Portobello

Local resident Leslie Williams is our guide for a tour of the clutch of excellent ethnic shops that have blossomed around Portobello, Dublin 8. Take it away, Leslie.

This whole area from Camden Street to the canal is well worth exploring regularly as the premises often change hands without any change in name over the door (often there never was a name).

El Sinbad, Richmond Street - I think this is the name - the sign was vandalised but never repaired so all that is left is the Arabic writing). This is on the same side as the Georgian restaurant on Richmond street at Portobello Bridge. It is the only shop on that side of the street. Run by an Egyptian man (used to work in Egyptian embassy) and his wife. They are both complete sweethearts and very dedicated to the food they supply and make - a sign says "everything home made". They have a very cheap butcher (of course) and I made a wonderful braised mutton stew (Pierre Koffman recipe from his memories of Gascony book - gigot de quatre heures - bottle of white wine, onions, carrots, a bulb of garlic and some herbs cooked in a low oven, (gas 3), for 4 hours) - wonderful flavour to the meat and when was the last time anyone saw mutton in a shop.

Primarily I go to this shop for the home made pitta breads which cannot be compared to the regular frozen kind as they are far, far superior in flavour and texture; I also go for the prepared foods - sweet and savoury snacks including various almond flavoured pastries plus lamb and beef samosa-type pastries, strange cracker style bread, chicken and almond stew, lamb, onions, peppers stew, breaded chicken, deep fried foods including deep fried pitta bread, mushrooms, chicken etc. Usually around £4 for a generous take-out portion with rice. There is always around 10 tubs of various flavoured, green and black olives for sale plus the usual staples like rice, cornmeal, cous cous and various tinned goods etc.. On Saturday I bought 8 pitta breads, enough mutton for four generous portions of stew, some dried lemons, 3 savoury pastries (the shape of 3 inch sausage rolls - 2 with lamb, one with chicken - 3 for £1) and some olives and the bill was £7.50.

Next, Wonderful Merguez...

Outstanding merguez - the best I have ever tasted, including those bought in France, from a small shop on Grantham Street (can't remember the name), beside Havana Restaurant and around the corner from the Simon charity shop on Camden Street. These are a lovely garlicky lamb and beef concoction. The owner is Algerian and his wife sometimes makes a flat doughy bread layered with onions and spices and around 10 inches square. They are simply wonderful. The caveat about this shop is that he only has the sausages one out of every five times I go in. His opening hours are not consistent either (or not to me anyway). He usually doesn't open until around 11am but stays open late. Note, the shop is tiny and looks rather bleak but don't be put off.

The old Universal Foods shop is now called Altayibat (beside Brady's chemist at the top of Camden street). They were very nice and apologised for the lack of hot food. An example of their approach to customers; when I asked about the hot food he apologised for the lack of it, but immediately offered me one of the chicken legs he had just cooked for himself and his co-worker. The shop is spotless and the butcher counter had more of the look of an Irish butcher's display case.

Next, Spiceland on the little street connecting to Richmond St. from Harcourt Rd. They now have a freezer containing all kinds of odd looking fish - one had a label saying "White Sheat Fish (Bual)". Now, time to get out Claudia Roden's book of Middle Eastern Food.... the sweet pastries they had (around 7 to choose from) were called something like the following: Baaclava (that one was easy), Magroudi (bit like a fig roll), Asla (hard sweet pastry with date filling - oven-cooked and deep-fried version) and Katchai (kind of angel hair pasta baked with honey - v. interesting and my favourite sweet bought to date from one of these shops.). Of course they had no Merguez yesterday. He said they don't make them every day but to call in again. A good selection of meat and chicken and a clean butcher area. This shop is by far the busiest in the district with a queue for the butcher counter all the time plus people wandering around the aisles. They were delighted that I wanted to try all the pastries. I asked the origin of the pastries and I was told Arabic - (not North African as I had thought), I said "Iraq, Iran etc." and he said yes.

Next door is a wholesale Middle East/Asian shop (no name over the door) with catering sized everything but also a good place to buy mango juice and pomegranates and the like. They usually all have pomegranates at this time of year but this was the only shop that had them last night. (Wine Apples in Dublin street-trader parlance).

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