Arrived up in Edinburgh, lovely dry and sunny, but pretty cold outside. I am sitting in the Mai Thai expecting my Tom Yum soup and main course of duck. Yes it is the duck yet again. I am getting rather repetitive.
Already someone from work has suggested I be in the office when the changes go into production. So looks like I will be here again, at least for a short while.
Tuesday I had a nice meal at Barjola, Spanish Tapas bar. As usual the grilled sardines were delicious.
Wednesday, I decided to try a ‘popular place’, so chose The Filling Station. An American diner like place, decked out in 30s and 40s British motoring memorabilia. Serves burgers, Tex Mex and steaks. Chose a steak which I ordered rare, but alas it came in as medium to well done. Charming Brazilian waitress though, who made all the right noises when I complained. Shall not be eating there again.
The street next to the hotel was blocked off tonight. They were making a scene from a new Rebus episode to be show on TV. The scene was outside Bannermans. A music pub on the same street as Whistle Binkies. A man walks up the street from Cow Gate, and argues with another man who appears out of Bannermans. The first man shoots the second, and then rushes up the street.
All this was taken under large sprinklers simulating a wet Edinburgh night. There must have been 40 people on the shoot, lots controlling the traffic in cowgate, every time they did a shoot, the traffic was stopped. I was able to watch from 10 metres away, and able to see the scene in the monitor.
Rosemary’s nephew’s better-half Kirsty has just launched a new business Be Styled Interiors for interior design, home staging & de-cluttering in West Sussex & Surrey. Should be very exciting her and we had a look at the new website for them. I reckon we know quite a few homes which could benefit from the de-cluttering!
Local birds are behaving very oddly. Over the past few weeks and for the first time in the 20 years we’ve lived here, the local blue tits are repeatedly tapping at windows and leaping up & down at them, too. Is it the same single bird? Not sure, not many distinguishing characteristics, but I don’t think we’ve had more than one window attacked at the same time. Meanwhile, we spotted a buzzard in the field. The farmer whose sheep are very kindly eating there said there were buzzards nesting in the wood near him, well blow me if a buzzard hasn’t come here and sat on the fence into the “coppice” part of the field. However, he doesn’t appear to be that bright cos he was sitting very near a collared dove and there were bunnies running around beneath him. Surely he shouldn’t have been that friendly with meals?
I am counting the days, only two more weeks of travel to Edinburgh. I must make the most of the time I am here.
Travel from Luton was again a pain, the place was full of people going away. Still half term in some county or other. The weather was damp and miserable in Edinburgh.
Visited the Mussel and Steak for one of the gorgeous pieces of red meat, cooked just correctly. I did start off with some hot smoked salmon (cold) with oat cakes. The salmon was delicious.
Met an Australian IT consultant there, think he had emigrated to the UK because of the jobs in the Health Sector. He had been recommended the restaurant and was very happy with it. Somehow we got to talking about flying, and it turns out his grandmother took up gliding at the age of 80. Fantastic.
I asked who I think was the owner of the Mussel and Steak, how long they had been open. I thought it must be about two years, and in fact it is two years in May.
Another day of work, the weather is excellent in Edinburgh. Ths sun is bright, and I have to close the blinds to keep it out. Tad chilly in the evening as I walk around.
Valentines day, so did not feel inclined sitting in a restaurant on my own. So though of the Mai Thai. Damn, full of couples eating romantic meals together. At least the bar had a few people watching Rangers being beaten by Tel Aviv. Had an excellent meal as usual, left it to the owner to decide for me. So ate a Beef Rendang with coconut rice.
Their usual excellent service.
Still travelling to Edinburgh, but for a Life Assurance and Pension company. Almost left on time from Luton, but I suppose because of the school half time, the departure was manic. Meant that some one never quite made it to the aircraft and their luggage was off loaded.
Went for a curry at a restaurant on Drummond Street, the same street where B’est was. The curry house is next door to a sex shop and is called (arrgh – can’t remember). Had a pretty reasonable curry.
On Tuesday night arranged to meet Mary for a quick drink in the Cafe Royal, she seems to be busy the rest of the week. Afterwards back to the hotel where I had supper, scallops and sausage. OK strange combination, but they were on different plates. My current favourite Edinburgh waitress was working, I believe she is going to get the Edinburgh Raddison best staff member of the year award. I asked where the manager had disappeared to. I have not seen him since Christmas. Appears he is running/working at a bar on Hanover street.
The MP3 player is a great boom, been listening all through my Primus albums. And for the benefit of Selina, they covered a Pink Floyd track called ‘Have a Cigar’. So her two most favourite bands in the same track.
I have never seen so much standing water on our fields. Someplaces there must be 6 inches of water. Don’t suppose the sheep appreciate the wet. Not sure draining will help, the ditches are all full as well.
Talking about sheep, funny creatures. They seem at the moment to eat in the other field (Richards), but come and sleep at night in our field. Then in the morning at around 7.00 they move off to Richards field. They don’t sleep in the 6 inches of water, they sleep on the high ground of the field, which is relatively dry.
On Saturday Rosemary and I visited the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon. We were accompanied by the Cambridge Society who had organised a guided tour, lunch and a talk “Bill and Biggles Flies Again” about both Capt WE Johns and his most famour creation, Biggles.
I spent what could be my last week with the bank for a while. Though I expect to be back again . Not a lot happened. I did visit a few restaurants.
Ate at the Mussel and Steak, and had yet again a very good rare sirloin steak. The large steak had not a single piece of ‘chewy meat’, and was totally tender all the way through.
Tried a new Indian restaurant called Voujon. It was quite a long walk from the hotel, aiming up Nicholson Street. The place was well lit with trendy ceiling lights, and there was not a sign of flock wallpaper (which is a shame cos R says it is now high fashion). The plates were all those modern white square dishes. The food was well-prepared, but was the same menu as most other Indian restaurants.
The other two times, I ate in the hotel. It’s about time the menu was changed. I did though visit Whistle Binkies on Thursday and saw half a set of a covers band playing Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Sex Pistols and many of the ’70s rock classics.
Slight worry about getting home. There was snow in Aylesbury, and a small sprinkling in Edinburgh. Waiting at the airport on Friday (over an hour late), I noticed all the flights to Birmingham were cancelled.
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.