Barcelona 2015

On a dark and dreary Wednesday morning in February I left Ali and our little zoo behind to head for Barcelona with my parents and little-bigger brother. After our trip to Rome last year we decided to make it a yearly event to get away together. Unfortunately Ali couldn't make it this time due to work commitments but we soldiered on! Upon landing in the Catalan capital we hopped on the Aerobus from El Prat airport and arrived in the Placa de Catalunya just 20 minutes later. We still had a few hours to wait before we could check into our appartment so we sat down for some breakfast in a little Italian cafe just off the Passeig de Gracia. The plan had been to get the metro from Placa de Catalunya to Diagonal but before we knew it we had walked to the Diagonal metro stop! With an hour still to wait we sat down on the Rambla de Catalunya and ordered some booze. Throughout our trip the wine was wonderful. I would never be able to live in Barcelona for that reason, it's taste and price would instantly render me an alcoholic.

Our appartmant was located in a residential area of Gracia surrounded by small business', bakery's and restaurants. We had a rest before heading out for some dinner. We walked down to Las Ramblas and after a quick look around the Boqueria food market we decided to eat in the close by Cullera de Boix. The paella here is wonderful. I ordered the Valencian which consisted of pork, chicken and rabbit with the usual rice and vegetables. The meat was tender and the rice well cooked but it was the smokey flavour that I most enjoyed. The host told me that it was cooked for 10 minutes over fire and 10 minutes in the oven and although over fire could mean anything, I would be willing to bet that there's a wood fired stove or oven involved here. Delicious.

Thursday, after a walk to the Sagrada Familia, we continued down into the city again. After sitting down and admiring the dogs (it's a very dog friendly city) in the Ciutadella Park we walked towards Via Laietana and found a buzzing restaurant for lunch. O'Marulo is a very popular lunch time restaurant on Carrer d'Ortigosa. When we arrived it was just starting to fill up but by the time we were leaving there was a que for tables. There are two clear reasons for this: the food is simple but excellent and it is amazing value! 3 courses plus a drink and tea/coffee for €10.45 is a treat that could be afforded everyday. I had a delicious paella, followed by fried fresh anchovies and finished with a crema catalana (similar to a creme brulee). We found ourselves back in the area on Friday and again dropped in for lunch. The most impressive thing was that the menu had completely changed from the previous day.

After our monstrous 3 course lunch I decided to make use of our kitchen and cook something light for dinner. For ingredients we went to the Santa Caterina Market where I picked up some langoustines (after a mis-translation of price: I mistakenly thought they were just €12 per KG but after handing in a 50 and recieving just €16 back, I soon realised my error. Nevermind, we're on holiday after all!), garlic, tomatoes, jamon iberico and some beautiful fresh bread. I cooked this and it went down a treat, perfect after such a big lunch!

On Friday morning we took the metro down to the marina and after a look around the maremagnum we found ourselves looking for lunch. We decided to go back to O'Marulo again as we had enjoyed it so much the previous day and on the way we stumbled upon a farmers market selling everything from meats and cheese to bee wax moisturiser and honeycomb. I picked up a kilo of hard goats cheese and some honeycomb before heading off to O'Marulo. I went for stuffed peppers for starter while we all went for the rabbit casserole for mains and it was delicious. If you find yourself in Barcelona give this place a try for lunch, highly recommended. That night we had a good look around the Gracia area and went for a late dinner in La Cigale. We had great nachos to start with and even better burgers for mains. If you're looking for a great burger in Barcelona this place has to be on your list. They have a pretty exhausting alcohol list too!

Saturday was match day (Shane and myself got tickets for FC Barcelona vs Malaga) so we were taking it easy from the start. During another good look around Gracia we stumbled upon the Mercat de la Llibertat. It was a little calmer than La Boqueria and the Santa Caterina and so the vendors could show a little more personality, epitomised by their attempts to make faces during my picture taking! This was my favourite of the three markets we were at, it gives more of a glance into the catalan food habits than either of the other two, We stopped for lunch at a not so great cafe close to our apartment before heading off for the Nou Camp.

