A tale of two halves - The Stables, Birr and The Oarsman, Carrick-on-Shannon
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Saturday October 25 2008
I've just finished filming the last couple of episodes of a new series of The Restaurant, which has just started again on RTE1. We film it in the glorious setting of the Wineport Lodge on the shores of Lough Ree, where we look over the Shannon's gentle flow and watch flighting swans swoop down to alight on the lake. The filming is done at night, so that leaves my days free to explore the midlands and the gastronomy it has to offer.
One day I headed south with Vivian Reynolds, Wineport's food and beverage manager. Our destination was Birr, where The Stables can be found. We found it easily enough in a road that runs directly opposite the private gates of Birr Castle. A terrace of early 19th-century houses lines one side of this road and a sign on the pavement pointed us through an archway to The Stables.
It opened up into a small and well-maintained courtyard with a couple of gurgling water features. At the far end of the courtyard is a craft shop, but if you turn right at the entrance instead of left, you find the dining area. It's a room where exposed brick and stonework predominate, an open fire blazes in the hearth, and sofas and armchairs surround low tables. Between the fireplace and the bar-cum-serving counter a large white fridge stood somewhat incongruously.
The room seemed like a parlour where you might take afternoon tea, since eating off a plate on a low table whilst sat in an armchair is rather better suited to tea-time than to lunch. There was a short menu to choose from, listing a lot of wraps and panini and a few hot dishes. We ordered a large bottle of mineral water and a potato and smoky bacon soup for Vivian and the pâté for me to start with.
With two waitresses serving, service was brisk and we soon had our starters in front of us. I took a taste of Vivian's soup and agreed with him; it tasted little of potato and still less of smoky bacon. It had a somewhat gloopy texture, possibly because it was thickened with cornflour, so most of it remained in the bowl. My pâté was rather better, well-flavoured and came with hot toast. Simple, but good.
For the next course Vivian picked the cold meat platter and I ordered the goat's cheese tart, only to discover it was unavailable. Reluctantly I chose the beef lasagna instead, which I knew was a high-risk choice. When they arrived Vivian had a platter of mixed sliced meats, some ham and what we thought might be turkey, and I had a square of lasagna with a side of salad. Vivian's dish was pretty simple and the meats, though certainly processed, were good enough.
My lasagna had a curious smell, not exactly unpleasant, but not a smell I'd associate with lasagna. In fact, what I had was closer to a cottage pie than any lasagna I've ever eaten; lots of mince interspersed with a few slices of starchy pasta. Eventually the smell got the better of me and I left most of it on the plate. Looking back, I think I can honestly say it was the worst lasagna I've ever been presented with.
I felt rather sorry for Vivian; I'd taken him on a lengthy drive and he'd ended up with a few slices of cold meats for his pains. We finished up with an apple tart and ice-cream between us, had an espresso each and paid a bill of €36.95 before heading back to Athlone for another coffee in the new and very pretty Olive Grove, which sits right on the banks of the Shannon.
My next outing was to the north, when John Healy and myself headed up to Carrick-on-Shannon. I've never been to Carrick before, but I was amazed at the amount of new building as we entered the town. And the amazement didn't stop there, as whole areas around the town centre are brand new as well.
We'd come for lunch in The Oarsman, a pub near the bridge that has made quite a reputation for itself for its food. Outside the front door there's a whole panoply of plaques, including pub of the year 2005 from Georgina Campbell and one of 100 best restaurants of the Bridgestone Guide.
Inside, there's a lot of dark wood, all highly polished. "Really clean," muttered John as he ran his fingers over a ledge looking for dust. We took a table near the back, where a small garden with specimen trees in tubs has been set up for smokers. There is a proper restaurant in the Oarsman, but we ate from the bar menu.
"You know what's not on this menu?" asked John as we read through them.
"No, what?"
"There's nothing that you'd find on usual bar food menus. No chicken wings, no breaded mushrooms, no deep-fried Brie."
He was right -- this was an interesting menu and it was clearly an idiosyncratic one. It may have been a bar menu, but it had been written by a real chef with good ideas and all the suppliers were listed. John started with a potato and leek soup and followed with a Parmigiana, layers of Mediterranean vegetables with a Parmesan sauce. I ordered the fish cakes to start and then the Gubbeen sausages.
Both of our starters were excellent, a well-made soup for John and unusually good fish cakes for me, which contained lots of different fish and shrimps as well. John's main course was very good, leaving him enthusing, and my sausages, made by Fingal Ferguson, were well-spiced and came with a a spring onion mash, onion rings and an onion gravy. My only thought here was that these sausages might have presented better if Fingal Ferguson had used a larger casing.
We finished with a shared banana plate, which included a banana and chocolate roulade, caramelised bananas, banana and cinnamon ice-cream and a toffee sauce. Really good and a snip at €6. Excellent service accompanied this lunch and our bill came to €50.50, which included a beer, mineral water and coffees.
The Stables Restaurant, 6 Oxmantown Mall, Birr, Co Offaly. Tel: 05791 20263
The Oarsman, Bridge Street, Carrick-on- Shannon, Co Leitrim. Tel: 071 962 1733
Read Paolo at www.tasteofireland.ie
email: paolo@independent.ie
- Paolo Tullio
