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Home→Published 2007 → January 1 2 >>

Monthly Archives: January 2007

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B’est – quiet

Blasdale Home Posted on January 31, 2007 by SteveFebruary 2, 2007

Trying new places, I decided to eat at B’est on Drummond  Street.  I went because Rosemary sent me the article below from The List having seen it praised in the food magazine Olive.

The full menu costs £14.95, though there is a pre-theatre £9.50 one.  The place is conveniently situated near a major theatre.  The £14.95 can be quickly increased.  Vegetables are extra and some dishes also have a supplemental charge.

I started off with a liver au fois gras terrine.  Very nice, and it came with a little tower of something tasty, which to my surprise included one floret of cauliflower.

Mains was a tower of duck breast on some square chips arranged in Jenga fashion.

Finals was chocolate flan.

All the food was very well arranged.  The waitress always asked whether you enjoyed the food.  The word enjoy, though seemed to be number one on her vocabulary.  As she placed the food in front of you, you were commanded to Enjoy!

You could see the chef working, a small part of the restaurant being taken over by the very small kitchen.  Alas there were very few people eating there, which made for a rather poor ambiance.  And then there was the Abba musak.

The List review

 The b’est restaurant in town? Certainly one with a pedigree. Co-owner Jim Brown’s Dock Place bistro in Leith was the first Pierre Victoire franchise in the city, and his new venture (previous site of Khushi’s) revives the PV formula of three courses for little more than the average spend on a Saturday takeaway. It opened in August 2005, and locals and students were first to catch on but increasingly busy tables show word is spreading. Three big rooms do make for a slightly unwieldy space but dark wood and Gallic bits and pieces give some of the lived-in feel of a traditional Parisian estaminet. And if some of the interior design is slightly more Disney than Dijon, it isn’t putting anybody off their seafood pot au feu. Staff are quick to catch your mood with rapid service pre-theatre, or something more leisurely if you’ve time to linger. The half dozen or so choices on offer marry French with fusion, so you might pick Thai fish balls partnered by a silky coconut dressing and crunchy fresh salad leaves followed by pan-fried chicken with classic mushroom and port cream. Pud-wise, crème brûlée or summer pudding make a competent rather than startling finish.

Posted in Edinburgh, restaurant review | Leave a reply

Outsider – George IV Bridge Edinburgh

Blasdale Home Posted on January 30, 2007 by SteveFebruary 2, 2007

I have been to the Outsider restaurant on George IV bridge before, many years ago with Ed and Mary.  Thought I would pay it a visit on a quiet Monday.  In fact I ended up eating there on Monday and Tuesday.

The restaurant is on multiple levels, and has some reasonable views of the castle through its back windows.  The decor is trendy, and the clientelle (apart from moi) the same.  Food prices are reasonable, quite possible to eat there for £10.

First night I ate there, I had a swordfish steak on a Japanese fish broth.  I had some mashed potatoes on the side to soak up the broth.  I was a little disappointed in this dish.  Not sure the broth did much for the steak.

Next day I was much happier with the fish kebabs.  Salmon chunks, prawns and scallops on a skewer.  Augmented with a salad in pitta bread.

Definitely worth a visit.  I am sure it would be very busy on a Friday.  It was almost full on a winter Monday evening.

Posted in Edinburgh, restaurant review | Leave a reply

Hanam’s – Kurdish and Middle East Restaurant

Blasdale Home Posted on January 25, 2007 by SteveFebruary 28, 2022

Having been somewhat extravagant, and pushing the limit on my expenses, I wanted somewhere close by, i.e. on the way back to the hotel and relatively cheap.  A quick scan on the Internet came up with Hanam’s nearby in Tollcross.  The advertising blurb says it is Edinburgh’s first authentic Kurdish and Middle East Restaurant.

Authentic it is. No alcohol for sale, though it is a BYOB, with no corkage.  The restaurant is small, and set with Ikea cutlery.  It was not busy, just one Kurdish couple eating.  The owner was jolly and chatted to everyone, including me.  He asked why I had come, where I had seen it advertised.  Later he explained about Kurdistan, how it was incorporated into Iran, Iraq, Turkey and another country. 

One interesting story about how he had to provide a takeaway for 100 people in Kent, from Edinburgh!

I started off with stuffed vine leaves, and then went on to the lamb casserole. The lamb casserole, I forget its real name, was served in a deep dish with lots of vegetables, not carrots, but onion and peppers.  It was served on a base of their nan bread which soaked up the juices and sauce.  The flavour was quite tangy. All this was washed down with apple juice.  Next time I think I will have kebabs.  The couple next to be ate Kebab with the Kurdish Nan Bread which is thinner and crispier than Indian bread.

Posted in Edinburgh, restaurant review | 1 Reply

Tuesday and Wednesday in the dark in the grey city

Blasdale Home Posted on January 24, 2007 by SteveFebruary 2, 2007

Latish supper in the Petit Paris.  You can tell it is winter, the downstairs was not in use, well it wasn’t until the party of 8 turned up.

Supper, well a boring steak.  Ordered rare, slightly over cooked I think.  Still red, but not totally raw in the middle which is my definition of rare.  Usual 500 ml of wine to wash it down.

I thought I was meant to be meeting Mary tonight, but confusion in text messages without the punctuation meant somehow we missed each other.  So anyway to the Mai Thai for my Wednesday meal.  I needed their free broadband, I had quite a few large uploads and downloads to complete for a number of websites.  I hate those hotels that charge, and then the free ones seem to throttle your bandwidth as well.   So probably have to spend more time at the Mai Thai.

Couple of large glasses of a South African Cabernet Sauvignon and the duck.  Tends to raise a laugh now when I order the same food over and over again.

No snow in Edinburgh, but I believe there were a couple of inches in Buckinghamshire.

 

Posted in Edinburgh, restaurant review | 1 Reply

Howies

Blasdale Home Posted on January 22, 2007 by SteveFebruary 2, 2007

Monday, and a normal working day started.  Walked over to the Lothian Road, listening to the sweet tones of Green Day on my new toy.  My whole, well almost, CD collection in a box smaller than a packet of 10 hamlets.  Worked the whole day through, until well after 18.00.  I am sure a sales man would say I worked until 19.00.

Eating, today is a Monday and in the Winter.  So many of my favourite places are closed.  The Petit Paris has its blinds firmly in place. The Mussel and Steak is in darkness, ah a sign, the establishment is under refurbishment! It’s been open only for a couple of years.  So time for new places.  How about Scottish fare? – there is Howies on Victoria Street.

Entered, quite empty at the moment, not surprising for a wintry Monday.  Very industrial style, huge great ventilation pipes over the ceiling taking the fumes from the kitchen,  large cast iron pillars in the restaurant supporting the road and houses above.  Two pretty waitresses though, and some men in the kitchen.  This smoking ban allows you to see the chefs, as they dash outside for a quick nicotine fix.

What did I eat? Well started off with the Cullen Skink, or as I almost said, Cullen Skunk.  It had a nice smokey smell of the smoked haddock flakes, oh and one small bone.

Mains, was Borders pheasant breast wrapped in bacon on crushed potato and some cabbage.  Very nice.

Afters, I missed this, went for the Scottish Illy espresso coffee.

I have to say, there seemed to be lots on the menu which would not have struck me as Scottish, such as the chili sauce, the Banoffee Pie….

 

Posted in Edinburgh, restaurant review | Leave a reply

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