After the match ( a dreadful 1-0 loss), we walked back into Gracia and got ready for dinner at Cal Boter. This is a charming restaurant specialising in Catalan cuisine. We had tried to go on Friday evening but it was full so we made a booking for our last night. I had pigs trotters with shrimp which was wonderful while Shane's duck dish was so good that he ordered it again for dessert! A nice last supper in Barcelona. After a few glasses of Rioja it was time for bed, to be ready for our early flight home.

The fun wasn't over yet however. After buying 4 bottles of Rioja in the duty free I stuffed them into my bag and boarded the plane. All was fine until we landed in Dublin and I put my bag down to put on a jacket. The bag rolled and after joking that I probably broke a few bottles we set off for passport control. While waiting in the que Shane pointed out that it's easy to know we were back in Ireland as the airport seemed to smell like an off license......as we looked down and saw a trail of red wine behind my bag. Delightful.

Roma 2014

Roma 2014

An Easter holiday in beautiful Roma was the perfect break from my crazy work schedule of the the last few months. My parents, little (bigger) brother Shane, Ali and I headed off to the Eternal City for a five day trip. For my dad it was all about the Vatican but for me: it was all about...THE FOOD!

Finding a good restaurant in Rome isn't too difficult; stay off the main streets and avoid places that charge more than €8 for a Pizza Margherita and you'll be fine. Our first meal was one of the best; a little spaghetti place, five minutes from our hotel. They served house wine by the litre (€7 per litre!) and at least fifty different spaghetti dishes. My starter blew me away; Bruschette con Guanciale. Who would have thought that cured pig's cheek on toast could taste so good! The main was great too, Spaghetti alla Puttanesca (whore's spaghetti) followed by a delicious Tirimasu. A great start to the holiday, great food and cheap wine....win win!

Thursday's lunch was an old favourite of mine, Pizza Marinara (tomato, garlic, oregano and extra-virgin olive oil), washed down with a pint of Nastro Azzuro. Unfortunately the dinner that evening was nothing to write home about. The bland, overpriced food was slightly countered by an entertaining waiter but the €15 bread charge was unforgivable.

Friday was food day! It started with a metro trip to Testaccio to visit the enchanting Volpetti. First we went to the cafe, which served everything you could wish for except (unusually for Italy) coffee! Even at 11 am, I couldn't resist sampling a few dishes: Arancini (white and red), Baccala (salt cod) with tomato, potato and herb and an amazing octopus salad. Everything was outstanding. We followed brunch with a trip next door to the Volpetti shop. Everything you could ever need in charcuterie, cheese, oil, vinegar and preserves sit on the shelves, shine in the fridges and even hang from the ceiling. The smell is instantly captivating, but it's the service that excels - everything can be tasted. I tried up to ten different cheeses and several types of prosciutto. I bought some Caciocavallo and lightly smoked San Daniele Prosciutto; everything vacuum packed to survive our flight home. I can easily say that this is my favourite shop in the world!

Friday evening led to more great food: my Fritto Misto really stood out. Courgette flower stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies, dipped in batter and deep fried is hard to beat ,but the stuffed olive came close! The main was a delicious Carbonara and the red wine flowed again; even on Good Friday....oops! On Saturday evening Ali and myself visited Pani e Pesche, a Sardinian restaurant specializing in (you guessed it!) bread and fish. Everything was delicious, from the basket of freshly baked breads to the fish platter starter, to the simple shrimp main. The scallops with a touch of lemon really stood out, while the flavour of the shrimp in the main dish shone beautifully with little distraction. Ali's risotto with prawn and courgette flower was excellent and dessert didn't disappoint either. Seadas is ricotta cheese in a casing of dough, deep fried and then drenched in honey; the perfect end to the evening.

Sunday was Vatican day for the Pope's Easter Mass, but we snuck off after Communion for seafood pizza and some more red! We had a great last supper together in the evening. The highlight for me was the Trippa Romana, tripe in tomato with plenty of herbs. It was much tastier than I had imagined and I wouldn't hesitate to order it again. After this we went for dessert, in as far as I'm concerned, the greatest Gelateria on the planet. Gelateria Romana on Via Venti Settembre is a must visit - the greatest ice-cream you will ever have and at €2.50 for a three scoop cone, incredible value.

