The signs of a Dublin Christmas are popping up everywhere - people hauling around tiny Christmas trees for their overpriced apartments, fairy lights strewn shoddily on bare trees and Christmas FM has risen from the shadows to unleash its merry rumps upon us. The Black Friday sales have come and gone, leaving us looking forlornly at full price tags, and while we may have been cynical before, we’re ready now. Fill us with festive carbohydrates, oh sweet and savoury consumer god.
1) The Fable + Stey Christmas Toastie
Let the excess commence, and what better way to embrace the season than Christmas dinner in a sambo. The toastie by Blackrock café Fable + Stey features roast chicken, smoked gubbeen ham, cranberry sauce and onion and thyme stuffing, with sprout salad. Bonus feature: no awkward interactions with relatives you see once a year. (Hint: You can’t choose your family but you can choose your sandwiches.)
2) The White Mausu Rice Bowl at the Christmas Flea Market
This might not be the most festive dish on the list, but that doesn’t dull our lust for it. White Mausu's rice bowl, available at The Christmas Flea, contains sticky Japanese rice, miso aubergine, homemade fermented kimchi, peas, rayu, and an egg pancake. The Christmas Flea is only open for one more weekend, so why not cross a few presents off your list, and then inhale this as a reward.
3) The Christmas Toastie at Daniel
The idea behind Daniel's signature sandwich, the ‘Black and Blue’, was conceived around the festive time last year (when executive head chef at 3fe, Hilary O’ Hagan Brennan made a Christmas leftovers toastie), and it was one of the best things to come out of the silly season since the bearded man himself. Now they've released a new Christmas toastie with turkey, ham, brie and cranberry mayo, and we've been eyeing it up all week.
4) The Cruffins at Oxmantown
Pastries, amirite? Oxmantown’s insta feed has been seducing us with cruffins for weeks. The chocolate orange cremeux cruffin topped with caramelised orange, lemon meringue, toasted nut praline and of course, a malted chocolate cremeux. *double tap* *double tap* *double tap* ... *double tap*
5) Bujo Paddy’s Ranch Burger
We’re going to say it first. Burgers are festive now. Burgers are great. Burgers are always a good idea and what other time of the year is it as acceptable to impulse eat them? Plus, every new limited burger at Bujo feels like opening a window of your advent calendar. Their new special. 'The Paddy Ranch', features house-made Korean ranch and panko red onion rings. See, I’m dreaming of a ra-a-nch Christmas...
