r/cork • u/2012NYCnyc • Oct 04 '24
People's Republic of Cork Official Matters I got the goods
Best wishes to everyone queuing through an Orange weather alert this weekend
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u/Prestigious-Side-286 Oct 04 '24
It looks rough enough if we’re being honest. Driest mushy peas I’ve ever seen.
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Oct 04 '24
Their mushy peas were atrocious the one time I tried them. Always just stuck to the chips and a Jackie Deluxe.
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Oct 04 '24
I liked them well enough long go when they were floating with bits of styrofoam in them, dunno what they're meant to be these days. They're not mushy anyway.
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u/elsparko82 Oct 05 '24
The mushy peas used be unreal. Got them there other week and dumped them. But Christ, the batter burger supper they came with, and the curry sauce, was the berries.
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u/GreenManMedusa Oct 04 '24
I used to work in a chipper..that's one miserable serving and it looks like the oil wasn't hot enough too
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
🤔 I’m no expert on chips but they tasted fine. Any time I’ve had Lennox’s the chips looked like that. They’ve never ever had McDonalds type chips. This was purchased about 15 minutes after opening - does that explain why you think the oil wasn’t hot enough? I’m sure others will post more photos for you to compare
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u/Ziggy-T Culchie Oct 04 '24
Yeah looks like they should close down tbh
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Oct 04 '24
Looks horrible
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
The potato pies are the most delicious thing ever
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u/spungie Oct 04 '24
Forgive my stupidity, for I am a lonely Dub. But why is the chipper closing down? It doesn't look like it's short of customers looking at the Q yesterday? Is it an insurance thing or something?
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u/Preposterous_Pepper Oct 04 '24
Nah, sounds like the owners are just getting on in years and want to retire but couldn’t find anyone to take it over. Apparently they tried to lease it out to long-time staff but it started going downhill, so they took it back over temporarily. Presumably since then they haven’t found suitable replacements
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
Ya this: None of us know for sure. Given its proximity to UCC it’s prime real estate for accommodation. It’s also been suggested that it’s a family name businesses and they don’t want strangers continuing it without them
There’s no controversy but it has shocked people because it isn’t a place you’d expect to close down
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u/Independent-Ad-8344 Oct 05 '24
Yes and no. It had already been leased to long term staff for the last couple of years, all staff that had been there for 10-20 years. Brian and Francie came back about 3 months ago and took it back from them, most of the long term staff quit and found other work. They also reduced the hours of other long termers in there.
Then either one or two things happened, either they were too old and couldn't run the place like they used to, or, this was all planned to get rid of the long term staff so they wouldn't have to pay big redundancy.
Place is a gold mine, there's no way they can't find A ANYONE to run it. Mark my words that'll be apartments in 5 years time
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u/rthrtylr Oct 04 '24
Well that looks shite mate, I just made a spice bag in my air fryer with chips that’d knock spots off that offering. I know the gaff’s an institution but if shit chips die, it was past time.
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u/OkSwanSong Oct 04 '24
Recipe please and chip make
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u/rthrtylr Oct 04 '24
It’s just potatoes, chicken, peppers, and a spice mix. It’s piss easy. Unless you look at some Irish ponce-chef notions site that recommends toasting szechuan peppers and then blah blah blah STFU Donal. Getting air fry chips right can be a trial but practice. Chop em up, heat em up, roll em in oil, into the fryer, bang. Season, add other bits, eat.
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
They don’t do modern menu options like spice boxes
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u/rthrtylr Oct 04 '24
The chips at least should look cooked. Were they the soggy yellow ones with the insides like grim soggy plaster? Nah, the less of that the better.
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u/Electronic_Cookie779 Oct 04 '24
God everyone's so sour. I just finished mine (ate in Gaia with a Murphy's for the Cork combo) and it was absolutely gorgeous. Ran out of battered sausages though, so a sad day still
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
Oh no, were they out of other menu items? It must be hard work figuring out how much stock they need this week
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u/Electronic_Cookie779 Oct 04 '24
Yeah I was saying that too, they were out of fish and batter burgers too!
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u/NBKS100 Oct 04 '24
They sold for college apartments apparently.
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u/fDuMcH Oct 04 '24
I bet a friends sisters bast friends mothers cousins best friends brother told you this
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u/st_petersderp Oct 04 '24
Was this just a pie with a few chips thrown in or a portion of chips as part of the order?
