Wexford delight

Wexford strawberries and a classic Normandy apple pie. Yum, writes EOIN HIGGINS

‘IT CERTAINLY LOOKS like broken glass.” This is not the best thing to hear from your dining companion as you hold your glass of wine up to the light. There were foreign bodies in my Chablis Pinson 2005 (€6). Unable to determine what exactly we were looking at, I asked for an empty glass from our waiter, poured the remaining wine into it and dipped a finger in the foreign matter. It was hard, very fine, and sparkled in the light. I was still thinking, while praying to the contrary, that it could be ground glass when the manager arrived and said “Tartrates”, with a knowing smile.

The more experienced oenologists among you have probably been shouting “Tartrates” too, since you began reading this. And of course you are right. These small, innocuous crystals can appear in wine unless removed through cold stabilisation in the clarifying stages. Tartrates aren’t harmful and only impact the wine visually; often they are referred to as wine diamonds by producers, and are in fact an indication that a wine may have gone through a very natural process.

Once the wine situation had been cleared up, we were at our leisure to peruse the menu. Jacques French Bistro is part of Greenacres, a food hall, gallery and bistro in Wexford town. The bistro is classically French, in menu and execution. There is a pleasant terrace that was quite packed the day we were there and the restaurant is clearly child-friendly, if the amount of red-faced, happy small people milling around was any indication. Home-made chicken liver pâté a l’orange (€7.95) was good, although it was accompanied unnecessarily by pesto, sweet chutney, fresh leaves, black and green olives, sundried tomatoes, and roasted red and yellow peppers. All it really needed was a bit of toast. My companion’s Serrano ham and lentil soup (€4.95) was a wintery choice, but vibrant and flavourful.

In addition to the now mystery-free Pinson Chablis, which was very good indeed, my companion’s Bordeaux Greenacres Supérieure 2005 (€5) was also good for the money. The wine list is great – a huge selection and some very interesting appellations. It is an especially nice list for fans of red Bordeaux.

Braised lamb shank with garlic and thyme jus (€14.95) was the winner of the main event – a sensitively cooked piece of lamb, subtly enhanced by a light jus. My moules marinière (€12.95) was marginally less good, let down a little by late-delivered, pale chips. The mussels were very good though, as one would hope in Wexford sur mer. We took our desserts and coffees on the terrace. A good deal – any dessert with coffee for €5 – put a smile on our weary faces, as did the Wexford strawberries and cream for me, and a classic Normandy apple pie for my pal. Bravo on both counts. It took quite a while to get the bill, which is always a pain in the neck.

Jacques French Bistro is great for a casual Saturday afternoon bite, with or without kids. It’s a nice alternative if the Italian stallion next door, Roberto Pons’s Dolce Vita, is jam-packed, as it usually is.

A solid lunch for two with two glasses of wine came to €65.30. ehiggins@irishtimes.com