A glass of hot coffee with Irish whiskey, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a layer of softly whipped cream floated on top. Hot under cold, sweet then bitter, the Dublin afterparty drink.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 2 cities.
Irish coffee was formalised by chef Joe Sheridan at Foynes flying-boat terminal in Co Limerick in 1942, serving a hot coffee with Irish whiskey to American passengers diverted by Atlantic weather. Stanton Delaplane took the recipe to the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco in 1952, where it became the city's signature drink. Every traditional Dublin pub now serves a version; the Brazen Head, Davy Byrnes and The Palace Bar pour the city's references.
Common allergens: Dairy
Tip from the editors. The cream must be soft enough to pour but thick enough to float; whip just past liquid stage. Never stir after pouring the cream.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
The Brazen Head on Bridge Street Lower in Dublin 8, established 1198 as Ireland's oldest pub, the present 1754 coaching inn serves Irish stew and trad sessions nightly.
Signature drink: Guinness with an Irish stew
Food: Full Irish pub kitchen, food to 21:00
Tip: Food served until 21:00 daily; nightly trad music sessions from 21:00. The back snug holds eight; the courtyard runs summer only.
Davy Byrnes on Duke Street in Dublin 2, the moral pub since 1798, the Joycean Bloomsday stop for a Gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of Burgundy.
Signature drink: Burgundy with a Gorgonzola sandwich
Food: Irish seafood and pub plates
Tip: Bloomsday on 16 June fills before 11:00; the back room sits forty. Seafood plates run all day.
The Palace Bar on Fleet Street in Dublin 2, a Victorian pub since 1843, the literary watering hole of the Irish Times pressroom, with a hundred-bottle whiskey list.
Signature drink: Irish whiskey neat
Food: Toasties only
Tip: Three rooms; the upstairs parlour is the whiskey room. Tasting flights of three for EUR 18 Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco is the Hyde Street corner where Jack Koeppler perfected the American Irish coffee in 1952, pouring 2,000 of them a day still.
Signature drink: Irish coffee
Tip: Sit at the long bar to watch the line of pre-warmed glasses come down; the back tables miss the show.
Tosca Cafe in San Francisco is the North Beach Italian American room since 1919, reopened by April Bloomfield in 2013 with a Roman chicken and the house cappuccino.
Signature drink: House cappuccino (brandy and chocolate)
Food: Italian American kitchen, full menu
Tip: Sit at the bar for the espresso machine theatre; the roast chicken takes 40 minutes, order it first.
More cities are in research. Want irish coffee covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.