Mary Kennedy I wish I was in New York city... "In either of two restaurants in New York city. One is Mexican, the other Irish, and both hold fond memories," writes Marie-Claire Digby.
McCormack's Pub and Restaurant is run by a lovely Meath man called Barry McCormack. It's a well-known sports venue, with big screens installed for the rugby and GAA matches. The welcome is warm, the steaks succulent, the French fries chunky and the portions extremely generous. It has been voted New York's "Cosiest Pub" and that's no surprise. When I was there just before Christmas with my daughters, Eva and Lucy, and my good friend Anita, it was like being part of a traditional Christmas scene. Americans do Christmas really well and this Irish pub is right up there in terms of delivering that warm seasonal glow. The place was full of New Yorkers, which is a good sign, and on Christmas Day it's the place to be if you're Irish in New York. After dinner, we walked the 10 minutes to the Empire State Building and feasted our eyes (a change from our tummies!) on the New York skyline . . . a magical evening.
Another favourite is Mama Mexico, in midtown Manhattan. My daughter, Eva chose the venue for its elegant, architect designed Mexican interior, and we had a lovely pre-theatre meal there, serenaded by a live Mariachi band. It serves all the usual Mexican fare, including fairly potent Margaritas and Sangria. The guacamole starter prepared at the table in a colourful terracotta bowl is the pièce de résistance - tasty, light, and not too spicy. It's a meal in itself. Mama Mexico is a colourful, friendly place and as with McCormack's, has a convivial atmosphere, which is what does it for me.
As I'm in Dublin and it's the weekend, I'll try to persuade my son Tom to make his signature dish, chicken fajitas with guacamole, which is Ronan O'Gara's recipe from the Irish rugby players' Eating to Win cookery book. I don't know whether I should close my eyes and dream of New York, or of Ronan 0'Gara!"
McCormack's Pub and Restaurant: 365 3rd Avenue, www.mccormacks.net; Mama Mexico: 214 East 49th Street, www.mamamexico.com
Mary Kennedy's book, Lines I Love has been nominated for the Eason's Irish Published Book of the Year in the Irish Book Awards 2008, the results of which will be announced on Thursday
Kerry banquet
Some of Ireland's best chefs have honed their skills at the Institute of Technology in Tralee, Co Kerry, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and six recent graduates are going back to school to cook a celebratory 11-course dinner in the college kitchens using the best of local Kerry produce including Valentia Bay scallops, Annascaul black pudding and Blasket Island lamb. Will it be a case of too many cooks . . . or will it be a sublime culinary experience? The dinner takes place next Thursday, April 24th and there are still a few tickets available, costing €100 per person, including a champagne and canape reception. All proceeds will go to local Kerry charities and bookings can be made with Feargus Dunne on 066-7191820.
The chefs taking part are Noel Enright, head chef at the Chart House in Dingle; Simon Reagan, head chef at Chapter Forty, Killarney; David Norris, chef/patron at Restaurant David Norris, Tralee; Patricia Teahan, sous chef at Jack's Coastguard Restaurant, Cromane; Noel Dennehy, head chef at The Moorings, Portmagee, and John O'Leary, executive chef at the Malton Hotel, Killarney.
www.bibliocook.com
Read about the culinary adventures of former entertainment journalist turned Ballymaloe-trained cook and food writer, Caroline Hennessy.
There isn't much that can bring a smile to the face of a weary shopper doing a last-minute dinner dash around the supermarket on the way home from work, but the recent discovery of boxes of beautiful, pastel-hued free-range duck eggs in Superquinn brightened up my day considerably. If you want to see what the popular paint and fabric colour "duck-egg blue" really looks like, dump the colour charts and swatches and buy a box of these beauties (€2.89 for six). And they taste great, too.
Food business
Terra Madre Ireland, a Slow Food initiative in association with Bord Bia, will bring between 12,000 and 15,000 people to Waterford city from September 4th to 7th for what Donal Lehane, one of the organisers, describes as: "A policy-driving gathering of interested activists and motivators of change in favour of sustainability, good taste, fair trade and welfare that respects the expertise of the people who help put food on our table." Whew . . . very worthy. But the event promises to be great fun, too, with a food-themed Viking city-walking tour, a barbecue in the city-centre, visits to artisan producers, a gala dinner and lots of eating, drinking and music thrown in for good measure.
The main business of Terra Madre is a day-long think-tank and series of workshops, open to anyone involved in the production, processing, preparing or presenting of food, which will take place in the new Tourism and Leisure building at Waterford Institute of Technology on Friday, September 5th, which will be attended by President Mary McAleese, Minister for Food Trevor Sargent, and Northern Ireland Minister of Agriculture Michelle Gildernew.
All of the events are open to the public, but for some it will be necessary to register in advance. See www.terramadreireland.ie for the full programme, and details of a photography competition with €1,500 in prizes, running in conjunction with Terra Madre Ireland. If you like the sound of the Waterford gig, book in now for the next Terra Madre Italy, which takes place in Turin from October 23rd to 27th. See www.terramadre.info.