Archive for the ‘food and drink’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

smithwick’s pale ale

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

I picked up a bottle of the new Smithwick’s Pale Ale to try.

Smithwick's Pale Ale

I’ll update with my opinion once I’ve tried it :)

Update:
um, normally I try to stick to the “if you’ve nothing good to say, say nothing”, but I did say I’d give my thoughts. There’s a great craft beer groundswell in Ireland at the moment, and anyone entering that space has to cope with high entry points.
This offering from Smithwick’s falls short of that. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either. I can’t see what they were aiming at with this – it’s like a watered down version of ‘normal’ Smithwick’s. It should have been an opportunity to develop a new taste and make a mark in the craft beer market.
No masterchef apron for this recipe :/

Tags: , ,
Posted in food and drink | No Comments »

3 nice whites

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

ignoring the fact that the weather has taken a turn for the arctic, I tend to drink more white wine in summer.
Here’s my current favourite 3 white wines, all available in Cork.

From Curious Wines, Mont Marçal Blanco 2009. retails at a mere €7.99.

From Bubble Brothers, Mas Codina, DO Penedès 2010. Slightly more at €11.99 but worth every penny.

And from Wine Alliance, Beso De Vino Macabeo 2010. Available around the country and in Bradley’s Off licence on North Main St. I can’t remember the exact price but it’s around a tenner.

You might spot a bit of a trend there with the whites I’m drinking at the moment. I’m also enjoying a lovely white from France, but that’s not available here so I’ll leave it out. Enjoy!

Tags: , ,
Posted in food and drink | 2 Comments »

man of aran fudge

Monday, June 20th, 2011

I passed through the market on Patrick St. this weekend and saw a stall advertising fudge.
It’s Man of Aran Fudge. They’re located in County Meath, and the fudge is lovely stuff. We got a box with 4 mixed flavours – tasty stuff!

Fudge!

Tags: ,
Posted in food and drink | 2 Comments »

craft beers from Bradleys

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

There’s been some press lately about new craft breweries in Ireland and abroad. I love the idea of there being more options for craft beers in Ireland and I wanted to try them out. I popped into Bradleys to take advantage of their 4 for €10 offer, and collected this haul.

Craft Beers

From left to right:

Tags: ,
Posted in food and drink | No Comments »

my new local, Bradley’s of North Main Street.

Monday, February 28th, 2011

I recently moved into Cork city centre. This means that I save a fortune on shoe leather, but consequently don’t enjoy as much walking through the city as much as I used to.

I needed a new local off-licence and when I tried Bradleys off licence on North Main St. in search of a prosecco they had blogged about I was delighted to find a veritable treasure trove down the back in the off licence section.

Bradleys Off-licence of North Main St.

Bradleys Off-licence of North Main St.

They have a great range of wines and beers. I took a couple of beers from Dungarvan Brewing Company, my girlfriend was delighted to see they stock Desperados and there’s plenty more ales and beer to try.
The wine selection is great – plenty at each price point and written notes to give an idea of what’s in the bottle. They have bin ends and special offers too – I confess I have a real weakness for a bargain.
I picked up the prosecco* I wanted, plus a spanish red that Michael recommended for me.
The third bottle in the picture was a real surprise – I had spoken on twitter to Michael, saying I was calling in to pick up a couple of bottles. He presented me with another prosecco as a ‘welcome to the city’ present!
An absolute gent and old school Cork there.

wines from Bradleys

wines from Bradleys

I’m looking forward to trying a lot more of the beers on offer – specially the ales.
It goes without saying that I’ll be trying as many of the wines as I can!

*the prosecco is lovely. It went down a treat at a family dinner. It was following a brand name champagne so I was a little worried, but the straw poll of people with empty glasses in their hands had it ranked above the much more expensive champers.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in food and drink | 5 Comments »

top recommendation from wine blogger

Monday, February 14th, 2011

I read wine blogs for a couple of different reasons. Some blogs have brilliant stories and photographs from vineyards all over the world. Jamie Goode’s Wine Blog is an excellent example.

I also read some more local blogs for suggestions for wines to try. Blake Creedon’s blog, as well as his column in the Examiner on Saturdays, or Lar Veale’s blog and column in the Tribune both have recommendations that you can get around the country.

Paul Kiernan writes the Grapes of Sloth, and recently he published a post with a breakdown of his new scoring system. He also reviewed a brace of five star wines, both of which are readily available in Cork City. I decided I’d try one, and when Michael from Bradleys off-licence on North Main st. in Cork mentioned on twitter that he had the Concannon Petite Sirah in stock, my mind was made up. I picked up a bottle on Saturday morning and tasted it that evening.
The wine was lovely and really lived up to the billing. You can read Paul’s notes for a full dicsussion of the wine.
One of the things I most enjoy about wine and the social media scene surrounding wine is recommendations from local bloggers and local retailers. You can’t beat a recommendation from someone local to you, followed by a short trip to a local shop to pick something up.

Tags: , ,
Posted in food and drink | 3 Comments »

little buddha specialty coffe and tea shop in Cork

Monday, October 25th, 2010

I paid a visit to Little Buddha on MacCurtain Street in Cork City over the weekend. I’d heard it had a nice range of teas so was expecting to see an array of nice tins – instead I saw what looked like the kitchen of a mad scientist! Lots and lots of large glass jars filled with a bewildering array of teas and coffees.
You’re encouraged to smell them them, but advised to lift the lid and smell the aroma captured there – rather than lean over the jar as some of the teas have quite a strong aroma.

