That Was The Week That Was

Some news from the week of the Obama inauguration...

Nash 19 in Cork city is offering a Valentines meal for two to go: start with organic chicken liver pate or love potion, then monkfish and tiger prawn pie or Green Saffron lamb curry or chicken and asparagus pasta with Country Choice Parmesan, then a Benoit L'Orge chocolate heart, and a bottle of fizz and a red rose. €72.50 is the price, order by Feb 10th and collect on the 13th. Claire Nash and her crew also have a surprise in store this week, but we can't say anything about that just yet...

Sarah Kennedy's bistro in Fairview, Dublin 3 is packing them in, with a new upstairs room that seats 35 and has a small bar area. Ms Kennedy is offering knock-out, recession-bustin' value for money, and you can read more in the new Bridgestone 100 Best Places To Eat in Dublin 2009, on your mobile 'phone now: www;bridgestoneguides.com/mobile

John O'Brien, head of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland will not be seeking a second five year term of office. This week The Irish Times reported that a report on contaminated bottled water had been delayed by the FSAI. Mr O'Brien felt the report “needed scientific revision and independent peer review”. Mr O'Brien's deputy, Alan Reilly, apparently expressed concern about the delay. Mr Reilly also wrote, according to the newspaper, that “Many of the bottled waters on the market are nothing more than tap water in bottles”. Expect this bottled water issue to gather more steam in the coming months, as more evidence emerges about the environmental impact of all those little bottles...

If you have been inspired by Barack and Michelle this week and are going to take a 'plane to Chicago to see where the first couple used to hang out, ignore the Oprah store and get down to Manny's on the corner of Jefferson and Roosevelt in the centre of Chicago. Order the corned beef, and the cherry pie. Barack also used to eat breakfast at Valois...

Thanks to my ten-year-old, PJ, who brought me home a photocopy of the menu after his class had discussed the inauguration at school (“I thought it would be good for your career”, he said), I can tell you that Barack's inauguration lunch went like this:
Seafood stew with lobster, scallops, shrimp and cod, with Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Duck and pheasant served with sour cherry chutney and molasses sweet potato, with Goldeneye Pinot Noir 2005
Apple cinnamon sponge cake with sweet cream glaze, with Korbal Natural Cuvée...

This week we launch the 2009 Bridgestone 100 Best Restaurants in Ireland, and the Bridgestone 100 Best Places to Stay in Ireland. Lots of great new places to eat and stay for your 2009 staycation. In all good bookshops at €12. More on this later...

Avril and Willie Allshire of Caherbeg Free Range Pork write to tell us...
“The pork crisis (debacle) hit us pretty hard, but we're coming out the other side. Despite everything, we decided to continue with our plans to launch Rosscarbery Recipes Pork Paté. To date, it is the only pork paté to be manufactured in Ireland on a commercial scale. We haven't had a big launch, but it is available in Scally's S.V., Clonakilty, and S.V. Glanmire. Making haste slowly is probably the best thing in the present climate. It has no butter so is not a spreadable product. Finally, I thought of a slogan for Rosscarbery Recipes: 'Obsessed with Quality'.
As folk who enjoy everything Avril and Willie make, especially their bacon and black pudding, we look forward to the new paté, and to seeing it distributed widely...