A Celebration of Sandwiches

The gCounter

We are a nation of sandwich eaters. Every cafe, counter and hatch does its own variation, with ingredients ranging from withered lettuce to flash fried steak, from slathered 'spread' to flavorful aioli. But which is the best? Sally and John McKenna recently took this question to the streets of Dublin and the Twitterverse to find out. From an close-fought battle the Pulled Pork from Brother Hubbard was crowned the Capital's 'ultimate sandwich'.

Last year the Hellman’s Best Sandwich Competition saw food establishments asking their customers to vote for their favourite sandwich in Ireland, and the people of Galway people proved we were particularly fond of ours. The title of 'Ireland’s Top Sandwich' went to The Cellar Bar on Galway's Englinton Street. They won the day thanks to Chef Aidan Cleary’s tempting 'Cajun Spiced Chicken Ciabatta'. Not only that, the City of the Tribes also scooped a runner-up spot in the same competition with the Warm Toasted Ciabatta with Beef Medallions from McCambridge’s, proving that Galway is Ireland’s overall top spot for sandwiches. The three winners were awarded a trophy, and professional panini grills, which will come in handy for this year’s competition which is shaping up to be a lot tougher.

37West.

A lot of people wrongly consider a sandwich to be a simple construct of a sliver of processed meat or a square of processed cheese between two pieces of white sliced pan. They think that a sandwich is just a sandwich. Sadly, this tragic, flaccid excuse for a meal is a lunchtime staple for too many who will never know the magic of a lovingly made 'buttie'. Let's face it, no truly good sandwich is ever going to win any awards in the health stakes but then if you are looking for a low carb, paleo option you'd better have a salad.

If, however, you do like a nice sandwich now and again, what and where is the best sandwich in Galway? Like breakfast, sandwiches are a matter of personal taste. People feel strongly about the one they buy, they are closely linked to where they live, work or socialise. There are places that are new and cool and places that are institutions - my own extremely well-researched preferences are the long- running 'Hot Tuna on Foccacia' in Anton's, the newcomers G Counter Club Sandwich and the 37West Chicken Melt. McCambridge's is the place to go when you want to go off-piste. Here your sandwich doesn't have to follow any rules. It doesn't have to have any salad in it. Or cheese. Or ham. The menu board is just a list of suggestions. You get what you want, how you want it. Stuffing with beetroot? No problem! Sounds grim but hey, it's your sandwich.

Antons.

From months of intensive testing and an incredibly close-fought battle, not including the franchise-type like Subway and O'Briens, who are a little lacking in both passion and personality. My crack team of sandwich connoisseurs have come to a decision. The best sandwich in Galway at this moment in time is... the Bánh Mì at the Bierhouse, Dominick Street where the boys from Entre-pans have been taking the art of sandwich making to a whole new level. From their tiny open kitchen in the Bierhouse, these master sambologists serve a short but brilliantly diverse menu of five sandwiches. A celebration of sandwiches in all their forms made to a very high standard, the others to chose from are - the three cheese grill; a smoked mackerel or tofu Po' Boy; their SBLPT, (a smoked bacon BLT with the genius addition of fried potatoes) priced around €6/7.

Bánh mì

A bánh mì is essentially the only sandwich in Vietnamese cuisine and it is quite a tour de force, with crusty baguette, hot seasoned pork, creamy pate, fresh coriander and a drizzle of mayonnaise. Entre-pans' take on it has a wonderful mix of flavours with an excellent crunchy fresh savoy cabbage 'slaw, studded with pear and apple and garnished with a perfect cucumber pickle. Each and every bite filled with intense and delicate layers of flavors, add a portion of house spuds at €2.50, potatoes sautéed in butter with onions and a tipple from the Beirhouse's extensive menu of craft beers and this sandwich will be hard to beat.

a matter of taste...

Loughrea, charming lakeside town or the last outpost of civilization before you reach the dangerous 'midlands', a place similar to Middle Earth inhabited by orcs, elves and dwarves. You'd be well advised to play it safe and stay inside of our county borders, and if you do, it is quite possible to dine well in Loughrea.

Restaurants and pubs in Loughrea have a fair selection of good quality meals and snacks using locally sourced ingredients. The hotels too have locally sourced cuisine on the menu with great local lamb and beef farmed nearby. As in any sizable town there are, of course, takeaways offering fast food, fish and chips, Indian and Chinese.  For something a cut above you can't go wrong with the pizza and pasta at il Porcetto from their affordably priced menu. 'The Hungry Bookworm' a lovely eclectic cafe and wine bar and where you can enjoy their variations on classic dishes while also perusing the literary classics is well worth exploring too. 

My latest visit to Loughrea was to 'Taste Matters' a small restaurant at the West Bridge end of town. The large commercial building it is housed in is not going to win any beauty contests but they make the very most of their space with plain wooden tables and chairs, bare floors and slatted timber ceiling. The walls are hung with bright works by local artists, it has a certain charm and cheerfulness to it.

The stated aim is to serve ‘honest, fresh tasty food in a friendly casual environment’ and under the direction of Slovakian chef Michal and his front of house partner Jirka from the Czech Republic, they certainly manage that along with their friendly, efficient staff. The point here is the food, which is sort of brilliant. 

