A decade of great taste
Rasam Indian restaurant in Glasthule, Co Dublin celebrates 10 years in business in November, and launches a new menu next Tuesday night, with dishes inspired by owner Nisheeth Tak's quest to find the freshest and best quality spices. Mappas fish – hake served with a turmeric paste, tamarind water and coconut milk foam, was a particular highlight of the preview evening this week, and there was lots of interest in the duo of lamb – two different braises, one tomato-based and another with yoghurt, both cooked under a bread dough lid in a method called Dum Pukht. "You'd put the lamb, or kid goat, on to cook under the pastry lid, go play a game of chess and by the time it was over the meat would be cooked and the loser would have to pay for it," explains manager Prateek Vikram, pictured above with head chef Anubhav Srivastava. rasam.ie.
Glovebox Guide
There's a lovely feel to the newly updated Georgina Campbell's Ireland: The Best of Irish Food & Hospitality, back in print format with a glossy cover and sleek paper after a spell as an online-only publication. It's a compact volume, but there's a wealth of information on where to stay, eat, visit and shop crammed into its 576 pages. If you want a more lengthy review of the place you plan to visit for dinner or an overnight stay, check out Ireland-guide.com, where you can also order a of copy of the print guide, with delivery free of charge in Ireland. It costs €20 and is also on sale in bookshops.
Brunch is the new lunch
The new brunch menu at The Cellar Bar in The Merrion hotel in Dublin, served on Sundays (11.30am-5pm), features innovative options including a whole baked Milleens cheese with garlic, white Port and thyme (€16.50); a seafood tower with crab, oysters, smoked salmon seabass ceviche and prawns, and a platter of Italian delicacies including Parma ham, bresaola, mortadella and Taleggio cheese with candied clementines (both €30, to share). The Bloody Mary has also had a facelift, presented in a flight of three – traditional, smoked and Asian-inspired. If you like a more traditional brunch, try these buttermilk pancakes with fruit (€14).
A wild day out
Enda McEvoy, who earned a Michelin star at Aniar in Galway before going solo last March, is leading a one-day ecological and gastronomic adventure at Cnoc Suain, a centre for Irish culture in Spiddal, next Saturday, September 28th. The day starts at the market in Galway, and there will also be foraging involved, before McEvoy and fellow chef Conor Cockram serve a 10-course dinner made with ingredients sourced within sight of the standing stone on Cnoc Suain hill. Limited to 12 participants, €125 including dinner, drinks and transport. You can book on 091-868927.