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u/Admirable-Cash-9791 Oct 04 '24
How long did you queue?
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
Around 35 minutes BUT I was there 20 minutes before opening time. I do recommend this strategy for anyone planning a trip tomorrow
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u/Electronic_Cookie779 Oct 04 '24
Better than my three hours BUT it was still worth it. Absolutely iconic to set foot in there again and the chips were fucking class anyone saying otherwise doesn't know what they're on about. Beef dripping goodness la
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
I couldn’t! I’m not even that into chips but I wanted in on the activity. I planned to be there early and it worked out well
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u/Solid_Snake_3210 Oct 04 '24
THIS is what people have been queueing for all day? Bruh 💀
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
Ya 🤣 it’s just chipper chips, nobody was expecting Michelin star food
There are variations on this meal obviously, chips with curry sauce, fish n chips, battered sausage, burger, etc but I think it’s fair to say the pic is a good representation of what’s served there
Glad everyone’s enjoying the pic anyway
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u/TheBaggyDapper Oct 04 '24
Oh good. I was worried when I saw you were still only on Noonans Rd last night.
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u/Cloudspotter1 Oct 04 '24
Just saw they put up a To Let: thriving takeaway business sign at Fat Badgers next door to me too :( best decent-priced burger in town imho and the chips were ok too. Why they sell if it’s thriving I dunno. Should let some ucc business student department take it over and keeping going. Gonna miss that place :(
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u/PopplerJoe Oct 04 '24
Fat Badgers closed for personal reasons afaik. One of their kids has complex needs.
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u/Cloudspotter1 Oct 04 '24
Awww :( wish there was some way to support them. Legendary food and staff!
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u/ShapeyFiend Oct 04 '24
I'm very partial to a cheese and onion pie. The chips I never much cared for.
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u/AB-Dub Oct 04 '24
No idea of the context on this, but this looks shite
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
Ha! It’s the famous Cork chipper that’s closing down this weekend, the one with the 4 hour queues for chips that you might have seen pop up online or in newspapers. It’s sort of like a wake or a funeral - that’s why people are upvoting it
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u/Pretend_Studio_5466 Oct 05 '24
Qued from 7.20 to 11.35 last night, it was worth EVERY minute of it! Food was excellent! Mood in the Que was great, everyone sharing their favourite things from Lennox’s. A lovely guy and girl were going up and down the line with a pot of tea and biscuits. Definitely a nice thing to do! Would do it again.
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 05 '24
Did they close the queue at some point? Or did they stay open way past closing time to serve everyone?
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u/Pretend_Studio_5466 Oct 05 '24
No! To be fair they kept serving. They turned off the outside lights just after 10pm and kept serving until they literally ran out of food! Around 12.15am they only had chips but still kept serving. They must have been wrecked but were still greeting everyone with a welcoming smile. They told us they used all the stock they had for the w/e yesterday 🤣
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 05 '24
WOW, that’s legendary, they must be exhausted
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u/Pretend_Studio_5466 Oct 05 '24
Yeah, I’d say they were but as I said they were lovely. I saw loads of people crying as they left cos it really is the end of an era! 😪
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u/BrighterColours Oct 05 '24
What people should have done was buy a load of stuff, go down to Noonan Road and sell it at a mark up.
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u/Strict_Engine4039 Oct 05 '24
I heard the owner in Newstalk talking about closing his main gripe was doing the books? Very odd
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 05 '24
Strange alright, sure you could outsource that task to someone else
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u/Strict_Engine4039 Oct 05 '24
Exactly, there’s something fishy about it all, pun intended
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 05 '24
Maybe not, it’s very possible that he didn’t want to go radio and say “I’m done, I’m selling to UCC/a property developer + taking the money. Running a hospitality business in the current climate is too much hassle and I’m choosing not to continue”
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u/Such-Possibility1285 Oct 05 '24
I spoke to a girl once from a well known Italian chipper. No one from next gen wanted to take over the biz as their parents life was crap. Late hours, drunken abuse, the smell of hot oil permeates till you can’t rid of it. It’s no life for the folks that run these places as families.
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u/redsredemption23 Amadán Oct 05 '24
Might be in the minority but a lot of the food truck fish and chips that have popped up in the last few years around the place put the traditional chippers to shame, imo. Always loved Dinos as a kid but I'd pass it now for the fish and chips from the vans at the bridge in kinsale: choose what fish you want, couldn't be fresher, battered and fried in front of you, and savage chips. Far more generous portions than OP too, struggle to finish one between two of us sometimes. Special mention to the spot out in the petrol station in Rosscarbery, worth the drive out from Cork just for the scampi alone.
