Phyllis’ Blog

Food wasn’t high on our list of reasons for wanting to go to Ireland.

Instead, we love Irish plays and poetry. We and our daughters are U2 fans. The Irish Tenors and The Priests melt us. “Once” and “Hear My Song” are among our favorite movies. And we wanted to see the green for ourselves. We were looking for some old-world charm mixed with sea air and gritty spirit.

So when our anniversary was approaching this year, we saw we could clear two weeks and go. Merle bought a dozen or more books and figured out a schedule and route. Four days in Dublin, four days driving a half-circle south from there and across the lower part of the island and up the western coast, and then four days in Galway. A perfect pace for us; a perfect mix of city and country and seaside.

The trip also turned out to be full of gentle surprises about food:

1. We hadn’t known about Irish breakfasts. These are extraordinarily bountiful affairs. There are eggs however you want them fixed, accompanied by bacon (what we know as thinly sliced roasted ham), sausages, black pudding (a meat dish), baked beans, grilled tomatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. And in the hotels where we were eating, there are also cold buffets of cereal and heaping bowls of fresh fruit and platters of thinly sliced smoked salmon and cheese. I carefully watched the Irish eating at tables near us for any expressions of wonder and delight, but I didn’t see or hear any, so these sturdy meals must be pretty routine.

No pancakes or French toast or coffee cake or Danish — but always toast, scones, and brown bread.

2. In the end, I would have been happy with only the brown bread, the kind with a raised-up, bumply top crust that looks something like a modest city’s skyline.

This is about eating the bread, not making it. We were traveling free of a laptop, and I hadn’t yet bought any cookbooks, so I didn’t know what all went into these sturdy, compact crumbs. I saw little golden dots and many shades of brown, all holding together cooperatively. When I broke off a piece, I was left holding a square that looked like pound cake. But the flavor is mild, gently brown, kind, not really sweet. And it turns almost creamy when chewed.

The bread is glorious when toasted. I tried some butter on it, but that wasn’t a bit necessary. I spread a light coating of orange marmalade, but it insisted on taking over. I didn’t want anything to get in the way of that grainy flavor and texture. I could have kept eating that bread all day.

3. Thanks to the spirited owner of the great little café connected to the Granary Museum in Waterford, we learned about the world-renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School.

The Museum café caught our interest because we realized that locals far outnumbered the visitors who were eating there. When we started asking about the locals’ loyalty, we were eventually introduced to Peter who owns the place.

When he discovered our interests, he promptly sat down with us, despite the morning rush, and gave us a list of must-sees in Ireland’s cooking world. (We were consistently impressed by the generous hospitality and helpfulness we experienced wherever we were.) Soon we were on our way to the Cookery School, at home on a 100-acre farm, close to the sea.

4. The setting of the Ballymaloe Cookery School captures your heart first. The farm, the gardens, the topiary fruit trees, all underline the School’s commitment to cooking with fine and fresh ingredients.

We were hopelessly curious and started asking questions (again) of a young man busy around the School’s Shop. It turned out to be Toby Allen, who soon graciously walked us into the School’s kitchens, brought us into the back of a full classroom, where world-class chef (and his mom) Darina Allen was teaching, and then set us loose to wander the orchard and gardens.

There is inspiration on every side in this place. We almost stopped and enrolled then and there in their 3-month “Certificate Course.” But before our impulses got the better of us, we drove over to the Allen family’s nearby Ballymaloe House, acknowledged as one of the world’s great restaurants. We got there between meals, so we simply walked around — and added it to our list of Places to Which We Must Absolutely Return.

5. On your visit to Ireland, if at all possible, in addition to eating at the Ballymaloe House, be sure to go to the Hotel Meyrick in Galway and have Wild Berry Soup for breakfast. Strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries are crushed together into a pure delight, served cold.

Then stay for lunch and have a bowl of Smoked Haddock and Clam Chowder. It is a generously hearty combination, in which each ingredient is identifiably present. It’s served with that steady and satisfying brown bread, of course. Merle and I both ordered the Chowder. We loved it so much we each ordered it again on a second day.

And I’ve only mentioned a few of our trip’s best food moments. If you love great eating, don’t miss Ireland.