Scotburger (18 September 2014 Edinburgh)
We walked around Central Edinburgh for a bit, but it was soon getting onto lunchtime, and there were two places I wanted to dine at.
Both associated with J K Rowling, the author of the fabulously successful Harry Potter series. The first and best known is
The Elephant House, a restaurant up near Greyfriars. The management has capitalised on the fact that she wrote some of the books there, nursing a coffee while she worked on the manuscript.
Less well known is
Spoon, not too far away. Given the more reasonable prices there, a struggling young writer would be far more at home, and so it was – she wrote a lot more of the series there than the other place.
Spoon has changed hands a few times, and for a while wasn’t even a cafe. But it’s back in business, and we walked down South Bridge until we got there. Just on lunchtime, as it happened.
Decorated in a funky, hipsterish way, the place is upstairs, airy and well-patronised. Our waitress, clearly on the Yes side of the referendum vote, presented us with a menu while we downed a couple of ciders.
John didn’t hesitate. “Haggisburger,” he read, his eyes growing large. “Got to be done!”
Haggis is the national dish: sheep innards minced with oats, spiced so as to hide the flavour. I’d tasted it on a previous visit and wasn’t a fan.
We nursed our drinks, got out our iPads and enjoyed the wifi, and eventually our waitress turned up with our meals. Of course we photographed them.
“You’ll need a dollop of brown sauce,” I cautioned John, and he dutifully splurged a gollop onto his plate.
He was thoughtful after the first bite, but eventually decided he liked it.