November's Food Festivals & Events

Castlebar Indoor Christmas Market 

Castlebar Christmas Market in Co. Mayo, will take place on Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 November in the Events Arena at Breaffy House Resort from 10am-5pm. With lots of new traders taking part this year it will be a great start to the festive season and a chance to pick up Christmas gifts, crafts, tasty treats and more.

Food and Design Winter Fair at Belvedere 

The 2012 Winter Fair will take place in Belvedere House in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath on the 24 & 25 November. The Winter Fair at Belvedere features contemporary collections of jewellery, interior products, gift ware, textiles, cards, ceramics as well as local food producers all indoors in the Courtyard at Belvedere.

 

Food & Wine Magazine Christmas Show

The FOOD & WINE Magazine Christmas show 2012 is back from the 30th November to the 2nd December  in the RDS Main Hall in Ballsbridge. It will be a three-day food and drink extravaganza, that will show you how to recreate world class dishes in the comfort of your own home!  There will be a Chef's Kitchen, the Artisan Market, a Wine Experience Theatre and a whole host of free masterclasses. Tickets to the event cost €20 but there is an early bird option for €15.

Galway Continental Christmas Market

The third annual Galway Continental Christmas Market will take place from 23 November – 22 December in Eyre Square. A jam-packed schedule comprising of a whole host of different events is promised for the Market’s duration, including  entertainment from Galway’s top live bands and DJ’s, performers, puppet shows, storytelling, school choirs and carol singing. Santa’s Grotto will be run by local charities and the popular Bier Keller will play host to various events throughout the duration of the market alongside offerings of festive treats, artisan food products and Christmas gift ideas.

Listowel Food Fair 

Taking place in  Co. Kerry from the 31 October to 4 November this fair promises to be better than ever. Some of the events on offer include a Food & Literary Taste Trail, a Herbal Medicine Trail and an Organic Gardening Class. There will also be a Food Village and Craft Fair, a Saturday Kitchen Live Demonstration and a Farming Seminar with Minister Simon Coveney and lots more.

Limerick Georgian Quarter Christmas Market 

This Christmas market takes place for 3 days only in Limerick City from 23 - 25 November. Visit the the stalls located throughout No. 1 Hotel & Spa & Pery Square which will include local artisan food producers, arts & crafts, Christmas gifts with a difference and much more.

Taste of Louth 

On 10 & 11, November Taste of Louth takes place in The Marshes Shopping Centre, Dundalk, Co. Louth. There will be demonstrations from Neven Magurie, Clodagh McKenna and Brian McDermott and a  big Taste of Louth Cupcake Challenge. Tickets are €10 for the cookery demonstrations and you can buy them through the Taste of Louth website.

Wild and Slow – Wild Food Harvest Festival:

Slow food Ireland presents Wild & Slow 2012, a unique festival that celebrates everything that is good about Irish food: fresh, local, traditional and wild. It takes place in Macreddin, Co. Wicklow on the 10 & 11 November. There is a huge of range of workshops and events on offer including curing, pickling, foraging, stalking, bee keeping which is just for starters. There will also be a food village offering visitors a chance to sample homemade foods.

Waterford Winterval 

Throughout Waterford City from 30th November to the 23rd December a big winter festival will take place with a huge range of events happening. There will be storytelling, Christmas markets, movies, craft workshops, an ice rink and lots lots more. There really is something for everyone at Winterval 2012.

Dining in Galway - Rouge, Cupán Tae and Eat@Massimo

A couple of weekends ago I got to spend a few nights in the beautiful city of Galway. The weekend passed in a blur of working, eating and socialising both with work colleagues, friends and family. It seemed everyone was attending the Volvo Ocean Race 2012 which you can read a bit about here. It was a brilliant weekend and even though the Volvo Ocean Race is over there is still loads happening in Galway. At the moment the Galway Arts Festival is in full swing and the Galway Races will be hot on its heels.

Anyway back to the main reason for this post ... food!! I had heard many wonderful things about Galway restaurants so the list of places I wanted to eat in was fairly long. Even with this list though the first place I ate in I hadn't actually even heard of! My colleague Katie had seen the wonderful Cupán Tae and being a girl after my own heart, who loves baking and tea in china cups, she insisted we go and try it. 

