The Menu: I can’t eat paper, says you?
While Movember is possible at any time of the year for the oft-moustachioed Menu, he appreciates the autumnal pimping of many an Irish male’s upper lip is inevitably in aid of a great cause. The temporarily hirsute head honchos of Dublin’s Pure Brazen, makers of fine, fresh stocks (meat, chicken, veg and fish) are instigating a one-off pop-up restaurant (Nov 29 at 7.30pm), in Pacino’s Secret Cellar, Suffolk St, Dublin 2, where chef James Rigby (of Rigby’s, on Leeson St) will turn out a quirky four-courser, featuring the aforementioned stocks. Costing absolutely nothing, it will be left to diners to fill an envelope with what they believe to be an appropriate contribution to the Cancer Society. And should one be too female or too testosterone-deprived to nurture a little growth north of the upper lip, then false ’tashes will be provided. Booking 087-0566103 or david@purebrazen.com
Busy butcher Pat Whelan appears to have found one commodity worth investing in, ‘Beef Bonds’, a beautifully-boxed certificate detailing a share in one of Whelan’s renowned Angus, Hereford or Wagyu/Kobe cattle, including ID number, breed and anticipated date of bond ‘maturing’. But I can’t eat paper, says you? True, but you can eat the various cuts of prime Tipperary Beef — steak, roasts and braising beef — that shall be delivered to the door when your bond-linked animal reaches maturing weight, generally 10-12 weeks, though shorter bonds are available on request. Should the beast exceed its predicted weight, then the bondholder benefits from the windfall. www.jameswhelanbutchers.com
If The Menu is spotted out undertaking what appears to be a spot of Yuletide shopping, rest assured he is most likely still buying presents for last Christmas, but should more organised readers be on the lookout for an early stocking filler, then A Modern Irish Cookbook (curated by Goodalls) could well fit the bill. A collection of recipes from some of the nation’s most prolific bloggers, it is a contemporary take on traditional Irish food and all proceeds are divided between Cork Penny Dinners and the Dublin Food Bank. www.goodalls.ie/a-modern-irish-cook-book/
’Tis well known that The Menu is overly partial to yoghurt, even known to knock out a batch of his own when the planets are appropriately aligned. But it may be some time before The Menu gets busy with the bacteria and bainne back in his lab as yet another fine Irish yoghurt has just been made known to him, Killowen Yoghurt, from Co Wexford. The Menu has passed the last week concocting all manner of marinated meats and baked comestibles, utilising Killowen Yoghurt, yet found himself returning again and again to some devilishly addictive little jars filled with fruit compotes and a silky serving of fresh whole cream and refreshingly spry Killowen Yoghurt, including the limited edition, Wexford Blackcurrant. http://killowen.ie
