Nolita Cantina - American Style Dining in Liverpool

One of the great advantages of going on holidays to the Lake District this year with the car was that it left us with the opportunity to go anywhere we wanted to. So we decided to pay Liverpool a visit. We had been to Liverpool once before and it struck a cord with us. It is a lively, culture filled city with a beautiful shopping area and a thriving food culture. It is also only an hour and a half away from the Lake District and a 40 minute flight from Ireland. If you have never been and are looking for a easy weekend away I would say check it out you will be pleasantly surprised. 

So early one drizzly morning we hopped in the car and drove down. We spent a wonderful morning trawling through the shopping district in Liverpool One and then down to the vintage stores on Bold Street. This was all part of a well executed plan because the one place we really wanted to eat at was on that street too! Before I went away I had asked Liverpool Food and Drink Festival on Twitter if they had any places they could recommend. They very kindly came back to me with a whole list of different options including Mexican, Indian, Bistro and American. After much deliberation with the boyfriend we settled on Nolita Cantina having been very much swayed by the inclusion of baby corn dogs on the menu! 

Nolita Cantina is a relaxed, informal restaurant which serves American style food and I knew immediately it was my sort of place when I heard them play HAIM as part of their playlist! We started off our meal by choosing a pitcher of iced tea. It was properly homemade and very refreshing. 

 

Then for starters we decided on a sharing platter as we just wanted to try everything. This came with a selection of chilli cob, baby corn dogs, onion rings and spicy chicken wings. It also came with frickles, which are deep fried dill pickles and which I had never come across before. They also had hush puppies which are small savoury doughnuts made from corn meal, beer & cheese and which I can't find anymore in Ireland. It was a great choice and really covered quite a lot of the choices on the starter menu. 

The boyfriend also decided at the last minute that he wanted to try a plate of burnt ends so that also arrived at our table. The burnt ends are those pieces of meat that are probably a bit too charred to put into the main meals but which are delicious as a snack.

Then it was onto the main course and we had absolutely no idea what was in store for us! We had gone for Nolita Cantina's lunch deal where you can get any sandwich and bottomless fries for six pounds. We just assumed that they would be normal sized sandwiches. We were very very wrong!! What arrived at the table were sandwiches packed full of layers and spilling out from under the bread. My deli sandwich was the hand carved beef rump pastrami with lightly grilled swiss cheese, chipotle mayonnaise & pickle. The boyfriend went for the  pulled pork with lightly grilled monterey jack cheese and chipotle mayonnaise. I have never been to NYC but I can imagine this is exactly what people mean when they talk about the proper deli sandwiches! Both of the sandwiches were just packed full of flavour and the cheese had been slightly melted which brought all the ingredients together. 

Hand carved beef rump pastrami

Pulled Pork Sandwich

The sandwiches were accompanied by a basket full of sweet potato and normal fries which I thought was a nice touch as it provided a bit of colour and a variety of flavours. I actually prefer sweet potato fries as well so it was nice not having to order them separately. 

So could we eat it all?? In short no and I think it was actually the first time I have ever seen the boyfriend beaten by food!! In hindsight we ordered too much but that would be nothing new for us especially when it is our first visit to a place. We also weren't expecting the sheer size of the sandwich as I have never really come across food like that in Dublin. In fairness though if we went back we would probably do it all over again as food like this is hard to come by! As it says on their website Nolita Cantina was born out of the mutual passion of two chefs looking to satisfy their appreciation and longing for traditional, homemade American style food. Well I definitely think they have succeeded in that and also with introducing what real American food should be like to people who visit here 

You can find them on Facebook here and Twitter here.

Damson Diner

One of my best mates recently announced she was coming back to Dublin for a few months, which resulted in lots of bouncing around the house and excitedly clapping my hands. She is a great one for eating out with and since she left a few years ago an amazing amount of restaurants have opened up in Dublin. A lot of these places are quirky, creative and are catering for customers who want to eat good food but at reasonable prices. One such place is the Damson Diner which has opened where The South William used to be located and which seemed a good place to start in reintroducing her to the Dublin dining scene. 

Set over three floors, the space has been totally transformed with diner style seating downstairs and a large open mezzanine upstairs. We wandered in just after six on what happened to be their opening night and were seated immediately in one of the little nooks.  The decor is simple but eclectic and the whole thing has a 1940s feel to it. It is spacious yet were we were seated felt quite private and allowed us to have a good catch up without feeling like the people next to us were eavesdropping! 

The menu is short and you can choose from Bites, In a Bowl or From the Grill. It is a mix of both Asian and American food but it isn't fusion, instead it is a choice of dishes from either area.  We both love fish so decided to share a starter of Louisiana Crab Cakes. These were fresh white crab meat mixed with peppers, onions & celery and served with Louisiana hot sauce. They were lovely with a slight kick of heat off them but nothing that was too intense.

 

For our mains we both went for the Seared Tuna which was yellow-fin tuna, flash grilled and served with pickled radish, pickled ginger and fresh fennel. Now I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't this, I think I had tuna steak in my head as that is the only way I have ever eaten tuna in a restaurant. This was a very pleasant surprise. It was fresh, tangy and it let the tuna be the star of the dish.

For our sides we choose chips and Breaded courgettes. The chips were grand, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside just like they should be but it was the breaded courgettes that had us talking. They were delicious chunks of breaded goodness and we probably could have eaten another bowl of them!

Breaded Courgettes

Crispy Chips

Damson Diner have a short menu of desserts but as we were fairly full we opted for one of their many delicious sounding cocktails. Damson Diner's cocktails are extra special as they are made with Irish fruit infusions that are done in house, think sloes, cranberries and raspberries left to infuse for a few months. These infusions are seasonal and once they are gone that's it until next year!! I had a strawberry blondie which was finished off with a sherbert covered strawberry while Maya had a Gin Tom Collins. Amazing!! 

Infusions

The staff were lovely on the night and took time to explain the food, cocktails and what the plan was for the rest of the restaurant. They showed us the private dining room which can seat about ten people and has a privacy window so that you can see out but no one can see you!! There is an adjoining smoking area just past this room and there are also plans to add a late night bar in the basement from early December which sounds like a perfect place to enjoy some pre Christmas cocktails!!

Private Dining Area

All together our meal cost us €63 which was for one starter, 2 mains, 2 sides and 2 cocktails. Damson Diner is located at 52 South William Street, Dublin 2 and there is more info on their Facebook page here.