If you want to try the food at Just Chubbys, a new food truck parked behind Lotts & Co at 46 Clontarf Road in Dublin 3, you’ll have to be patient. Demand for Barry Stephens’s innovative tacos, sides and salsas has proved so intense since he pulled the shutters up a couple of weeks ago that long queues are the norm.
Stephens, who also runs 147 Deli on Parnell Street, has had to revise his opening hours there as he regularly sells out before the stated closing time. So, for a taste of his beef and Guinness birria taco, or smoked pork head and neck taco, you’ll have to get there Thursday and Friday from 6pm to sell-out and the same from 1pm Saturday. There are chicken and veggie options too, and the sides include spicy chicken skin crisps with jalapeño crema and charred sweetcorn salsa.
Book it, Kasha
Kasha Connolly, creative director of bean-to-bar Hazel Mountain Chocolate in Co Clare, which she runs with her husband John, has just published a cookbook, dedicated to their six-month-old daughter Isabella. The Hazel Mountain Cookbook has both sweet and savoury recipes, but it’s the cakes and sweet things, many of which are tried and tested favourites from the Hazel Mountain cafe at the factory at Bellharbour on the Burren, that will draw you in.
There’s a strong streak of originality in bakes such as the blackcurrant and salted caramel layer cake; saffron and orange cake; honeyed pear and cardamom chestnut tart, and gooseberry and coconut meringue pie. Gluten-free versions of the recipes are included, as well as tips on dairy substitutes. “I am gluten sensitive but a lot of my family and friends are gluten intolerant, and I wanted to have a book that’s inclusive of everyone,” Kasha says. The book costs €29.50 and is available from the factory as well as the Hazel Mountain Chocolate shop on Middle Street in Galway, and online from hazelmountainchocolate.com.
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Azouro olives
Tree-ripened olives, which are harvested later in the season when they have had a chance to mature and turn from green to purple, are the latest offering from Irish-owned Portuguese food company Azouro.
The Galega olives with oregano, and Negrinha do Douro olives with garlic and oregano, join the Azouro range of canned fish and olive oil, available at good delicatessens and independent food stores across Ireland. They are packed in glass jars, for better preservation as well as sustainability, and the recommended retail price is €3.90.
