Buffalo Shrimp, Garlic Prawns, and the Kings Mill restaurant in Kells, Ireland
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During the week that Christy was in Ireland before I arrived, she spent a few days as a guest of Mark and Ann-Marie at Lawcus Farm Guesthouse near Stoneyford in County Kilkenny. When she planned her trip, she knew that this would be a place she’d want to visit again with me, so she made sure to book a separate night with these amazing hosts shortly after my arrival to the Land of a Thousand Welcomes.
Mark and Ann-Marie are incredible hosts. Ann-Marie’s breakfasts are legendary. The conversations we had were quite lovely.
Mark walked the grounds with us and even gave us a tour of the house he built with his own two hands. He also showed us his latest impulse buy.
Yeah.
That’s a xenomorph from the Aliens series. And a Jungle Hunter from the Predator series. Or maybe they’re from the Alien vs. Predator 2004 film. I don’t know. But I do know these beauties are made out of motorcycle parts. What’s Mark going to do with them? I haven’t the foggiest idea. He wasn’t sure, either. But he knew he just had to buy them. So he did. And then we asked him to take our picture. So he did.
While our stay at Lawcus Farm Guesthouse was nothing short of amazing, it’s not the best thing that happened during our stay with Mark and Ann-Marie.
A last-minute dinner reservation
We had spent the day in Kilkenny before heading over to the guesthouse and really didn’t think very much about dinner until we drove up to the farm. We asked Mark if he had any recommendations. He suggested we give Kings Mill a try. It wasn’t too far away and they were still open for a couple of hours. He even called them and reserved a table for us.
Then he said that we should be sure to order some Garlic Prawns with our dinner. And he said it in such a way that we knew this dish was something really special. We’d kick ourselves if we passed it up.
Our dinner at Kings Mill restaurant
Located along the River Kings, Kings Mill is located in a spot where a mill has been located since at least the 12th century. Back then, Kells Mill, as it was called, was one of three local mills to serve a nearby castle. The current building was built in 1782. It ceased operation in 1968. From what I understand, the building was abandoned until it opened as a restaurant offering authentic Mediterranean food.
I ordered some chicken. Christy got a sourdough crust pizza (YUM).
And, of course, we ordered the Garlic Prawns.
The end of a worldwide search
Y’all.
We didn’t know what to expect from the Garlic Prawns. But found our tastebuds found themselves in some kind of wild culinary time warp.
Long time readers of this blog* might remember the story about how Christy and I discovered Buffalo Shrimp at the Banana Cabana in the Charleston, South Carolina, area. We loved it so much. And we hoped beyond hope that other dining establishments would have a similar dish on their menu. We searched far and wide for sauteed Buffalo Shrimp like Banana Cabana’s. Every other Buffalo Shrimp we encountered over the years was breaded and not sauteed. They were nowhere close to the magic that was present in the original Buffalo Shrimp.
We loved it so much, we decided to start making it at home with our own Buffalo Shrimp recipe that was inspired by Banana Cabana. Other than our own imitation recipe, nothing has ever come close to the original.
So you can imagine our surprise when the Garlic Prawns were placed on our table. They looked a lot like the Buffalo Shrimp we’ve loved since our first bite during Spring Break 1997.
And they tasted a whole lot like them, too!
The Kings Mill Garlic Prawns had a hint of fire roasted red peppers that gave it a unique flair. And they served it with toasted bruschetta to soak up all that liquid goodness.
Brilliant!
Sauteed shrimp like this is, without a doubt, the best way to have Buffalo Shrimp (er…Garlic Prawns). And we’ve only been able to find it a total of three places in the entire world – the now-closed Banana Cabana, our house, and Ireland.
How wild is that?
So if you do visit the Emerald isle, be sure to visit Kings Mill restaurant. It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere and you have to be going there to get there, but the Garlic Prawns are worth it.
You can tell them I sent you if you want. It probably won’t get you any discount or anything,+ but it would be fun to let them know about that their Garlic Prawns have gained some worldwide accolades.
Endnotes
* If that’s you, then bless you. You’ve put up with a lot from me over the years. You have my undying gratitude
+ I mean, if you’re from Kings Mill, feel free to contact me. It would be fun to give my readers some kind of discount on your fabulous Garlic Prawns.
It never hurts to ask, right?
