Staple Foods

I actually love Temple Bar. All through first and second year, I pretty much avoided it – I associated it with tourists, vomit and nightclubs (not necessarily in that order). However, since coming back, I’ve explored it quite a bit – there are fantastic shops and even better in the line of cafés and restaurants. When we were headed to the Dublin Theatre Festival to pick up tickets for A Girl is a Half-formed thing (absolutely fantastic), I spotted Staple Foods and took a quick snap of the menu to remind me to go back for a visit whenever the opportunity next arose. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait long – the following weekend, the younger sister and I decided to treat ourselves to lunch after a difficult and stressful morning perusing the food stalls and vintage shops around the area (I know, you don’t know how we do it, right?).

The menu in Staple Foods is based on the principles of Paleo eating (basically caveman style, protein good, refined carbs = poison), and there are several vegetarian and vegan options. There is even green juice for those of you whose body is a temple. It is six euro though (Almost 2 whole nutella crepes worth. Just sayin.). The place is actually a bar, operating as a cafe during the day. Though slightly more grungy than some of the other cafés around, most of the touches are pinterest-friendly in a familiar way i.e. mason jars on the window sills, mismatched chairs and tables, and waitstaff with large-framed round glasses. You know the type.

Both Sarah and I chose the meaty vegan-unfriendly options. I had a chinese sticky pork salad with crunchy celeriac and chinese cabbage, while she chose the mexican chicken salad with chickpeas and tabouleh. Both were lovely, but we decided that the pork worked better than the chicken given that the salad really needed the crunch of the vegetables in what is otherwise quite a rich and one-textured dish. The flavours were good, particularly of the meat. All in all, they were healthy, filling lunches that were a little different to what you are usually served up.

The dishes were simply enormous – if it was me, I would cut the portions by half and bring the prices down (I am sure some people would then complain – you can’t please everyone!). It was 10 euro each, which I feel is steep for a salad, but then we did have at least enough between us to fill a pot to bring home for lunch the following day.

I’d go back – the atmosphere was very chilled, and the menu was interesting enough to make me want to try other dishes. There is also the fact that it is just a stone’s throw from my new favourite browsing spot (Folkster) – who could resist? Cue slightly demented gif of me digging in.. 

https://www.facebook.com/staplefoodsdublin

http://www.folkster.com/clothes/vintage

The Fumbally

Again, SJ probably has to take credit for this – she has been a fan of the Fumbally for longer than I knew it existed. It is annoyingly out of the way for me – a bit too far for a lunchtime trip from Trinners, and not that easily accessible from home. However, one not-so-fine afternoon we intrepidly braved the elements and made it.

The outside is pretty nondescript, but the style is unique – it is like a cross between a barn and Central Perk in Friends – there are artfully slouching sacs of flour on the bare board floors, and mismatched tables and chairs. And the clientele? There were converse-wearing techies, hipster-parents with their hipster-progeny (now I’ve totally ruined my credentials by saying the H word like 4 times in this paragraph) and people staring into space/doing creative things in notebooks or on MacAirs. The tables are communal, and I imagine this place gets busy enough that you would actually have to squeeze in beside one of these penseurs.

We unfortunately made it there too late to try any of the delicious-sounding specials which all had sold out from the lunchtime rush. However, I settled on their signature pulled-pork blaa, SJ on carrot and cauliflower soup, and N and D on the falafal wrap. The service was fairly prompt, and no sooner had I tucked in, was my face, my hands and various other body parts covered in sandwich – this is not a dish for a first date! Messy though it was, it was utterly delicious, unctuous meat cut through with a sharp beetroot pickle spilling out of a floury, chewy blaa. The comments from the others were equally favourable (though I still maintain the sandwich is the best thing on offer). The falafal was yummy, if also poorly constructed (i.e. falafal on face), and the soup was very tasty. The prices are very good for the city – the sandwich was 6 euro, with several of the dishes on offer coming in under a fiver

SJ got a gluten-free chocolate cake for dessert – I loved the fact that it was served on a patterned china plate with oodles of real whipped cream in a mound, not a pretty little dish/squiggle thing. It looked like something your Grannie made, and tasted of real ingredients. To be honest, it wasn’t chocolatey enough for my liking – more of a sugar-kick but pleasant nonetheless. I had a flat white, as I was keen to check out the coffee sitch for future loner visits. It was lovely – 3FE beans made by someone who knows how to use them.

