All posts tagged: paolo tullio

Italian restaurants in Dublin

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I love Italian food precisely because it is that, Italian. It is beautiful, delicious, simple, coveted and nurtured, and spoken of with the same passionate pride as parents of a newborn baby. It is love. From the water that quenched thirsty hot tomatoes that grew to turn into passata to the cows that grazed in the fields of Lombardy to make milk for Taleggio cheese or the pigs that were reared to make us prosciutto to the olives grown for silky oils to make salads glisten. The food is grown, prepared and eaten with love and, importantly, with respect. I revel in seeing Italians and their unabashed excitement for their food. They seem to have an inherent, magical understanding for the absolute joy that can be had from the table, the things that are laid upon it, and those they love around it. Here are some of my favourite spots for Italian food in Dublin. Mamma Mia President Michael D. Higgins adores Mamma Mia, and rightly so. I discovered the joys of this restaurant while …

Memories of Paolo Tullio

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My dear friend Paolo Tullio passed away in June this year. In the cruel chasm and heartache of death, the indescribable void he left for those who were lucky enough to know him grows every day. I miss him dearly. I met him as a young pup starting out in TV on ‘The Restaurant’ back in 2008. He offered wisdom, guidance and support throughout the years of our friendship. He was an oracle on food, and taught me the true meaning of kindness. It was an honour to hear all he had learned about food from him. He taught me how to pronounce bruschetta properly and that every chef, no matter how good, can have a bad day in the kitchen. But it was not just food, he taught me tolerance, in everything from relationships to my career. He had a fantastic way of knowing exactly what to say, even if it was a painful truth, but delivered in a sensitive and kind way. I will think of him every time I smell fresh Parmigiano …

Restaurant review: The Vintage Kitchen, Poolbeg Street, Dublin 2

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This is a restaurant review from my previous website from March 2013. It was a special evening as I met my dear friend Paolo Tullio (R.I.P). You will find his review of the restaurant here. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. THIS was a blustery, rainy night that you wouldn’t be leaving a toasty house for, if at all possible. But the promise of an evening in the company of Paolo Tullio, and a quick scan of ‘The Vintage Kitchen’s’ menu was more than enough to get the brolly out. The Vintage Kitchen is only taking baby steps in getting its name out there in Dublin. However, if they keep the kind of standard we enjoyed, there will be some trouble in getting a table. Situated on Poolbeg Street, conveniently beside Mulligan’s pub (perfect for a digestif), it’s got a few achingly cool little touches. They play only vinyl records, and you can bring your own which they (might) play. If you’re cool enough. It was joyous to hear The Ronettes in a restaurant. …

Falling For Food : Paolo Tullio

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If you know food writers in Ireland, you will know one of its finest, Paolo Tullio. He is best known for his restaurant review column in ‘The Irish Independent,’ but I have come to know him through RTE’s ‘The Restaurant,’ television series, where he is a resident critic. He has, kindly, been a mentor to me over the years, and someone I am now lucky to call a friend. Don’t try talking to him about Italian food though, it’ll make you want to move there in the morning. Here, he shares some of his food memories……………… Falling for Food The first food memory I have is……… In my mother’s kitchen, helping her sort through rice, picking out the black bits. Funny to think that that’s not necessary anymore. The first thing I eat in the morning is…….. A bowl of muesli. I’ve been doing this for nearly a week. Prior to this new habit, breakfast was a cup of coffee. The first food I remember hating………….. Was carrots. I remember my father saying ‘eat them, …

Restaurant Crush : Terra Madre, Dublin 1

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It was the taste of that first tomato that did it. We hadn’t seen the sun set and I was already smitten with Italy. On my first holiday there, on the glorious Amalfi coast last year, my friend and I were being baked in an uncomfortably hot Sorrento. In a tiny, dusty restaurant, we cooled off and ordered Insalata Caprese. That was the first time I actually tasted sun in a tomato, and what the word ripe meant. The mozzarella was young and pillowy and fantastic. A soft white on the lip smacking red of tomato and cracks of black pepper, glugs of olive oil and sweetly picked basil. The owner allowed us to stay and we sat happily for the afternoon and ordered another Caprese, and then pasta and local wine. We solved the problems of the world that day. I kept wondering why the owner wasn’t rushing us and soon realised why. He’s Italian. When I first went to Terra Madre, on Bachelor’s Walk, I was reminded of all of those things I …