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Carluccio’s now delivering to Northern Ireland!

Posted: 22 February '10 by Niall

When Kelly and I visit London our itinerary always includes at least one meal (and a bottle of wine or two) at a Carluccio’s restaurant. Aside from the delicious, authentic Italian food, the friendly staff, and the pocket-saving prices, the in-store deli is a treasure-trove of mouth-watering treats: from truffle butter to dried porcini, imported Italian liqueurs and wines to specialty chocolates.

Carluccio’s was founded in 1991 by chef Antonio Carluccio and has flourished ever since, with 43 locations across mainland UK. When we noticed that they had opened a branch in Dublin (March 2008) Kelly and I were over-the-moon, hoping that a Belfast location was on the cards.

While we’re waiting, however, we can now get our Carluccio’s “fix” online. Until recently they couldn’t deliver to Northern Ireland – but that has all changed! So, as a special treat for Kelly, I ordered a box of Italian delicacies..

You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2

The delivery from Carluccio’s

• Limoncello Di Sorrento 70cl – £19.50
• Vin Santo D.o.c. 37.5 Cl – £16.50
• Cantucci Al Cioccolato (Chocolate Cantucci Tuscan Biscuits) 300g – £4.95
• Burro Al Tartufo (Truffle Butter) 80g – £4.95
• Sugo Al Nero Di Seppia (Cuttlefish Ink Sauce) 140g – £2.95

Limoncello Di Sorrento

Limoncello is a lemon liqueur from Southern Italy, and Sorrento in particular. Served after a meal, it’s an intensely lemon-flavoured digestif that was particularly to Kelly’s liking.

Vin Santo and Cantucci Al Cioccolato

A Tuscan dessert wine, and similar in some ways to sherry. We followed the directions from Carluccio’s an dunked our Cantucci biscuits into the sweet, fiery drink which really enhanced the almond flavour of the biscuits. Delicious, and a nice way to finish a meal when you have guests for dinner.

Burro Al Tartufo

The truffle butter is the one product that we longed for when Carluccio’s didn’t deliver to Northern Ireland – we’d lament the delivery policy as we salivated over the thought of the white, creamy butter infused with the dark, earthy flavours and aromas of the truffle. We enjoyed ours on toasted crusty bread, which was delicious – but I have a feeling that the scrambled eggs with a dollop of truffle-butter melting over the top that we have planned will be amazing.

Sugo Al Nero Di Seppia

We haven’t tried this yet – but I have a great recipe for Spaghetti in Squid Ink Sauce. Make sure you check the blog in the near future for the recipe and photos of how I got on.

What we thought

Finding ingredients and specialist goods in Northern Ireland can be frustrating – impossible, at times – but with the change in the delivery policy at Carluccio’s a world of authentic Italian tastes are a mouse-click away.

We both loved the various products – each and every one was delicious and had us looking up the site to see what else we could order.

The delivery charge was £5.60 – it sounds a lot but, considering the weight of our parcel, I thought that it was fair enough.

You might have already picked up on the fact that we love Carluccio’s.

Other information

You can visit Carluccio’s online at: www.carluccios.com/.

After some wrangling over their rental agreement for the Dawson Street premises in Dublin, and after the reported closure of the Dublin branch, I’m pleased to report that all is well. A week after closing it’s doors an agreement was reached between the restaurant chain and the landlord, saving around 60 jobs and ensuring the future of one of our favourite restaurants in Dublin.

You can find Carluccio’s in Dublin at:
Carluccio’s
53 Dawson Street
Dublin 2
T: (01) 6333957
W: www.carluccios.com
You can also find Carluccio’s – Dublin on Google Maps.

Tags: italian food, news

Categories: England > Local Food Heroes > News > Product Reviews > United Kingdom

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Healthy “eating”? You should just graze.com

Posted: 09 January '10 by Kelly

Now if your New Years’ resolution is anything like mine (to eat less!!), then listen up! With all the food and drink I consumed over the Christmas and New Year celebrations nothing now seems to fill me for long and I am constantly thinking about eating.

So when Niall told me about the ‘Graze box’ I was excited. Graze.com are a UK based company that deliver (by post) different boxes of food to your desk for as little as £2.99. You can choose what you want in your box, ranging from fresh fruit to nuts and Olives. Your food is then hand picked, boxed and sent to your home or your office with free (yes free!!) first class delivery – far better than picking up a curly pre-packed sandwich from a garage on the way into work.

It is also worth adding that ‘Graze’ boxes are from a sustainable forest, biodegradable and recyclable.

Niall’s mum is a big fan of grazing throughout the day, instead of eating three big meals a day she snacks regularly. Research shows that snacking on natural foods throughout the day can maintain and control blood sugar which helps to lose weight.

Graze were kind enough to send us a ‘nibble box’ to try and I absolutely loved it! When it came through the door it was like getting another present!!  In my box of treats I got -

• Apple strudel – Dried Apple, naturally dried apricots and dried cranberries
• Macadamia nuts
• Yin and Yang -  extra dark chocolate buttons with cherries and almonds
• Cajun seed mix

Now, I thought I would be able to eat them all in one go, but they are surprisingly filling.  So I was able to snack throughout the week with them.

I have to say my favourite was the ying & yang, it was delicious.  Meaning the unity of opposites – the dark chocolate is in perfect contrast  to the blanched almonds and the sweet dried cherries to create a really tasty snack.

For the calorie-conscious it’s important to remember that even though it’s healthy the content still has calories. Nuts have a high fat content as well as dried fruit being high in sugars – even though it’s natural. The Yin & Yang pot, for instance, was 296 calories.  Now this may seem slightly high for a snack but keep in mind you are getting some chocolate (which is extra dark so therefore has many health benefits), you are also getting lots of nuts and dried fruit.  More importantly this will keep you sustained until your next meal and you wont feel tempted to snack again in between. If you thought that the 296 calories was too high then the apple strudel of Dried Apple, naturally dried apricots and dried cranberries could be the one for you.  This only had 172 calories (but unfortunately no chocolate)!!

You can personalise your Graze box by choosing what goes into it, so you can have as many or as few calories in your box as you want.   I will be ordering another box for sure, the only problem I am having is what to order?

You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3

Our verdict:

I really loved the Graze nibble box – it’s a healthy way of snacking throughout the week.  They never use any artificial colours, flavours or preservatives in their products and the boxes are environmentaly friendly.  The box also provided me with a few of my ‘5 a day’ which is a real bonus.

So get grazing!!

Other information

You can find out more by visiting www.graze.com

Tags: healthy eating, lunch

Categories: England > Local Food Heroes > United Kingdom

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