The guy manning the shop was very friendly and we chatted for a bit about various coffees.
He mentioned that they don’t have the full range in the shop yet – they have another twenty or so teas to come!

coffee from Little Buddha specialty coffee and tea shop in Cork

coffee from Little Buddha specialty coffee and tea shop in Cork

I picked up some flavoured coffee: Cafe de Paris, which is flavoured with cognac and has a wonderful smell reminding me of post dinner brandies in Rosscoff, and English Toffee coffee, which apart from being wonderful to say, makes me think of Harry Potter style wintry escapades.

They’re launched their online shop – have a look at the range.
It’s well worth popping in if you’re in town, for the smells even if you’re a bit dubious about fancy teas.

Posted in food and drink | No Comments »

the corkscrew arrive on the internet in style

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

On my recent trip to Dublin I paid my usual visit to the The Corkscrew, a wine shop located on Chatham Street. For non Dublonians this is just off Grafton Street. The first thing that strikes me about the shop is they have a colour coded pricing system.
Each colour corresponds to a price bracket – this is such a simple and brilliant idea. You can go for a bottle within a price range if you’re not sure what you’re after.

Down the back they have a range of interesting ports and champagnes. They’re the only place I know of to get Royal Oporto port – my favourite port to date.

I picked up a bottle of Rioja, mainly because it was on offer on the website. They honoured the website price too, even though it wasn’t marked on the shelf in the shop.
I drank it a couple of days later and it went down very well with the clan here.

the corkscrew

the corkscrew

The lads only recently launched their new website, and they’ve also arrived on the twitter. You can follow them at @corkscrewnation. They’re being very involved to date – I hope they’ll stick it out. One classy move they’ve made so far – they saw a tweet on twitter from @curlydena and they sent her a bottle of malbec to brighten up her day!

tweet from @curlydena

tweet from @curlydena

Tags: , ,
Posted in food and drink | 2 Comments »

wine alliance tasting at fenns quay

Sunday, September 26th, 2010

I was invited to a preview of some of the range from Wine Alliance this week, in Fenns Quay restaurant.
I’ve heard a bit about them, and I know Maurice from his days at Karwig Wines.
I’d already read about a couple of the wines on Paul Kiernan’s blog, so I was really looking forward to it.

wine alliance

We tasted 8 wines from their range, 2 Spanish, 2 French and 4 Portuguese. All were priced below the €10 euro mark and came in a mix of old school and funky labels.

  • Pegoes Branco 2009 Portugal
  • Stella Blanco 2009 Portugal
  • Mas De Vigneron Blanc 2009 France
  • Pegoes Tinto 2009 Portugal
  • Mas De Vigneron Rouge 2009 France
  • Stella Rosso 2008 Portugal
  • Rojo Mojo Tempranillo 2009 Spain
  • Rojo Mojo Shiraz 2009 Spain

They were all very nice, with the Stella Rosso being my favourite on the night. You wouldn’t go wrong with any of them though.

I’m delighted to see plenty of Portuguese wines on offer. I’ve never even heard of most of the grapes in these wines, but lately I’ve been hearing more positive things about wine from Portugal, so I was very happy to try them. The main characteristic of all the wines from the tasting was smoothness.
There was a range of tastes, but all the wines were accessible and smooth, “easy to drink” was mentioned several times on the night.

Maurice is a great MC for a tasting. He really knows the wines, and the interest and belief that he has in them shines through.

You can follow Wine Alliance and Maurice on Twitter. Have a chat to the lads, they’re very friendly and
maybe you can wangle an invite for yourself!

as usual, my tasting notes. enjoy!

Tags: , ,
Posted in food and drink | 4 Comments »

fantastic sicilian dinner and wine tasting at fenns quay

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

On Monday I went along to Fenns Quay for a Dinner and Sicilian Wine tasting.
Victoria Curatolo of Villa Tonino and Liberty Wines were supplying and presenting the wines on the night.

There were about 20 people at the dinner, some of whom I’d met before. I had the pleasure of meeting Billy Lyons and his wife. Kevin had seated them at our table and we discovered a shared love of France, wine and a common history in Glounthaune, our native parish.

The dinner was fantastic, 4 courses with each being really tasty. As always in Fenns Quay, the service was top notch and the dinner was nice and relaxed, with no hint of a rush. I’ve attached the menu, with a grainy shot of the Osso Bucco and a grainier shot of Victoria.

Fenns Quay Sicilian Wine tasting and Dinner menu

Fenns Quay Sicilian Wine tasting and Dinner menu

For the wines, we tasted 6 from the range.
Villa Tonino Inzolia, 2009
Villa Tonino Grillo, 2009
Villa Tonino Nero D’Avola 2008
Villa Tonino `Baglio Curatolo` 2007
Villa Tonino `Baglio Curatolo` Syrah, 2007
Villa Tonino Marsala Superiore Riserva, NV, Curatolo

I loved the 3 reds, and if I really really had to chose a favourite, I’d go with the Baglio Curatolo. I’d be very happy with any of them though. I also very much liked the Inzolia – I reckon it’s tailor made for sipping on a hot summers day.
I had 3 of the clan with me, and in true family style we all had different favourites. We all liked a lot of the range though, which is an unusually high hit rate.

Victoria presented the wines in turn, with lovely stories of the history of the family Vineyard. I love hearing stories about where wines are made and the people that make them. It really adds to the experience for me.

It was a brilliant night, thanks to Kevin and all at Fenns Quay, and Victoria and Jerry.

You can read what Billy thought of the night.

As always, I’ve attached a scan of my tasting notes. Best of luck reading them :)

Tags: , ,
Posted in Cork Events, food and drink | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »