Foodie’s Guide to Ireland: A Collection of Posts & Links

I have four blogs and three manage to include posts about food, which begs the question… Do I think about anything else? Um, no, not really. If someone asks me what color something is, I’ll likely answer with a food. Mention you’re visiting a certain country or city and I’ll literally be chomping at the bit to tell you my favorite dining spots there. It is rather comical how predictable I am when it comes to food but it is also somewhat handy because it drives my food photography, cooking, and travel adventures in a pleasant and delicious direction. So for those like me who start thinking about dinner as they are nibbling on the last bits of lunch, here is a list of my favorite food information, resources, and places in Ireland so you can plan your next trip.

All my 40 Shades of Life blog posts about Irish Cuisine & Restaurants

More 40 Shades of Life posts about Irish food: 

Eat Locally, Shop Locally in Cork City

Exotic Beers and Microbrews in Cork City

O’Conaill’s Chocolatier

Dublin Dining

Dining at An Canteen in Dingle

Good Food Ireland Cork Week Kick-off

Milk Delivery Services

Cork City Survival Kit

All my Cooking Peas & Qs blog posts about Irish Cuisine & Restaurants

More Cooking Peas & Qs posts about Irish food: 

An Evening of Food & Beer at Cornstore

Cork Food Forum 2011: Event Wrap-up

Kate’s Beetroot Fudge (Fenns Quay)

Make It An ELECTRIC Night Out

Market 57 in Westport, Co. Mayo

Jarred Cranberry Sauce Comparison

Celebrating ‘The Country Cooking of Ireland’

Good Food Ireland kicks off Cork Week

Eat Locally, Shop Locally

Luck O‘ The Irish

Delicious Blogs & Websites

• Good Food Ireland

• Food Fight

• Great Food

• Cheap Eats IE

• Munster Pubs

• Cork Food Blog (Billy, Co. Cork)

• Ballymaloe Cookery School (Darina, Co. Cork)

• Cooking Peas & Q’s (Evin, Cork City)

• 40 Shades of Life (Evin, Cork City)

• Bibliocook (Cork City)

• Good Mood Food Blog (Donal Skehan, Dublin)

• Beer Nut (Dublin)

• The Dublin Gobbler (Dublin)

• Boho Kitchen (Candi, Waterford)

• Val’s Kitchen (Val, Limerick)

• Limerick Post Food Section (Limerick)

• Irish Craft Brewer

• Beer Geek in Ireland

Restaurants & Local Culinary Creators

Fenns Quay Restaurant

Liberty Grill

Ballymaloe House

Greenes Restaurant

Market Lane

FarmGate Restaurant at The English Market

Crawford Gallery  Café

Ristorante Casanova

Café Paradiso

Orchids Restaurant at Hayfield Manor Hotel

Franciscan Well

Bierhaus Cork

Luigi Malones

•   Alternative Bread Company
•   Ardsallagh Goat Farm
•   Baldwin’s Ice Cream
•   Ballymaloe House
•   Ballyvolane House
•   Cafe Paradiso
•   Cronin’s Pub
•   Fishy Fishy
•   Glebe Café
•   Gubbeen Smokehouse
•   Hayfield Manor
•   Liberty Grill
•   Lorge Chocolatier
•   McCarthy’s Family Butchers
•   Nash 19
•   O’Brien Chop House
•   O’Flynn’s Gourmet Sausages
•   On the Pig’s Back
•   The Poachers Inn
•   Seymour’s of Cork

Hot Milkshakes?

I’ll admit that some aspects of Irish cuisine are not for me, but I tend to understand how it can be appealing to others. Hot milkshakes, on the other hand, perplex me. What’s the point of a hot milkshake? Isn’t it just like melted ice cream? Well, I’ll find out at some point now that Cork City is home to Hot Shakes, a new hot milkshake and hot chocolate shop on French Church Street.

