What We're Reading, Eating & Watching | June 2023
A delicious digest of satisfying suggestions...
Hey friends, another edition of our free monthly digest kicking off each month shining a light on some of the best things we’ve eaten, cooked, listened to, watched/streamed or read recently that we hope will inspire you. No two monthly mailers the same, we keep each one fresh and distinct like a big ‘ol round of raw milk cheese.
Think of this as a ‘highlights reel’ of what we might ordinarily share on social media, jam packed full of suggestions and recommendations to keep you in the loop, and no two digests the same!
Eating: Introducing Dublin Delish!
For those who may not know, for the last six months Russell has been a part of the team at Bauer Media Ireland, primarily on the team at Today FM however that hasn’t stopped him from sneaking on the airwaves on the likes of youth station Spin 1038 and Dublin’s best, 98FM! For the latter, he’s been appearing in a new weekly slot every Tuesday mid-morning on the Suzanne Kane and Brian Dowling show! At 10:30am every Tuesday he’s live in studio dishing on another delicious Dublin haunt, what it’s all about and what are the must-order dishes.
Handily, once he pops off air the content is packaged up into a nice handy reel so you can bookmark it on Instagram or TikTok. Three months-worth so far, here’s the rundown (click any of the below to watch on IG):
Daddy’s Cafe, Rialto
Dosa Dosa, Grand Canal
Asia Market, Drury St
Rita’s Pizza, Ranelagh
Tang, Cumberland Place, Fenian Street + other locations
Benjamin’s Hot Chicken, Irishtown
Yeeros, Glasnevin + Wexford St
The Rock Bakery, Skerries
Reyna, Dame Street
Chimac, Terenure + Aungier St
Dash Burger, Capel Street + Kevin Street
Fable Bakery, Dawson Street
Eating (elsewhere!)
We’ve had two visits from different friends from abroad on separate weekends in May, so we took them to a couple of great spots like newly-opened Fidelity in Dublin after a rake of oysters and Tuffeau at The Seafood Cafe in Temple Bar; and since we’re so close to the North we went to Finegan & Son in Newry and Neighbourhood and Waterman in Belfast. We also had to go back to a local forever favourite, Square in Dundalk.
In our Sunday Times Ireland restaurant review column, May was all about value –– with each of our reviews sitting around €100 or less for two. Three of the four were in Dublin whilst we also went to Donegal to check out Fisk in Downings for its signature fish tacos and more. In the capital ‘twas the baklava that tempted us in but we savour the queen of kebabs at Reyna on Dame Street, check out Hen’s Teeth for its modern approach to the Sunday roast and drop into newly-opened French bistrot Flâneur and find it supremely wallet-friendly but a half-baked concept, compared to its sibling Sprezzatura.
Across these four we spotlight 12 *other* places, too, like Shouk and Chez Max in Dublin; The Fish Box, Izz Cafe and Mezze in Munster; and from Julia’s Lobster Truck in Clare to The Green Barn in Kildare. We’re loving being so many peoples’ go-to for restaurant recommendations. We’ve mapped it all out for our paid subscribers, too 👀
Outside of Ireland, naturally May was spent in Liverpool at Eurovision and we returned to old faves like Ropes & Twines, Bold Street Coffee and Maray (for their frankly STUNNING Middle Eastern take on a roast dinner) as well as checking out new restaurants to us like Manifest, Mowgli and Duke Street Market. We tipped in to Hawksmoor in the city just days ahead of road-testing their brand new Dublin branch, too. Keep an eye out for one of these winging its way to paid subscribers as an international restaurant review soon!
Reading
Patrick had the honour earlier this year of being asked to contribute to one of our favourite publications ever: National Geographic Traveller Food. He headed over to Connemara to document seaweed’s position in the past and present of Irish cuisine, from Michelin-starred restaurants all the way down to home kitchens. The full piece (alongside Mel Mullan’s stunning photography) is in the current issue, on newsstands now. He spoke to chefs like Martin O’Donnell of Blackrock Cottage, Jess Murphy of Kai, Diarmuid O’Mathúna of Pota and JP McMahon of Aniar, visited producers like Mungo Murphy Seaweed, met with Margaret Leahy of Irish Artisan Food Tours and Kim Young of Misunderstood Heron whilst also mentioned some other iconic West of Ireland flavours and producers.
It’s a really gorgeous piece, and well worth picking up a copy. It feels like Ireland is rarely featured in these types of glossy magazines for its cuisine or culinary standing. So often it’s about Ireland’s landscape, history, heritage or natural beauty, so for what is a rare opportunity to cover a culinary angle on Ireland on the international stage it was a joy and privilege for Patrick to undertake and craft.
As ever, a little “Thanks!”
We always like to end these monthly mailers full of our top recommendations with a little thanks. Thank you for your support of Chip Paper, whether you’re a premium subscriber or just enjoying the free emails and snippets here and there –– we appreciate you!
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