Lunch in Cork's English Market
The English Market in Cork, Ireland's second city, is its main food
It may come as a surprise to learn that in Cork, Ireland’s second city, the principal food market is The English Market, located at the top of Patrick Street, the city’s principal shopping street. Inside the covered market is a wide variety of stalls selling meat; fresh and smoked fish; bacon, black and white puddings; tripe and drisheen. There are a couple of wonderful stalls stocking Irish soda and brown bread, as well as the best cheese market in County Cork (according to my sister, who lives there). These sit comfortably alongside sophisticated displays of olive oils, adjacent to the fresh vegetables and of course the pride of Irish cooking, the potato.
Whenever I am in Cork, I try to have lunch at the English Market. On the balcony, overlooking part of the market, near the entrance from Grand Parade, is the Farmgate Cafe and Restaurant. The café has seats on one side of the balcony, where you queue to place your order; on the other side, is an enclosed restaurant, with waiter service, where you should either arrive early or book.
When I was last there, the specials for the day on the blackboard included corned mutton, with parsley sauce; roast loin of bacon; roast cod; spinach and smoked cheddar tart. Most dishes cost between 8 and 12 euros, (about £5-8/US$10-15). The set menu listed chowder, rock oysters, and goat’s cheese salad for starters. For the main course, choices included chicken salad; Caesar salad; Irish stew; tripe with an optional extra of drisheen, a version of black pudding unique to Cork. (Tripe is a traditional dish of Cork, a distinction shared by two other second cities, Lyon in France and Oporto in Portugal.) All main courses, apart from the salads, came with side dishes of mashed buttery swede and a mound of fluffy mashed potatoes.
The desserts included profiteroles with chocolate sauce, ice cream, and a tart, with the slightly sharp apples favoured in Irish apple tart. It is delicious eaten hot with a dollop of chilled, fresh whipped cream.
I had chowder, followed by corned mutton, and the apple tart, and finished off with an espresso. My bill for this magnificent lunch came to 20 euros (£13/US$26). Full, happy and contented, I didn’t mind the gales and rain as I waited for a taxi to take me to Cork Airport.
Kay Harte, Farmgate Cafe & Restaurant, The English Market, Cork, Ireland (tel: +00353 (0)21 4278134)
Prices are given in euros and are correct at the time of writing. To check the current exchange rate click here.
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