Most of the dishes are born of careful shopping, the seafood chowder and winter salad especially are won or lost with their ingredients. A simple slice of pork belly on a fennel spiced red cabbage puree is wonderful, the brie melt was enjoyable with a lovely beetroot and celeriac slaw although the bread was a dense foccacia rather than the advertised sourdough.

The menu changes regularly, according to what is in season, main courses are typically organic salmon, duck breast and roast loin of lamb or pork stuffed with black pudding.

A slow cooked rib eye is so, so tender, almost at the wonderful point of total collapse into its celeriac and dill sauce. The sauce so shiny you can see your reflection in it. A piece of pan fried hake is crispy skinned perfection on one of the nicer risottos I've found outside of Italy, creamy and studded with green peas and fresh pesto.

Desserts were a good chocolate mousse, an excellent zesty lemon tart, a chocolate cake with the right amount of 'gooeyness' in the middle and a passion fruit parfait. They were all very good with the lemon tart winning 'best in show' for that night. For those of you doing the maths here, no we didn't eat four desserts by ourselves! I brought the children, there's a great kids menu too.

The compact organic and biodynamic wine list (featuring wines from small family-owned vineyards in Chile, France, Italy, Argentina and Spain) contains just 16 wines with the majority of them at €26 and below. All are offered by the glass, half carafe or bottle and there is a nice touch with the 'Wine Flight' three glasses of white, red or dessert wines of your choice reasonably priced at €12. A couple of Irish craft ciders, a Czech Pilsner on draft and O'Hara's bottled beers from Carlow round out the drinks menu nicely.

Michal and Jirka have the magic formula, Jirka at the front of house is hugely likable, while Michal in the kitchen is clearly talented. The cooking is both traditional and innovative and best described as European fusion, inspired and influenced by many cuisines. These guys also have the best prices for tea and coffee, with a tea costing only €1.50, while coffee is €2 - and their coffee is great.

Taste Matters have been building up a good local clientele and were certainly worth the drive from Galway. The restaurant was busy when we visited, all tables filling quickly and a large family party of seventeen. Another testament to the broad appeal as the family ranged from toddler to retirement. Booking would be advised especially on a Friday or Saturday. These guys know what they are doing, now they just need everyone else to know what they are doing too. People of Loughrea, this is a clear case of use it or lose it. 

Taste Matters, Millennium house, West Bridge, Loughrea. Tel: 091 880010

a very good year...

This is no ordinary sandwich, this is a gCounter sandwich.

2013 was a fascinating year in the world of food. We met the Cronut, a delicious donut-croissant hybrid. We filled our boots with Korean Kimchi and pickled anything that could fit in a kilner jar. We munched our way through veritable bouquets of flowers strewn on our wooden platters and washed it all down with beer from the local micro-brewery. The biggest news of course was the food fraud of the 'Horsemeat Scandal' with food manufacturing companies finding themselves in deep manure as a Euro-wide problem was uncovered. There was a second blast of the stun gun to the meat trade with the Irish Farmers’ Association discovering that many Irish brands of sausages, bacon and ham are not Irish at all. But at least they are made from pork, folks, so that's something we should be grateful for, right? With consumers understandably more cautious, we can only hope that lessons have been learned.

RIP DaTang Noodle House

It's been a very good year for food in Galway, with just a few minor blips. Notably the recent sudden loss of DaTang Noodle house, a way of life for many people over the years. It will be sadly missed by myself and others I'm sure. But Chi is there now and I'm sure, while it is not the same, it will be equally as well received in that thriving little part of town. We also had the closing of Cava in Dominick Street. But proving that you can't keep a good restaurant down they bounced back a few months later. I've have dined deliciously at Cava's reincarnation Cava Bodega more than a few times since it opened this May. For its pork skin crackling and a wealth of other riches, this has become one of my favorite places for sending family and friends with kids. Never close again please!

There were great complete newcomers to the scene also. The very trendy G-counter opened at the end of April in Wellpark with good food in a fun, casual setting. Its menu consisting of a variety of oversized sandwiches, salads, rotisserie chicken and an on-site bakery with lots of sweet treats became popular from day one. Similarly, less than a year open is West37, down the busy road behind NUIG, teeny tiny, with student life coming and going. The Chicken Melt sandwich cost seven quid, lasted just seven minutes, but I think about it every day. Why can't all sandwiches be that good? Chez Azur with its stunning views out over the docks brought a welcome addition to the upscale, high-end side of things and the prawn, mint and petit pois starter I had there was one of the best dishes of the year without a doubt.

Chez Azur

Happily, also, Aniar managed the feat of keeping their Michelin star. The amount of hard work and pure dedication that goes into being awarded a star is an impressive feat, the collective stress then of keeping it under the watching eyes of your peers is another thing entirely, but they seem to have perfected the formula. Curiously, with the vagaries of TripAdvisor, Aniar currently has a ranking of 34 in Galway, outclassed seemingly by An Cupan Tea, The Front Door and O'Connors Pub amongst others. Ah TripAdvisor, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

The experts and trend forecasters have their lists all ready as they do every year. More chefs cooking invasive species? In 2014, they tell us, we can expect to see more locavore chefs doing their part to do away with invasive species by finding creative ways to cook with them. Grey squirrel with giant rhubarb anyone? The farm-to-table trend will continue to grow, with restaurants taking things to the max and continuing a trend pioneered long ago here in Ireland by the good people at Ballymaloe.

