Haggis and Scotch
In a fashion not unlike Wallace and Gromit's Grand Day Out, I took the train to Edinburgh this weekend on a day trip. It's only a short jaunt, less than an hour, but there's something refreshing about a train ride. It just smacks a bit more of the Old World, something I think we've lost on purpose in America. I was determined to have a good time, and decided I would devote the day to indulging in the finer things. Like Art. And Haggis. And Scotch.
The day started out at a nice little place called the Arcade Bar, advertising itself as a Haggis and Whisky House. Fair enough. It was delightfully weird and reeked of eccentricity. The bar was small but classy, and the chairs were elegeant, but all different, and the lights above were all coming from little top hats. I show:
The menu said traditional Scottish fry up, straight from the skillet, and I was not disappointed. That's my haggis in the upper right corner. And note my fancy toast stand.
Literally right out of the skillet. Superb. The breakfast was the kind of fry-up I'd been missing lately, so I felt pretty good leaving the place. I headed down to the Scottish National Gallery, noting some of the places I'd be coming back to for Hogmanay during New Year's. We will be staying for three nights, so I imagine the blog post will be quite large. And while this is a Foodie site, I am kind of in charge, so it's also a bit of a travel site. Here's the view from the front of the National Gallery, as a reward to you precious few that actually read the damn blog:
My font, by the way, is called Nimbus Sans. Makes me think of Futurama. And I always wonder, sans what? I don't know. Anyway, after a late morning of browsing through Rembrandts and Van Goghs, I stumbled back toward the high street in search of lunch. It started to rain, so after checking out the University of Edinburgh's Old College, I ducked inside a place called Biblos, which was offering a 20% discount for students. I am that, and they had a big old sign advertising their haggis, on neeps and tatties, which isn't as dirty as it sounds. Think bangers and mash, but it's haggis instead. These were nice and crispy on the outside, and covered in a whisky cream sauce that really hit the spot:
See? Not scary. This was a perfect get out of the rain and write in your travel journal meal. The place was nice, too. Sadly I forgot to get pics, but there were loads of shelves with old books and old books almost always win me over. Except for one time in a pub where I looked behind me to find a copy of Mein Kampf. It was like having a pint with Hitler and the whole thing turned me off to the place. Ugh. Moving on.
I hiked back up the high street to get a better look at Edinburgh Castle, which costed money, so I did not go inside. I had been saving myself, keeping myself pure, for THE attraction of the day: The Scotch Whisky Experience. Inside, after paying my reduced student rate (Score. Seriously, America, get on board) I shit you not, I went on a ride in my own barrel vehicle taking a tour of the distillery process. Most of this was old news after the Guinness and Jameson tours Mikey and I took in Dublin, but the end was so much better. They give you a micro master-class on the different regions, with scratch and sniff cards to help match a Scotch to your palatte. Here is the whisky sampler that came with the Gold Tour, with the Lowland, Highland, Speyside, and Islay Scotches. All single malts. Not pictured is the cutest bartender I've ever seen, because that would have been creepy. And we do try to dial down the creepy just a notch on the site. Because of reasons.
And that, my friends, really is my favorite picture of the day. Scotch tends to hit me like a ton of bricks in a way that other drinks just don't. It fills the senses. As it turned out, I'm more of a Highland and Speyside guy, which I was told by the Germans drinking next to me made me a bit soft. Which is fine. They lost two wars in the last century. We've lost, like, four. Do try to keep up, Germany.
All in all, I almost didn't want to come home. Edinburgh was a fantastic place to visit, and I know I'll be back at least one more time before Hogmanay. If you get the chance, I recommend a visit. Foodies never die. That is all.