A Short Stay at The Tannery Townhouse

After our lunch at O'Brien Chop House, it was time to get into the car and drive from Lismore to Dungarvan, home of The Tannery which was our base for the evening.  Owned by Paul & Maire Flynn, The Tannery is a renowned restaurant but there's more to it than just this - it also comprises a cookery school and beautiful accommodation called Tannery Townhouse.

I want to live here...

It's just around the corner from the Tannery Restaurant on a very quiet street and is split over two buildings, the Townhouse proper and the Cookery School where we were shown to Room 10 by the very lovely Valerie who opened the door to reveal one of the nicest rooms I've ever stayed in.  Our room was light, airy and very tranquil thanks to the soft grey painted walls, sleek accessories and an incredibly comfortable bed.  I used to work in a Georgian house where my office was almost identical in height and space so it was wonderful to see how the room worked as a bedroom.

Gorgeous spacious bathroom

The bathroom was equally impressive - it was enormous with a full sized sash window and painted in the same colour as our bedroom.  The towels were large and fluffy and the shower was ultra-powerful - what more could you want?

Now that's what I call breakfast

The Townhouse doesn't offer a full cooked breakfast, a fact which they make very clear on their website (although some people obviously can't read based on some of the petty comments on TripAdvisor).  This suited us perfectly as we were heading to The Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore for lunch.  To be honest, I'm a bit fussy about cooked breakfasts in hotels as they tend to be buffet style with dubious sausages, white tinged soggy rashers and plastic scrambled eggs with the exception of a few hotels who really take pride in what they serve their guests.

No worries at the Townhouse because we had a bag of beautiful raspberry muffins left on a hook outside our door, fruit, local apple juice, yoghurt & granola for our leisurely breakfast in our room.  As we loaded the bags into the car, Valerie came over to make sure we enjoyed our stay and that everything was ok.  OK?  It was one of the nicest nights away we have ever had.  We'll be back (sooner, rather than later!)

Lunch at O'Brien Chop House, Lismore

After a drive through Wexford and Waterford, dodging speed cameras and marvelling at the beauty of the Waterford bypass, we drove into the heritage town of Lismore.  It’s one of the most scenic little towns I’ve ever seen in Ireland – we had seen photos of Lismore Castle at a photographic exhibition in Temple Bar a few months ago but the images didn’t do it justice.  It soars over the road in majestic splendour and reminded me of one of the towns we drive through in France with beautiful chateaux and bridges.

But we weren’t there to look at the Castle, we were there to begin our whistlestop tour of Waterford in style with lunch at O’Brien Chop House.  It’s located on Main Street (with plenty of free parking available on South Mall just around the corner).  From the street, it just looks like an old fashioned pub shopfront, although in beautiful muted paint colours.  Once you enter, you’re transported back to the pub your grandad used to drink in – it has been beautifully and sympathetically restored – and the restaurant proper is at the back, almost like a Tardis.

Richard the manager seated us at a lovely table opposite the service hatch (all the better to see the kitchen with), set with pretty blue willow pattern plates.  Two types of breads and a pat of Glenilen Farm butter arrived on a wooden plank to stave off the hunger pangs while we ordered from the €20 set menu.  As usual we negotiated who was having what and sat back and watched the staff hard at work.   The restaurant was booked solid with families and groups of friends having a convivial lunch and the kitchen staff were certainly under pressure but we never heard a raised voice, a broken plate or any sign of stress.  

I ordered the Endive & herb salad with soft boiled egg, anchovies & parmesan while The Hubs chose the Skeaghanore duck rillettes with pickled vegetables to start.  They were delicious - usually The Hubs would do anything to avoid anchovies but he kept stealing them from my plate.  His Rillettes were absolutely perfect with the crunchy toast.  Plates were rapidly emptied and we almost forgot we had main courses still to come...

This time around, the pork was mine - a pan-fried Ballyvolane House Saddleback chop with an apple & onion jam and a thyme sauce.  The Hubs ordered the Supreme of Cappoquin chicken with mustard mash & a lemon cream sauce.  We basically split the plates 50/50 because they were both equally gorgeous.  They arrived with some local new potatoes and very tender greens.

At this stage, we admitted defeat - we were absolutely stuffed and couldn't manage dessert or even coffee.  A stroll around the town and the beautiful St. Carthage's Cathedral was the only cure for our indulgence.  So, would I recommend O'Brien Chop House?  Absolutely.  Dedicated, enthusiastic happy staff, very talented chefs in the kitchen, the best of locally sourced produce and a beautiful restaurant - what's not to love?  My only regret is that we don't live closer...