Hot Shakes boasts that if you want it, they’ll shake it. The city centre shop offers over 150 options on their menu, which starts at just €1.25 and includes dairy-free options. Want to avoid guilt, you can even have them add protein or some other ‘fuel’ to your custom beverage. Their flavoring options range from chocolate and cake to biscuits and fruit. Toffee popcorn is even listed as something you can have in your drink.

It seems like a fun idea, but we’re wondering why they chose to open on French Church Street… right next-door to O’Conaill’s Chocolates. I can’t imagine opting to drink a Cadbury-based hot chocolate at Hot Shakes if I could have one of O’Conaill’s cool chocolate milkshakes or hot chocolates. Especially since O’Conaill’s has added new Sunday hours. But I’ll still give it a try because there is something so intriguing about a Battenburg Hot Milkshake.

Hot Shakes

16c French Church Street, Cork City, Ireland

Hotshakes@hotmail.co.uk

View of Hot Shakes on French Church Street, Cork City.

Hot Chocolate Sundays

While walking in city centre today, I saw a sign in the front window of O’Conaill’s that they now have SUNDAY HOURS! I am thrilled since in the past my friends and I have made plans on Saturdays solely so we could get hot chocolate at O’Conaill’s. But now, we can get together for lunch any day of the week and enjoy the local speciality for dessert. Mmmm.

Since I don’t want you to miss out on this place, here is all the information…

O’Conaill Chocolates

Monday though Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Sunday afternoons too!

+353 (0) 21 4373407

16 French Church Street (off Paul Street, near Tesco), Cork City - Get Directions

Conaill’s reviews on TripAdvisor’s Local Picks.

O'Conaill's Chocolates's storefront sign and menu. Don't miss this place if you love chocolate and are in Cork City

Hot Chocolate at O’Conaill Chocolates

O’Conaill Chocolates and Butler’s are the sweetest spots in Cork City. Personally, there is a special place in my heart for local and family businesses, so I took my visiting dad to O’Conaill’s for hot chocolate. Since I come by my appreciation for chocolate honestly, my dad was up for the gastronomic adventure (and since he helped give me life, the least I can do is give him chocolate). What I had been told was that O’Conaill’s was a perfect place to purchase chocolate gifts, such as chocolate candies or hot chocolate kits, and they have local designs, including a chocolate fish modeled after Goldie (the gold salmon who stands guard atop St. Ann’s Shandon Bell Tower).

We went mid-morning hoping to get breakfast, but discovered they do not have scones or bread items. We forgave this since they have plenty of chocolate (in all shapes and sizes) and ordered two regular milk chocolate hot chocolates because the hot beverage options were a bit overwhelming on an empty stomach. We then went to enjoy the cozy seating upstairs and after a few minutes one of the staff brought them to us. After photographing our beautifully and deliciously filled tall glass mugs for several minutes, we enjoyed our still hot delicious drinks. They are served with little chocolate chips (dark, white, and milk). Yummy! I am including a photo of mine.

I found the staff to be very nice. My dad asked if the chocolate itself was made on-site (I suspect he wanted to offer to lick their mixing bowl). The young women explained the chocolate is made in nearby Carrigaline (Co. Cork). We didn’t even get an eye roll when my dad asked to take a photo of the person who made the best hot chocolate he’d ever had. Now, keep in mind, this is coming from a man who has eaten Black Forest Cake IN a restaurant in the actual Black Forest! Just a little proud of him, can you tell?

This place reminded me of all the chilly December moments when I would be out and about (usually Christmas shopping) with my mom or dad and we’d decide to duck into a café to warm up with a mug of hot cocoa.

Since I don’t want you to miss out on this place, here is all the information…

O’Conaill Chocolates
Monday though Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
+353 (0) 21 4373407

16 French Church Street (off Paul Street, near Tesco), Cork City - Get Directions

Here is another helpful review (two actually), Conaill’s reviews on TripAdvisor’s Local Picks, and click here to read Some Say Cocoa Some Say Cacao’s review of their O’Conaill’s experience and see a photograph of the menu.

Milk Chocolate Hot Chocolate at O'Conaill Chocolate Shop