Here in Ireland we tend to like to do things our own way however, so while the rest of the world will apparently be sous-videing at home, devouring sunchokes, embracing beef as 'the new pork' and eating high-end Mexican food (apparently not the contradiction it might appear to be), here are my own predictions for the food scene in the West for the coming year. Yes, it's true! I can tell the future.

Craft ciders continue to rise.

So, if 2013 was the year of the pig, with pulled pork and suckling pig featuring on many menus, then 2014 looks to be shaping up nicely to be the year of the goat, with small producers popping up with artisan products from milk, yogurts and cheeses. As the microbrewery market in Ireland continues to rise, there’s still room in the market for great craft ciders. Be on the lookout for more variations like apple wine and a rather spectacular apple brandy now being produced in Ireland. And finally there will be a lifting of the smoking ban here in Galway restaurants. Yes, there will be smoked everything, from lamb to yogurt to fudge. If you can eat it, they will smoke it. So put that in your smoker and here's to lighting up 2014.

Published in the Galway Advertiser  2/1/2014

'Celebrating Irish Salmon' by Máirín Uí Chomáin

Celebrating Irish Salmon is a new and very beautiful book from food writer Máirín Uí Chomáin. This Connemara native is a former chair of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild, an active member of the Slow Food movement, and holds an honorary MA from NUI Galway in recognition of her commitment to home economics.

The salmon has been part of Ireland’s natural heritage for over 10,000 years. From time immemorial, the ‘prince of fish’ has been caught and eaten here, bartered and traded, celebrated in lore and legend, almost as much a symbol of Ireland as the harp or the shamrock. 'Celebrating Irish Salmon' presents over 100 recipes by acclaimed chef Máirín, with contributions from other cutting-edge chefs, smokehouses and fisheries and including all of Ireland’s Michelin-starred restaurants. Ken Whelan, our foremost fisheries scientist, provides contextual notes on the history of salmon in Ireland, and Walter Pfeiffer’s vibrant, contemporary photographs bring the dishes to life.

This book is the definitive book of salmon from lifecycle and history, covering cooking terms and equipment, starters and canapés, brunches and lunches with extensive beverage matching as a bonus. The thing that appeals about Máirín's food is its freshness and flavour, equal parts comfort food and lighter, more exotic tastes. 'Celebrating Irish Salmon' is Máirín’s fifth cookbook and is my favorite (so far) and one of the best books of the year. This is a book for everyone and more especially a taste of Connemara and the West of Ireland. She has penned a gem guaranteed to whet the appetite of seafood lovers. It seems there are as many ways to cook salmon as there are stars in the sky and here captured between the covers of this handsome tome are some of the very best. The book's second launch at Lough Inagh Lodge in Recess, Connemara, on Sunday, December 1st was attended by what must surley have been record numbers for an event of this kind. Testament to the high regard in which Máirín is held.

As I have been writing my little column for the Galway Advertiser for 2 years now and have met many people who work with food, from producers, farmers, chefs to writers and photographers. I am lucky now to count many of them as friends. But few people I have come across have made as much of an impression as Máirín. A unique woman and a beautiful soul with a large dollop of 'devilment' running through it all. She has the warmest of smiles and wears her heart on her sleeve. Her emotions are never far from the surface and is just as quick to be moved to tears as reduced to peels of laughter. When it comes to the list of 'who's who' and evaluating the very best of modern Irish cuisine, it will be impossible not to have some link to the pioneering spirit of this ghillie's daughter from Connemara, who I am proud to consider as a friend.

Máirín Uí Chomáin {pic by Mona Wise}

Celebrating Irish Salmon is published by Artisan House Editions in Letterfrack, Co Galway and is on sale in all good bookstores, priced at €20. It is also available at www.artisanhouse.ie with a special launch offer of two books for €30 plus p&p.

Published in The Galway Advertiser, 5/12/2013

Festive Foodie Gift Challenge

This is my first time hosting a guest post and it's a good one. I met a lot of lovely people on my Page to Plate course back in May and one of them was the lovely Karon Grieves. She is a Scottish homecrafter with a particular interest in the concept of the larder, something fast dying out from refrigeration and our marvelous invention 'the utility room'. She is also a freelance author, the resident expert on BBC Radio Scotland for all things homely and has published a few books for you to peruse. I love her blog and her photography is just wonderful. But most of all she is funny, fiesty and a good friend... and she boils a perfect 6 minute egg. Do join in the challenge if you can, her book is a little treasure as is she. She also has very big feet #justsayin'. Over to you Karon!

Hi I’m Karon from Larder Love and I’m thrilled to be visiting here with Amee and to be able to share one of my recipes and a bit of fun news with you. To celebrate the launch of my new Bookette, Gourmet Gifts For Christmas (available from my web site www.karongrieve.com) and the Ebook version which is available now on Amazon Kindle I am hosting a Bloggers Challenge on my web site during the month of November.

Festive Foodie Gift Challenge

It is all about 'Foodie Gifts' and I’d like everyone to share their favorite foodie gift idea (from homemade drinks to cookies, jams, pickles, jellies and preserves, anything you can eat or drink in the gifty department) with a recipe (must have photo on your post and only one entry each please),  the challenge ends on Monday 18^th November I’ll get a guest blogger to choose their favorite and the winner will receive a paperback copy of my Gourmet Gifts For Christmas. All the entrants will then have their photos and links to their blogs and recipes listed on my blog Larder Love during the build up to Christmas.

