Seattle Foodshed

Dinner at Cafe Fish, at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull

Seattle Foodshed — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:04:59 +0000

Cafe Fish sits in the Argyll fishing community of Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, on the upper floor of the Calmac Pier, with a beautiful view over Tobermory Bay to Calve Island and the Sound of Mull. Its premise is simple. In the morning, their fishing boat goes out for lobster and langoustines. Their fish, scallops and squid come from other local boats. In the afternoon, they serve the fresh catch. And they bake their bread and pastries in-house, and serve Mull beers and cheese. In short, Cafe Fish is our heaven.

View From Cafe Fish

What to choose, what to choose!!!

Fish Cafe Menu

This is the roasted seafood platter with crab, mini lobsters, langoustines, mussels, oysters and amazing bread. Look at that crumb! Look at this plate! Happiness!

Local Seafood Platter

This is the skate with a caper sauce – really good. How good? Cafe Fish was rated ‘UK Fish Restaurant of the Year 2012′ by The Good Food Guide, and Lonely Planet recommends them as one of the top 5 restaurants in Scotland… We can see why.

Skate on a Plate

Interesting

Polished THAT off!

Always Fresh

What a wonderful, magical evening on a beautiful Scottish island.

Off to the Isle of Mull (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Battle over Tobermory’s most famous pub as owner is declared bankrupt (dailyrecord.co.uk)
The Seafood Hut at the Ferry Port, Oban, Scotland (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
On the Road to Oban (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Cuan Mor Bar in Oban, Scotland (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Tobermory forced to cease production (thedrinksbusiness.com)

Off to the Isle of Mull

Seattle Foodshed — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:36:20 +0000

The Isle of Mull is a 45 minute ferry ride from Oban. The Isle’s capitol is a town (burgh) called Tobermory, which has a population of approximately 700 lovely citizens. More importantly, Tobermory means “Mary’s Well” according to wikipedia. How exciting for those of us named Mary! Now that we’re pleasantly stuffed with oysters, let’s go visit the Isle.

Our Ship Has Come In!

These ferrys are rather a lot like the ferries back home in the Puget Sound. There’s also whale watching and oysters and numerous other little things that are similar to Seattle, yet so different at the same time. However, as far as we know, we do not have any Spanish galleons, sunk by a curse, laden with gold, lying at the bottom of the Puget Sound.

Roar

That’s the legend, at least. Per local folklore, a witch may have cast a spell that caused a Spanish galleon to catch fire and explode (it may have been the gunpowder magazine on board, alternatively). Supposedly there was £300,000 of gold bullion aboard.

The Isle! The Isle!

Where are we? Oh.

Love these cute wooly fellers.

Sweet Sheep

This is the view from the bedroom window. Pretty darn quaint and cozy. Wow.

View From the Bedroom

On the Road to Oban (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Cuan Mor Bar in Oban, Scotland (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Seattle Foodshed: Aloft and Abroad (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)

The Seafood Hut at the Ferry Port, Oban, Scotland

Seattle Foodshed — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:05:24 +0000

Seafood tastes best when it comes fresh from a hut, a shack, or harvested right off the beach. This theory has held true through many adventures – at our cabin, visiting Point Reyes, and now, again, at a little shack at the ferry port of Oban, on the way to the Isle of Mull.

Intriguing

Look at these beauties. Guess we better try some.

Super Fresh

What a beautiful sight.

Six of One

What a great little place. Thank you, green seafood shack!

What Have We Here???

On the Road to Oban (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Cuan Mor Bar in Oban, Scotland (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Cruise ship runs aground in Oban Bay (bbc.co.uk)

Cuan Mor Bar in Oban, Scotland

Seattle Foodshed — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:10:34 +0000

Cuan Mor means big ocean, which is fitting, considering this restaurant/bar/brewery’s location – about a half block from Oban Bay.

First – the whisky. I finally tried a whisky now that we are out where it’s made. This is an Oban 14 year. Loved it with rocks, intense solo.

