The three of us arrived at Deane's in downtown Belfast and the chef/owner
has several establishments here as well as all over town, but you enter through
his crowded and very basic fish restaurant next door to gain access to EIPIC,
his temple of gastronomy. We were led through a door into a den of zen quiet and
silver and gray tones with only about 10 tables. Only one other table for two
was occupied that night, so we got top service from Didier who explained that
everything is a fixed menu and we should simply advise of any allergies or such.
It was smooth sailing through the night for us in the bright room lit with a
full wall of glass to the street and hung with heavy silver/gray drapes, a dark
gray slate floor, three huge oddly 3-d nest like silver discs on one wall that
had overhead lights looking like aliens. A giant glass wine cellar was at the
center of the room and we sat in super comfy white and silver high backed
chairs. On the table was a mirrored mason jar with a candle and a vase with
black twigs in lack sand; only the music at first was a bit loud and upbeat, but
it often mellowed.
Hildon water from England was poured (well this is Northern Ireland and
hence part of Great Britain)
Amuse #1 arrived and we all gobbled up the Phyllo Tart of Heritage
(heirloom) Tomato with a hint of Balsamic
Breads arrived and we could not decide, but neither the brown bread, whole
wheat or white roll here won any prizes. Abernathy Butter was an Irish butter
dream come true.
Amuse #2 was a Shellfish Ice Cream with Parmesan Crisp and Parmesan Foam
which could have won a prize for sure, not mention that since Samuel doesn't
like seafood, he got fried string beans to dip in his own parmesan foam. While
we had wine pairings, Samuel had his own drinks and started with a
Pineapple/Lime Juice with a big foam head.
Amuse #3 was a Roasted Sweet Corn Soup for Samuel and for us a Broad Bean,
Courgettes, Spring Onion, Peas, Ham & cream dish with Brown Butter Dressing
and an egg yolk on top with sea salt. This was so many deys and only a memory,
so I can't seem to recall it much.
The wine arrived in the form of a Terraprima 2012 Xarelto from Pinedes,
Spain, Massis del Garraf and all the different wines were in Riedel; another
plus. It was a light almost effervescent type for the Smoked & Pickled
Beetroot Salad with both Golden & Red beets, a cone filled with goat curd
and a salted Hazelnut Crumble. Samuel had never tried beets before, and declared
that he would eat them for sure if I made them this way!
Didier always arrived right before each course with the wine and everything
moved smoothly so well, we were impressed. Next came a 2014 Domaine Fiumicicoli
Vermentino from Sartene in Corsica which he said had hints of
cranberry/raspberry and nutmeg; boy was he right and with a smoky mineralness
that was in so many layers and extremely herbaceous. The second course was
Lobster with Grilled Corn, Young Samphire in a sweet corn puree/soup with a
Lobster Cake. This was one of our favorite dishes from Chef Danielle Barry (yes,
a woman) who runs the show here. Samuel had grilled zucchini and beans in a
chive/mint dressing.
Third course was Panfried Hake with Dublin Queen Potatoes in a super rich
and thick roasted fish bone sauce with Sea Purslaine, Sea Ashers and Arrowglass
as well as chives and chervil. The greens were simply novel and amazing, but the
fish and its sauce shone bright; we have come to love hake on this trip. Samuel
had the most beautiful Dublin Queen Potato, Grilled charred Onion, Ham Foam, and
Grated Truffle. Our wine was a Serbian 2012 Riesling called Istina from
Bongiraud(a French winemaker) that was unfiltered and had the scariest nse, but
went well with the food (we did not like it to drink alone).
A 2013 Australian Nebbiolo arrived next from Trentham called "La Famiglia,"
from the Murray Darling region that I have never heard of. It had huge legs with
smoked strawberry or jelly hints. Quail and its stocl and sauce with Celeriac,
BBQ Sweetheart Cabbage and a Cumin-Coriander dressing gave this glazed bird (a
hint of honey & soy) a superb and bold flavor.
The main dish was Salt Aged Ribeye Fillet with Garlic & Parsley Spelt
with Garlic Scapes. Chanterelles & Scottish Girolles were also in company so
we could see the difference up close; both were superb. Vesevo Benentano
Aglianico 2012 from Campagnia was divine
A palate cleanser of Granita -looking but not ices made from buttermilk
mousse and ice brown buttermilk with biscuit crunch was a novel fun dish.
Dessert #1 was Strawberry & Meadows Sweet (I had never heard of this
white flower) iced tea foam which was oddly bitter.
A 2012 Les Charmes Celeste from Chateau Boucasse, Pacherenc Moelleux was a
nice dessert wine but a bit too acidic and strawberry for me (that made sense in
the pairing though).
Dessert #2 was Strawberry Curd, Mousse and Ice Cream with Meringue &
Strawberry Crumble. On the side was a Strawberry Cream donut that was sugar
dusted and MeadowSweet Cream
and finally Desser #3 was Chocolate Cone with Goat's Milk Ice cream,
buttermilk foam and crumbled chocolate.
When the bill arrived I was in shock that the entire food portion of the
experience was 60 pounds each or about $95 which could never happen in any big
city. But Deane's Eipic, is a one of a kind experience in the whole of Northern
Ireland and not to be missed.
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