Everyone loves receiving something homemade, it shows how much you care for the recipient that you took the time and trouble to make something especially for them. A gift of food is even more special, something that can be enjoyed and shared, savoured and remembered long after the festive season is over.

Here is a simple recipe for Raspberry & Thyme Vinegar (from Gourmet Gifts For Christmas) which is so pretty and makes a wonderful gift. Look out for vintage bottles for packaging, I used an old vanity bottle. Just make sure bottles are sterilised and have vinegar proof lids.

Raspberry & Thyme Vinegar

100g/3 1/2oz fresh raspberries

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 teaspoon caster sugar

200ml/3 1/2fl oz white wine vinegar

Bring everything to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Leave to infuse overnight and allow to cool completely. Strain and bottle. Use on salads and add a dash to soda for a great drink.

Huge thanks to Amee for inviting me on to her blog and letting me share all this with you.

Merry Christmas when it comes!

Karon x

chewy chocolate chip cookies

These big chewy cookies come originally from The River Cottage Family Cookbook. I use a bag of chocolate chips instead of chopping up a bar to cut down the workload even more, making them perfect for after school cooking with the kids. They are easy-peasy, taking no more than 10 minutes to make, and 10 to bake. They are also an excellent ice-cream sandwich cookie, simply fill with chocolate or vanilla ice-cream when they are completely cooled and return to the freezer to firm up a little before passing out to the troops.

Ingredients

125g salted butter
100g caster sugar
75g soft light brown sugar
1 medium egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
150g plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
100g milk chocolate chips

Method
Gently melt the butter in a small saucepan. Put both sugars into a mixing bowl, pour in the melted butter and beat well with a wooden spoon. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and stir them in, then add the chocolate. You should have a pretty sloppy sort of mixture.

Dot heaped dessertspoonfuls of the mixture on to 2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment, leaving a good 4cm in between each one as they really spread out. Place in an oven preheated to 190C and bake for 8–10 minutes, until the cookies are turning pale golden brown.

Remove from the oven and leave on the baking sheets for a couple of minutes to firm up. Then carefully lift the baking parchment on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Inevitably they will be eaten as soon as they are cool enough not to burn fingers. Makes  about 16 very large cookies.

P.S. These are Holly Stephens favorite cookie, so I hope you make them up to standard, mammy Sinead. No pressure, like!

Cava Bodega

This inconspicuous premises on Middle Street has certainly had a chequered past in the last 20 odd years. It once housed The European Table, if anyone remembers, with a large and very bizarre water feature. Their solution to having their main dining room in a windowless basement was to paint some windows on the walls. Usually I can remember everything I ate in every restaurant I have ever visited, but strangely for me I can't remember anything I ever ate there. I'm sure it must have been deep fried brie and seared duck breast sort of a place. Sometime after that it was the popular (re-located) Scotty's, with long queues on the stairs for a seat in the best burger joint in town. It spent a short while as Mustard. I never did go in there as I was always next door slurping noodles in DaTang. It then lay vacant for quite some time until just a few weeks ago when it took on a new persona.

Now it is a comfortable home to Cava Bodega, a reincarnation of the hugely popular Cava of Dominick Street. That premises having closed in January following a rental dispute. I could find many clichés to use here, 'every cloud has a silver lining', or 'when one door closes another one opens' but it will suffice to say that the rental dispute just might be the best thing that ever happened to Chef Patron, JP McMahon. The opportunity to do something different, but do it the same, is a rare thing. There has been a much needed cull of the menu, they have gained a better room for their style, the very definition of up-cycle, re-use and re-purpose. Disused barrels as lampshades, raw wood, brick and concrete, old wine boxes brought to life again as a bar. As before, the kitchen and floor staff are second to none.

Last year I seem to have spent a lot of time eating pork belly. This year the theme was flowers. Sometimes a welcome addition to a plate, sometimes so heavily strewn on the ubiquitous slate so as to make a dish look like a Catholic primary school's tribute to Our Lady. Not anything you would wish to dig your cutlery into, unless perhaps you had had the foresight to bring your gardening folk along. Cava Bodega quite sensibly took this opportunity to jettison most of the micro salads, the pea shoots and the flower arrangements, and while the plates are still pretty the food is allowed to speak for itself. I went along to Cava Bodega for their opening where they served a selection of their delicious pinchos (Spanish canapé) and glasses of cava (naturally!). There was a 'block party' feel to the evening as the local tight-knit hostelries and restaurants joined together to welcome this former 'Westender' and to make them feel at home.

JP McMahon, Galway's answer to Fergus Henderson, always walks about with a pigs head under his arm or a fine jambon over his shoulder, if we are to believe the publicity shots for his three restaurants. The day I went for supper in his newest restaurant, he had no meat about his person that I could discern. It was of course possible that he had some charcuterie in his chefs whites but it would have been rude of me to inquire as to the contents of his pockets. In Cava Bodega he serves my kind of food, the edible magic that results when pig meets spice and curing time and magnificent cheeses, piled on bread with piquillos and a drizzle of olive oil. The slow cooked cheeks, hearts and extremities that I love, and that were simply not available in Galway when Cava closed.

