Pictures of Limerick (circa
1920) Pictures of Limerick (circa
1920)
| Dandelion Days 6 Ellen Street Limerick Telephone: (061) 400020  |
Good selection of reasonably priced herbs and spices. No
chilled or frozen products. Vega testing by appointment every Saturday.
Dandelion Days closed in December 1999. |
| Evergreen Mainguard Street/High Street Corner Galway Telephone: (091) 64215 |
There is a fine selection of wholefoods, chilled foods, and frozen foods (on request from downstairs freezer) in this busy wholefood shop. Upstairs, you will find cosmetics, toiletries, books, etc. |
| Full of Beans 9 George's Court Georges Street Waterford  |
An Aladdin's cave of a wholefood shop jam-packed with a wide variety of goods. Chilled and frozen foods also available. |
| The Grainey Main Street Scarriff Co. Clare Telephone: (061) 921265 |
Suprisingly, I found a wider selection of products in this interesting shop compared to those in Limerick city. The prices were also quite reasonable - no doubt reflecting the lower overheads of this rural business location. There was a good selection of chilled products and even frozen goods, including soya ice cream! Fresh organic produce was on sale, including spring onions, lettuce (very tough!), and garlic. |
| GreenAcres 56 North Main Street Wexford Telephone: (053) 22975  |
These are large premises comprising a section for fruit and vegetables in the centre, wine in the back on the left, a coffee shop in the back on the right, a delicatessan on the left and bakery on the right. Of some interest to the wholefood shopper. |
| The Grove 11 Upper Cecil Street Limerick Telephone: (061) 410084 |
Wholefood shop and takeaway. Eat in, perched on high stools facing the wall. There are no toilet facilities so, if you're caught short, cross the road to Tom Collins's pub. The food is adequate. Get in early to get the widest selection. There is a range of wholefoods on shelves along one wall and a chilled food cabinet beside the counter. |
| Healthwise 5 Lower Abbeygate Street Galway Telephone: (091) 68761 |
This is a long narrow shop packed with wholefoods at reasonable prices. Chilled and frozen foods, including soya ice cream, are also available. |
| Mr Bell's Cork Covered Market  |
Try Mr Bell's in the Cork Covered Market for all sorts of hard to get culinary bits and bobs. This is the only place in Ireland that I've been able to buy Snyder's of Hanover Mini Fat Free Pretzels. Well worth a look! |
| Nancy's Wholefoods Thomas Street Limerick Telephone: (061) 419400  |
Reasonably priced and comprehensive selection of rice, grains, pulses, peas in self-service dispensers. A good range of organic vegetables and breads. Chilled products include soya yoghurts, vegetable spreads, goat/sheep cheeses, soya cheeses. Frozen products now available, including Swedish Glace soya ice cream.. Supplements and cosmetics are mostly stored behind the counter. There is an extensive range of organic products, including herbs and spices. Prices, unfortunately, reflect the current poor exchange rate of the punt against sterling (July 2000). |
| Natural Foods 26 Paul Street Cork Telephone: (021) 277244  |
Natural Foods is a wholefood shop and bakery. It stocks a variety of wholefoods, including chilled and frozen products. The bakery produces attractive organic breads, including rye, sourdough, and wholemeals. The cherry brack is unusual and tasty. |
| Nature's Remedies 17 Michael Street Waterford Telephone: (051) 78350  |
Good selection of supplements and a limited selection of wholefoods at reasonable prices. |
| Nature's Way Unit 2 Arthur's Quay Shopping Centre Limerick Telephone: (061) 310466  |
Although this shop sells mostly supplements, it has the distinction of being the only wholefood shop in Limerick to sport a freezer cabinet. This cabinet holds a selection of frozen foods (burgers, sausages, quorn-based goods), and non-dairy ice creams! Chilled soya yoghurts, soya cheeses, fruit juices. etc. occupy an adjoining cabinet. There is a good selection of pre-packed grains, pulses, and peas but they are expensive. Nonetheless, a welcome addition for the Limerick wholefood shopper! |
| Only Natural North Main Street Wexford 
|
Opposite GreenAcres on North Main Street, Only Natural is a gem of a wholefood shop. Extending back much further than it's narrow frontage would suggest, the premises include sections for supplements, herbs and spices, medicinal herbs, locally baked breads, cakes and flapjacks, books and tapes, and toiletries. There are two large cabinets for chilled and frozen products. Drinkers of goats milk may like to try the locally produced goats milk ice cream! There is a fine array of organic food stuffs, including mueslis, tinned plum tomatoes, spaghetti sauces, peanut butter, hazel butter, etc. Sugar-free jams include those from Meridian, Whole Earth, and St. Dalfour. And everything is reasonably priced! Only Natural must be a boon for local wholefood shoppers. It is certainly a treat for visitors. |
| Open Sesame 35 Parnell Street Ennis Co. Clare Telephone: (065) 21480  |
This is a fine wholefood shop with a far wider selection of goods than can be found in Limerick city. There is an excellent selection of chilled goods, including Tofutti soya cheeses, SoySingle soya cheese slices, Provamel Natural Organic Yofu, goats cheese, soya spreads, etc. Frozen foods include soya ice creams, sausages, burgers, etc. Organic fresh fruit and vegetables are available. The shop also stocks organic baby foods. A most interesting shop to visit as there is always the probability of finding something new. Prices, however, are high. |
| The Quay Co-op 24 Sullivan's Quay Cork Telephone: (021) 317660 Email: info@quaycoop.com  |
