Food blogging begins!

Not that I have the time, but I've been encouraged to blog about food. Why?

First, because it can be hard to find decent cuisine in Ireland. This island is not known as a hot-bed of delightful meals. Yes, we have the famous spice bag. Yes, we have fish and chips the size of your face. And the curiosity that is curry chips. But notice that all of those have something in common... often rather soggy, flavourless potatoes.

This is the food that most people encounter. What else can we eat?

In Limerick good things lie below the surface. We are not a city of tourists. So you need a local guide. And though I am still a "blow-in", in my 20+ years on location, I've seen the food scene transform.

The second reason: reviews posted to Google Maps and similar apps are unbelievably stupid. McDonalds gets four stars when it should have zero. People reject dishes they simply don't understand, so a Szechuan dish is dissed as "too spicy". I'm not a snob but believe in critical thinking and active taste buds. Salt and fat are not the only flavours. White is not the only colour.

I am honest enough to say "I don't know" when someone asks me where they can get a good steak. "Probably nowhere" is the honest answer. And you'll pay too much. Go to a butcher instead.

So perhaps you can trust me... if we have similar tastes.

Third reason: I have a growing number of friends and acquaintances that count on me for food advice. So this is for them, even if no-one else reads. Short posts on social media are quite insufficient.

Sure I already have a food category on this blog, but that's been mostly about my own cooking. I will now endeavour a suite of reviews, knowing that this is a process fraught with difficulty. Sorry in advance if I offend you by dissing your favourite spot.

A word about scoring

Assigning numbers or stars on an arbitrary scale is no way to judge food. But some readers like a neat summary that can be digested (ahem) in a few seconds. For most of my lifetime I've adopted a system where I simply add or subtract points for notable features. This results in a number that can't necessarily be compared to other scores, but which nonetheless has some utility value.