What We're Reading, Eating & Watching | June 29th
A delicious digest of satisfying suggestions
Hey friends,
It’s been a bumper summer already (though you wouldn’t think it’s summer looking out the window, right?) and we’re just getting started. Having returned from our third (!) trip to Italy in six months - this time, a wonderful wedding in Tuscany and a quick whip ‘round Rome - we’re now on home soil for the foreseeable few weeks so perfect time to check in and tell you what’s new, what we’ve been reading, eating, drinking, watching and listening to… As ever, thanks for your support.
Eating…
Still cooking from the little cookbook that could, our own penned ode to the delicious dark art of deep frying we call Hot Fat (available in most independents across Ireland, or to order HERE direct from us + all our merch bits!) like our sesame-adorned prawn toast, raspberry jam-filled fresh doughnuts (which we brought to Beyond The Pale for tasters) and we’ve been delving into trial and error for a fully vegan version of our spice bag. Sit tight for that one –– you may just get your eyes on it first 😉
We returned to Square in Dundalk at the weekend, continuously reminding us why this is one of our favourites with every single thing we ate from chef Conor Halpenny’s kitchen –– the Padron peppers in fermented sriracha a stand-out, so too the tenderstem in Caesar sauce, the smoked trout starter and both the lamb and aged steak mains. We had to forgo dessert because we over-ordered, plus ça change. Their succinct little wine list sparks joy (always order Tuffeau if it’s on a menu and suitably chilled!), as does the service in the unflappably capable hands of Áine Stanley. It’s a wonder this place hasn’t got a Michelin Bib Gourmand, but nevertheless we’re so lucky to have it in our area. Read more about Square in Dundalk on our site.
Where else? We headed to Brother Hubbard’s new outpost in Ranelagh for brunch last weekend after appearing on RTÉ Radio One’s Brendan O’Connor Show. A gorgeously-designed cafe and restaurant with high ceilings, open kitchen, stunning coffee counter and it was mega busy.
Watching…
As many of you will know we’re MasterChef Australia obsessives (the below post, our first long-read on Chip Paper three months ago, delves into this a little more; as does this post on our website all about how we spent lockdown binging MasterChef and it was such a joyous and educational use of our time) and we’re delighting in the current season, which is now nearing the very pointy end of the competition and hurtling towards Finals Week.
We’ve been streaming through Reddit links and have caught up to the current episodes, watching same-day that they broadcast in Australia. We love that the series has just won the Most Popular Reality Program at the annual Logie Awards, too, testament to its freshness and popularity –– even on its 14th season. If you’re into competitive cookery reality formats, it really is the cream of the crop and a joy when each new season arrives. If starting from scratch, we’d suggest Season 13 (last year’s) as it was a crop of all-new contestants mixed with the shaken-up judging panel, then we’d suggest going to this year’s offering… by which time you’ll then invariably continue deep-diving into the past seasons. If you’re all caught up on it, we recommend listening to Undercooked Overseasoned, by two former contestants, Dani Venn and Conor Curran.
& Listening…
We’ve had a lot of time to travel over the last few months and with that comes the need to pop your devices on Airplane Mode and zone out whilst watching or listening to something. We often take this time to catch up on podcasts, and this edition of this monthly mailing is going to go hard and heavy on the podcast love as we have lots to recommend
Catch-Up with Louise McSharry A triumphant return to the airwaves since leaving RTÉ last year, Louise has perfectly packaged up all the elements that made her former show on the national youth station work and turned it into her own, owned podcast. Not least because we were regular contributors to the show and we’ve such love and admiration for Louise, but it’s genuinely a highlight of each week to tune in –– and the name says it all, the Catch-Up is catching you up on that week’s news, musings and goings-on with considered interviews alongside pop culture and current affairs slots. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
The Food Chain A relative new one for us but super informative long-running podcast from the BBC World Service, and covers lots of different topics in and around the food industry, nutrition, diet, lifestyle and health in snappy yet in-depth 30 minute episodes. We listened to one on male body image and the cost of “getting ripped” which was eye-opening. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
Borderline Salty We just cannot quit these damn former Bon Appetit personalities, and we don’t want to either. Bon App controversies and figures within those controversies aside, that Test Kitchen was a ‘moment’ and we loved poring over their techniques, skills, reinventions and quirky food exploits. Two of its former staff have kept so much in touch they’ve delved into a podcast together. Borderline Salty is a Seventies-stylised ‘phone in’ show with viewer queries, mining the knowledge of the expert hosts, Carla Lalli Music and Rick Martinez over a 30-minute stint. They sometimes have special guests and they have different witty short features, like ‘What’s Good?’, a slot on kitchen disasters, ‘Rad or Fad’ rating food trends and ‘No, Thank You, Please’ on food which just stumps them. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
Comfort Eating with Grace Dent There’s been three seasons of the popular The Guardian-produced podcast so far and it’s a wonder that Grace hasn’t turned Irish herself yet as several Irish personalities have appeared, from Marian Keyes, Laura Whitmore and Aisling Bea to Derry Girls stars Siobhán McSweeney and Saoirse Monica-Jackson. In each 45-minute episode, the guest recounts their food beginnings and memories, careers and how food has shaped them in life, whilst lifting the lid and literally sharing their ‘comfort food pleasures’ with Grace (and figuratively to the listenership) because - as Grace purrs in the introduction each week - '“you can tell a lot about a person from what they eat behind closed doors..” Listen on Apple or Spotify.
Finally…
If you’re a creator, or work in the content marketing sphere in any form, whether part of your day job, your side hustle or just your hobby, you’ll know that performance is important. So, are your Instagram posts flopping, too? We really enjoy Mallika Basu’s writing on More Than Curry, her own Substack which offers both paid and free subscription elements for different content (we’re greedy and bought the annual subscription so we can access all the content elements) and a recent post - linked below - definitely struck a chord with us and we found ourselves nodding in agreement throughout most of it. We find ourselves in a similar position where we’re continuously frustrated that the content we work tirelessly on is not appearing in peoples’ feeds or the algorithm punishes us for paid work by limiting the audience unless we boost it monetarily. Definitely recommend a read.
Did you miss any of our latest articles? Here are two of the most recent –– one, a review, of Beach House in Tramore where bitter is a wonderful back note across the menu..
and, the other, our long-read on train dining (to supplement what was posted previous, on plane dining) –– from heritage and history to present-day disappointment. All aboard…