The menu had a nice variety of snacks for us to try:
The first thing we tried was the Kerrygold cheese selection with apple chutney and brown bread ($3.50):
The cheese selection came with 3 different Kerrygold cheeses - the Dubliner, the reserve cheddar and the Ivernia, described in the tasting notes by those more knowledgeable than we are about cheese:
M's take - I liked the cheese selection. Could I easily tell them apart? No, but we have already established that I am cheese-dumb. I liked the firmness of the cheeses and the flavor was very good. I couldn't pick a favorite one, since I can't remember the differences in taste, but my memory tells me they were all pretty good. The chutney was sweet and the bread was a nice pairing for the cheese.
A's take - I have to preface this entire day's worth of reviews as I spent the entire morning at the doctor's office being diagnosed with some form of illness that congested the heck out of me. As such, I'm sure my tastebuds were adversely affected. The cheeses were good, but I know I missed a lot of the subtle nuances that were there. In the end I really don't remember much about the flavor of the cheeses or even the chutney as my mind was in a bit of a fog. It's disappointing, and it's a disappointment I'm sure I'll mention many more times.
After the cheese, we moved on to the lobster and scallop fisherman's pie ($5.75):
The mobile site (which, if you haven't noticed, we're looking at in detail now that we're home...) calls this the "seafarer's version of shepherd's pie." A loves shepherd's pie, and we have had it at quite a few places. But this was our first time trying a seafood version. This pie consisted of lobster, scallops and Irish root vegetables, topped with potatoes (just like shepherd's pie).
M's take - The pie was delicious. But it was extremely hot in temperature, which made it a little more difficult to enjoy. The thick potato layer kept the dish hot, even though we let it sit for awhile before eating it. Once the potato mixed with the seafood, vegetables and sauce underneath, it was like eating a rich chowder. The dish was hearty and filling, and would be great in the weather we're having right now in NYC (better than the 80+ degree Florida sun!).
A's take - As mentioned, I love shepherd's pie. I figured this would be similar in that it was a seafood stew topped with mashed potatoes and baked. Yup, that's exactly what it was. The problem was that, again, I couldn't taste much of the stew. I could tell there was seasoning there, but I couldn't tell you what it was or even an overall flavor profile. It had a richness to it, but that's about all I can tell you. It's frustrating because M always says I have a great palate, but I lost it after our first day.
Last up was dessert - warm chocolate lava cake with Baileys ganache ($3):
The mobile site describes chocolate lava cake as a moist and decadent mix between chocolate cake and chocolate souffle. The lava cake is topped with "a special Irish touch - a ganache topping of chocolate and Bailey's Irish cream."
M's take - This was like a molten chocolate cake with a little bit of a liquor-ish touch. If you like chocolate cake, you will like this dessert. I liked it, but am not that into rich chocolate cake (especially when it's hot), so I didn't feel the need to get this again. But it was good.
A's take - This was a rich molten chocolate cake. I couldn't taste much this day, but I could sure taste sweet. This had it in spades. The chocolate-Bailey's sauce tasted much less like Bailey's and much more like caramel. Not that I'm complaining as I do like caramel and chocolate sauce, but if you're going to advertise Bailey's, make it taste like Bailey's. Of course, this could all still be due to my fog...
Overall, the food at the Ireland kiosk was pretty good. We also had a bit of Irish luck as a nice couple offered us their fastpasses to Soarin' while we were there eating our snacks. We had gotten a late start that day since poor A was sick and had to go to the doctor, so this was definitely lucky. Very happy with our Irish stop.
Favorite dishes at the Ireland kiosk:
A: Chocolate cake (more by default because I could actually taste it)
M: Fisherman's pie (followed closely behind by the cheese)
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