Wow, what a way to highlight the seafood available in Ireland. It is an island, after all.
Americans have a less than favorable perception of food from Northern and Eastern Europe. That includes Ireland, England, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Norway and every other nation in between. Greece, France, Spain and Italy are given much more love when it comes to highlighting their cuisine in the US, but is that a fair assumption for us to make.
During our recent trip to Iceland, Ireland and Northern Ireland (the UK, technically) we finally had the opportunity to more fairly judge the quality of their food. As a whole, it wasn’t anywhere near as flavorful as Chinese or Mexican food, but it wasn’t terribly bland and it certainly wasn’t lacking in freshness.
The truth is, Ireland is a country that is extremely proud of the quality of their meat and produce. Above all else, it seemed as if lamb, beef, seafood and dairy were their greatest gastronomical accomplishment. As we drove around the country, we saw a lot of what we called “happy cows” and the result was high quality beef and tremendous produce.
Still, getting back on track and referring to our opening statement, you couldn’t help but indulge in their seafood, especially as you drove around the coast. This was never more clear than when we visited Cronin’s Restaurant in Killarney, a beautiful little town that sits at the northeast corner of Killarney National Park, which is more or less the gateway to the beyond magnificent Ring of Kerry.
In close proximity to the southwest corner of the island, Killarney has access to some towns that give off more of an old-school port feeling than we’ve ever felt before. These towns include Kenmare, Dingle, Portmagee and Ballinskellig. Cronin’s chooses to highlight local foods, and that is what this meal one of, if not the best, that we had during our entire trip. We’ll let you look at the pictures, but we have to point out a few outstanding dishes.
The smoked salmon below was caught out of Kenmare. It was beyond fresh, with such a beautiful texture. They did nothing to it; it wasn’t necessary. I could’ve eaten so many plates of that. The shrimp were from the Skelligs. They were so well-cooked and served in a sauce that probably had a ton of calories, but also was perfectly balanced in acid and richness. Finally, the bacon that was served in the caesar salad was the best I had all trip. For the record, I had a lot of bacon this trip because it is served with nearly every breakfast. It was so smoky, absolutely flawless.
Cronin’s also makes their own cider, which is crisp and refreshing, while not being too sweet. The service was a bit cold and the crowd was a bit old, but the food was tremendous. One of our first international restaurant reviews; perhaps we’ll really turn this into a travel blog of some sort at some point in time, but we’re always going to make sure that you stay hungry and fit!