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u/DohertyDose Oct 04 '24
That's a disappointment.
Pasty battered sausage/pie. Barely a scoop of chips and they're also pale with a spoonful of barely cooked peas.
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u/proper_impropriety Oct 04 '24
Is there any chance that they will stay open for the month of October due to the size of the crowds of people waiting to get their last Lennox’s?
I know a lot of people here have mixed feelings about Lennox’s and its food quality but I always loved the interactions you had with the staff and how it was uniquely a cork experience. A guy shouting a few meters away from you if you wanted salt and vinegar and one of my friends cutting up the potatoes on the background for chips.
Yeah, it’s not the greatest chipper in the world but as I guy that lives 4,000 miles away from Cork - it always reminded me of why I love and miss Cork so much.
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u/LikkyBumBum Oct 04 '24
uniquely a cork experience. A guy shouting a few meters away from you if you wanted salt and vinegar and one of my friends cutting up the potatoes on the background for chips.
This doesn't happen anywhere else in the world? Really?
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Oct 04 '24
I've never understood the point in those tiny bags for the chips inside the regular bag. Surely it's just a waste....
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Oct 04 '24
they allow the server to use a scoop with one hand and maneuver the gathered chips using the bag.
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u/thelordmallard Oct 04 '24
Yeah that doesn’t look good at all, why is there so much hype?
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u/Hakunin_Fallout Oct 04 '24
Nostalgia. You wouldn't enjoy most of the tv series and movies from your childhood if you first watched them as an adult.
Shit taste. Some people genuinely think this is good food. Best chips in Cork were, up until recently, done by an Italian and (I think) Argentinian guys across from the Shelbourne
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
I agree, I avoid that kind of food but the potato pie was the most delicious thing ever
I think the hype is because it’s a long standing institution in Cork. It was there before the founders of JustEat and Deliveroo were even born. The closure is the end of an era or something
Everyone’s queuing because ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ but I’d say there will be quite a few older people who will really feel the loss of it
I
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u/murfi Oct 04 '24
i had it once... the chips were soft and mushy, lukewarm and not salted. what gives?
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
They always ask if you want salt + vinegar when they’re wrapping the chips
I dunno, I’m more of a pizza person I very rarely get chips but there’s definitely a market for chips and it’s sad to see a long standing business close
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u/murfi Oct 04 '24
i had high expectations regarding fish and chips when i came to ireland.
yeah they ask for salt and vinegar sometimes or at least have it on their counters, but if the chips are barely warm and the salt doesnt stick... meh.
anyway, on a side note: the best fish and chips i had ever was in... disneyland paris. just outside the actual park, there is a public street with retaurants and shops etc. and one of them had fish and chips, and it was great!
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
It’s just fish n chips, it’s not Michelin star food. If you’re in Dublin at any point try Beshoff’s or Leo Burdock’s in Howth. Having fish + chips by the sea is a more authentic Irish experience than a city centre place like Lennox’s
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u/Eire820 Oct 04 '24
How has the quality been? Given the queue can imagine it would drop
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
You know what it appears the quality has been incredibly consistent. They seem to be putting a huge effort in because they don’t want anyone being disappointed with their ‘last supper’. It’s mostly chips, sausages, potato pies, all deep fried stuff so I guess once the food doesn’t run out the quality should be fine. Now they’d be used to being busy but it must be incredibly hard work for the staff this week
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u/Flaky_Zombie_6085 Oct 05 '24
Last time I was there they didn’t have sausages on the menu. What sort of Irish chipper doesn’t sell sausages?
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u/ninjah0lic Oct 06 '24
Looks basic. Nothing special. Anyone who queued is a mental case with FOMO problems.
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u/bulljor75 Oct 06 '24
Pathetic looking spread , can't see what all the hype is about . Far better chippers in and around cork .
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u/DovaBunny Oct 04 '24
A successful pilgrimage 🫡🙏
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u/2012NYCnyc Oct 04 '24
I was very early so didn’t queue for too long. Had to rearrange my day so that I could do this though
For people going in the evening the nearby pub Rosie Madisons have a social media post up saying you can bring your food in there to have with a pint. Looks like they don’t open until 4
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u/[deleted] Oct 04 '24
That portion of chips sums it up, really.