Irish Cuisine: Not An Oxymoron

Since tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day I thought I'd do a mini-post on the food of Ireland. I'm not talking potatoes and cabbage (though colcannon definitely is one of my favorite comfort dishes, and this is a great recipe). I'm talking about Irish food now. I think there's a pervasive misconception of Ireland, that it's a culinary backwater, that only overcooked and flavorless food exists there. Wrong! And they're not damning tradition either. Read on:

Saveur 5-part article
Food and Wine "Eyes on Ireland" article
Food and Wine "Why Irish Chefs Love County Cork" article
Food and Wine "A Donegal Son Returns" article
Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" in Ireland

Up later this week: a post on cooking my way through Vefa's Kitchen