Speaking of pub food, anyone in search of serious pub sandwiches should try out the splendid stuff Kevin Donnelly is producing in The Vineyard Bar on Market Lane, just beside Cork's Covered Market. I had a New York Reuben (haven't we all, says you) which consisted of toasted rye bread with smoked pastrami, gruyere cheese and sauerkraut, chosen from a terrific list of sandwiches, and it was only brilliant: good bread, good ingredients, excellently put together. The selection includes other intriguing concoctions such as Smouldering Hoagie (chicken and cheddar baked in a baguette, with salad in at the end, just in case, like me, you had no idea what a Smouldering Hoagie was), the Corker (spiced beef with Ballymaloe relish, of course) and the quixotic Buffalo Bardot, which throws buffalo mozzarella together with pesto, roasted peppers and aubergines, sun-dried tomatoes and olives in focaccia bread.
Food is served in The Vineyard up to 7.30 p.m., and 4 p.m. on Saturdays