Sláinte!
Sláinte!
Where to eat and drink in Dingle, "Ireland's No. 1 Foodie town" ...
We arrived last week in Dingle, Ireland, a tiny town on one of the country’s southwestern peninsulas. Ann has been coming here for nearly a decade to teach at a writer’s conference and this year is running the conference. I’ve joined her since 2016 and can’t get enough of the rolling, psychedelic-green landscape, the abundant wildflowers, the pubs, the pristine seafood, the Kerry County lamb.
I’m writing to share some of our favorite places here.
Our journey, by plane, train and bus, took 19 hours, and after so much malnourished time, we craved something simple but satisfying. Finding our favorite fish and chips restaurant, The Fish Box, closed, and not sure of our plan, I headed down Green Street to find Ann who was replacing her ten-year-old Dingle rain hat. But on my way, I spotted a sign and a truck.
Sandwiches, with a pint of Guinness from Dick Mack’s, I thought, this will be perfect.
The truck offered a classic grilled cheese, ham and cheese, a vegetarian special and a meat special. It also advertised a “Gubeen chorizo”—Gubeen is a (delicious) soft cow’s milk cheese made on the Gubeen farm in nearby County Cork which was new to us (you can find it at The Little Cheese Shop on this same street).
I bought a couple pints at Dick Mack’s and took them to a picnic table out back where Ann met me with a basic grilled cheese for her, and for me a grilled cheese with spring onion. The sandwiches hit all the marks: Perfectly brown, uniformly toasted sourdough, still hot, with exactly the right amount of savory Irish cheddar that you pulled away in long luscious strands of melty goodness.
I had never thought to add scallions to a grilled cheese but that’s what I got here and it was the perfect subtle addition to the sandwich, oniony but not overbearing, a lovely combination that I’m sure I’ll replicate at home.
Cais food truck—excellent!
About that Guinness …
The above pints of Guinness have rested properly. The half-pint of Guinness at the top has not rested enough—notice the haze of bubbles still slowly rising through the thick stout. I was actually scolded by the man next to me at Curran’s pub for even touching the glass before it had rested properly. True Guinness is about patience and anticipation. One must wait for those bubbles to ascend.
The reward is a silky smooth, almost sweet head, one of the great pleasures of Guinness here, as the savory bitter brew mixes with frothy sweetness on the palate. But what makes Guinness so wonderful here, and why is it so different from a Guinness drawn at an American bar? Why is the Guinness in America pallid compared with its Irish counterpart even though it has all come from the same brewery in Dublin?
The answer makes obvious sense. Beer is bread, as the saying goes, and as bread is fresh or not, so is Guinness. According to Slate, the beer is markedly different in Ireland because it is fresher; the kegs haven’t spent weeks in transport. That’s the fundamental difference. Guinness is like bread.
Also, the pubs here know at what temperature to serve the stout. Too cold and the flavor is muted. And because this is the main drink in town, the kegs are alway fresh.
The Dingle pubs and restaurants we love, and why …
Dingle is so small that most everything can be found on three streets, none much longer than a football field: Main Street (also called Goat Street), Green Street, and Strand Street. Strand Street, along the harbor, always feels a little touristy and crowded to me, but one very good fish restaurant, Out of the Blue, is here, and you can get good pub food at John Benny’s and Murphy’s pubs.
The pubs that sell no food, however, are the ones I love best, the pubs that double as hardware stores and belt making shops.
I have to start with my hands down favorite, Curran’s (no address, just Main St.; here’s its FB page). The pub exists pretty much now as it did 200 years ago when it opened.
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