Thought for Food
Browging on Shamrock
By RAYMOND POSTGATE Liverpool is a city whose spirit was broken when the Cunard and White Star transferred the Atlantic railings to Southampton, Before then its vigour and pride survived (or did not notice) the vast slums which extended in an almost unbroken marsh north of St. George's Hall to Bootle, and the savage religious fights which were its citizens' chief amusement. The waterfront was a line of famous names—Ellerman Papayanni. Cunard, Booth, White Star—the Liverpool Repertory was one of the'best in the country, the Midland Adelphi was a wonder among hotels, you could see the largest liner in the world waiting in, the deep channel called the Sloyne for its maiden voyage, or Bleriot trundling his biplane about on an open field at Seaforth. But the heart went out of it when it lost the Atlantic traffic, and then there were dozens of years of desperate un- employment. Even after the last war the city was so depressed that the austere Stafford Cripps was reduced to dajoling the pools people to locate themselves there. Its dispiritedness is reflected in the miserable provision made for diners-out, compared with Bristol or even Manchester.
There is a good fish restaurant, the Cornmarket, in Old Ropery. A lot of money has been spent on the Adelphi again,. and the French Restaurant in it is entirely convenable, but not cheap. The Crocodile in'Harrington Street isn't the awesome and exciting place I was taken to as a schoolboy, but it does good grills. And apart from some Chinese restaurants and private clubs, that seems to be all. Vincent's Bar has good table wines. It is a fitting introduction to Ireland, for there the food is perhaps even more disappointing. The brief story is that the Irish hotels feel they must offer five-course lunches and dinners and they don't know how to do it. (I am speaking of the provinces—not of Dublin, where Jammet's in Nassau Street is a really high-class restaurant.) The way to avoid the deplorable sequence of tasteless snippets, in which even the potatoes are poor, is to ask always for high tea, and then plead to be let off the tea and be allowed to drink draught Guinness. You can then get a choice of grilled Limerick ham, bacon, eggs, chops, steaks and (if you are lucky) salmon, which will almost always be of excellent material, and prettY decently cooked. In fact, the sensible way to eat in Ireland is to take a large breakfast (with tea. not coffee), high, tea, and lunch on the roadside or mountainside off sliced ham, butter, tomatoes and bread.
Irish bread appears to be either abominable or very good. There is a great deal of the tasteless pre-cut slices of white starch in waxed parcels, which are an equal pest over here, but there is also nearly as much excellent coarse brown or wholemeal bread which is entirely delicious when it is fresh. As there is not very much fruit avail' able, you will find its roughness is grateful to the bowels also.
Drinking with your simple meals is equally simple. Wine is rather cheaper than in England, but there is usually no more variety than in small provincial towns over here. Your drink should be Guinness or Danish lager, preceded, accony panied, or followed by Irish whiskey. There' not much choice. Powers and Jameson's (both of Dublin) are far ahead of the others; Powers iS smoother, but Jameson has more of the distine' tive 'peaty' Irish taste. Both distilleries offer specially old (twelve or fifteen years) whiskeYs which are rather sweeter but don't seem other' wise to be much better. The third commonest whiskey is a Cork whiskey called 'Paddy'; vdont commend it. Tullamore Dew is pretty good, and there is a Kilbeggan whiskey that comes in stone, jugs which I didn't taste as I have a suspicion °` all drinks in fancy containers. Besides, Irish whiskey is bad for me and I had by then reason to believe I had devoted myself more than was wise to the interests of Spectator readers.
If I had for some reason to settle myself in Ireland, I would place myself in Limerick. There I found street after street and square after, square of perfect Georgian houses, 'only as Ye, spoiled in a few places by modern commercist or church buildings. There is a wide sweePing river with a fine quayside: The city is with° motoring distance, over fine roads, of both Kerr/ and Connemara, very beautiful places. (Ili cidentally, pay no attention to people who to you Killarney is spoilt—it is not, and there is a good hotel, the Lake.) I should stay at Hartrallyh hotel, a small place in Glentworth Street whic has been redecorated in excellent taste, and into whose bar drift the most interesting people t0 , Limerick. I should eat at the Brazenheart restaurant dating from 1740, which is unique I11 offering the cooking and wine you would find 10 a first-rate Soho , place. Incidentally, it doesli,1 n, look like it from the outside; it has an 0 distinguished shop-like front in O'Conae Street.