All in all, the Fumbally was well worth the visit – I almost wish it was not so out of the way, but then that would kind of miss the point. I wouldn’t swap either the vibe or the prices for a more flash city centre location. It just means lunch is more of an adventure…

Have you been? What did you think?

http://thefumbally.ie/

Who can take the sunrise?

For me, one of London’s greatest selling points is the West End. The first time I spent a weekend in London with my parents (aged around 9 years old), we went to 3 musicals in 3 days. Safe to say I never had a chance. Generally, I just can’t get over the fact that these spectacles are going on every night across the city regardless of what else is going on in the world – it is just someone’s job to bare their sole on the stage in front of thousands (there is clearly a stifled artist within me…)

All of the above meant that when the train from Paris and the flight from Dublin, and the train from Hampstead led to the happy reunion of us three girls, our first priority was to head to the tkts booth in Leicester Square to see if we could scrounge some tickets for that evening’s show. When we saw the queue snaking back with over 50 people ahead of us, we were undeterred – die hard fans after all. And our patience paid off – within the hour we were on our way, smugly clutching back-of-the-stalls seats for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

We prepped with a long long stroll all over the city, starting notably in Covent Garden, where we of course popped into many of the numerous foodie treasure troves such as Ladurée (for macarons naturally), and Venchi, a recent discovery from my travels in Italy where they literally had taps of molten chocolate. Yep, you heard it here first – taps of molten chocolate..

7.00 and time to make our way to the theatre, my excitement was rising – I am a huge Roald Dahl fan, I don’t know how many times Sarah and I listened to the BFG and the Giraffe, the Pelly and Me as children, but seeing as I can still recite some of it, I’d say plenty. And of course, being a foodie, what better musical than his homage to all things cocoa?

In the theatre early, we had no choice but to give in and buy a horrendously over-priced trans-fat laden Wonka Bar (delicious as it was, in a cheap easter egg sort of way). The show was fabulous, the children really stole the limelight – I don’t know how they have come to be so self-composed and talented at like 10 years old – it would give you a serious inferiority complex! But it was wonderful, the music, the set and the acting – highly recommended.

2. The Hummingbird Bakery, Notting Hill

https://hummingbirdbakery.com/

In keeping with the saccharine theme, the following afternoon found us on a pilgrimage to a long-time favourite of mine – the Hummingbird Bakery. Many of you who bake will be familiar with the recipe books, particularly for the wacky and delicious cup cakes. There are several Hummingbirds all over London. We went to Notting Hill, where I’d actually never been before, and had a long and circuitous stroll around before locating the shop – 10 minutes before closing. Luckily, we got there in time to snaffle several cupcakes, and devoured them in a park nearby. Ideal.

 

 

3. The Wallace Collection

And finally, a last recommendation for a mid-shopping pit stop should you find yourself flagging around Oxford Street. The Wallace Collection is a beautiful townhouse in the middle of London home to an impressive collection of 18th century French art across its 22 opulent rooms. The collection is well worth a browse, but even more so the café (kindly recommended to me by Patrick) which sits in the vast conservatory-like inner atrium. Of course, the prices reflect your elegant surroundings, but if you factor in the pleasure derived from nosing around the house (free and open to the public) and whiling away an hour imagining yourself Marie Antoinette, it is really a bargain. I had a pot of black oolong tea and a coffee and walnut cake, while Patrick had pancakes and an apple and ginger smoothie.

