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The lockdown was the impetus Maeve O’Malley needed to put her Hot Stuff sauce in a bottle.
Founder of cheese toasty haven Meltdown, Hot Stuff was a key ingredient for some of the café’s favourite grilled cheese sandwiches.
When people kept asking to buy her creation, she decided it was time to give them what they wanted and began to produce small batches of the much sought-after sauce.
Now it’s available through retailers nationwide and online. It is a burst of flavour but so versatile.
The moreish hot sauce is rich, sweet, spicy and salty and heats up any dish from cheese toasties to eggs, soups and stews.
It’s also a great dipping sauce for pizza, sausage rolls and anything else you want to add a little kick to.
Maeve’s dad’s favourite is a little drop on oysters. €4.50 | www.meltdown.ie/sho
Wicklow Wolf fans, get excited. Three new beers are being released into the wild this summer.
For those who prefer a lighter beer, the Raindrop is a 4.2% mixed berry sour, while the Takes Two to Tango is a 5.0% may and peach sour released with the Otterbank Brewing Company.
If you’re a Wicklow local, then The Wanderer is a special treat, a 5.1% Vienna lager, released in collaboration with Bray Wanderers FC, but you’ll only find it in local shops.
We can’t wait to check out their new visitor experience at the brewery at Newtownmountkennedy, with tours happening in the next few months.
In the meantime, the Wicklow Wolf Taproom is open for coffees and super fresh cans and growler fills (one- and two-litre jugs of fresh draft beer to be enjoyed at home). Check out www.wicklowwolf.com.
It won’t be long now until we are dining inside and the Limerick Strand Hotel has completed a €400k revamp of its popular bar and restaurant.
The new-look River Bar & Restaurant drew inspiration from the River Shannon, with a colour scheme of teal and blue tones of the water, mixed with the botanical-inspired theme captured from the trees and foliage that line the river frontage close to the hotel.
There will be lots of people who will still prefer al fresco dining and they also have a wrap-around outdoor terrace from morning until night.
Not only has the physical space been transformed, the menus have also been given a refresh, featuring local farms and dairies with local ingredients taking pride of place.
They’ll be serving everything from brunch to dinner, but their afternoon tea is a real treat at €26.50 per person. Visit www.strandlimerick.ie.
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