Irish spring
Mar. 14th, 2010 05:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
karnerblueIt's funny how the green of spring grass and the green of shamrocks are always intertwined in my mind -- it's not truly springtime until St. Patrick's Day, until I've eaten some Irish food and listened to a bit of Irish music. I've had Dropkick Murphys in my car lately, and today, we went to the Irish Times, which I'd never been to before, for breakfast.
I hate to say this, but much as I like the Parting Glass, the Irish Times wins -- they have a much more authentic menu of good Irish food, not just burgers and sweet potato fries plus a Reuben and a boiled dinner. I started with the potato leek soup, which was delicious, and we split an order of "Irish spring rolls" -- I know, not exactly authentic, but they were delicious, filled with corned beef and cabbage (which was actually mild and blended well with the other flavors) and a bit of Swiss cheese. Then, I had a traditional Irish breakfast, which I've never seen on a menu around here anywhere, and they serve it all day: two eggs, plus rasher bacon, real Irish bangers (sausages), baked beans (done up in a ketchupy-tasting preparation), white and black puddings (I had them skip the black pudding, but the white pudding was surprisingly delicious) and soda bread (REAL, authentic soda bread, dense and made with wheat flour, not sweet or cakey at all). The rest of the menu looked really tempting, too, so I'll definitely have to go back -- they have bangers and mash, Celtic curry boxty and shepherd's pie, among other intriguing options. Plus, I hear that they have hard cider on tap, which I still have yet to try.
So now, my stomach's full of good Irish food, and I feel like spring has really arrived. :)
I hate to say this, but much as I like the Parting Glass, the Irish Times wins -- they have a much more authentic menu of good Irish food, not just burgers and sweet potato fries plus a Reuben and a boiled dinner. I started with the potato leek soup, which was delicious, and we split an order of "Irish spring rolls" -- I know, not exactly authentic, but they were delicious, filled with corned beef and cabbage (which was actually mild and blended well with the other flavors) and a bit of Swiss cheese. Then, I had a traditional Irish breakfast, which I've never seen on a menu around here anywhere, and they serve it all day: two eggs, plus rasher bacon, real Irish bangers (sausages), baked beans (done up in a ketchupy-tasting preparation), white and black puddings (I had them skip the black pudding, but the white pudding was surprisingly delicious) and soda bread (REAL, authentic soda bread, dense and made with wheat flour, not sweet or cakey at all). The rest of the menu looked really tempting, too, so I'll definitely have to go back -- they have bangers and mash, Celtic curry boxty and shepherd's pie, among other intriguing options. Plus, I hear that they have hard cider on tap, which I still have yet to try.
So now, my stomach's full of good Irish food, and I feel like spring has really arrived. :)