4 Essential Dishes to Try at Beyond The Pale
Words: Shamim de Brún
Images: Press
Music-festival veterans will remember when food was merely a means to line the stomach, and the choice was easy, if unenticing: A dry-ass burger and chips.
These days, thank the deity of your choice, food is a fundamental part of the festival experience. As quintessential as double dropping or crying at your favourite artists’ soulful moment where you’re sure they made eye contact with you.
So with BTP literally kicking off today, we have rounded up the four essential food experiences to include in your weekend frolics.
Bish Bosh
We all love a spicey bag, but double points for an elevated one. Coming from Bish Bosh, you know it’s going to be a thing of beauty and a joy to indulge in. Just like literally everything they make. This bad boy is the definition of the cure. We all know that festivals and hangovers go together like wellies and mud. But this veggie spice box is here to save you from that dreaded morning-after misery. It’s compact, convenient, and oh-so-easy to devour while getting your groove on. It’s surprisingly packed with fresh ingredients full of essential nutrients. This magical box of spicy veggies and chips will nourish your weary soul and nurse you back to festival-ready status.
Kerala Kitchen
We all know that Ireland isn’t exactly renowned for its tropical climate or exotic spices. And yet we love a curry chips. And by the grace of the food deities, Kerala Kitchen has come to take that classic Irish fusion dish and elevate it to fugg with their natural born culinary talent. Here they have turned a festival favourite into a magical elixir that undoubtedly people will be queuing up for. Yours truly included.
El Feugo
There are many in this world who will go to bat for tacos as the ultimate food. And if they were referring to the birra tacos from El Feugo, then I wouldn’t fight them on it. What is birria? At its most basic, birria is a meat stew bathed in a melange of chiles and spices, giving it a deep, red hue. Birria tacos feature tortillas filled with the stew’s tender, juicy meat. Now imagine that Irish beef made, with fresh local ingredients, and I bet you are already adding it to your hit list for the weekend! As you should. A little bit of spice will clear your nose out, too, if you’re suffering from the dreaded hay fever or a self-induced nasal drip, which is only a bonus to the actual beautiful taste of the food.
Happys
Happy’s fried chicken is actually sent by Jesus himself to be your festival saviour. Chicken and eggs have high levels of tryptophan. Tryptophan is a key serotonin building block, so this combo makes perfect prep for a serotonin-depleting weekend of revelry. There are plenty of purveyors of piping hot poultry, but these lads take the stuff seriously. Meshing Eastern flavours with Western notions of deep-fried chicken, you know it’s going to be the flavour bomb you need to restore yourself to full health at any time of the day. It’s basically the equivalent of a Mario mushroom. You know it’s going to cure what ales ya.
Elsewhere on CHAR: What to eat when you’re on an MDMA come down
