Valentine’s, Galentine’s or Palentine’s, this weekend is as good an excuse as any to embrace clichés. So eat, drink and be merry …
However you fancy spending Valentine’s weekend, here are my recommendations to fuel the creative fires. But if it’s all too much effort, a tub of good quality ice cream and one (or two) spoons is always a good idea, too!
Swerve the set menus and kick off with lunch (solo or otherwise) at Hawksmoor in College Green. Start with cocktails and oysters in the bar before enjoying the new St Pancras double cheese burger. Food coma initialised, head home for an evening with your favourite box set or movie. @hawksmoordublin
Alternatively, if twirling pasta on your fork (Lady & the Tramp style) appeals, book a table at Ristorante Rinuccini in Kilkenny for a classic Italian experience. If you don’t manage to snag a reservation, Rinuccini At Home has all your Dolce Vita bases covered. @ristoranterinuccini
Steak is always a top choice for a Valentine’s Day menu. While detractors will argue that it’s too heavy and will encourage couch naps rather than lingering looks across a table, that’s perfectly fine. Forced romance doesn’t work, steak dinners always do.
My suggestion? Pair an aged steak from F.X. Buckley Victualler & Grocer (or any good local butcher, including any from The English Market in Cork) with a classic Caesar salad (see Kitty Coles’ recipe here) instead of a truckload of carb-laden sides. Better still, lean in and pick up a copy of the F.X. Buckley Cookbook and recreate the steakhouse classics at home. Afterwards, relish a freezer cold martini while listening to an iconic soundtrack like The Godfather‘s, so you feel like the OG. @fxbuckley
If you want to up the ante, nothing screams romance like caviar and bubbles, so if scoops of briny pearls of umami are your jam, this one is for you. The Champagne and Caviar Hamper from Fallon & Byrne includes a bottle of Bollinger Special Cuvée, a rich, full-bodied Champagne with a pronounced yeasty aroma, along with a 30g tin of buttery Ars Italica Oscietra Royal Caviar with the unmistakeable saline notes you would expect. Perfect served on top of crunchy salted crisps spread with thick, sour cream! @fallonandbyrne
Fried chicken is a good idea at any time of year and Smashbird in Galway is your one-stop-shop for finger lickin’ good chicken. Smashbird took home two awards from the Irish Takeaway Awards recently, one of which was for the Best Chicken Burger, so you know it’s a safe bet!
The new Honey Trap burger features the hot honey element we have been waiting for. Let things get messy with the K Popping Burger with buttermilk fried chicken, Asian slaw, shredded lettuce and Korean Q sauce or, if you prefer to keep it clean, you can’t go wrong with a vegan brassica burger with a crunchy cabbage fritter, cheddar, shredded lettuce, chimichurri and vegan aioli. Share a Lucky Saint alcohol-free beer and gaze into each other’s eyes over Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. @smashbird_galway
Nothing says ‘I love you’ like preparing a meal from the heart, so whether it’s for family, friends or a love interest, this truffle pasta by Instagram culinary queen Meredith Hayden of Wishbone Kitchen will be sure to knock some socks off!
Okay, you might have difficulty sourcing white truffles, but if this recipe is out of reach she has lots more great options to choose from. Pour a Niepoort Nat Cool Drink Me White from Drinkstore, crank up any hit from The Cure and lose yourself in the moment. @wishbonekitchen @drinkstore.ie
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