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If feedback is proof of what folk are concerned about, then the balance in our bodies between Omega-3s and the nasty Omega-6s is something that is of much concern to people today.
After our piece appeared, Audrey Deane and Penny Doyle sent us a copy of The Top 100 Omega-3 Recipes, published by Duncan Baird publishers.

RAI Conference 2009, Maynooth. “Successful Strategies for 2009 – A crucial time to share ideas”




Creating successful strategies in difficult times begins by listening carefully. L:ike this...

Heard the one about the man who walks into the doctor’s and says “I'm having trouble hearing things”

Doctor says: “Can you describe the symptoms?”

The man says, “Eh, well, ok then. Eh, Homer is the fat bald guy, and Marge has this big blue hair....”

Eugene Long is doing the good thing at Banyan, in Tramore, County Waterford.
Eamon Barrett feels the glam and relishes the grub.

It's Saturday night. We're in Tramore. The restaurant is full of people dressed up and having a great time and the atmosphere is absolutely alive. Who could have thought that lightning could strike the former Coast building again but here we are, having a ball of a time, recession or no recession.

A piece written for The Irish Times Earth Hour supplement.
Earth Hour is at 8.30pm on March 28th: switch off your lights for 60minutes, and see www.change.ie


The fascinating thing about those people who think and write about the crucial, and much-stressed, interplay between our food and our planet, is that they’re a pretty upbeat bunch. Yes, they all agree, the problems are enormous. And they exist in every sphere.

Dylan McGrath is offering great value with his early evening tapas menus at Mint, in Ranelagh, Dublin 6.
Leslie Williams seeks out the spirit of the age.

Kevin Thornton is opening up in Belfast, in the new Menu by Kevin Thornton, in the Fitzwilliam Hotel. What Mr Thornton will be hoping to achieve will be even a little bit of the success of the runaway Made In Belfast. You have to book a month in advance to get a weekend table at this funky Restolounge, where bric-a-brac meets bricolage, and with some ace cooking from chef Gerry O'Kane, formerly a Rankin empire cook. Shabby chic is the order of the day, chips come in an enamel mug, burgers on wooden boards, the cutlery is flimsy and rather blunt, and no one minds a bit.

Listening
Fleet Foxes (SubPop)
Thanks to Eamon Barrett for the introduction to Seattle's hairest troubadors, who fuse The Band and Neil Young and Brian Wilson in one sublime American cocktail.

John Coltrane – Interstellar Space (Impulse!)
Late, late Coltrane, with just Rashid Ali on the drums, and the sound of hand bells announcing and ending each massive piece of torrential blowing.

Portishead - Third (Island)
Justly compared to Massive Attack's mighty “Mezzanine”. This is adult muisc.

The Anglo-Irish Body

Our bodies are like banks. If you keep everything in balance in a bank – loans; deposits; liquidity; cash flow – then the bank trades happily, makes a profit and performs its important role in society.
Let things get out of balance in the bank, however – vast loans on speculative property deals; slack auditing by auditors and directors; directors loans that don’t even appear on the annual report – and the bank quickly becomes toxic. Push it too far, and the bank dies, because the balance sheet is way out of kilter.

Eamon Barrett admires the chutzph and energy of the New Ross star.

Leslie Williams reports on the resurrection in Dublin of the hamburger from its fast-food peril.

Gourmet Burgers are the latest thing in Dublin - since 2007 they have been opening wherever they can find a space.

All these restaurants have remarkably similar menus and prices (Burgers €9-11, fries €4). Don’t expect much of a wine list or starters or desserts beyond ice-cream and chocolate cake.

First some ground rules: a Burger should be meat, seasoning and nothing else; it should crumble slightly and taste of top quality beef.