This review originally ran in Green Man Review.
Any musician who has traveled and busked in strange cities has made use of the Lonely Planet travel guides if they are at all smart, as they are — along with the Rough Guides series — the best travel guides one could hope for. For some 30 years now, Lonely Planet has put out some of the best travel guides for traveling cheap — really cheap! — one could want, and now they’ve expanded their offerings to include a tasty series of travel guides that focus on food. World Food: Ireland, which is the guide that I’m reviewing here, is but one of many that they offer. The Lonely Planet Web site press kit for this series lists guides that cover the food of New Orleans, Japan, Indonesia, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. Ymmmm! Well, the first one they sent Green Man was the one covering Ireland, which is really nice as anything about Ireland tickles me fancy! And this one is a real corker.
Now you’d be thinking that all Irish cuisine consists of is cabbage, potatoes, and corned beef. Not to mention that ever-so-fatty breakfast known as a fry which, to say the least, can be overwhelming as it’s a combination of bacon, sausage, egg, tomatoes, mushrooms and black and white puddings. Sometimes oatmeal, cold cereal, fresh fruit and homemade toast, along with juice, coffee or tea, will be part of the repast. (Ciaran Carson’s Last Night’s Fun: In and Out of Time with Irish Music has a great chapter on the Irish fry, which should be read by anyone interested in Irish music and/or Irish food.) Lonely Planet says of World Food: Ireland that ‘[f]rom humble spuds to Galway oysters, this comprehensive guide explores and celebrates Ireland’s kitchens, cooks and convivial custom. With Ireland on the cusp of a culinary renaissance, there is no better time to sample its true flavors and gregarious drinking culture.’ G’Enough — The real question is, does any traveler need an entire guide devoted to just food?
Bloody hell, yes! It’s worth its price just for the complete Ms. Manners-style look at the culture of eating and drinking in that country. Gnaw on your bones to get the last of the meat off ‘em? Yes — except in fine dining establishments. Refuse another pint of Guinness? Not a good idea! Complain about smoking at the table next to you? Definitely not a bloody good idea!
(Editor’s note: four years after World Food: Ireland came out and was reviewed by us, Ireland officially went smoke–free in all pubs and other eating places.)
Martin Hughes, a native of Dublin with training as a journalist, clearly knows that Irish eating habits reflect a labouring class background that emphasize informality over more mannered eating habits — about what one would expect from a culture that, aside from the Anglo-Irish elites, has always been on the casual side. So a good fry, described in this book in loving detail, or a full feast complete with fresh salmon and new potatoes, also described here in detail, whether eaten in a restaurant or in a farmhouse will result in you making new friends.
The author spends a great deal of well-deserved verbiage on describing Irish consumables — potatoes, bread, seafood, beef, cheeses, vegetables, seaweed (!!!), soups and stews, and sweet things! And of course various Irish libations such as tea, whiskey, stout, poitin. (The latter is homebrewed ‘illegal’ whiskey — now legal under most conditions. Legal but damn deadly to ones sobriety! I still ‘member that headache…) Be it food or drink, Hughes’ book is a truly great guide to everything you’ll ingest in Ireland. Indeed, the chapter called ‘Drinks Tour of Ireland’ should be required reading for anyone planning to wander ’round that green country turning, errrr, green. Now, it’s not required that you drink your way through Ireland, but it sure as bleedin’ hell won’t hurt!
Various related material such as the role of Irish mothers and their home cooking, Christmas at home, various cities such as Dublin (naturally) and Leinster, and what you should know about them, public markets, types of eateries ranging from country guest houses to the most posh of restaurants, and even a guide to a full — and I do mean full — Irish banquet are discussed in detail.
If you’re going to Ireland, get this now. If you’re not going to Ireland — why the bleedin’ hell are you reading this review? Now I’m off to get a pint or two, possibly more, of Murphy’s stout.
(Lonely Planet, 2000)
