If you're planning on visiting Europe's Capital of Culture, go armed with Tom Doorley's essential restaurant guide
Cork city has a high opinion of itself. The loyalty - and sometimes the chauvinism - of its citizens can be breathtaking. Dubliners are forever running down the capital, while Corkonians never cease talking up the charms of the city on the banks. As an outsider, being a Dub by birth and living almost an hour beyond the bounds of Cork city, I take an à la carte approach. Cork is a great place for a shopping expedition; but I'm not sure I'd like to live there. The English Market is a national treasure, the centre of the city is wonderfully compact, parking is relatively easy. Cork has a civilised pace to it.
It should be impossible to heave a brick in Cork without hitting somewhere good to eat; this is a city, after all, that has always celebrated food in an attractively shameless way, especially when compared to the dour Jansenism that used to afflict Dublin. In fact, I reckon Cork has fewer centres of eating excellence than it should but they are growing in number, and when they are good, they are very good indeed. So, here's an eating guide to the essential Cork city.
CAFÉ GUSTO This was one of our first discoveries when we moved to the rebel county five years ago: an oasis of superb coffee, decent croissants and funky wraps. Great location, smack in the centre of town. (3, Washington Street, 021-4254446, www.cafegusto.com)
CAFÉ PARADISO When Denis Cotter's cooking hits the high notes, as it frequently does, I reckon he produces the best food in Cork and, coincidentally, some of the best vegetarian fare in all of Europe. Relentless inventiveness and a passion for the best produce makes this a favourite of be-suited carnivores and bearded UCC academics alike. (Lancaster Quay, 021-4277939, www.cafeparadiso.ie)
CRAWFORD GALLERY CAFÉ Regular readers will be assuming by now that I have a major shareholding in this venture. I wish. Established by Fern Allen and now run by her nephew Isaac Allen (husband of Rachel), the Crawford Café is one of my favourite places to eat, anywhere.
Morning coffee with melt-in-the-mouth buttery shortbread or pan-fried fish and a glass of wine for lunch, perhaps even late breakfast of black pudding on toast. Always delicious, always served with real charm and warmth in a lovely room. (Emmet Place, 021-4274415, www.ballymaloe.ie/crawfordcafe)
THE FARMGATE The Farmgate is a pleasant spot for a pit-stop, especially as you can watch the market down below as you put away a bowl of Irish stew or some other chunky dish. Expensive enough as self-service goes, and the coffee could be better, but this is certainly part of the essential Cork. (English Market, Princes Street, 021-4278134)
IDAHO CAFÉ I'm new to Idaho, but what I've seen I like: a bustling small café with great atmosphere, friendly staff and food that eschews the usual suspects. Good coffee, keen prices and a real willingness to please. One to watch. (19, Caroline Street, 021-4276376)
ISAAC'S I love Isaac's; this busy, noisy dining room on the wrong side of the river. I go for the punchy, eclectic modern food, the very short, but impeccably chosen wine list, the fact that you always meet someone you know and, last but not least, prices that show respect for the customer. (48 McCurtain Street, 021-4503805)
THE IVORY TOWER I've been away from the Ivory Tower for too long and I miss the apparently crazy but, in fact, amazingly clever and cerebral cooking of Seamus O'Connell. I don't miss the dingy surroundings and the somewhat erratic service. Not for the fainthearted, but gloriously, defiantly different. (Exchange Buildings, Princes Street, 021-4274665)
JACQUES It's hard to define the food at this venerable Cork institution in the shade of the GPO. Eclectic, generous, adventurous, but never losing the run of itself. I find eating here to be a comforting experience and it's one Cork restaurant that takes wine seriously, without being obsessional. There's always something off-beat and unusual to drink. This is a restaurant which few visitors to Cork seem to visit. Well, it's their loss. (9a, Phoenix Street, 021-4277387)
JACOB'S ON THE MALL I want to be scrupulously fair here. Virtually everybody I know in Cork raves about this restaurant. As for me, I simply can't see what the fuss is about. I've eaten five dull meals there in six years and the last one, just before Christmas, was the least impressive. Can 150,000 Corkonians - plus all the other food critics - be wrong? Jacobs is expanding, to include a wine bar and bedrooms. The project is due for completion towards the end of 2005. (30a, South Mall, 021-4251530).