Hairy Lemon Cookbook

Book excerpt: The Hairy Lemon Cookbook was put together after decades of preparing delicious and well-loved food for the people of Dublin as well as its visitors to the point of the Hairy Lemon Restaurant receiving awards from the city council and being consecutively rated as the best of its kind for traditional food in Dublin. The pub itself is named after a well-known street character from the forties who had jaundice from drinking too much “poitín,” a homemade potato vodka renowned for its potency, and with his beard and the shape of his head, he was said to resemble a hairy lemon. The menu was originally inspired by my Grandmother Kathleen, who was famous throughout our family for being a fantastic traditional cook. All the kids would eagerly anticipate the regular Sunday visit to Grandmother’s house for her famous stews or chips or pies. These were not typical foods for kids to fight over, but hers were that good that to eat her cooking was a real treat. Over the years, the Hairy Lemon has broadened its menu to include some different dishes, such as our curries and stir-fries but with a mind to keep our Grandmother’s style of cooking alive and well. This, however, is not all you get on a visit to the Hairy Lemon, as our customers know. Our customers are greeted cordially and treated as family, and relationships are regularly formed with people from every corner of the globe, keeping in regular contact or returning with family to introduce to us from far away. We like to have fun, and our customers know us for a bit of real Dublin banter in cozy surroundings that make them feel like they’re visiting their grandmothers with our homemade comfort foods that are just always the favorite compared to anything else. I hope you find this book to be a treasured resource for great food, Irish character, and fun.