A Whirlwind Weekend in Waterford

It was time to bring The Hubs' epic 40th birthday celebrations to a close.  He already had a fantastic birthday party and The Cake of All Cakes but what better way to mark such an auspicious occasion with a little weekend away.  Except it wasn't actually a weekend, but a mere 30 hours of food and fun.  Listen, we like to cram as much as we can into our time as possible.  This was a double present - he got a lovely trip away while I got three gorgeous meals cooked for me (a rarity indeed) and a night in a very beautiful place.  Yes, I am sneaky and conniving, but how can you not admire my strategy...

It's what we do best... apart from food!

We set off on Friday morning with the rain and wind battering the car intermittently to Waterford.  My, but the speed camera vans are very sneakily placed along the road (yes, Clonroche, I'm talking about you).  We didn't appear to attract their attention and soon we were on the lovely shiny new Waterford bypass.  It is the business - no more queuing in what seems like hours of traffic to get through the city... and a mere 2 hours and 20 minutes after leaving Maison Babaduck, we were in Lismore.  Why Lismore?  Because it is very pretty indeed and more importantly, it is home to O'Brien Chop House.  I'll write up a full individual blog post on everywhere we ate/stayed but you need to pay this place a visit.  I wish I lived closer so I could spend lots of money there.

O'Brien Chop House

After a fine and hearty lunch, we went for a little stroll before hopping into the car and driving to Dungarvan.  We had a dual purpose here - food and sleep - at The Tannery.  Our home for the night was the Tannery Townhouse - I wanted to move in and never leave - and we had booked dinner at the Tannery Restaurant.  A brilliant choice (if I do say so myself...)

This is Dungarvan

After a very lazy breakfast the next morning, it was time for lunch.  We drove 15 minutes up the road to the seaside village of Ardmore, home to the Cliff House Hotel where we had booked a table.  It stayed sunny just long enough for us to finish our lunch on the terrace...

Sun & Sand in Ardmore

And finally it was time to go home, this time on the ferry from Passage East to Ballyhack so I could make a pitstop at my favourite shop in Wexford - Kate's Farm Shop - to buy some of their amazing locally-grown vegetables.

On the Ferry... farewell Waterford

It seemed like we were away for ages but in reality it was less than a day and a half.  But we crammed a whole lot of fun and fine food into our little trip.  And we hope to return very soon!

BBQ Time : Healthy Burgers

Although the summer weather has been pretty frightful, something that is always requested in Maison Babaduck is burgers.  I'm trying to eat slightly more healthier so decided to try to lighten up my usual burger recipe.  Turkey Mince is becoming much easier to find in recent months so I've done a 50/50 turkey & beef mince burger.  I decided to just make them & not tell The Hubs to get a true reaction.  He loved them, which is great because he'll be eating them again!

Healthy Burgers (makes 8)

400g Extra-Lean Beef Mince
400g Turkey Mince
2 Shallots, minced
2-3 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Chives, chopped
1 tbsp Parsley, chopped

Mix everything together really thoroughly in a large bowl - the turkey & beef mince are different textures, so this will take a bit of work.

Shape into patties and allow to chill for 10-15 minutes.

Heat a frying pan or griddle pan and cook for 6-7 minutes on each side until fully cooked through.

Serve with loads of salady bits, a healthy layer of precious Bacon Jam from Ed Hick and some potatoey things - in this case it was leftover fried new potatoes.

They do freeze really well, so make up a batch in advance and stick them in the freezer.

My Taste of Dublin 2011

Listen, I know it was nearly a month ago but I've been a busy little bee for the past few weeks what with Take That (swooning over Jason Orange...), the never-ending birthday celebrations for The Hubs and work has been ever so busy as well - this juggling of two jobs is really eating into my blog writing time!  But I mustn't complain, I do love both of my jobs and will be very very sad when my contract comes to an end in September because I work with a great bunch of people who now all have a newly-discovered love of food.  Feeding them on a Monday morning certainly encourages their interest!!

Yes, VIP baby...

So anyway, myself & The Hubs toddled off for our 4th visit to Taste of Dublin, this time as guests of Superquinn.  Baby Brother dropped us to the Luas and off we hopped at Harcourt Street for the epic 300m walk down to the Iveagh Gardens.  It was warm, it was sunny and the skies were blue - perfect conditions for wandering around eating, drinking and nattering.  We were truly spoiled this year with VIP tickets which gave us access to the Appletiser VIP suite, complete with complimentary cocktails and champagne (don't mind if I do...) and private portaloos!.  Seating in the tent was a bit of an issue - too many people, not enough chairs -unless you were a VVIP like Ryan Tubridy with a specially reserved area - but my eagle eye kept an eye out and we soon grabbed a seat beside the door where we could peoplewatch and giggle at inappropriate outfits and badly applied fake tan - yes, I know I am very pass-remarkable but it was fun...

