Westside : Westwood Gets Taste of Ireland, With Nouveau Twist

Ireland never has been famous for its food, but things may be changing.

Some Irish food is taking on a European flair--partly because more Irish citizens are traveling to Europe and bringing culinary influences home. Nowadays, for example, potatoes often are replaced with pasta--rarely eaten in Ireland years ago.

Traditional Irish dinners with this nouveau twist are the specialty of a chef from Ireland who will be serving up the dinners at the Westwood Marquis Hotel every night this week through Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day. Chef Michel Flamme, who was born in France but has lived in Ireland for 15 years, will be cooking cabbage and parsley sauce, glazed Limerick gammon with colcannon potato, and flan of carrageen moss, among other dishes.

Corned beef, the American version of what the Irish eat on St. Patrick’s Day, is not on the menu.