Tuesday, February 28, 2014.
Five Irish Courses.
I think I can wrap up my investigations of the Irish House with one substantial dinner there tonight. Last time I was here, some guys at the bar who recognized me raved about the fish and chips. I didn't see that on the menu then, nor today. Apparently a number of secret dishes lurk on menus you only see if you sit in the right spot. The bar, in the case of fish and chips. The waiter said he'd be happy to fetch that as my first course.
While waiting, a couple sitting a few tables away caught sight of me, and felt that they had to share their Irish stew. It was one of the specials tonight, and they were very pleased. Especially with the way it was made not with Irish potatoes, but sweet potatoes. Chunks of both lamb and beef were submerged in the generous, elemental, thick brown sauce, along with carrots, onions, and the yams. Very good. I had a fleeting thought that this needed some rice, but that was the Yat in me talking.
I don't think I'll ever understand the appeal of fish and chips. At least not the fish part. The classic is cod, a fish whose blandness probably explains its popularity. The preparation isn't to my liking, either. The thick, light coating--resembling Japanese tempura, another non-favorite--seems to have been designed to soak up the maximum amount of oil while containing the steam given off by the fish as it fries. So, greasy and soggy. (No wonder why in England they serve it in newspaper.) I've had this made by lot of chefs who knew what they were doing--Matt Murphy certainly understands fish and chips thoroughly--but it never works for me. The closest I ever came to liking it was in the British pub aboard the Queen Mary 2. But even there I only ordered fish and chips once.
I moved along to the soup of the day, lobster bisque--a departure from the standard recipes in that it contained a bit of tomato. Not too much, I was happy to see, and delicious. Like other soups I've had here, this was served in the size bowl more common in Vietnamese pho places than in a western-style establishment.
After that came a warm salad of romaine with a vinaigrette of tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and bacon. All this was surmounted with a a rectangle of panneed farmer cheese. This too was larger than I expected, and I was beginning to get stuffed.
But I ordered one more appetizer, the most intriguing of the meal. Meatloaf--yes, meatloaf, a dish whose homeliness has never warmed my cold, judgmental heart--came out on a piece of fried walnut bread, and topped with foie gras butter. Here it occurred to me that Matt Murphy has a gift for creating dishes that taste a lot better than they sound. This was really more like a hamburger, but the tastiness of the thing could not be denied.
"It comes from the Gonsoulin Ranch in north Louisiana," Matt told me. "It's all grass-fed beef. He's a great guy and I love his beef." Louisiana raises a lot of cow, but we don't eat it very often. Most of it goes into the lower streams of hamburger and into dairy production. If this is an example of the flavor, then it's very good indeed. Although I'm sure the foie gras butter contributed something. Making this dish unique and especially likable were the chunks of sauteed apple under everything else.
I'm four courses in and getting uncomfortable now. But I would have one more: a big lens-shaped disk of hard-baked meringue, surrounded by blue-, black- and strawberries and whipped cream. Light and very appealing.
A hoppy, appetite-enhancing Murphy's Irish Stout--taking a long time to be layered out of the tap--got me through all this. I think it may have had a bit more alcohol than a standard brew. It certainly loosened me up.
Irish House. Lee Circle Area: 1432 St Charles Ave. 504-595-6755.
It's over three years since a day was missed in the Dining Diary. To browse through all of the entries since 2008, go here.
