I called in to see Brendan Loughnane in his relatively new butcher’s shop beside the Tesco Express located at Tornóg, Ballinfoyle, on the Headford Road. Brendan is part of the Loughnane dynasty of butchers who were originally from the Loughrea area and is a brother of Sean Loughnane who created Galway’s first super butchers/delicatessen at Forster Court some years ago. Brendan is a master butcher and spent about 30 years running his extremely busy butcher’s shops in Limerick city. He has collected many awards over the years for his products and all that knowledge and experience is there for the customer when you call in. The shop is open six days a week until 6.30pm.
Brendan is very committed to having the very best meat for sale on his counters, and to do that he has a farm outside Loughrea where all the beef is fattened on the best of grass and oats until he is happy it is ready for the next stage. Here again he ensures quality as he does this himself at a local abattoir, hangs the meat for 20 days, and cuts it into the best joints for your table. He has focused on Hereford and Angus cattle as they give a much better fat distribution, and to see this in reality just have a look at his Sunday roasts. They are everything that all the great chefs recommend, and having sampled one myself I can guarantee that you will be delighted. A typical roast for that special Sunday dinner will be €13 to €14. I also sampled some of his bacon ribs and they were the most meaty and tender I have had. I have a real fondness for bacon ribs so I can assure you these are excellent. He only sells the smaller rib that has lots of meat so they are great value.
Don’t be shy when you visit Brendan, he is a fountain of information and would be delighted to help you to purchase whatever you require no matter what the budget.
I asked if any of the older style cuts were coming back into fashion now that the budget for fillet steak every day is gone, and he said people were buying items like ox tongue; a complete tongue is €5 and weighs 1.8kg, while cooked sliced ox tongue in certain shops will cost you €40 per kg. Some of his special meal deals are really excellent. For €20 you can feed a family of four or five for five days with: five chicken fillets, 2lb stewing beef, one joint of back bacon, 2lb mince steak, and a large chicken.
Not too long ago there were about 60 butcher shops in Galway. That number has reduced substantially; however I think that the cycle has moved full circle and that people now appreciate the benefits of talking to a well informed and enthusiastic specialist butcher. My final recommendation is to get to know your local butcher and if you were not aware that Brendan is open for business, call in the next time you are in the area. Loughnane’s is one minute drive from the Marriott Hotel roundabout, at the Headford Road, beside Tesco Express.
Further north to the town of Tuam where I visited a new specialist wine shop called The Winehouse. This is the type of wine shop I really love, opened and run by a wine enthusiast and specialising in a certain area of wines, in this case France. The owner, Cathal Reynolds, is the man responsible for opening Cré na Cille in 1979 and his food and wine cellar gained countrywide fame. Cathal sold that business a few years ago and now has the time to spend on his favourite subject — wine. All the wines from France have been personally selected by Cathal during his visits there, and you can be sure of getting expert help if you ask or query any of the wine qualities. He does of course stock wines from all over, but France is his passion. The great thing about all these wines is that they are more or less exclusive to the Winehouse, so if you are able to call in regularly you have a fantastic range of wines to sample over time.
It was nice to see a totally organic and biodynamic wine, Chateau Tour du Moulin 2006 for €12.50, a big full bodied red. I asked about a wine called Chateau Montau Hors Serie which is bottled in a very old style Bordeaux heavy bottle. It is a traditional Bordeaux, only bottled in exceptional vintages, and each bottle is numbered. It is interesting to note that if you call to the vineyard in Bordeaux the wine will cost you €29 and you can buy it in Tuam for €30. I spotted an excellent Madiran from the south of France called Laougué 2005 for €14.50, and if you like a full-on large red this is one to try. I asked Cathal for his own preference and he picked up a Domaine Lafond, made from Syrah and Grenach grape for €18.75. He described it as good as the best Chateauneuf Du Pape.
Cathal also has some really fine Bordeaux from 1982 and 1990, I saw some Lynch Bages, Pontet Canet, and Calon Segur hiding away there, waiting for that special occasion. Cathal is located in Bishop Street, Tuam, near the cathedral. His telephone number is 093 42512.
As always, please email me your comments/ suggestion on [email protected]
