Happy New Year! We have returned from Dublin. Our luggage has been returned to us. And my food poisoning has subsided, which means I can once again think about food!
I’ll be honest, I didn’t have high hopes for the food in Ireland. Recalling the subpar culinary memories from my summer studying in London, I was ready for heavy pub food and not much more. While potatoes are as popular as legend would have it and we had plenty of heavy pub food – some of it better than others – our culinary experience didn’t end there. Ironically, guess what my favorite meal was? The long sought out Full Irish Breakfast – heavy pub food at it’s finest.
Full Irish Breakfast at the Hairy Lemon: sausage, bacon, egg, black & white pudding, tomato, mushrooms, beans and two types of toast. I came very close to clearing this plate, #MeatComa.We found the fish & chips to be hit & miss – my general sentiment on this particular dish.Scotch egg from our local market. This is what I’d call yolk perfection.Christmas Eve dinner was at a fantastic Italian restaurant. You know it’s the real deal when you’re group are the only ones speaking English and your meal ends with limoncello. Pictured is a salted cannoli with basil filled with artichoke puree chopped pistachio’s and saffron cheese. My main dish, seafood with homemade pasta, was fantastic.Dinner from the carvery in O’Neill’s Pub was heavy, but actually quite good. I got the lamb leg with all of the veggie sides. Loved the roasted carrots and red cabbage. You should have seen her face when I said I didn’t want any of the five potato options…Need a break from heavy pub food? Cornucopia offers beautiful vegan dishes. Pictured is phyllo stuffed with beets and smoked tofu, a smorgasborg of salads and vegan carrot cake.Chicken and chorizo pie at Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast (cozy pub, but food was nothing to write home about).Terrine of wild game with beetroot and blackberry at Pig’s Ear.Crab with Butternut Squash, Goats Bridge Trout Caviar, Buttermilk and Lobster Oil at Pig’s Ear. Best dish of the night!Haunch of Venison Juniper, Pumpkin, Chicory, Chocolate at Pig’s Ear. Sounds more exciting than it was.Salt Baked Beetroot. Toasted Oats, Yoghurt, Black Walnuts & Pear. Would have been a good appetizer, but a bit lacking as a main.Bread & Butter Pudding, Whiskey Custard, and Christmas Pudding Ice CreamHowth offered a plethora of fresh seafood. Pictured: (very expensive) oysters.Save yourself from the various tourist traps, and sidle up to the bar at Beshoffs Market, where you can watch your tapas be made. Pictured: crab claws with oriental spices.Fresh prawn at Beshoffs Market. Also be sure to try the grilled octopus and the mussel pot, not pictured.Our first night in Dublin we ate at Woolen Mills, a super cozy eating spot by the ha’penny bridge. Pictured is the turkey with Pigs on the Green stout sausage & chestnut stuffings, purple sprouts, roasties, cranberry relish & gravy. My favorite dish of the night was the sweet potato pancakes (not pictured).
And no ‘Taste of Ireland’ is complete without talking booze!
Guinness, as fresh as it gets at the Gravity Bar at the Guinness Storehouse. It takes 119.5 seconds to pour a Guinness, so you’ll always see bartenders pour half and then return.Need a pick me up before a long night at the pubs? An Irish coffee is just the thing!Whiskey tastings at the Whiskey Museum. My honest takeaway: I much prefer my whiskey in cocktails rather than sipped straight.
Favorite Pubs:
Becky Morgans: as we learned on our walking tour, every Irish person’s favorite pub is the closest one! This one was ours, and where we rang in 2017 singing with the locals.
Brazen Head: said to be Ireland’s oldest pub. We spent a jovial night dancing to live music with kilted collegiates. And the food was good too!
Stag’s Head: which apparently was just selected best pub in Ireland! We believe it. We stumbled on Ukulele Tuesday, and Courtney joined the regulars in hours of tunes, including a nod to George Michael, Leonard Cohen, Prince, and the other musical talents we lost in 2016.
Hairy Lemon: while we only had lunch and didn’t experience the nightlife, a quick walk the funky rooms and “snugs” led me to believe it would be excellent. And if our waiter was any indication, the staff knows how to have a good time!
Temple Bar: we know it’s touristy, but we had a good time. Perhaps because we scored a table right in front of the live music, a predictable but fun mix of Celtic tunes and American classics.