Their cellar carries a wide variety of very good Spanish wines and sherries. The wine menu is divided into a number of categories based on the character of the wine, for ease of ordering depending on preference. There are some beers, ciders and of course cava. The menu, though suffering from a bit of origami, is equally easy to navigate, divided into vegetable, fish and meat sections, nibbles and desserts. Tables are provided with excellent bread, oil and vinegar and, as is the case with a tapas menu, the scaled down portions means expanded choice. We ordered four tapa to start off with and an elegant slate of goats cheese and fig cake arrived first. Pigs cheeks followed quickly and were tender, but not falling apart in a sweet, aromatic soup of apple, sultana and tomato. Earthy chicken hearts in cider with chorizo were devoured, using the bread for mopping up the thin juices, greedily like candy. Pigs head fritter with beetroot and hazelnuts was next with not a scrap left on the plate. I realize this is starting to sound like Hannibal Lecter's last supper but deciding we still had a little bit of room we ordered a lamb heart dish stuffed with chorizo and cooked in beer, this required a refill of the bread basket for even more mopping up. A little dessert of blackberry ice-cream, leaning nicely towards a sorbet rather than gelato, with perfectly ripe fresh figs, and just two edible blooms, completed our meal. The bill came to €38.25 for two - excellent value for the quality and variety we enjoyed.

If you want 100% authentic Spanish tapas we are lucky enough to have the excellent Lunares on Woodquay for that sort of thing. Cava manages not to fall into the trap of trying to be too authentic, a danger especially in a tapas bar with no Spaniard in the kitchen. It is its own invention, with the best of Irish and Spanish produce it is neither truly and completely one nor the other, but balanced between the two food cultures, a see-saw, back and forth. They pick and choose the parts that work best and melt them into one or the other, meandering pleasantly between both accents.

I could look for something to criticize, the menu layout is clumsy requiring constant twisting to find the right way up to read it, the signage is not properly centered over the door, but hey, I'm just clutching at straws here. Of the three Restaurants owned and operated by husband and wife team JP McMahon and Drigín Gaffey in the EatGalway Group, it is Cava Bodega, even more so than Michelin starred Aniar, that has earned a place in peoples' hearts and certainly in my own. I will always pick Kai over Eat, if I have managed to walk that far down the West, I may as well keep going, a personal preference. Aniar is a food concept, intellectual eating, a different experience entirely. But Cava Bodega, for me, is just right. Welcome home.

Cava Bodega, 1 Middle Street Mews, Middle Street, Galway. Open from 5pm to late, 7 days a week. Telephone: (+353) 91 539 884. Bookings: bookings@cavarestaurant.ie

Written for and published in The Galway Advertiser, 10 October 2013.

watch your step and enjoy your trip...

Aniar is the third best restaurant in Galway. If we are to believe the TripAdvisor rankings, that is. Yes, the only Michelin starred restaurant in the whole of Galway currently takes the bronze behind the "consistently good” Gourmet Tart Company and the "excellent little gem" that is Oscar's Seafood Bistro. With The Galleon and Kirwan's Lane restaurant completing the top five, you may or may not agree with this analysis of the current state of dining in Galway.

But a quick look at the reviews for the newly-starred Aniar will show that there is something not quite right with the system. While the contributors are in general fair and honest, now and again an isolated bad experience skews the numbers often leaving fine dining restaurants like The West in Barna out-ranked by cute, popular, little cafes like Cupán Tae on Spanish Arch. Like is not compared with like.

There are a few 'inarticulate rants' wherein restaurant owners are painted as dishonest crooks trying to separate the general public from their cash instead of decent people working their way through a recession in an industry with notoriously tight margins. Of course, and I of all people should know, restaurant criticism requires no qualifications. If you can afford your lunch, you are perfectly entitled to write about it. Bloggers, bon viveurs and the army of virtual food critics do so every day.

While most reported to be "blown away" by Aniar with the food being "absolutely amazing and excellently presented", a small but vocal minority had their “worst meal in years” and found it to be “pretensious (sic) & waste of money”

I have never eaten there myself, early criticism from friends had persuaded me to give them more time to find their feet before venturing in and I also find it difficult to pass by Cava next door, where I know I will get a quality meal at a good price. Alas, now I will just have to join the very long queue forming for a table.

The reviews for Aniar clearly show what kind of establishment it is and what sort of cuisine is on offer, as much can be gleaned from the negative comments as the positive. One person's 'cramped dining room' is another persons 'cosy, intimate setting'.  Are you an adventurous eater? Is fine dining your thing? No? Then keep on walking. There are 190 other places to choose from and one of them will suit you. Common sense can tell you that if you are the sort of person who puts salt on your food before tasting it, likes portions that will require an elasticated waistband and absolutely must have chips - you might not be happy with your experience there.

In general, I believe that these types of restaurant recommendations sites and their advice is informative and useful in avoiding a mediocre meal that will not be to your taste. But overall you would be well advised to take TripAdvisor and their ilk with a large pinch of Maldon.

Dela Restaurant

It's good to share...

As Cava rises phoenix-like from the flames on Middle Street in the city centre, its old lodgings have been given a makeover into a Scandi-style eatery known as Dela. On walking in the door, it's impossible for any regular of the previous occupant not to compare one to the other. The layout is pretty much the same, there's a lunch-time deal of soup and a sandwich with coffee for €10 just like the old days and they have Patatas Bravas on the menu, but then again, who doesn't these days? And there ends the similarities, as they are as different as the proverbial chalk and a sharing plate of Sheridan's cheese.

