Hot Flavours: Our Tastes and Tipples of the Fortnight

Not content with bagging September’s World BBQ Championships, Limerick is hosting the International Food Truck Festival from June 1-5 in the People’s Park, which is handily located across the road from Colbert railway station. 60 food trucks from 14 countries will be dishing up everything from burritos, artisan Belgian chocolate and shark to noodles, lobster and edible insects.

Whilst we won’t be rushing to try them again, we quite enjoyed the spicy deep-fried locusts we sampled recently in Bangkok, but not the scorpions, which are veritably Satan’s good. There will also be a side order of live music and other family-friendly fun. limerick.ie/foodtruckfestival.

While we’re too long in the tooth to be turning cartwheels, Hot Flavours’ excitement levels went off the Richter Scale when we heard that Fade St. Social has a new menu requiring rigorous examination.

Part of Dylan McGrath’s holy triumvirate of D2 restaurants - the others being Brasserie Sixty6 and Rustic Stone - Fade St. Social subscribes to the Basque notion of food being shared by everyone who’s sat around the table. This can result in intercernine fighting over who gets the last slice of Magret Duck with Pickled Kumquats, Pain D’Epice, Scented Shallot Purée, Orange Dressing & Confit Duck Spring Roll but, hey, what’s a black eye or split-lip between friends?

With six of us deciding to start our Saturday night socialising there, we asked the maître d to pick a generous (bordering on the greedy!) array of tapas, small plates and what would elsewhere qualify as mains for us. First to arrive were the Prawn Tempura on Charred Crusty Bread with Pesto, Tomato, Herbs, Lemon Purée & Olives and the Floured Crispy Chiffon Squid with Light Lobster Mayonnaise & Tarragon, both of which are reminders of

Mr. McGrath’s Michelin star pedigree.

As nibblesome as they and the Mini Lobster Hotdog smothered in Melted Hazelnut Butter are, it was the Asian-accented Whole Soft Shell Crab in Sesame Spice Flour with Miso Mayonnaise & Lemongrass Dipping Sauce, which stole the fishy honours.

The aforementioned duck was served as it should always be – pink! – with a side of Green Beans rolled in Cep Dressing with Mushroom Powder, Lemon Zest & Chervil the perfect accompaniment. Another of the night’s carnivorous stars was the Pantanegra Iberico Pork with Fennel Powder, Quince Purée & Coriander, a bold fusion of flavours, which a week later is still dancing on our tongues.

Sadly, space restrictions mean that we can only namecheck the Wild Irish Mushroom with Celeriac & Cep Dressing; Pumpkin Macaroni with Spring Onion & Parmesan, and Truffle Pasta with Charred Asparagus & Parmesan, which all make impeccable use of native ingredients.

The Praline Doughnuts with Tonka Bean Cream & White Coffee Ice Cream and Two Textures Coconut with Black Olive Caramel, meanwhile, are the pick of an equally impressive desert menu.

Add in a beyond cheeky cocktail-list – ours is a Rhubarb Tart, thanks! – and a short, but extremely sharp wine-list and Fade St. Social is as good as casual dining gets in Ireland.

Finally, the second annual Spanish Wine Week runs from April 23-30 with Hot Flavours particularly liking the look of the opening day Hidden Gems Of Spanish Wine taking place in Galway’s Twelve Hotel. Fifty of your euros buys you a five-course tasting menu with paired libations.

TIPPLE OF THE FORTNIGHT

Wicklow Wolf 5.4% Brayvarian Dunkel

It’s true that we’ve never met a Wicklow Wolf beer we don’t like but, even by their exalted standards, this is a stunner.

Getting extra marks for its puntastic name – there’s a sub-editing job at HP Towers if you want it, lads – this German-style darker than black lager is made from an experimental O.C.C. (Orange, Chocolate, Coconut) hop, which does everything expected of it… and more!

With it being a limited-edition seasonal, we’d recommend sticking a few into the trolley.