The Quay Co-op comprises a wholefood shop on the ground floor, a wholefood restaurant spanning the first and second floors, and other enterprises not immediately obvious to the public (I have an old copy of the Alternative Ireland Directory that was published by the Co-op in 1990). The shop stocks a wide variety of wholefoods, including fresh organic fruit and vegetables, chilled and frozen products, and freshly baked breads and cakes. Upstairs the self-service restaurant offers vegan, gluten-free, and other options. (It's good to see vegan and gluten-free diets catered for.) Collecting your food on the first floor and making your way upstairs to a free table can be bothersome. There are, for example, vegan dishes available. However, consciousness of the fat content of the food, be it vegan or vegetarian, is absent. Unfortunately, oil is used liberally in the cooking. Happily, the meals are rich in complex carbohydrates. It's good to see brown rice, wholewheat pasta, and vegan desserts, including a very tasty blackcurrant cheesecake |
| Watch this space! | Intentionally blank. |
| Cussens
Cottage Ballygrennan Bulgaden Co. Limerick Contact Stephen & Ita West on telephone: (063) 98926 Email: cussenscottage@eircom.net  |
A large organic garden provides fresh produce for Cussen's Kitchen. The rooms are en-suite and have their own entrance, with T.V. and tea-making facility. Lunch and dinner is delicious and excellent value. |
| Food for Thought 3 Lower Abbeygate Street Galway Telephone: (091) 65854 |
This vegetarian and wholefood restaurant occupies a long narrow premises, which accounts for the space-saving high stools for customers that line each side wall and huddle around three small round tables down the middle. Although No Smoking signs were displayed, these did not stop some determined smokers from tainting the Galway air during my lunchtime visit. I chose the leek and potato soup of the day for £1.80 including a brown scone and butter (no non-dairy spreads in evidence), followed by a vegetable curry (dairy-free - so far as I could detect) and white rice plus side salad (£4.25), and concluded with a generous serving of rhubarb crumble (about £1.75). There was a selection of main dish options for £2.95 each. Overall, this was adequate food at reasonable prices. With my low-fat vegan hat on, I must comment on the absence of fat-consciousness, the liberal use of dairy products and eggs, and the use of white instead of brown rice. The use of dairy products (especially cream and cheese), eggs, and cooking oils make for a vegetarian diet that is just as unhealthy as the typical carnivorous diet. (August 1998) |
| Green Lodge Trawnamadree Ballylickey Bantry Co. Cork Contact Chris Domegan on telephone: (027) 66146 |
Self catering accommodation in a single storey terrace next to the Domegans' residence. Clean, bright rooms. Organic vegetables, bread, and vegan whole foods are available from the house. You will need these supplies as there is very little in the way of vegetarian/vegan food in the surrounding area. It's a good base for cycling, touring, or walking for those who like to cook on holiday. |
| Haricots Wholefood Restaurant 11 O'Connell Street Waterford Telephone: (051) 841299  |
This wholefood restaurant caters for vegetarians and vegans, and also serves meat and fish dishes. Among the vegetarian dishes, it was difficult to discern the vegan ones as they were not labelled on the menu. Soups cost £1.75. Main dishes varied in price from £3.95 to £5.80, all served with baked potato and side salads. There was a selection of desserts at £1.75 all served with cream or natural yoghurt - no soya cream. The food was adequate. The presence of meat dishes and the absence of explicitly vegan dishes on the menu is a shortcoming. To my mind, it is essential to have a low-fat vegan perspective in order to run a nutritionally aware "vegetarian" restaurant. This perspective appears to be absent at Haricots. As with all restaurants serving meat dishes, I am concerned about the ever present danger of meat contaminating vegetables. (August 1998) |
| The Old Farmhouse Greenane Near Rathdrum Co. Wicklow Contact Caroline & Tony Buck on telephone: (0404) 46676 |
Old style "double cream and cheese" vegetarians will enjoy the rich food in a friendly atmosphere. Vegans will avoid the free-range eggs and local cheeses loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol. |
| The Phoenix Dingle Peninsula Shanahill East Boolteens Near Castlemaine Co. Kerry Telephone: (066) 66284 |
The Phoenix offers accommodation and vegetarian/vegan food.
A living room and lean-to verandah comprise the self-styled Vegetarian
Restaurant. The food is expensive and this negates the value of the organic
ingredients. Herbal tea (freshly picked from the garden) costs £1.70! Corkage
costs £2. How pretentious! Overpriced organic vegetarian/vegan food does nothing for either the cause of vegetarianism or organic produce in Ireland. But the Phoenix is in County Kerry, after all, and I wonder how much repeat business Lorna and Billy Tyther get. |
|
Telephone Number: (01) 8730451 Annual Subscription: €10.00 Join the Vegetarian Society email discussion group by mailing vegsoc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Aims of the Society:The Vegetarian Society of Ireland exists to inform the people of Ireland about vegetarianism and veganism, and to co-operate with other organisations promoting vegetarianism, animal welfare and animal rights.
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The Vegetarian Society can organise talks
and video presentations on vegetarianism in the following areas: the
greater Dublin area, South Leinster, Mid Munster as far as Cork city, and
Roscommon/Sligo. These talks are suitable for schools or other interested
groups. For more information, e-mail: vegsoc@ireland.com.
During the last couple of years VSI member, Ita West, of Cussens Cottage Vegan & Vegetarian Guest House, has spoken to some groups around the country. The Society has published a cookbook, Simply Vegetarian by Tracy Culleton & Dee Higgs. This is currently out of print but will be available again in Spring 2004. The Society organises a Vegetarian Fair on World Vegetarian Day each year. The fair is usually held in St. Andrew's Resource Centre, Pearse Street, Dublin 2 in September. The Society publishes a quarterly magazine that is mailed to all VSI members. |
