Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
What to Eat in Ireland
It's less a matter of
what
you eat in Ireland than of
how much
. Everywhere you go, someone
will be looking to load up your plate with something hot and filling. Ireland isn't exactly
renowned for its cuisine, but what it lacks in culinary variety it more than makes up for in
quality and heartiness. The specialty dish is
Irish stew
, an aromatic blend of potatoes, root
vegetables, seasoning, and a healthy dose of beef or lamb. You'll find that the Irish can make
almost anything with potatoes (and very rarely make anything
without
potatoes). They also
love to add
Guinness
to their cooking. Guinness pie, Guinness cake, Guinness stew - it's
hard to go wrong, honestly.
The Irish will also whip up global favorites like pasta, hamburgers, and sandwiches. And
they usually do an excellent job of it - if you're ever in Ballydavid and you find yourself in
a corner booth at T.P.'s Pub, make sure you get a bowl of his spaghetti with meat sauce. Tell
him I sent you.
It's well known that the Irish get more pleasure out of their beverages than their food. Here,
the Irish specialties fall into two categories: whiskey and beer.
Irish whiskey
has a clean,
understated flavor - similar to Scotch, though a little less earthy. The American whiskey
connoisseur, accustomed to bourbons and Tennessee sour mash whiskeys, may find it a little
odd at first, but there's a whole world of Irish whiskeys to explore, and those who make and
drink it are more than happy to make recommendations. (Beware, though! In whiskey as in
everything else, it's never a good idea to confuse Irish with Scottish).
Irish beer
has a far more global following than their whiskey. If you know nothing else
about Ireland's exports, you probably know about one thing: Guinness Stout. What you may
not realize is that you've probably never had it. The beer that Americans call “Guinness”
is actually brewed in Toronto, not Ireland, and it has a very different flavor from real Irish
Guinness! One tip: when you're served a Guinness, the barkeep will set it aside for several
minutes to let it settle and breathe. Like decanting a fine wine, this is considered an indis-
pensable part of the process of serving Guinness stout, and should not be skipped. Be pa-
tient!
