Murphy's Ice Cream: From Ireland...with love.

A stroll through Temple Bar square caught my attention on Murphy's Ice Cream. Just in front of Bad Ass Cafe, the window on the corner boasted hand written listings of the current ice cream flavours: honeycomb, burnt caramel, Kilbeggan Irish whiskey, vanilla, rum raisin, dark chocolate, real mint leaf, Bailey's, sea salt, brown bread, and Kerry cream to name a few. BROWN BREAD ICE CREAM? Before I knew it, my wandering legs led me right into the little shop. I'm not one for indulging on ice cream in the middle of the day, but brown bread ice cream? How could I resist?! The cute scruffy guy behind the counter was more than happy to let me taste as many samples as I wanted and being as indecisive as I am, I asked if I could have two flavours in a cup (a typical request in Italy). Of course, he exclaimed, and then gave me samples of different combinations on the spoon to see how they would taste together. Burnt caramel and sea salt he suggested. Tasty combo of sweet and salty. I said I definitely want the brown bread. Ok, how about brown bread and sea salt? Sea salt from the Dingle Bay. I love Dingle. McCmbridge's brown bread which has been caramelized. I love Irish brown bread. Or why not try brown bread and Kilbeggan whiskey - award winning from the oldest whiskey distiller in the world from Co. Westmeath. Looking down at my handful of taster spoons, I thought I'd be full of ice cream before I even made a purchase! I couldn't be that person that only comes in for the free samples, but not a bad idea for next time I'm hungry and in the area...

According to the website they use "fresh, local milk from the endangered Kerry Cows. This indigenous species is renowned for its thick, creamy, and delicious milk but has fallen out of favour since its output in terms of volume doesn't match other breeds." It certainly was thick, creamy, and delicious. The sea salt was subtle. The whiskey flavoured ice cream was sweet and retained its authentic flavour. The brown bread bits in amongst the vanilla ice cream was crunchy and crumbly, not soggy - probably due to its crisp caramelization. 

Murhpy's is kinda like the Grom of ireland with seasonal flavours changing every so often and using locally sourced products when possible. A definite Dublin recommendation - even for those who wouldn't normally stop for an ice cream snack and especially for those who can't resist trying something new, tasty, and different. 

"Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the eye; That's all we shall know for truth Before we grow old and die. I lift the glass to my mouth, I look at you, and I sigh." W.B Yeats

a little miscommunication led me to being dropped off at the wrong Dusseldorf airport and ended up spending a speedy, yet expensive, 80 kilometer ride to the right airport in a futile attempt to just miss the flight anyways. luckily, i made some friends to keep me entertained overnight as they too were stuck in the airport awaiting an early morning flight to Copenhagen.

 a quick sleep on the Starbuck's couch later, i was on my way to dublin and soon to find myself in front of a steamy basket of Elephant & Castle's spicy chicken wings. oh, they are always glorious. it's the perfect place for brunch, lunch on your own, or dinner, but they don't take reservations and it's always busy. don't go to Dublin without getting wings at Elephant & Castle (the rest of the menu is tempting too). and FYI - the NYC sister restaurant does not have the wings. 

i love dublin. 

fallon & byrne is a fantastic store too full of unique and gourmet products. mesmerized by the cheese counter, i asked for some samples of irish cheeses and bought 3 different kinds: crozier - a creamy blue cheese from raw sheep's milk from tipperary, st tola - a soft organic goat cheese from co. clare, and i believe it was coolea - a gouda-like cow's milk cheese from co. cork. not only were they "local" irish cheeses, but the guy behind the counter knew the names of the farm and even the farmer's name who produced these cheeses. 

the funny thing about dublin is that i don't know if i would like it as much as i do if i were a tourist. architecturally it's not as beautiful as some cities i've been to. the typical rainy, mild weather seems to cast a dreary, grey spell over the city that i can understand would change a visitor's perspective. but, having been there so many times in my life, it is a comforting place to me - i love going back to the same places and walking along the familiar streets and even more so, i think the people are adorable. it's bustling, young, friendly, hip, and fun. good craic.

some dublin recommendations:

Elephant & Castle Wagamama's Fallon & Byrne Avoca Ely's BooksUpstairs Trinity College Mermaid Cafe Nude Brown Thomas Davy Byrne Copper Face Jack's Globe Sheridan's Cheesemonger Guinness Chapter One National Gallery Epicurean Food Hall Barnacle's Hostel Grafton Street Jameson St Stephen's Green Schuh The Westbury Winding Stair Temple Bar Bad Ass Cafe Ron Black's 

the busiest day of the year in colorno, to my photographic delight.