Dela is owned and run by local couple Joe and Margaret Bohan. So, what inspires a couple to open a restaurant in a space previously occupied by one of Galway's best loved restaurants? Would you have to be certifiable or just confident to open in an area of the city that is home to many of the cities best eateries? Take 'Kai' for a start, just this weekend was announced the best restaurant in all of Connacht with Jess Murphy being highly commended as best chef to boot. There's the very popular 'Oscars Seafood Bistro' and the amazing value in 'Rouge'. If you are going to be the meat in the sandwich between barbecue kings 'Creole' on one side and the Michelin-starred 'Aniar' on the other, then you had better have something special to bring to the table. Luckily for them, they do. 

The dining room at Dela is lovely and bright with clean, simple lines and wooden tables dressed with pretty pots of herbs. The weekend brunch has all the favorites along with some more unusual items, Sourdough Toast with Cheddar and Marmalade; Bellinis; Bloody Marys and Affogatos. Even their fry is made extra special with eggs from their own hens. The newly started lunch menu has Beef Ragu served with potato gratin; or Spanish Omelette with roast peppers and saffron aioli to choose from along with the aforementioned Sandwich & Soup combo, keenly priced with all items €10.00 and under.

The Bohans are very hands on in Dela. Margaret, graciousness personified, greets the guests herself at front of house and it was she who seated me when I popped in for dinner last week. She is also green fingered and grows lots of the herbs, salad leaves and gorgeous edible flowers used in the kitchen, but not the tomatoes. She doesn't want to talk about the tomatoes. The tables are provided with complimentary breads and compound butters, not that common anymore and a nice surprise. We had a sundried tomato butter and a pesto one which were lovely, particularly with the freshly baked focaccia and brown bread.

The evening menu reads well at the beginning and end, with some difficult territory to navigate in between. First are the Sharing Plates – charcuterie, cheese or seafood in sizes small and large and using the best of Irish ingredients and local suppliers. The menu also includes traditional main meals – Steak, Pork Belly or Sea Bass with vegetables and potatoes for an additional €3.95 for each. 

Then there are Tasting Plates – which are starters by another name; a selection of Salads/Plates and lastly 'Small Plates' which one might take to mean tapas, but are not. Matched with a very good wine list with some classic reds and whites, divided into new and old world for ease of choice and the best of Irish Craft Brews such as Trouble, Dungarvan, Kinsale, Tom Crean, O'Haras and Stonewell.

We started with one of the Sharing Plates, a classic combination of seared Rossaveal scallops with black pudding. It looked a picture and came with a river of lemon cream and a buttery bright green, pea purée. This was a glorious plate of food that I will no doubt daydream about for years to come.

A main of Monkfish for my companion came with a cream sauce studded with vanilla seeds on a buttery hill of mash, a side of ratoutille included. We also had the Patatas Bravas and the Sautéed King Prawns in garlic and chilli from the Small Plates. While the potatoes were as expected, the prawns lacked a little in both chilli and garlic and sat uncomfortably with a salad full of walnuts and parsnip crisps. It's inclusion in the small plates was questionable as it was a sizable plate of food.

Dessert choices of the day included Bread and Butter Pudding and an Eton mess. We had a nice, chewy Chocolate and Hazelnut Brownie, and a Lemon Tart with berries which suffered from a bit of a soggy bottom. The desserts were just a little on the 'rustic' side - perfectly alright for the day menu with a coffee, but lacking in elegance for an evening menu, more of a plating issue than a tasting one.

For a four month old, Dela is already a solid performer with a growing club of regulars. The brunch and lunch menu offer real value for money for such good quality food. There's a little fine tuning and tinkering required for the evening menu as one or two menu items are conspicuous by seeming immoderately high in comparison to the rest, but Dela is certainly more than good, getting better and has all of the potential to be exceptional. All-in-all Dela is a great addition to the West-End's dining district and another great reason to make that river crossing.

Dela Restaurant, 51 Lower Dominick Street, Galway. Tel: (091) 449252. Currently open every day from 12 until late.

The g Counter

The g Counter club

This new cafe and deli based in Wellpark Retail Park caused quite a lot of excitement when it opened four months ago and now has just about found its groove. Next to the back door of the G Hotel and directly across from the EYE Cinema, it instantly scores brownie points with some of the only free parking in the city and no booking required. 

If you thought The g Counter was in anyway associated with the G Hotel, then you have made the same mistake as I have. Nothing to do with it at all, the only thing they share is a dividing wall and a letter of the alphabet. It is, in fact, the opposite of the G Hotel. No plush neon chairs, afternoon teas or twinkly mirror balls. If you prefer your morning repast to be accompanied by starched linen, heavy cutlery and smartly dressed service, go next door. The g Counter is pared back, open plan, industrial cool, reminiscent of New York's trendy 'Meat Packing District'. This is a Big Apple dining experience without the airfare.

Breakfast Salad

The room has a lively and informal buzz. The breakfast menu caters for those after something light, maybe buttermilk pancakes with fruit salad or a bramble topped porridge. Diners who need something filling and hot before lunch are offered poached egg on pastrami hash with spiced butter and spinach or a 'Full Irish' with duck fat roasties. There’s a comprehensive selection of eggs - poached, scrambled and fried, Benedict-ed and Florentine-d.

