables, herbs, and different combinations of intoxicating spices create the base of each of the sauces, all made from scratch on the premises, which means they are largely gluten-free as well as uniquely flavoured. The food was also noticeably less greasy than similar meals I have eaten at other Indian restaurants. I tootled along one weekday evening with a curry-loving friend. The decor is as you would expect, with comfortable dark furniture, and gilded idols keeping an eye on the room. Faint notes of incense hung in the air and the piped music is pure Bollywood.

Artisan Restaurant welcomes two new appointments and launches new summer menu

Thu, May 24, 2012

Winner of the Best Restaurant in Galway at The Restaurant Association Best in Ireland Awards, Artisan has welcomed two new additions to its award-winning team and launched a delicious new summer menu. Newly-appointed head chef Mark Campbell has put together a superb offering of culinary options guaranteed to suit all palettes.

Irish brown soda bread

Thu, May 24, 2012

This brown bread is light and fluffy. Since it has a moist consistency, it does not require kneading…just mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

On the wine shelf

Thu, May 24, 2012

Les Auzines Fleurs Blanches 2009 (Independents, €9.99)

On the cookery book shelf

Thu, May 24, 2012

Made at Home – Preserves
Dick and James Strawbridge

E-paper

Read this weeks E-paper. Past editions also available from within this weeks digital copy.