Form your party at The Dáil Bar

Thu, Aug 13, 2009

The Dáil Bar in Middle Street goes above and beyond your typical bar and restaurant when it comes to group reservations and party bookings. They are taking all the planning and stress away from organising an outing and making sure that you receive a package and service that is tailor-made for your group.

Form your party at The Dáil Bar

Thu, Aug 13, 2009

The Dáil Bar in Middle Street goes above and beyond your typical bar and restaurant when it comes to group reservations and party bookings. They are taking all the planning and stress away from organising an outing and making sure that you receive a package and service that is tailor-made for your group.

Celebrity chefs — are they losing their appeal?

Thu, Aug 13, 2009

I may be wrong, but I get the impression that the adoration being heaped on certain chefs may be starting to wane. Perhaps it is the recession; perhaps it is the stories of Gordon Ramsay’s empire in disarray, or perhaps we are just sick of them. I am all for promoting better cooking, better eating, and buying the best local produce, but realistically how many people actually ever cook anything they see demonstrated on television? It is a bit like watching reality TV, except you are watching someone cook rather than wander about a house.

Carefree Sundays at the Western Hotel

Thu, Aug 13, 2009

The Western Hotel is pleased to announce carefree Sundays, a day for parents to sit back and relax with the children and experience the best in Irish hospitality.

Make your own marshmallows

Thu, Aug 13, 2009

One of the great things about food is there’s always something new around the corner, be it a vegetable or exciting newly introduced seafood or meat. Food and its variety are truly infinite. But often even better than finding a new culinary experience is rediscovering an old one.

Quay Street bistro

Thu, Aug 13, 2009

A smart, dinky bistro restaurant with stripped floorboards, bentwood chairs, a big dresser and plenty of atmosphere, is how Artisan was described by the Irish Independent in a list of three to try best French restaurants. Award-winning chef Sylvan Gatay specialises in local seafood, farmhouse, and organic produce. Early bird menus are available along with take-away picnic baskets. The restaurant is open seven days serving lunch from 12noon to 3.30pm and dinner from 6pm to 10.30pm.

West Restaurant nominated for six Food & Wine Magazine awards

Thu, Aug 06, 2009

West restaurant, at the multi-award winning Twelve Hotel, Barna, has been nominated for an impressive six awards at the renowned Food & Wine Magazine Edward Dillon Restaurant of the Year Awards 2009.

The team at the popular Galwegian restaurant is shortlisted in the categories of Connaught’s Best Restaurant, Best Service, Best Good Value, Good Cooking, and Best Wine Experience, while head chef Cedric Bottarlini has been nominated for the closely contested Best Regional Chef in Connaught accolade. All nominees have been selected by the food-loving public and now the final decision lies with a panel of Ireland’s top food and wine experts who have the difficult task of choosing the winners.

The not- so- humble spud

Thu, Aug 06, 2009

My neighbour offered me some of his new potatoes last week, and as there was a distinct lack of tasty goodies in the Shaw household for dinner that day I picked up the garden fork and filled a pot with freshly dug spuds. I was not sure of the varieties but after 15 minutes steaming I saw that they were all beautiful floury types, with their jackets bursting open.

New safefood campaign warns consumers of food hygiene dangers in the home

Thu, Aug 06, 2009

Eighty four per cent of people do not wash their hands properly after handling raw chicken, according to new research from food safety group safefood. In its recent survey on food safety in the home, the organisation found that 72 per cent of people did not properly wash the knife used in preparing raw chicken before reuse on salad vegetables.

‘Enjoy’ top class restaurant food to eat at home

Thu, Jul 23, 2009

Next door to The White Gables Restaurant in Moycullen is the newly opened Enjoy, where you can buy all sorts of goodies for young, old, and everybody in between. It is the brainchild of Ann and Kevin Dunne, who have been at the helm of The White Gables restaurant for more than 20 years. The popularity of the restaurant has obviously spilled over to the new delicatessen as on opening day there were queues to get in, and that was before any advertising. On my recent visit there was a constant stream of customers in the middle of a midweek day.

First impressions with any establishment are important and there is a lovely feel to the shop when you walk in — a superb display of patisserie items, lots of home-made breads, scones and muffins. Annie Dunne’s table is the centre of the shop. This table is an old table belonging to Kevin’s mother which is getting a new lease of life in the shop as it displays all the home-made breads. The shop has the feel of one that has been open quite a while and I’m sure a lot of the credit must go to Ann who has a reputation for “doing it right or not doing it at all”.

