Takeaway food is a great indulgence, a little bit of ‘It’s been a long week and I deserve this’ and another part the pleasure of just not having to cook yourself.
But after weeks in lockdown with few other indulgences still available to indulge in, and not a lot going on to occupy the mind for a lot of people, another pizza or bag of chips is still a delicious takeaway, no doubt, but not quite the same treat as it was a few weeks ago.
Fortunately, with so many cafés and restaurants now running collection and delivery services, there are more options than ever to get some take home food in Galway that falls a little outside of the usual pizza and chips at the end of the night.
Here are just a few ideas for a change in pace from your usual takeaway fare that could be part of a full dinner, a light lunch, or just a snack to take you through the day.
Cottage Pie
A staple of Irish traditional home cooking, a Cottage Pie being divvied up with a side of fresh veg is a taste of home and family life.
Piping hot savoury beef, rich with gravy and crunchy onions, covered in a thick layer of creamy mashed potato with an ever so slightly crisp shell, all of it melting together in your mouth. I dare anyone to try that and say that Irish food is boring.
Now this might fall under the heading of a dish you can cook at home, whereas you’re unlikely to have a traditional stone baked pizza oven, or an industrial scale frier.
And while I’m sure that this time in lockdown has prompted many people to take up the spatula with great vigour, after the better part of two months I know my effort levels when it comes to cooking have, unfortunately, plummeted.
Getting a freshly made Cottage Pie to take home, knowing that its made with fresh local ingredients by a professional chef, has all the satisfaction of home-cooking, without any of the hassle.
For a fresh Cottage Pie as the centrepiece of any dinner, try Flannery’s Hotel in Galway City, now running a Call & Collect service at weekends.
Salad
A salad doesn’t just have to be a boring bowl of greens nicked from a rabbit, it we’ve long since moved past the notion that it even has to be a strictly vegetarian choice.
A great salad can is more than just the vegetables that go into it, bringing them together with different meats, roughage and dressings that can turn a light snack into a full blown meal of its own.
Salads are also a fantastic way to blend foods of different nationalities, experimenting with sauces, vegetables and more from all corners of the globe.
And why go the takeaway route? Well for one thing, if you’re thinking of whipping one up at home, this can save you the hassle of having to buy a long list of ingredients to put together one, admittedly extraordinary, dish.
But if they supermarket shelves beckon, with healthy food made easy, then keep in mind that freshness is key for any salad, and the best way to ensure that is to have it made to order for you.
If you’re interested in a range of salads and other veggie centric dishes, but still packed to the brim with indulgent flavour, try Moycullen Green Foods and their signature takeaway bowls.
Ice-Cream
Bit of a sharp u-turn here from our venture into healthier territory, but ice-cream has always been one of those “ah shur why not” indulgences.
A cold and creamy treat that can be the perfect snack to liven up an otherwise monotonous day, or the finishing touch to a larger meal, ice-cream suits many ocassions.
You might be able to get a litre tub from the supermarket cheaper. but is anyone really going to deny the difference in quality that comes from freshly made ice-cream, that added creaminess that comes when it doesn’t have to be able to last in the freezer for weeks.
For a range of ice-creams that includes your usual options, and other flavours such as cookie-dough and bubble-gum, along with a range of other desserts to accompany it, try Bubble Bee café on Abbeygate Street.
Many of Galway’s restaurants and cafés are adapting to the current crisis by offering takeout services, whether for delivery or collection. To see what restaurants are open near you and what they have to offer check out galwaydaily.com/galway-restaurants.