We popped in for brunch on a busy Saturday. Unusually for a menu, everything seemed to present itself as a contender. Difficult choices had to be made, but immediately, the unusual addition of a goat cheese toastie to the vegetarian breakfast caught my eye, which also listed fried eggs, roast tomato, potato hash and garlic mushrooms. The goats cheese toasted on a very nutty walnut bread was lovely. It also came with a serving of beans, which used to be homemade but now alas are the regular canned kind. I would like to see a return to the house ones as it would have made that breakfast pretty perfect. The 'Oh, so wrong and yet, so right' breakfast salad was also pretty special, with quality breakfast ingredients piled on top of organic greens with a poached egg on top. Fresh watermelon, pear, grapes and pineapple lightly drizzled with yogurt came with the buttermilk pancake rolls and both maple and blueberry syrups for the girls. It's a great spot to bring kids with a well priced kids menu between €2.95 for pasta and tomato sauce or homemade fish fingers and chips at €4.95

Vegetarian Breakfast

The rest of the menu is a variety of oversized 'Deli Sandwiches' salads, soups, rotisserie chicken and hot signature dishes. We liked it so much that I went back two days later for a couple of their 'Deli Creations', for to call these mere sandwiches would be doing them a disservice. The G Counter club sandwich was perfect on a soft pillowy brioche bun. Mexican chorizo, melted Moneterey Jack cheese and roasted red peppers on a delicious sourdough, fresh with a chewy crust and pilled high with herbed rotesseire chicken also came served on a wooden board lined with pretty greaseproof paper. The homemade slaw and pickle were the icing on the cake.

They also boast a great hotdog with good bun-to-sausage ratio, filled to bursting with sauté onions and sauerkraut. A squidgy bun dwarfed by a whopping NY-style sausage with a delicately smokey taste, is probably the best pre-cinema snack in town.

The coffee is good and Peroni beer is available on tap by the glass for €2.95 and there is a small but perfectly formed selection of wines by the carafe. Lot's of smoothies and soft drinks too, including my current obsession, the elusive blood orange San Pelligrino.

Sandwich platter

As well as the theatre of the open hot deli counter, they have an on-site bakery staffed by head pastry chef, Eva Quaid, who keeps the Counter filled with a variety of treats. Cheesecakes, roulades and tarts are piled high on the table in front of her glass fronted stage where you can watch these or a commissioned cake being made.

Cake Counter

Even though the G Counter has got the food spot on, it is still very new and has a couple of rough edges. The seats beside the chill counter are just that, chilled, and the availability of certain menu items could be better communicated. Provenance should also be listed here as they use a lot of local suppliers, a small thing but important to the foodie types who will be attracted here for the deli delights. There is an awful lot going on in this ambitious space, from table sevice, takeaway, bakery and retail, so it is very much a work in progress. Owner/manager, the charming Gerry Kelly, tells me their takeaway deli counter is commissioned and will be installed soon for even more takeaway options. You may well find the service muddled and a little fraught on occasion as they work out the new kinks, but I’d still return here even just for a browse of the exquisitely stocked shelves, for the cute singer sewing machine tables which sit outside under a sunshine yellow awning, instantly turning grey days brighter. This deli/cafe is already a Galway favorite and well worth visiting. Certainly one to keep your eye on.

Shelves full of 'foodie' treats.

The g Counter, Wellpark Retail, Dublin Road, Galway. Tel: (091) 770 891

Open: Mon - Sat from 8am - 6.30pm & Sun from 11am -6.30pm

This article was written for and published in The Galway Advertiser 22/08/2013

Allez les bleus

New Galway restaurant, Chez Azur, in an elegant upstairs room with stunning views out over the docks, is a quiet culinary oasis just a stones throw away from the buzz of Quay Street. At the top of the stairs are two lovely rooms with lots of character, a little casual with dark wood tables, comfortable chairs, and lots of light from windows looking out over the boats on the harbour. This was my second visit here since it's opening night back in March and it has developed quickly into a well run restaurant.

Head chef, Ian Daly is in charge of the kitchen, where the freshest available seafood direct from local sources feature on the menus, with daily specials as you would expect from a restaurant specializing in seafood. They have a well priced set à la carte dinner menu for €31.50.

Besides the fresh fish choices, you can enjoy starters such as goats cheese crostini or a chicken and chorizo salad, followed by main courses of rib eye steak, Irish farmyard chicken and a meltingly tender 24 hour pork belly. The kitchen manage mostly to pull off the delicate balancing act between classic French and modern Irish. 

Having sipped some prosecco with some 'gal pals' at the launch of the lovely new look 'Il Folletto' (I know, it's a tough life, right?) the three of us strolled down and were quickly seated at one of the coveted window seats. A prawn, mint and petit pois starter, beautifully presented in a scallop shell with toasted sourdough bread and edible flower garnish set the standard for the evening. The Crab and Smoked Eel starter was light and flavorful and the Daily Mussel special equally good.

The mains were all beautifully presented in good size portions. Hake, Sole, Monkfish, the choice of fish was wonderful with an option to add prawns or scallops to any dish for an extra charge of about €5, an excellent idea for those with difficulty making up their minds. 'Sides' of potatoes, organic leaf salad and seasonal vegetables are all charged extra. Seasonality and local producers get credit here also.