Shane, Ali, Myself and my Mam

Our trip came to an end on Monday but not before I snuck in a bresaola, tomato and mozarella panino in the airport; even the airport food is good!

Paris, France

Paris

January 2014

Last Wednesday, Ali and myself headed off to Paris to soak up the sights and tastes of the French capital. The first thing we did upon arrival, before even collecting the key to our apartment, was to go for some lunch in a beautiful little cafe, stuffed with busy Parisians on their lunch break. After a thorough scan of the menu I settled on a Lamb Nuckle with Mash and Sweet Garlic Gravy. The lamb was beautifully tender and the gravy delicious. It reminded me of the way I like to cook a Beef Brisket, in Red Wine with lots of garlic, I'll certainly be trying Lamb in a similar manner (it's almost spring after all). Speaking of Red Wine, that is one thing that really struck me in Paris, even the house Wine's are outstanding. 

The rest of Wednesday was spent sightseeing, the Notre Damn Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower being the highlights but first thing on Thursday morning we were back on the Metro to the Eiffel Tower to take in the Saxe-Breteuil Food Market. The quality of the produce on sale here was breathtaking. The freshest of Meat and Fish surrounded by stalls of the ripest Organic Fruit and Veg with the odd pastry stall thrown in for good measure. Looking around at all the wonderful ingredients evoked a mixture of sadness and frustration, how nice it would be to be able to shop somewhere like this on a daily basis. It seems that the French (and Italian's from previous trips) place far more value on the quality of their ingredients where as in Ireland, the majority are far more concerned with convenience.

Duck Foie Gras with Fleur de Sel

Food highlights from Thursday included a delicious House Terrine, which could have been a little stronger for my taste but the accompanying Pickled Gherkin cut it perfectly. I also had a novel take on our Shepard's Pie, using shredded Duck Confit instead of the usual Lamb/Beef. That evening I had a first for me, Duck Foie Gras. It was lovely and rich but it was really brought to life by the accompanying Fleur de Sel. That was followed by a Veal Kidney Cassoulet which was notable because of a lack of any Vegetables (except Potato) leaving the Sauce feeling somewhat empty, even so, it was delicious. Dessert was a Dark Chocolate Lava Cake, which was absolutely magnificent.

On Friday, we spent the day in Montmartre, where we stumbled upon the most wonderful herb and spice shop. After topping up my spice collection and buying some Fleur de Sel with Chilli, we went for lunch in the Cafe des 2 Moulins, made famous by the film Amelie. Here we both had a very non traditional Burger (a rare burger is actually a great treat!). Friday evening we found ourselves in a fantastic little restaurant stuffed with locals. It was hot, smokey and didn't have half the menu in stock but it was extremely charming with great food! First up was an Avocado and Prawn Salad which was fantastic, although the dressing may have had a touch too much Mustard. The limited menu left me with a Chilli Con Carne as a main but I wasnt disappointed, it was beautiful although a little short on Chillies (maybe they were out of stock too!). Dessert was a Pana Cotta  cut with a splendidly tart Raspberry Coulis. Ali took the last Tirimasu in the house, it was terrific, the best either of us has ever tasted.

Rounding up, the food of Paris was wonderful! French cuisine is definately more complicated than my favoured Italian and is also a lot richer containing far more butter and cream than the majority of Italian dishes. The Pastries, however, are fantastic! There is no better way to start your day than with a Pain Suisse and a double espresso. The quality of the produce in the shops/markets was particularly striking but so too were the cuts of meat being displayed. Pig Trotters and Ox Tongues sat proudly beside Fillet Steaks, Chickens retained their heads and giblets and Pigeons and other poultry were stocked in great numbers. Using the entirety of any animal is something that really appeals to me, leaving nothing to waste and it is something that we could really learn from our continental cousins.

The Greatest Tirimasu in the World......Ever