When I started working there was a Bendini & Shaw sandwich shop on St Stephenās Green (corner of Grafton Street) They had a few other shops and a lad on a bike with a big basket.
For many years Iād treat myself to a chicken tikka roll about twice a week. Itās probably the only sandwich I remember (apart from a Swedish club sandwich in Stockholm watching the marathon - it was salmon and avocado).
Insomnia bought them in 2002 for 2 million pounds and that was the end of the chicken tikka roll.
Anyway when I went to London it struck me Bendini & Shaw was modeled on Pret.
Not as such. A young lass with a peanut allergy died because there was a trace of peanut in one of their products. I think it was just cross contamination. Awful story, but to a slight extent, maybe just one of those things that will always happen when humans are involved in anything.
I would like to see if there is a record of what became of the orange halls in the free state. Not sure if there were ever any in Limerick city or county or if there were, if they are still standing. There are obvious buildings in Dublin which looked like they might have been orange halls at one stage, or at least are in the style of an orange hall.
I think it would be an interesting part of history to look at. Surely Cork, as the second city would have had a few orange halls, or were most out in the country around Bandon etc where the protestant schools still are.
Mention of a Swedish club sandwich in Stockholm had me hankering for a cajun chicken panini from the Swedish Food Company. I think they may be defunct? They had an outlet in the IFSC during my formative Stokes Kennedy Crowley days - itās not there for many years. When I moved up to the Baggot Street area (to become a banker), they had shops in both Lower and Upper Baggot Street. I think both are gone for a few years now too. The transient nature of the restaurant/cafe/pub industry makes me quite emotional at times. Thinking of all these places that no longer exist brings my own mortality to the front of my mind. The death of a cafe is often sadder than the death of a person, or a dog, in my opinion.
I think that was @Rocko. The chicken katsu curry from Aya in Mayor Square was a major highlight of 2002-04. I was bereft when it closed. I think it hit Rocko badly too, but he never felt the same about Aya after losing an Aya curry eating challenge to an audit junior in March 2004. There was a real sense of occasion that day, bringing the takeaway curries back to the staff canteen and seeing who would tap out first.
We used them in my first office job as meeting caterers. I got right sick of them. I always thought Swedish Food Co producer a poor enough sandwich they was high on accoutrements and garnishes but low on filling and ultimately left you unsatisfied. A metaphor for my 20s maybe.
Are you old enough to remember the ladies who came into offices selling home made ish sandwiches. They were generally very nice sandwiches.
this was central bank shop
