Thru Ron's Digital Lens

The other night for my birthday, Anne, Michael and the boys gave me a wonderful book titled: " The Irish Kitchen ". This is not only a great cook book of authentic Irish foods, but a wonderful narrative of how the Irish choose, catch or raise the food that they use in their traditional dishes. As I've been reading through this book, I've been thinking of the menu I will be putting together for a St. Patrick's day dinner. This has been a great present for me because of the appreciation we have for Irish cuisine and my general love of cooking. As I look through the book and think back to the food that we were served, mostly in the pubs, it is clear that the Irish have a love for simple, hardy, basic food that is well prepared using mostly natural or organic sources. Being an island country, the Irish diet is heavily influenced by the sea and the rivers that flow into the sea. Since I love to eat just about anything that swims or lives in the water, this is a diet th...

Gallagher's Seafood Restaurant Murphy's Ice Cream Shop John Benny's Pub Music Session Tommy O'Sullivan, Eilis Kennedy, John Benny Spending ten days in Ireland, the majority on the Dingle Peninsula, we have gathered some thoughts on the Irish dining experience. First, let us say that the pervasive impression that Irish food does not equate well with other culture's offerings just didn't hold true for us. We found that our dining experience was very enjoyable over all. Ron made it his personal quest to identify the best bowl of Seafood Chowder available on the Peninsula. After many tastings over the 10 days, his number one choice was the chowder at John Benny's Pub , followed very closely by the offering at Ash's Pub . Ann was up to her challenge of identifying the best slice of Irish Brown Bread . (Always served with soup and breakfast) Her favorite was served at a small pub in Ballyferriter. She claims her decision was based on their bread's swee...