Irish

Irish whiskey drinking and Irish soda bread munching at the same time hits the spot.

The Micks are wonderful people. . .and that food is quite awful. . .at least they can brew and sing. . .

Lord thunderin' jayzus, none of you lot grew up in a Mick household did you? Boiled beef, bad lamb and all the starch you can handle and more besides, cooked as bland as bland could be. I'll give you the occasional accidental good pub food, but there's a good reason my culture is known for what comes out of a bottle, not what comes on a plate.

Nowadays the Irish cuisine is much improved. Who can beat the Irish for soups? Not many!

Although my ancestry is more Irish than anything else, there wasn't a whole lot of Irish cooking done in my household when I was growing up. On St. Patrick's Day, my mother would make corned beef and cabbage (perhaps the blandest, most boring vegetable in the world). Enjoyment of that particular dish depended a great deal on how tender the cut of meat was. Although I've never been one to get enthusiastic over bread, I do love Irish Soda Bread with fresh (preferably Irish) butter...delicious! I've recently come to appreciate a nicely-done Shepherds Pie. Also enjoy getting a full-scale Irish breakfast on occasion. We used to frequent a place on the East Side of Manhattan called Ryan's Irish Pub (I believe it's still there), where you could eat and drink all you wanted while being attended to by pretty Irish barmaids and waitresses. Not long ago, I ate at the Blarney Station Pub in Rutherford, NJ, and had an exquisite Irish breakfast- eggs, Irish bacon, sausage, tomato, baked beans, toast... Read more

Irishgit, you nailed it! Thank God my mom was the one with Italian ancestry in the family. There is a comic in my hometown, the acknowledged capital of expatriate harps, Boston, named Don Gavin who says that in his home water was a SPICE.

Again, a cuisine, if done well is very good. I can handle corned beef and cabbage occasionally, once I pick the gristle and fat off the corned beef. I love Irish stew, but prefer it with beef, I am not a big lamb lover.

Millions left the country to get away from the wretched cuisine, and what the English brought wasn't any better. Though I admit I enjoy corned beef and cabbage now and then.

OK, just the blandest of the bland. I don't mind bland food.

It's strength is in its simplicity. Nothing varies to much, all based around potato, lamb, and cow. Sometimes the most satisfying meal is a plate of Irish pub grub.

I always dread having dinner with my Irish grandmother because I know I'll have to eat Irish cuisine. My grandmother boils everything together so everything tastes like everything else. Not that there's any real taste to begin with. It all tastes so bland, boring, and tasteless to me. I eat it, but I wish I was at my other grandma's house (she's Italian) eating lasagna or tortellini or something. Anything but corned beef and cabbage or boiled potatoes, carrots, and turnip or liver and onions, or whatever!

Of all the countries my sister and I visited on a trip through Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland nearly 2 years ago, we both agree that the best food experiences took place in Ireland. Nothing against the other three, but for some reason the Irish just seem to know how to throw a good, hearty meal together. Thanks to my “Little Irish Cookbook” and the simplicity of most of their dishes, I’ve delved into this cuisine at home fairly successfully too. One of my favorites is Irish soda bread – very easy to make and a tasty addition to any kind of soup or stew.

Believe it or not, the Irish do know how to make some great food from a lot of basic ingredients. They do ont fry nearly as much as the English do. Cannot beat any food that is topped off with a Guiness or Jameson on the rocks.