For my lunch I had a Rosemary Scone Sandwich filled with ham and cheese. This may sound ordinary enough but it was anything but and was one of those great sandwiches that makes me wish I lived closer! Katie decided on a Pear, Ham and Cheese sandwich which was accompanied by a carrot and mint soup which she deemed delicious.

Rosemary Scone Sandwich

Pear, Ham & Cheese Sandwich with Mint & Carrot Soup

What's that there in the back?? Is it The Chef and I!!

 

We didn't have time for cake but we left happy, so happy in fact that on Sunday morning Ms J and I wandered up there for breakfast/a cure after a long fun night out that only Galway knows how to put on!  For my brekkie I had the smoked salmon with eggs while Ms J got herself a full Irish which was so large I had to help her finish it. We finished off our breakfast meal with cake (how could we not!!) and this was actually the only thing we were disappointed in. We opted for a Victoria Sponge but for us the jam was overly sweet though of course in the purpose of research we finished it completely!! Later that day my mother brought us down a slice of their lime and courgette cake which was moist and reminded me a little of carrot cake. I definitely want to see if I can make it myself and it more than made up for the earlier Victoria sponge minor disappointment.

 

 

On the Saturday night five of us headed to Rouge. We found this place by complete accident after having tried to book a few of the more well known restaurants and practically being laughed at so we went wandering instead. Rouge was buzzing but welcomed us in to its warm and cosy restaurant. Rouge is unusual in Ireland as it offers a starter and main course for €15 all night where the starter is an amuse bouche and the main is a choice of only three dishes. This is something I have only ever come across in France and I actually felt like I was transported back there for an evening while we were in there.  

The amuse-bouche is a collection of bite-sized appetisers shared between everyone. On our visit it consisted of Fennel soup, Beetroot and Balsamic bites, Tuna and Tomato Tart and Celeriac wrapped in bacon. I am not a huge fan of fennel but I would have eaten a gallon of the soup.

 

For my main I ordered the Entrecote Steak with blue cheese while Ms J got the mushroom sauce. The mother ordered the vegetarian dish which was butternut squash lasagne while her two friends ordered the fish dish which was hake on this occasion. You get to choose a side with your main course from either French fries, gratin dauphinois, steamed potatoes, chefs potatoes, side salad or ratatouille. Lets just saw there were a lot of potatoes on the table!! The gratin dauphinois was sublime, creamy and very moreish.

Entrecote Steak

Butternut Squash Lasagne

One of the mother's friends got herself a very lovely looking Cafe Gourmand which is something I have always loved about France as it means you get to try a variety of desserts and have a coffee - no having to choose between that almond macaroon and the chocolate tart!!

 

This was all washed down with a Muscadet sur Lie chosen from an extensive wine list with something on it to suit everyone's budget. We could have stayed there all night but as it was Galway it was time to hit the town though we did leave the mother and her friends looking well fed and comfortable in La Rouge and with the wine list in hand!

On Sunday, once the fullness of An Cupán Tae had worn off, and before myself and Ms J headed back on our return journeys we decided to have our last Galway meal in Eat@Massimo.

 

This gastro pub offers a varied menu of delicious sounding meals and I was very tempted by the sound of the cider battered ling but instead was sold by the special Sunday offer of Pig on a Spit. For ten euros we got a plate load of food consisting of barbecued pork, a pile of tasty chips, salads and two types of sauce - apple and beetroot.

 

Galway is a great city it is well worth a visit not only for it's eclectic nightlife, it's range of events (there always seems to be something on) and of course its food. The only problem with Galway is that I may never get through my eating wish list as it just seems to keep getting longer!! 

Galway Brewers on the Bay

Love craft beer & love bank holidays?? Well this May bank holiday weekend sees the return of ‘Brewers on the Bay’ to Galway. This is the third annual national Craft Beer Festival and it will take place in the Olso Microbrewery in Salthill.

