The Menu: A bulletin board for Irish foodies
For the duration of the Covid-19 crisis, The Menu continues to offer his weekly column as a community bulletin board for the Irish food world, working in tandem with EatForIreland, a web-based directory app that allows independent Irish food producers and growers, hospitality outlets (restaurants, cafes etc) and independent food retailers to advertise any current safe-selling practices they may have adopted to find an alternative route to market, in an effort to keep businesses viable.
The app is entirely free to all users as it was created for the love of Irish food rather than for money.
Currently web-based to ensure immediate release, EatForIreland can be downloaded here and then following simple instructions to install it on your smartphone home screen.
A FAVOURITE
Good Day Deli, in Cork city, is just one of many Irish food businesses to sign up to EatForIreland and The Menu cannot wait to return once more to one of his most favourite brunching spots in all of Ireland, but in the meantime, he will very certainly content himself with the GDD Kete Kai box (serves 2-4) of sustainable foods, including a GDD Mezze, a bottle of finest natural wine and some of their utterly decadent cakes slices, delivered directly to your door on Fridays.
Also includes complimentary coffee voucher and a concession entry to the Heritage Museum in their home base at the wonderful Nano Nagle Centre, on Douglas Street, all to be redeemed once lockdown is over.
gooddaydeli.ie
WISE MOVE
Another great Menu favourite, Sage Midleton, has been to the fore nationally in developing a safe contactless retail model for the hospitality sector continuing to offer their fine weekly changing menus to take home, with set dinner options including: Family Option; Dinner for Two; Daily Special; and Three Courses (starting from €20).
Also on offer are Heat@Home, a selection of ready-made dishes with accompanying side dishes and their new online ordering system should be up online by the weekend.
sagerestaurant.ie/food
CONTACTLESS
Sadly, The Menu’s Leeside location means he won’t be able to avail of the new contactless model on offer at one of Ireland’s finest Indian restaurants, the very splendid Pickle, in Dublin, but Dubliners would be sorely missing out if they fail to avail of Pickle@Home, a takeout menu (with 15% reduction) featuring some of The Menu’s much loved favourites, available for collection or delivery within 5km of the restaurant.
Menu also includes excellent desserts (look out for a pineapple number which especially floated The Menu’s boat on his last visit!), good beers and wines, to create your own home-based dinner party.
picklerestaurant.com
DELI DELIGHT
On The Pig’s Back, an Aladdin’s Cave of finest Irish deli produce, including superb Irish cheeses, and their own in-house produced range of multi-award-winning pates, terrines, cooked hams and pastries, is significantly increasing the range of produce on offer for online sales, with nationwide delivery available and free delivery within Cork city and suburbs for any order over €30.
OTPB continues to trade from their English Market stall and the Douglas outlet has revived its Neighbourfood market which has now garnered over 200 customers purchasing from 35 local suppliers.
onthepigsback.ie and www.neighbourfood.ie
Another very popular local farmer’s market, the weekly Kilavullen Market is now retailing its producers wares through the Doneraile and Watergrasshill neighbourfood.ie markets with the Doneraile market offering local delivery.
THAT’S THE SPIRIT
Cork restaurateur, publican and erstwhile distiller, Ernest Cantillon, will shortly be offering (from May 1) a new Whiskey Gift service allowing the creation and gifting of personalised whiskeys available in a 50cl or 70cl size.
Customers create their own unique blends and then name and date the bottle to be shipped out to themselves or a very special someone.
Ernest himself will be processing orders in his Whiskey Lab, a dedicated space next to his Sober Lane Bar, handmixing all the blends and packaging them for delivery.
whiskeygift.com
TODAY’S SPECIAL
Speaking of whiskey, last year, The Menu was privileged to receive a sneak preview of a new Irish single malt whiskey product from Origin Spirits, one of the most innovative Irish distilling companies of recent times or any times at all for that matter, for Origin is the producer of two other superb single malt spirits, Kalak vodka, consistently listed as one of the world’s Top 10 vodkas, and The Menu’s most favourite gin of all, Ornabrak.
The Menu’s great comrade, Origin Spirits MD Patrick Shelley, fetched up at Menu Towers one bright autumnal morn with a small unidentifiable bottle with which he proceeded to quite blow away The Menu’s tiny little mind, containing as it did, the very recently released Currach Single Malt Irish Whiskey, finished in seaweed charred casks.
This might all sound a tad gimmicky but there is much method to this seeming madness, for a nose flush with lush raisiny notes had The Menu first wondering if he were about to sample some class of cognac but the chocolate and caramel flavours in the mouth were something else again, all resolving in an umami finish of an undeniably maritime nature.
If ever there was a precious nectar designed to take the edges off the restrictions of lockdown then it is Currach Whiskey, with The Menu now eking out his precious bottle as if it were the elixir of life—which, of course, it is!
@currachwhiskey on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Available online from select retailers including bradleysofflicence.ie and celticwhiskeyshop.com
