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Picture this: one extremely jet-lagged American and his equally exhausted Canadian wife, wandering the unfamiliar streets of Dublin at dusk, searching for the elusive spice burger.The spice burger, invented in the 1950s by Walsh Family Foods, is described on their website as "a delicious blend of Irish beef, onions, cereals and herbs & spices, coated with a traditional outer crumb". But during June of this year, Walsh Family Foods, the sole manufacturer of the spice burger, fell victim to the recession and closed its doors! (thanks to our friend Tom for alerting us about the demise of the spice burger)
Spice burger aficionados immediately began a spirited campaign to bring back their beloved Irish treasure, described on the Save the Spice Burger facebook page as "Ambrosia for the mortal Irish man (and to a lesser extent mortal Irish woman), Walsh's spice burger has proved a satisfying meal to stumble home with after a couple of pints for over 50 years". And after a tremendous outpouring of public support, Walsh Family Foods is back in business and churning out spice burgers once again!
The relaunch of the spice burger was just getting underway when we arrived in Dublin a few weeks ago, making it hard to find, even at the local chippers. We first tried Leo Burdock's, Dublin's oldest chipper, located in the city center near Christ Church Cathedral.
No spice burger, but great cod & chips (gigantic portion for only € 8.90, don't forget the vinegar!):
Later that night at our hotel, we received a tip (from a complete stranger!) that we should "head south to Camden and Wexford and look for the Italian chippers, for sure they'll have spice burgers". After getting hopelessly lost a couple times (Dublin streets are sometimes hard to navigate because the streets change name every couple blocks) we found ourselves on Camden street (by sheer dumb luck) standing under a neon sign at Roma II.
Later that night at our hotel, we received a tip (from a complete stranger!) that we should "head south to Camden and Wexford and look for the Italian chippers, for sure they'll have spice burgers". After getting hopelessly lost a couple times (Dublin streets are sometimes hard to navigate because the streets change name every couple blocks) we found ourselves on Camden street (by sheer dumb luck) standing under a neon sign at Roma II.
Roma II sounded Italian enough for me, plus it was getting dark, so we hurried inside. And YES, they had spice burgers!
We got 2 orders to go (no salt or vinegar) and rushed back to our hotel.Each order consisted of 2 spice burger patties and 4 pieces of chips, but they wrapped both orders up together:
Crunchy crust with a savory breadcrumb-y interior flavored with lots of dried herbs/spices. Hubby Kris said it reminded him of falafel but with a oily lingering aftertaste (lard?)
I really couldn't detect any beef, which probably explains why the spice burger is often mistaken as being vegetarian.So the verdict? Not bad, although I can imagine it probably tastes a lot better at 4am on the way home from the pub.
The spice burger has yet to hit the international scene so here's a recipe you can try at home (from lecraic.com, originally published in the Mirror UK 6.19.09).
But if you're ever in Ireland, make sure you try the real deal - Walsh Family Foods is currently operating with a skeleton crew and a limited production schedule so they still need your support!
Later in our trip we tried a fabulous artisan version of black pudding at 
After fighting our way through busy 
I ordered the full Irish breakfast and hubby had pancakes. The food was delicious and the portions were perfect- just enough to fill our tummies without weighing us down. And the total bill was only € 15! If you don’t have time to sit down for breakfast in the beautiful Harry Clarke room, make sure you stop by for a pastry and coffee at their take-out counter. But prepare to wait – by the time we left that morning, the lineup for coffee was out the door.
Another cherished Dublin landmark, opened in the 70s as a bookstore and café, reborn in 2005 with a full-service restaurant re-inventing traditional Irish cuisine with local organic ingredients. I made sure that we’d packed some dressier outfits since we were having our anniversary dinner (8 years – woohoo!) at the Winding Stair. But when we stopped by to confirm our reservation at lunchtime, they told us we looked perfectly fine in our rumpled tourist clothes/jeans, so we never bothered going back to our hotel to change and spent the time sightseeing instead.
The tables were quite close together and I would have preferred a bit more room to stretch my tired legs, but our friendly and attentive server made us feel very much at home. Despite the busy dinner service, our meal was served at a leisurely pace. And no one kicked us out at 9pm – we were still waiting for our dessert!
This potato cake was HUGE, a perfect crispy crust around velvety mashed potatoes. Here’s the inside of it:
Gabriel cheese (similar in taste to grana padano or parmesan) gave the potatoes an addictive flavor. Perfect with the lightly sautéed oyster mushrooms and greens (spinach?). And the crème fraiche – amazing! (forget sour cream, I’m only buying crème fraiche from now on)