To finish, attractive desserts include popular dishes such as Chocolate Truffle & Hazelnut, Passionfruit & Lemon Tartlet - and a very good wine list, with some quality wines by the glass, served correctly by the ever-so efficient and attentive staff.

For a seaside town we are somewhat lacking in restaurants specializing in seafood. Chef and proprietor Ken Stembridge is hugely likable and deserves to do well. Our outing here was very enjoyable, great atmosphere, good company and nothing was too much trouble for the staff. It's good to see Chez Azur quickly earning local support. And they have cocktails… what's not to like?

Chez Azur, 1 New Docks Road, Galway. Tel: (091) 564 477

Cupcakes are the new Cupcakes!

Just when you think that you can't eat one more cupcake…

The trendcasters have often said that pie was supposed to be the new cupcake, but that didn't happen. Then the speculation was baked donuts or exotic mini tarts. There was an entire list of things that were also contenders for 'the next cupcake'. Regular donuts, macarons, cake balls, whoopie pies - but none of them reached the feverish following achieved by the cupcake.

At Goodness Cakes the new range of flavors inspired by retro summer ice-creams and pops are causing a stir. Pick up a box for your picnic, they travel a lot better than ice-cream. 'Super-split', 'Ninety-nine', 'Banana Split' and 'Mint Feast' have already rolled out of the ovens. What could be next? 'Tangle-twister', 'Brunch', 'Fat Frogs' even?

So this summer, in Galway at least, it seems that once again cupcakes are the new cupcakes.

Kai Cafe & Restaurant, Galway

The last outpost of civilization before you reach Salthill. When Kai opened, it opened with a bang and very quickly achieved a cult following. It suffered not a jot from teething problems, it was a fully formed concept practically from the word go. Kai was unpretentious and fun with flower and seed strewn salads piled on boards, big Ortiz tuna tins filled with bread and the sun spilling through the skylight even on the dullest of days illuminating the lunchtime altar of cakes. Everyone's favorite Kiwi chef, Jess Murphy, brings her own brand of kitchen voodoo and you know you're a regular when you grow to understand husband and partner-in-crime David Murphy's accent at front of house.

Aside from the best brunch in town every Sunday, it is always well worth the extra trek and the couple of extra euro for their short, seasonal lunch menu. Six or seven options that always showcase the best the west coast has to offer, from potted crab to gurnard fish finger sandwiches on their own foccacia, I have yet to be disappointed. Dinner is an equally short and ever changing menu with about five 'beginnings', 'middles' and 'ends'. 

I was last there for their cookbook club, held about once a month. A book club crossed with a supper club, where Jess and her team cook recipes from one book. Past books have included Ottolenghi’s book, ‘Plenty’ and Denis Cotter's famous vegetarian cookbook 'Cafe Paradiso'. The chosen book last month was 'What Katie Ate' by Katie Quinn Davis. A great book, filled with lovely recipes and amazing photographs, it was one I had been promising myself. Originally a native of Dublin, now based in Australia, Katie is a graphic designer turned food blogger and works as a freelance commercial photographer specialising in food. 

I joined up with charming company, my new BFF, Jennie Browne from Goodness Cakes and reigning social media queen of Galway. We also had the wonderful Seamus Sheridan from Sheridan's Cheesemongers and Peter Boland from Cases Wine Warehouse at our table. Both were there to talk about the importance of local suppliers and supporting cottage industry and also to introduce some wines and cheeses to the assembled diners. The dishes selected from the book came thick and fast from the kitchen, the best value three courses for 35 euro I have ever encountered.

Among the starter dishes were patatas bravas - spicy potatoes with crispy ham and wobbly eggs baked in enamel tins and served family-style to the table along with a red cabbage and fennel slaw, lightly dressed with a creamy, lemony herbed yoghurt and studded with blood orange, goats cheese and toasted pecans. There were jugs of lemon cordial with a hint of mint as well as the excellent wines. A creamy orecchiette pasta dish in a pecorino sauce with scattered peas and pine nuts with pretty roasted vine tomatoes balanced on top and a generous bowl of wings and roasted limes to squeeze over.

For the second course Jess had chosen a lovely Panzanella with a punchy balsamic dressing and a fregola salad (a grain like giant cous cous) with bacon and preserved lemons. A crunchy leek topped fish pie landed on the table along side a 'retro' beef curry topped with caramelized bananas, piles of popadoms and jars of relish, the dishes kept coming until there was barely room to set down your glass.

Dessert was a piquant rhubarb and hazelnut tart paired with an initially strange tasting strawberry, basil and black pepper ice-cream, that grew on you eventually. 

Alas that was the last cookbook club before the summer season kicks off, but the good news is that Kai is now opening 7 days a week for your dining pleasure. Remember, they seat but 45 so make sure you reserve a table - especially at the weekends. The cookbook club will return after the summer, and I for one shall be keeping a beady eye on their Facebook page, so that I don't miss out on what is one of the best evenings out in Galway has to offer. Totally Toto Africa.

Kai Café + Restaurant. Sea Road, Galway. Tel: 091 526 003 Email: kaicaferestaurant@gmail.com

This article was written for and published in The Galway Advertiser 09/05/2013