Patisserie round up…

In this post coming after a long hiatus due to various technical glitches, I am returning to the topic (inexhaustible to me at least..) of Parisian patisseries. Here, I’ll go through three of the best places to sample the most decadent creations the city has to offer. The three establishments are Cafe Pouchkine, an inimitable and creative Franco-Russian collaboration; Pierre Hermé, and Carl Marletti.

 

First, Cafe Pouschkine. This was one of the places that spent the longest on my to-do list of Parisian patisseries, and it is probably because I had heard so many reports that the staff were a bit scary and did not indulge uncouth foreigners traipsing into their pristine boutique. However, the impending exams brought about a huge rise in my motivation to visit cake shops naturally (procrastination by any means..) so I made the trip one very rainy afternoon in June over to the Place des Vosges, and dared to rush into the shop totally and utterly soaked, and not at all the sophisticated Parisian/Moscovite I had intended to portray.

In actual fact, the serveuse was lovely and didn’t even mind as I sneaked some photographs of the counter. She also gave me her opinion on the various pastries as I hesitated, and upon her recommendation I forewent my usual chocolate/hazelnut choice for a Caramel-Vanille St. Honoré which I devoured out of the box while taking shelter under the arches outside.

http://www.cafe-pouchkine.fr/

 

Second, Carl Marletti. This patisserie is probably the least well known of the three mentioned, and is actually very close to where I lived in Paris, just off Rue Monge. Note that like many patisserie, Carl Marletti does not open on a Monday! Here I shared a delicious mille feuille with Ali, which while very very difficult to eat with any elegance, was one of the best examples of how amazing  pâte feuilletée (puff pastry) can be. On my next visit, I definitely intend to sample some of the specialty eclairs.

http://www.carlmarletti.com/

 

Last but certainly not least, my beloved Pierre Hermé which has branches dotted all over the city, 2 conveniently located within a stones throw from my university campuses (Rue de Vaugirard, and Place St. Sulpice). I first went to Pierre Hermé upon the insistence of two vraies Parisiennes Claire and Alice that they held the best macarons on offer in France. To be honest, though I loved picking out my flavours of choice (Chocolate and Passionfruit), my eye was more taken by the other pastries displayed. Of course, there was ample time to sample, and I returned at the next opportunity to try the enormous and amazing indulgent Deux Milles Feuille. This was one of the best decisions I’ve made – I’ve yet to taste a dessert that comes close to the perfection that is the Deux Milles Feuille. To be fair, it is my classic flavour choice (chocolate and hazelnut) but the real triumph is in the construction; in one fell swoop you get creamy creme patissiere, crunchy praline, smooth chocolate and crispy pastry. Heaven.

 

http://www.pierreherme.com/

Île Saint Louis

Even though it is a complete cliché, Île Saint Louis, and Île de la cité (two islands found in the middle of the Seine) are among my favourite place to wander around. They are almost always swimming with tourists, and a strange number of Asian brides on the Pont de l’Archevêché (?!), but this doesn’t take away from the fact that it is, actually, one of the most beautiful areas of the city. This would be my ideal few hours spent in this area, of course with a good number of foodie stops along the way.

Start off a in Shakespeare and Co., on the Rive Gauche side, facing Notre Dame. This is a Parisian institution, a bookshop established in the 1951, but modeled on another opened in the 1920’s by Sylvia Beach, which became a hangout for such cool kids as Ezra Pound, James Joyce & Ernest Hemingway. Don’t forget to check out the upstairs, if only to scratch the belly of the world’s most apathetic fluffy white cat who is resident on the armchair in the library.

 

After having browsed to your heart’s content, head over and take in Notre Dame. Then head around the back of it towards one of the famous ‘Lock bridges’. There is also plenty to browse amongst the wares of the ‘bouquinistes’ who have their signature green stalls set up along the street parallel.

