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PROUDLY SPONSORED BY BITESIZE WORDS Martina Murra
y SERIOUSLY KAREN!? When we first heard about Karen’s, the self-styled ‘interactive diner’ famed for its obnoxious interactions with customers, we were sceptical about its prospects here. Following a long wait and much Tik Tok fanfare, the brash Aussie diner finally opened its doors on O’Connell Street last month, and accounts so far indicate that things are going pretty much as expected. The off-colour banter and tacky paper hats with hand-scrawled barbs are so far failing to land, with Dublin diners reluctant to part with the mandatory minimum spend of €20 per person for a less than satisfactory food experience. The newcomer has been panned by critics, with the Indo’s restaurant critic Katy McGuinness rating it 0/30 for food, ambience and value. She described her burger as ‘not very good’, adding that the pizza she saw on other tables looked as if it was ‘straight out of a supermarket freezer cabinet’. We may have to set Mr Stevens on them… @bemorekaren.ie WESTWARD HO! WHEELS OF DESIRE Artisan cheesemakers Hegarty’s are on a roll. The end of last year saw them bag silver for their delicious cheddar at the World Cheese Awards at Trondheim in Norway, while recent weeks have seen the much anticipated release of their 2023 wheels of Templegall. Based on a Comté style, the beautifully smooth, sweet, and nutty Alpine style cheese is made with raw milk, then aged for a minimum of nine months. Available from Dublin stockists including Loose Canon and Sheridan’s. @hegartycheese SHAMROCKING PARTY BOX In a month made for snacking, Keogh’s have been busy parcelling up a tasty selection of their signature hand-cooked crisps, with a new gift box specially geared towards Paddy’s Day. Their freshly packed Shamrock Box comes crammed with traditional flavours such as Mature Irish Cheese and Onion and Irish Atlantic Sea Salt, along with an opportunity to try their exotic new Truffle Butter variety. All boxes come complete with an Irish Flag, an Irish Shamrock Pin, and a tote for carrying your crispy swag around in. Oh! And every Shamrock Box also has a gold envelope with a mystery prize inside. keoghs.ie Word is that Body Tonic’s western outpost Pot Duggan’s has just reopened after its annual winter break, with Ashley Gribben coming on board as Executive Chef. She will be working with Darren Kirwan of Lunasa Fermentation to get The Melting Pot up and running, with a changing menu selection that’s set to rotate every eight weeks. First up is a Noodle Bar which will operate throughout March and April with ‘Big Plates’ such as Beef Pho, Pork Belly Ramen, and some tasty sides including Crispy Fried Baby Spuds with Japanese Mayo and Furikake. Changes are also afoot in the bar, which has now morphed into The Wine Bar at Pots, with over twenty tasty vinos, all pairing brilliantly with a special menu featuring Spiced Almonds, Mixed Olives and Cultured Seaweed Butter with Hugo’s Sourdough. Located on the banks of the picturesque River Inagh in Ennistymon, it makes for a nice spot to enjoy an Easter jaunt. Did we mention the Karaoke? @potduggans 34