Two for two at Crosshaven Tearooms
Unfortunately, just as The Tearooms was set to open it got entangled in the bureaucratic brambles setting back the launch date. With the last administrative thorns extracted, The Menu can now sip daintily on his lapsang souchong from his favoured spot, The Tearooms’ outside deck area with stunning views over Cork Harbour.
Run by baker-extraordinaire, Mags Curtin, formerly of Café Paradiso, it features her exquisite cakes, cookies, scones, along with Slice O’Pie’s beautiful savoury pies (another favourite of The Menu’s), soup, sandwiches and a range of loose-leaf teas, Barry’s Tea and Fair Trade Organic Coffee.
As the Fort Camden site is manned entirely by volunteers, opening hours are limited (Sat/Sun, 12pm-5pm up to and including the third week of September) making this the most exclusive Tearooms in the land so make haste down to ‘Crosser’ immediately! www.rescuecamden.ie
Having shared the stage with Brock ‘Badger’ Lewin last weekend at the excellent Theatre of Food at Liss Ard Festival in West Cork, The Menu can testify to Brock’s dedicated pursuit of the perfect cuppa Joe.
He will be doing more of the same on August 15 at L’Atitude 51, on Union Quay, in Cork, magnificent temple dedicated to worship of the noble grape or wine bar as others might have it.
Brock will be hosting a ‘cupping’ session, the caffeinated equivalent of a wine tasting, covering a variety of beans and blends. Presumably, as at a wine-tasting you can spit rather than swallow — otherwise line up a triathalon or two for that same evening. Admission is €8 including 250g bag of B&D coffee. Booking essential, email info@latitude51.ie or phone 021 2390219.
The Menu has been most preoccupied of late with a spot of steer-wrestling but while The Menu is indeed shockingly strong his bovine opponent in this case had passed on to the great pastures in the sky.
No, what The Menu has in fact been wrestling with is the mouthwatering conundrum that is Irish Piemontese Beef and how best to serve it up at his dinner table.
Lower in fat and cholesterol than regular beef, salmon and chicken yet very high in protein and essential fatty acids, Irish Piemontese Beef is astonishingly tender, requiring significantly less cooking time and temperature than other beef.
When raw it is sweet with a curious but very pleasant whiff of seaside but when cooked properly it is literally melt-in-the-mouth tender.
The Menu must confess however, to having most enjoyed as it briefly flashed in the pan with bacon fat — probably not the method to be favoured by top Irish sportspeople whom The Menu predicts will soon be all over this astonishing product like the proverbial rash. irishpiemontesebeef.ie
Contact Joe McNamee at themenu@examiner.ie
When the sun sizzles, drinks that are just that little bit lower in alcohol come into their own — let the heat provide the buzz, and uncork some fruity flavours to match. Inspired by our athletes’ joyous success in London, here’s a delicious brew from the heart of that city. The Meantime brewery, named for its location in Greenwich, has 80 years of tradition brewing some excellent Irish and British styles. You might like to explore more of them in good independent off-licences, but in meanwhile here’s one they make for M&S: Fruity, lithe and refreshing in a large bottle just right for sharing. Blake Creedon
