I received this intel quite a while back. I'm not even going to say when. Suffice it to say that the gatherer of said intel, science fiction author Diane Duane, emailed me recently to nudge me to publish it. (Apart from sci-fi, fantasy, and TV and film scripts, Diane also writes about food at European Cuisines.) Here it is, Diane, and thanks for the report on one sliver of the Irish pizza scene. —The Mgmt.
A red-onion-and-pepperoni pie at Gotham Cafe in Dublin.
First, a note from a native (though rather displaced) Manhattanite: Love your site.
I note, however, that while your sidebar has listings for other countries, in particular the UK, there's nothing for Ireland. Can I give you a suggestion?
There is at least one reliable New York-thin-crust-style pizza to be had in Dublin city proper. (There are tons of pizzerias, of course, but they tend to go more Continental/Italianate than New York-ish.) It can be found at Independent Pizza Co. in Drumcondra (a near-city-center suburb on the main road leading up toward Dublin Airport) and at Independent's city-center sibling, the Gotham Cafe on South Anne Street (just off the main pedestrian shopping street, Grafton Street).
David and Jackie, the owners, are both Irish but have a great love of the New York end of things, and for the past ten years and more have gone to considerable lengths to produce a pizza that tastes like an upmarket New York slice. (They don't do slices, by the way—it's whole-pie or nothing around here, though the small pie would approximate a couple of New York slices in total area.)
A Gotham Cafe pie with sausage, applewood-smoked cheese, and onion.
Live flame ceramic ovens produce great crusts. Everything hand-shaped, no machines are involved. Good toppings—excellent mozzarella, in particular, from the famous Sheridan's Cheesemongers a few doors down—with a wide range of topping possibilities, including some optional Irish additions you're unlikely to see in New York (applewood-smoked cheese, black pudding, etc).
The Independent branch is pretty much pizzas and salads and just a few pasta dishes these days, I think. Gotham adds many more pasta dishes, soups, excellent grilled meats and fish, pesto and focaccia of the day, etc. Excellent selection of U.S., South American, and Italian wines. They don't seem to have a website (I should really ask David or Jackie what they're doing about that the next time we're there for dinner), but other sites, mostly tourist-oriented, mention them: see below for the links.
By the way, as a sort of baseline, my preferred pizza in New York—in the brief time we usually get to spend there to see our literary agent or on the way to some science fiction convention in the States—would be at Big Nick's on 78th and Broadway. Not exactly the perfect slice, but we seem to keep winding up there. Hubby likes the retsina. ;)
Anyway, thanks for your time, and your website/blog!
Dear Diane,
Thanks again for the intel. And I'm so sorry about the delay in getting it up on the site. I'll add the "Ireland" category to the drop-down menu at right.
I see from your photo that Gotham Cafe, where these photos come from, I should point out to the readers, uses a Wood Stone oven. That's a pretty serious oven, and one that one of my New York favorites (Nick's Pizza out in Forest Hills, Queens) uses.
Thanks for pointing Slice readers to some New York–style pies in Dublin!
Our old friend Diane! I bet her husband Peter Morwood was dive-bombing those pizzas! It's been a long time since we had sushi in the Twin Cities around Minicon.
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First, a note from a native (though rather displaced) Manhattanite: Love your site.
2 Comments:
I leave for Ireland in 10 days and I was dying for some tips! Serious Eats reads minds!
ReneeRobinson at 11:39AM on 08/12/08
Our old friend Diane! I bet her husband Peter Morwood was dive-bombing those pizzas! It's been a long time since we had sushi in the Twin Cities around Minicon.
Stushi at 2:29PM on 08/12/08