Fantastic Food and Where to Find It: Ireland Edition

As we find ourselves suggesting multiple activities and locations to visit, Gen and I have come to notice that we haven’t really talked about food that much (which is a vital part of everyday travel). The best way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, but the best way to a country’s heart, is through YOUR stomach. I’ve found through my numerous local and international travels, that some of my best memories were related to food. Not only those we sampled along the way, but the recipes we made ourselves as well.

Now before every trip, Gen and I establish a food budget. For the type of travel we like to do, we enjoy cooking for ourselves, and keeping it on the lighter and easier side of things. However, we also plan ahead (and sometimes use our better judgement) if we spot a place we want to try. Please make sure that you do extensive research on the places you want to try out depending on where you're travelling to, and also, be a little adventurous if you can (that is if you don’t have any life threatening allergies). Some of the strangest places might have the best food; (as an example, in Iceland, they have THE BEST gas station hot dogs… like they’re life changing, but I wouldn’t have known that had I not done my research).

Every country has their specialty and Ireland was no different. Gen and I prepared our bodies for a strict diet of Guinness and potatoes. But we also had some AMAZING seafood, coffee and tea, and (for me) some mind-blowing pie. On the first leg of our trip, since we had one extra person accompanying us, we ate out more often because they weren’t too keen on the idea of sticking with the meal plan we had organised. But we adapted and made the best out of it.

Open crab sandwich with side salad; Chicken tenders in the background

We ate at some great places like Johnnie Fox’s for some seafood pie; a great pub just outside of Dublin where they serve mouthwatering food, perfectly poured Guinness and have entertainment to spare (just call ahead and make sure not to go when there’s a tour bus in the area). We hopped around one cafe to the next, drinking coffee, irish coffee and tea, finding places for breakfast or afternoon breaks.

A larger-than-life seafood pie with roasted carrots and mashed potatoes...and some Guinness in the back

We found lesser known (but quality assured) restaurants like The Forge just outside of Galway, with a quaint atmosphere, amazing service and the discovery of my love for duck. We also stumbled upon a small town that didn’t look like too much at first glance, but that had been suggested to us by a friend up in Northern Ireland. This small building called The Red Door welcomed us with a warm embrace on a cold day, as well as some Irish coffees, mind-blowing seafood and PIE that I would gladly marry should it ever become legal.

Potato, bacon and asparagus tart, from The Queen of Tarts; we followed up with a pear, chocolate and almond tart for dessert and a couple irish coffees.

We also not only stumbled upon certain treasures, but we also went out hunting for them on a few occasions. The main one being Murphy’s; an ice cream joint with a series of locations across Ireland. With some amazing and unique flavours, and a staff that loves getting to you know your story, we sought out 3 of their locations during our trip, and tried a number of flavours like Sea Salt, Irish Coffee, Caramelized Brown Bread, Dingle Gin, Caramel Honeycomb and so. much. more. From pubs, to restaurants, to cafes, to tea houses, and even to driving-ranges/petting zoos, we allowed our taste buds to take the wheel every once in a while.

Murphy's in Dublin... our third visit, with a swing as a seat to make it feel like summertime all the time

However, to be able to afford eating out every once in a while as a treat, and to partake in the country’s culture, we did our own groceries and meal planned for most meals as well. We plan very carefully and try to find items that can last. Though it isn’t always easy to find grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies and small convenience stores often provide the necessities. We make sure to have fruit when we can, (apples are often the first choice since they’re easy and don’t go bad quickly), and we pick up some granola bars or bread. You add a tub of peanut butter (or some other kind of spread) and we often have our breakfasts and snacks. We often have a container of instant coffee, but tea also works. Lunches are either eaten out, skipped or packed in the car. If we happen upon a store where we can purchase a few items fresh, sandwiches are a great option. In Iceland, we had a whole production line formed in the back seat of the car which had us ready for any kind of hike. Dinners often consist of tuna, either bread or crackers and some kind of veggies. If we happen to know that we’ll have access to a kitchen at the places we stay at, we’ve been known to buy pasta, and then either make a cream sauce, a tomato sauce, (both mixed together) or even a mushroom alfredo sauce (courtesy of Gen and her creativity). We also pick up a few snack along the way; which might consist of Cool Ranch (or Cool American) Doritos and Golden Oreos. Either way, you learn to get creative with what you’ve got.

Our dinner that night consisted of toast with Nutella, canned peaches and tea...all the essential food groups for a traveler. 

This concoction is called: What We Had Left, (tuna, snow peas and Doritos chips...yep)

Food is important when you travel, but unless you’re strictly doing a culinary tour of Italy, it clearly isn’t the only thing you do. When you take the time to try a country’s food, it’s your taste buds that take a trip and it’s often a great one, and if not, it’s a funny history lesson. It’s important to make sure you have plenty of energy, no matter the activity you’re planning on doing, but by planning that at least half of your meals are prepared by yourself, and the others can be eaten out, you also help keep your trip cost-efficient. (Plus the less you spend on food, the more you can spend on drinks)!! So take the plunge into a culinary adventure of your own, and feel free to share with us some of your own travel recipes. You never know when you might discover a new favourite!

Kyla