Quick and easy meals with lamb

Thu, Jul 23, 2009

Make the most of the summer with these delicious lamb recipes from Bord Bia. These dishes are perfect for a barbecue and, thankfully, equally tasty as an indoor dining option.

Barbecue tips and ideas

Thu, Jul 09, 2009

Now that we seem to be getting some reasonable weather most people will be hoping to have a barbecue, or indeed several barbecues. There are two major problems with this great idea; the weather and cooking the food perfectly for you and your guests. An open sided gazebo will help with the vagaries of the weather as it can act as a shield against the blazing sun or provide shelter from a shower. As far as getting the cooking right, the single best advice is to precook most of the items. I was invited to a barbecue recently by one of the top chefs in Galway and I asked him for some tips on how to get it right.

Cases of fun at annual charity barbecue

Thu, Jul 09, 2009

Cases wine warehouse has teamed up with Enable Ireland to host an annual charity barbecue at Cases wine warehouse on the Tuam Rd on Friday July 17.

Sizzling summer at the Dáil

Thu, Jul 09, 2009

The Dáil bar is celebrating summer with some very tasty special offers. A little taste of a Mexico is being presented by a sizzling fajita deal, with a choice of chicken or vegetarian filling, and accompanied by a free beer or glass of wine for €12.95.

The Dail also has a selection of daily specials to complement its a-a-carte menu. With an aim to cater to all tastes, specials are constantly changed and adapted to suit the season. With specials starting a €5.95 and a selection of sandwiches and lighter bites you are guaranteed to find something.

Ten ways to lose fat without even trying

Thu, Jul 09, 2009

Fat loss does not have to be painful. Try these simple tips and see just how easy it can be.

Warm Asian tuna salad with pickled ginger and fresh coriander, served with sushi rice

Thu, Jul 09, 2009

This delicious salad comes from Kylemore. Fresh tuna is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, offering a boost to heart health as well as improving concentration and memory.

Make your own cocktails

Thu, Jul 02, 2009

Thanks to television shows and movies, cocktails have made a big revival in the past few years. The last big cocktail phase was during the fifties and sixties when every fashionable hotel had a cocktail bar with lots of starched collars, crisp white uniforms and bow ties. In 2009 the typical uniform for a cocktail barman seems to be black, although usually with the addition of a very flashy tie. The use of the word cocktail dates back to 1806 in New York so they have been around a long time, yet many have stood the test of time and have the same ingredients today as they had 100 years ago. A typical cocktail contains about 30-40 per cent high strength alcohol with the remainder being flavourings of one kind or another.

Strawberries

Thu, Jul 02, 2009

The weather over the past week has forced me into a difficult decision. Is it barbecue time, or possibly a piece on the versatility of salad? But a delivery of fresh Irish strawberries into the restaurant quickly made up my mind. Is there any fruit to herald the beginning of summer superior to a fresh sun ripened strawberry? In the middle of winter it’s not uncommon to come across, in the shops, these hard lumps of things that look like strawberries but taste of something far removed from a sweet Irish-grown berry. Especially when topped off with a little whipped dairy cream, no chef can better strawberries and cream. Strawberries grow particularly well in Ireland, and more so during the rare sunny summers. They ripen a little slower than on the continent, developing high sugar content.

Achill to celebrate the sea with Féile Bia Na Mara

Thu, Jul 02, 2009

TV master chef and author Clodagh McKenna will be the star attraction when Achill Island revives its traditional Féile Bia Na Mara from July 9 to 12. The Achill Seafood Festival is supported by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, and Údarás na Gaeltachta.

Trends in eating out

Thu, Jun 25, 2009

I have noticed that the traditional types of customers in many restaurants have changed over the past few years. The most noticeable is that women are now a serious force to be reckoned with and any restaurant which does not focus on their needs will suffer. On every single occasion that I have eaten out in the last 12 months there have been large tables of women’s groups dining, committees, hen nights, group of friends, groups from work, etc, and the same cannot be said of the men folk. What does this mean? I have not got a clue, but it is certainly good for the restaurant trade. Yet I have not seen any restaurant aiming its marketing directly at this group, eg, free cocktail for any group of more than X, or some such enticement.

E-paper

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