Logo from Facebook

14 Microbreweries from across Ireland are heading Westward and will be showcasing existing top Irish craft beers plus special one-off brews. Currently confirmed for ‘Brewers’ are Bay Brewery, Carlow Brewing, Eight Degrees Brewing, Franciscan Well Brewery, Galway Hooker, Hilden Brewery, Porterhouse Brewing, Metalman Brewing, Trouble Brewing, White Gypsy, Whitewater Brewing  and Tempted Cider. There will be something for everyone with a whole range of different flavours on offer from chocolate stouts to banana beers, spiced ales and everything in between. Beer connoisseurs, beer tourists and the beer novice are all welcome.

For festival news, beer facts, brew names and special offers check out ‘Brewers on the Bay’ on Twitter at: Twitter @brewersonthebay or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/brewersonthebay. The festival will take place on May 5th and 6th, 2012.

Also if you are a Ladyeee and into your craft beer you might be interested in reading this More women are making - and enjoying - beer. Go on the girls!!

Lunching Around Ireland

Last week saw me trapse through the bottom half of Ireland for a mixture of business and pleasure. This whistlestop tour brought me to Wexford, Limerick and Galway and it was the perfect opportunity to try out some new places I wouldn't normally get too. Now as we all know the locals always know the best places to go so I got a few to divulge their secrets on where to go to for a lunchtime feed and I think I have found some gems!!!

La Dolce Vita - Wexford

This Italian cafe might be one of the best kept secrets EVER. Having lived in Italy I am notoriously hard to please when it comes to Italian restaurants. A lot of restaurants entice me in with promises of perfect pastas, pizzas and tiramisu but few deliver. La Dolce Vita is perhaps the BEST Italian food I have had outside Italy in a long time!! Forgive all the capitals but I really can't emphaize how special this little place is!!

The menu in La Dolce Vita offers paninis and other lunchtime fare but we were here for pasta. Or so I thought until I saw the specials menu - swordfish, venison, ossobuco - Oh where to start!! So after having a few quick steathly peeks at what other diners were eating we settled on two specials - Spagetti with Taleggio and Tomato and Ossobuco with Germolata.

The spagetti was delicious perfectly cooked and really flavoursome with the taleggio melted through it.

The Ossobuco was divine, the meat was falling off the bone and the sauce was light but tasty and it was covered with wondefully fresh gremolata. The portions size are huge and perfect for sharing. Great if you are looking for a Valentines lunch this week!! Of course then we decided it would be rude to leave without trying the tiramisu and an espresso, both of which rounded off the meal.

One other lovely thing about this restaurant is that the owner was really involved in the running of the place and would come out to check on us and make sure we were enjoying ourselves. It was a lovely touch and the fact that he gave me one of my favourite italian chocolates on the way out has endeared him to me forever!! The only thing wrong with this place is that it isnt closer to Dublin!!

La Dolce Vita don't have a website but you can find them on Menupages here

 

The Sage Cafe - Limerick

Our Limerick local told us to get down to The Sage Cafe early as the place is jammers at lunch and as soon as we arrived we could see why. This cafe is easy to spot with its inviting green exterior and funky decor. All the food looked very inviting from their daily specials right down to their desserts which are homemade along with all their breads, jams and chutney. After crawling intently through the menu we both finally settled on the fish pie. The pie was gorgeous not too dense and topped with fluffy mashed potato. This is a great lunchspot and so if you are in Limerick why not give this little spot a go and team it with a visit to the Milk Market for a perfect food filled morning out. Apparently Mike Hogan from the Cranberries owns the restaurant too. Now there is a prime bit of local gossip for you!!

For more info on the Cafe click here

Cava Spanish Restaurant and Tapas Bar - Galway 

This is a tapas restaurant but lunch is served here daily. The menu includes loads of gorgeous Bocadillos (Spanish Sandwiches), lovely soups and salads, stew and some specials which are changed to relect what's in season. I was very tempted by the sounds of the chickpea stew with chorizo and meatballs but instead I went for their great offer of a soup, sandwich and coffee for only ten euros. So for ten euros this is what you get:

 And look at that for a sandwich, full of serrano ham and manchego:

 And a delicious bowl of broccoli soup:

The lunch food here is tasty, filling and great value. I will definately be back for a return visit and hopefully I can fit in a dinner visit next time.

For more info on Cava Spanish Restaurant click here