Restaurants Archives - Page 17 of 27

Restaurants

Panna cotta Christmas style

Posted on December 19, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat

As I mentioned in the last post, Broussard's served a dynamite version of panna cotta tweaked for the holiday season. Not only was it an intense pink and redolent of peppermint, it also had a luscious chocolate topping. While my homemade attempt doesn't indulge in some stray raspberries as a garnish, it does boast that winning combination of peppermint and chocolate. Many restaurant chefs offer panna cotta as a dessert option because making it doesn't require a pastry chef's skill set. In fact, it is about as easy as making Jell-O. Still, it's rich and satisfying and can be made to look fabulous. This recipe is a simple adaptation of the restaurant classic, but scaled down to dinner-party volume. To make it even easier, the...Read More

Eat, drink, and be merry in New Orleans at the holidays

Posted on December 16, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat

As a New Englander, I always secretly pitied people who had to celebrate Christmas in a warm climate. But after one day in New Orleans, I realized the error of my ways. Even in December, potted trees and ferns flourish on wrought iron balconies and poinsettias and camellias bloom profusely. All it takes are a few red bows and some twinkling white lights to deck the city for the holidays. With decorating out of the way, New Orleanians can spend more time at the table. Great food is a city birthright and I can't think of another place where you can eat better—or at a more reasonable price—than New Orleans at Christmas. Until the Civil War, Creole families enjoyed lavish feasts after Mass on Christmas...Read More

Pub crawl reveals Cathedral Quarter riches

Posted on December 11, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat and David

After falling on hard times, Belfast's Cathedral Quarter has been enjoying boom years of late. The district is named for St. Anne's, a grand structure of the Church of Ireland though not technically a cathedral since it is not a bishop's seat. The church anchors the 18th century warehouse district north of the city center. The “cathedral” was erected 1899-1903 as an expression of Belfast's industrial wealth and power at the cusp of the 19th and 20th centuries. These days the Cathedral Quarter is an area more for fun than the backbreaking labor of teamsters and longshoremen. Its atmospheric warren of narrow streets, alleys, cul-de-sacs, and byways is studded with small shops and pubs. Ancient city walls are splashed with colorful murals (like the Dali-esque...Read More

Made in Belfast’s pork belly dish delivers pig ecstasy

Posted on December 10, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat and David

We dream of returning to restaurants around the globe just for one dish. Made in Belfast is one of those restaurants, and the dish (above) is the “crispy outdoor bred pork belly.” It's on the menu in every season. Only the accompaniments change. In early November, the pork belly came on a bed of mashed potato and roasted squash with two kinds of croquettes. One contained black pudding (blood sausage) and apple. The other had roasted pulled pork. Pieces of broccoli and cauliflower nestled beside the meat, while a cabbage-carrot slaw in creamy sauce puddled on one edge. The garlicky pork jus pulled all the flavors together. This was a brilliant 21st century adaptation of traditional Irish fare. The veggies were fresh and bright. The...Read More

Hadskis hits sweet spot of great casual bistro fare

Posted on December 6, 2016December 1, 2016 by Pat and David

Chef and restaurateur Niall McKenna bet on Belfast's revival and won. After opening the posh James Street South in 2003, he got hammered with the economic downturn of 2008. So he transformed the upscale dining venue into a great-value steakhouse, The Bar and Grill. As Belfast began to climb out of the economic doldrums, he followed up in October 2014 with Hadskis (33 Donegall St., 28 9032 5444, hadskis.co.uk) in the suddenly desirable Cathedral Quarter. Once again, he hit the sweet spot of serving the kind of food people want to eat at a price they're happy to pay. You might have to do a little looking to find Hadskis. It's off Donegall Street in Commercial Court, one of those alleyway cul-de-sacs in the Cathedral...Read More

Enjoy a millionaire’s tea at a pauper’s price

Posted on December 4, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat and David

Aptly named Good Food & Wine is a gourmet treat shop and casual cafe that serves afternoon tea all day long. It's tucked into the Queen's Arcade shopping center between Fountain Street and Donegall Place, Not only is it steps from Belfast City Hall and the Linen Hall Library, it's also handy to the central shopping district. Mind you, afternoon tea here is not the lifted pinkie, fine porcelain, hushed ambiance formal tea. For that experience, visit the nearby Merchant Hotel (16 Skipper St., 28 9023 4888, themerchanthotel.com), the poshest address in the city. But at £7.50 per person, it's hard to beat Good Food & Wine for a tiered tray of finger sandwiches and sweet treats and a pot of brewed looseleaf Belfast Blend....Read More

John Long’s serves apotheosis of fish and chips

Posted on November 28, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat and David

Owner John Copeland is fond of calling John Long's Fish & Chips (39 Athol Street, 028 9032 1848, www.johnlongs.com) one of the “seven wonders of Belfast.” That puts his modest eatery right up there with Titanic Belfast (which relates the tale of the doomed ship built in the local shipyards) and the Crown Liquor Saloon (the 1820s bar known for its ornate decoration). But Copeland is onto something. John Long's is a Belfast institution. Founded in 1914 by its namesake to serve fish and chips to the workers in the city's thriving linen mills, it's the city's longest established fish and chips shop. Located five blocks due west from City Hall, John Long's is a little off the beaten path. But we knew we had...Read More

Belfast’s OX treats Irish food with hugs and kisses

Posted on November 24, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat and David

We weren't surprised to eat foie gras and truffles at OX in Belfast, which won its first Michelin star last spring after opening in March 2013. (It's one of two starred restaurants in Belfast.) Restaurateurs believe that foie gras and truffles must appear on a menu before Michelin will award even one star. No doubt there are exceptions, but we haven't encountered them. What was a delightful surprise was that such highfalutin ingredients were the exception rather than the rule at OX (1 Oxford Street, 28 9031 4121, oxbelfast.com). The truly defining moments in the spectacular autumn tasting menu were those dishes where humble, local ingredients sang. OX aims to serve brilliantly conceived, highly seasonal food. The price is low for fine dining (£50 for...Read More

Belfast holidays close out Year of Food and Drink

Posted on November 19, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat and David

With no Thanksgiving to break up the autumn, folks in Northern Ireland start looking ahead to Christmas as soon as Halloween is over. That doesn't mean that Belfast lacks for reasons to give thanks. With all its occasional rough spots, Northern Ireland has enjoyed nearly a generation of peace since the Good Friday Peace Accord of 1998. The Peace Wall (below) has become a huge tourist attraction. Belfast has blossomed as a cosmopolitan, sophisticated city proud of its Irish roots. Nowhere is the renaissance more obvious than on the gastronomic front. Ireland north and south spent 2016 celebrating the island's great provender, amazing farmers, and legendary fishermen during the Year of Food and Drink. Belfast's chefs have broadly embraced that renewed local pride, and menus...Read More

Bravura Navarra wine hits all the high notes

Posted on November 17, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat and David

Spain's D.O. Navarra wine district nestles just east of La Rioja like two lovers spooning in bed. With much the same soils, the same Río Ebro influence, and a millennium-long winemaking tradition, Navarra has everything to make great wines. It even has some of the oldest plots of the Garnacha grape in northern Spain. Eleven Navarra producers came through Boston last night showcasing one wine each at the terrific Spanish restaurant Taberna de Haro (999 South Beacon St., Brookline, 617-277-8272, tabernaboston.com). Chef Deborah Hansen's crew passed tapas as we tasted. Among them were the stunning deconstructed version of her salt cod saffron meatballs, albóndigas de bacalao, shown above. We tasted blends mostly dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. A few were jazzed up with Syrah,...Read More