Colorno is a sleepy, quiet town. on tuesdays and fridays a multitude of stalls fill the piazza girabaldi selling fruits, vegetables, electronics, various home goods, cured meats and cheese, roasted chickens, pots of herbs and can i say awful? clothing. but only until noon. also, at any time of the day you can find people sitting on the steps by the wall of the piazza or having a social cigarette outside the tabaccheria. but it's still a quiet life here. however, on sunday, the whole town seemed alive, packed with so many people coming to see the flower exhibition in the gardens of the ducal palace. everywhere you looked you could see people walking around with their arms full of flowering plants.

with no garden and no green thumb, i wasn't expecting too much and not too thrilled to have to pay 7euro to enter the gardens we can go into every other day for free! but i figured, this must be the biggest event of the year in colorno, it must be worth it. but, dios mios, i had a ball. i think arina, her friend limor from sweden and i walked around for at least 4 hours.

the flowers were gorgeous and fragrant,

the garden decorations looked artistic not tacky,

we tested our honey-tasting knowledge on hundreds of samples,

we sampled and bought creamy DOP cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves,

we chatted with a chocolatier from near venice who invited us to come visit,

we ate and introduced limor to torta fritta, salumi mista e sparkling vino bianco in plastic cups underneath the trees that reminded me of munich biergartens, 

we made promises of planting and growing our own plants and vegetables on our balcony

we tried on floppy flowery hats, 

exotic spices and sprays & teas of herbs promised us cures for every disease and ache,

scented soaps sought to quench the aroma in the air where the fresh flowers couldn't, 

we lay in the grass and watched children run around - uncreepily- then seasonal allergies scratched my entire body and tickled the back of my throat and nose,

we fell in love again with antica corte pallavicino where we sampled salami and fontera sparkling red wine and promised to visit (via biciclettas nuovas) on sundays when it sounds like they have a farmers market and then compared our store bought eggs, garlic, and asparagus to the ones we bought there,

i'll take two please.

stalls sold antiques furniture, house goods, and vintage dresses and jewelry that looked like they were straight out of an anthropologie catalogue,

we bought foccaccia genovese to try because the sign said it was a slow food presidio - obviously we had to - meanwhile, a bride and groom were having their wedding pictures taken in the garden amongst the hundreds of people - i'm sure much to the photographer's despair,

if i wasn't on a student's budget i would've bought all the products to try and if my camera battery wasn't blinking on low, i could've taken a hundred more pictures.

Who Knew?

Yes, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. and don't even bother complaining - everyone you try to find some sympathy out of will think you're crazy. Class was a chocolate tasting. sounds great, right? The first hour and a half we learned about the historical background of chocolate, the process of making it and the reasons behind different outcomes, the

biggest consumers (switzerland, belgium...ireland was #6) the biggest producers of cocoa (ivory coast, ghana, then indonesia), and the different types of chocolates. then, out came the plate with the first round of samples. they ranged from crunchy and unrefined to smooth and buttery to commercialized to a rare and pure, to a raw roasted cocoa bean to a milky chocolate drink. my favorite was the Domori Chuao (one of the most mythical venezuelan cocoa, a nearly pure criollo, coastal region west of Caracas, - 70%). biting in that little sample immediately brought me back to memories of ireland. it was the strangest thing. but a very pleasant experience. then came round two. these were the mixed chocolates - candied rose (yum) marc de champagne cream (yyuck) a covered squash seed (tasted like halloween), candied ginger (bitter and sweet) and (luckily) four of them contained either hazelnut or praline so i wasn't able to eat them. STUFFED.

19 samples later....it's taken me a while to even be able to look at my pictures, or talk about this tasting. i think it will be a while before i eat chocolate again. note: it would probably be a good idea to coat your stomach with something hearty and/or savory before consuming so much sweetness.

next week: two full days of field trips to pig farms and then two days of morning cheese tastings and afternoon cured meat tastings. ruh-roh.