Our first stop was at Artisan du Chocolat where we were practically forced (I may be exaggerating a teeny amount) to taste the Guinness Salted Caramels.  Gerard Coleman is a chocolate genius & having done a workshop with him at the Dublin Cookery School, I knew his special Dublin creation would be fabulous.  I wasn't disappointed.  As we rounded the corner, we saw the Patron Tequila stand with a gorgeous Airstream caravan.  We sampled the Patron XO Cafe liqueur which I loved and The Hubs couldn't put down quickly enough - spirits aren't his thing at all...

The Patron Airstream 

At this stage, I could smell something delicious - a quick sniff in the air revealed the Weber BBQ Experience Roadshow.  We met the charming Dan Cooper who was busy preparing Beer Bum Chicken for the BBQ (a dinner dish which my Dad has been doing for many years & is hugely popular chez Babaduck).  He also was making pizzas and garlic & herb flatbreads on the BBQ using a pizza stone.  These were phenomenal and I couldn't stop picking at them.  Dan made his dough from scratch - using a 50/50 mix of 00 flour & strong bread flour which he believes works better than the usual total 00 flour mix that I'm used to for my pizza dough.  Having tasted his, I think I just might be converted...

 Beer Bum Chicken

 Divine Garlic & Herb Flatbreads

  

Pizza with Roasted Vegetables

Eventually we had to move on because there was so much to eat & drink and only a limited time to do it all... We met up with my friend Timmo and started to sample some gorgeous wines from Paco & Lola Albarino, Arrogant Frog & Beziers Mediterranee before heading over to the food stalls to spend our Florins.

First up was Dylan where myself & The Hubs shared Cod in Lemon & Thyme Batter with Chips & Tartare Sauce.  This was gorgeous - the batter was crisp and light, the fish was moist, the chips were yum and the sauce was just right.  Timmo was granted a small taste in return for a large forkful of her Braised Beed Shin au Jus with Creamy Mash

               Fish & Chips - Dylan Style               Braised Beef Shin from Dylan

Three dishes from The Exchange:

Shredded Duck Confit, Sticky Toffee & Date Pudding, Cannon of Irish Lamb

We had great plans to wander over towards the other area when suddenly there was a gust of wind, a rumble of thunder and whoosh... the heavens opened.  I have never seen people grab a drink and run so quickly in my life.  Hopes that it was just a shower were soon put in jeopardy when the lightning and hailstones arrived.  Imagine, hailstones... in June!

Here comes the rain (and hailstones) again...

Eventually we made a dash for the other side of the area because I knew that Ashford Castle was the visiting restaurant for Friday night only and I wanted to try their dessert which was entitled "A taste of Dark and White Chocolate, Spearmint Scented".  Usually, we avoid the desserts at Taste of Dublin because they tend to be of the meringue/pannacotta/easy to serve variety but this was something that you would be thrilled to try in the actual restaurant.  It was a long bar of mousse with a smaller bar of white chocolate mousse hidden in the middle, set on a crunchy chocolate biscuit and topped with a mint macaron, tapioca and a chocolate circle.  I can't begin to describe how utterly delicious it was - the Ashford Castle pastry chef is a genius and I am in awe of her work.  It was so amazing, we had one each!

 Perfection on a plate

Some of the dishes we tried never made it to the photo stage because we ate them before we remembered the camera - top of this category was the Black Angus fillet steak with Portobello Mushroom from Wilde at the Westbury and the Beef, Pine Nut & Sundried Tomato Ragu from Town Bar & Grill.  Just delicious.

One exhibitor I was really pleased to see at Taste was Red Dog Foods - I saw them at Georges Market in Belfast when I was at the Irish Blog Awards in March and meant to go back to buy some of their sauces... but Miss Like Mam Used To Bake distracted me.  This time, I was focused & grabbed a jar of their gorgeous Southern Sauce - a handmade mustardy sauce with a great kick  Hopefully they start selling their fantastic range of jellies & sauces here very soon.

So, what did I really think of Taste of Dublin 2011?  Apart from the rain which stopped play for far too long, it was much better than last year with many more free sampling opportunities for visitors and a great range of companies, food producers and retailers showcasing their wares.  One thing that does need to be addressed is the very high cost of dishes from the participating restaurants - €8 for a tiny tapas-sized plate is really too expensive and I've no doubt that this area could be made far more pocket-friendly with a bit of thought and consideration.