Organic Restaurant Review - The Strawberry Tree

When I imagine an organic restaurant I always have a certain picture in my head of a place decked out in wood, with large, no nonsense wooden tables and hearty but unglamorous food.

The Strawberry Tree based in the Brooke Lodge Hotel, McCreddin Village, Co. Wicklow is the antithesis of this. The restaurant is the first certified organic restaurant in Ireland and it is one that I have wanted to visit for a very long time. I had been given varying reviews from friends and acquaintances and was keen to see how it would live up to my expectations.

Arriving at the door I was surprised to find the low lit interior was more akin to an old country house than the barn I was expecting. The floor was carpeted and the walls were decorated with flock wallpaper which always brings back fond memories my granny's house. The tables were elegant and well worn as were the chairs.

The menu proudly listed all of the restaurants suppliers which is something I always like to see.

There were two vegetarian starters on the menu which can throw me into a bit of a panic. I am so used to only having to glance at the menu to see what the veggie option is that choice often confuses me. In the end I plumped for the warm buffalo mozzarella salad which was nice, not terribly exciting but the ingredients were fresh and tasty. My companion had the scallops, it was the first time she had ever tasted them and although she wasn't sold on them, we will never know if this was because she doesn't like scallops or because the ones on offer weren't that good. 

For the main course I had the butternut squash risotto. I've been making a lot of my own risotto recently and I like to have it in restaurants to see if mine is up to scratch. My companion had the Duck. We both really enjoyed the main course which was served with seasonal vegetables including to my delight lots of beetroot which has recently become one of my favorite vegetables. The roasted sweet potatoes which came as a side were absolutely divine. The risotto was reassuringly slightly better than mine which led me to spend the week after our visit perfecting my dish.

Somehow we managed to find enough room for pudding. We went for the chocolate based desert which was beautifully dark and rich.

I enjoyed the experience of being in the Strawberry Tree. I found it refreshing to be in such eloquent surroundings and was only disappointed that due to having to drive there I was unable to sample the wine list. Maybe next time I'll treat myself to an overnight stay.

Travels in New York Part 1: Gusto Organic Restaurant

If I was to open an organic restaurant I would like it to be like Gusto on 6th avenue and 14th. I had been nagging my traveling companion for virtually the whole week to go to this place and it wasn't until the last day that he finally agreed to set foot inside. Part of the reason my companion had been unexcited at the prospect of joining me for a meal here was that I was under the impression that it was a salad bar.

As we were guided to our reclaimed wood table that sadly wobbled quite severely until we stuffed a napkin under one of the legs, it became apparent to our delight that there was more than salad on the menu. We were handed both the brunch and lunch menus and found that alongside the healthy salads there were steak and eggs, grilled pizza, sandwiches, soup and omlettes. I went for the grilled vegetable piadinas mostly because I hadn't got a clue what an pianina was and I like surprises, the description did mention flour tortilla which led me to imagine it would be reasonably healthy.

My companion ordered the steak and eggs. As we waited for our food and made our way through the still warm freshly baked bread that had landed on our table, I studied our recycled paper place mats that listed the restaurants green credentials including it's two organic Certifications: USDA and NOFA and it's green Green Restaurants Association certification.
One of the things I really love about the restaurants in New York was that in the very humid 35 degree heat a tall glass of iced water would arrive at your table as soon as you sat down. Strangely this didn't happen at Gusto and I found myself having to order it along with my other drink of choice lemonade. The lemonade was great, really refreshing but I soon regretted my choice when my companions 'Suave', a peach based blended fruit juice, arrived. I stole a sip when he wasn't looking and it was so divine I ordered one for myself immediately.

When the food arrived I discovered that a Piadina was what a flat kind of toasted tortilla filled with vegetables and cheese. It tasted really good but there was a little too much cheese and not enough veg for my personal taste, the salad was fantastic, a tasty mix of leaves drizzled in a balsmic dressing. My companions steak and eggs looked great. The eggs were the first orange yoked eggs I had seen for my entire trip. You soon get very used to seeing the pale yellow eggs served with every breakfast on offer here. These eggs were the real deal and I was assured by my usually critical companion that both the eggs and steak were as good as they looked. Not only were they really well cooked and full of flavour but the meat itself was melt in the mouth tender.

The most refreshing thing was that the portion sizes were not overwhelming, for the first time since we had arrived in NYC I still had enough room for desert. I was tempted by the handmade Dulce de Leche ice cream. Sadly when I ordered I discovered that they had temporarily sold out. The new batch would be ready in two hours but as my flight out was pending I had to opt for the vanilla ice cream instead. Although I was dissapointed there was something reassuring about knowing that the ice cream was freezing away on premesis as I ate. The vanilla ice cream was sensational, really creamy, really vanillaly (if there is such a word) and really rich.

All in all I really enjoyed Gusto and if I had been staying in New York any longer I'm sure I would become a frequent customer. It seems that they are planning to expand and open in other cities across the states so watch out for a Gusto the next time you take a trip across the pond.

Green washed at the Farm?

I am part of an informal dinner club with two friends. Once a month we splash out and try a new restaurant. It's a great way for us to stay in touch since I have moved away from the city. As we are all food lovers we enjoy indulging ourselves. Sometimes we even have four deserts between the three of us!

In December we decided to visit The Farm on Dawson Street, Dublin, a restaurant seemingly specialising in organic and local foods. It sounded right up my street and I was really looking forward to my visit. First impressions were good; a big blackboard outside announced its ethos of commitment to local and/or organic produce. The decor, although not screaming eco or organic was pretty. I was late and my friends were really hungry so I chose quickly from the menu.

It was only as I settled down that I noticed that my companions were drinking Heineken, not very organic or even local. Then I noticed that in the centre of each table, on top of white bleached paper tablecloths was a bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup. I started to wonder what if anything in this place was organic. Our starters came and went, I had the hummus, which was nice. One of my friends has just completed a wine course so I let her choose the wine. When it came I discovered that it wasn't organic either in fact there was a limited choice of organic wines on the list and they were all quite highly priced. When our mains came I looked down on two small, overcooked pear and brie tartlets, they looked like they had come straight from the supermarket, the rocket salad was pleasant though and I did my best to disguise the taste of the tartlets by piling loads on top of it. One of our party had pizza made from organic flour - at last something organic - which I believe was fantastic, as was the burger enjoyed by the third member of our group

Desert was great too. We all had chocolate cake which had been individually decorated for each of us. The service was fast and very attentive. Although overall the food was good (for my companions at least), I came away at the end of the evening desperately disappointed. I'm really not sure who this place is aimed at, the hardcore environmental foodie would want organic ketchup (readily available), an organic wine list and more visible eco credentials, someone ambivalent towards the organic movement would probably be put off before they walked in the door.

I can only hope that The Farm will re-think its formula and become the restaurant it claims to be.