Head back towards the Pont de l’Archevêché. On the island side of the lock bridge, there is a memorial to the deportation of the Jews from Paris and France during the second world war. This is really so worth a look, it is beautiful from an artistic view, and so poignant in its symbolism. This is a dark part of history for much of Europe, and a time shrouded in silence for many years in France. The opening hours can be a bit funny, as they have a steward who controls how many people can access the memorial at a time.

For lunch, try the excellent Cafe St. Regis. It may be a bit hammy, and there are probably more tourists than frenchies eating, but in terms of location and atmosphere, it makes for a really enjoyable meal. Try and get a table outside, and you can watch the antics of the buskers on the bridge opposite. I had a delicious burger, with onion jam and skinny fries recently. Mostly though, the wait staff are hilarious, and the decor is interesting and aesthetic.

 

If you still have room after the feed in Cafe St. Regis, the ice-cream for which the Île St. Louis is famous, is a must. Berthillion was founded by an eponymous french family in the 1950’s, and is made only with natural ingredients (no artificial colours or flavours, no stabilisers etc.) The sorbets are all delicious, any of them is worth a try. I’ve also liked the slightly savoury “Praline aux pignons” (pinenuts), and the white chocolate. My one tip would be that it is worth the extra 50c to have a cornet patissier rather than un cornet simple ordinaire. This means you get a nice crunchy wafer cone instead of a weird papery synthetic one. If you’re queuing for ice-cream, you might as well do it right, right? Best enjoyed on the banks of the Seine..

If you possibly are still around the area for dinner, we really enjoyed the restaurant directly beside Shakespeare and Co on Rue de la Bûcherie. The speciality is meat cooked on the open fire in the corner of the restaurant, and the meat is really lovely. Apart from that the food is rustic french, nothing wild, but yummy.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d719202-Reviews-Le_Petit_Chatelet-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

http://www.berthillon.fr/

http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/

http://www.cafesaintregisparis.com/

Broccoli and Hazelnut Pasta (plus dessert naturally..)

 “..suffice it to say that the existence of broccoli does not, in any way, affect the taste of chocolate.”

Bearing in mind that a large part of my readership ( almost everyone?) is my three sisters, I hardly need to explain the above quote. But how and ever, it is from John Green’s beautiful “The Fault in our Stars”. And though I totally agree with the sentiment, I have to say that I adore both broccoli AND  chocolate.

Here, I made a quick pasta dish with bits and bobs I picked up at Marché Monge (how I will miss this when I leave!). It is simply pasta, roasted chopped hazelnuts, barely cooked broccoli and roast chicken, with a garlicky herby butter. I include also a picture of a truly epic Feuilletine praliné that I got on the way home from school as a celebratory end of TDs (travaux dirigés/seminars) treat.

                                    

Broccoli and Hazelnut Pasta. 

-Handful of broccoli, broken into reasonable chunks.

– 75g Short Pasta (Shells, Fusilli, Torsades etc)

– 1 clove of garlic

– Chopped mint/basil/parsley (you could even use pesto in a pinch)

-Handful of hazelnuts, toasted.

– Knob of butter

-Leftover roast chicken (could leave out altogether, or substitute with smoked bacon)

Boil the pasta with a good pinch of salt. Crush the garlic, and add the butter to a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and the chopped herbs. Add the chicken (including skin for a better flavour).

When the Pasta is about 2 mins from being done, throw the broccoli in the pot on top of it, leave for literally 80-90 seconds and drain. Mix everything in the pan, add the toasted hazelnuts, and a decent grating of parmesan (I won’t judge!). Serve immediately..

And so after, I almost skipped the photography all things considered, but here are a few snaps before demolition occurred. The patisserie is on Rue Saint Jacques, and is run by a widely acclaimed patissier called Sébastien Degardin. It is basically a number of different textures of chocolate and nuts, a chocolate genoise sponge base, 3 layers of tempered dark chocolate, and 2 different kinds of chocolate mousse, with a crunchy coating of roasted nuts sandwiching each layer. It was at least 3 times as good as it looks!

                  http://www.sebastien-degardin.com/