Whiskey and Rocks

Peas, pie and potato hardly needs an introduction. It was delicious – a steak pie.

Pie and Potatoes

These are hand-dived scallops. Amazing. They were served on a bed of arugula and red onions, with a tapenade dressing. So fresh – nothing like we get at home in Seattle. We were very happy.

Hand Dived Scallops

Tomorrow we go to the Isle of Mull.

Scottish News: Passenger ship aground off Oban (acadvertiser.co.uk)
Dinner (It Was Hagis!) At the Doric, in Edinburgh (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Inside a Scottish Grocery Store (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)

On the Road to Oban

Seattle Foodshed — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:57:09 +0000

Thank you, Edinburgh. Our visit was lovely. Now, the adventure continues – wending our way north and west – to the little town of Oban.

Beautiful Scotland

Highland cattle? What sweet friends.

Friends

Gorgeous clouds.

Gathering Clouds

Downtown Oban. Oban sits on a bay, and is the jumping off point for the ferry to the Isle of Mull. The little town is about 8,000 people in size, and full of fun places to explore.

On the Waterfront

Cruise ship runs aground in Oban Bay (bbc.co.uk)
Dinner (It Was Haggis!) at the Doric in Edinburgh (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Oysters at Ondine (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Inside a Scottish Grocery Store (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)

Dinner (It Was Haggis!) at the Doric in Edinburgh

Seattle Foodshed — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:04:26 +0000

The Doric calls itself the first gastropub in Edinburgh; it was built in the 17th century and converted to a pub in the 18th, and we certainly don’t doubt them. They’re known for their Cullen skink soup and the Scottish haggis, neeps and tatties. (The Scottish what’s and whos’its??)

The Doric in Edinburgh

This is the Cullen Skink… In fact, it looks nothing like a Dr. Seuss character, which was what sprang immediately to mind. In fact, it’s a kind of seafood stew – of smoked haddock, potatoes, onions and cream. Delightful.

Cullen Skink

I went into the trip swearing I would not eat haggis. Well, I did and I quite enjoyed it! The Doric has a good relationship with their butcher and assured me the parts they use to make their haggis are of highest quality. I understand why haggis is usually served as a trio with the turnip and potato mash. Solo, each one was bleh, but if you put a little of each on every bite, that combination is brilliant! (Your interpretation of brilliant may vary.)

Haggis at the Doric

A lovely pub scene inside the Doric…

Inside the Doric

Haggis, Neeps and Garlic Tatties with Whisky Sauce (burgerelegante.wordpress.com)
You take the high road…I’ll catch the haggis (kjbrad57.com)
Oysters at Ondine, in Edinburgh (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Inside a Scottish Grocery Store (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)

Oysters at Ondine, in Edinburgh

Seattle Foodshed — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:10:25 +0000

For oyster lovers, the oyster bar at Ondine, in Edinburgh is not to be missed. The Telegraph actually calls Ondine “the best restaurant in Edinburgh“, and also “smart but understated”, which, coincidentally, is also how we like to describe ourselves. Naturally, we needed to visit this place. But first, we worked up an appetite exploring a castle.

Big Castle

Gotta guard the house…

Cannons to Right of Them

Seriously, wow. We do not have anything like this in Seattle.

Inside the Castle

Ok, that was fun. Now, time for a white burgundy and some oysters at Ondine’s oyster bar.

Thirsty, Post-Castle

You know that we love our oysters. From harvesting them off our beach on the Key Peninsula, to eating them around town in Seattle, we’re seriously into Pacific oysters. So how pleasant to eat these delicious, briny oysters. Officially, it looks like they were all Pacific oysters, grown in the waters of Scotland. How cool!

Here’s what we had:

Loch Fyne Rock

Loch Fyne Oysters

Sir! We like your oysters!

Nice Oysters!

Caledonian Rock

Heaven…

Hurray!!

Also, a nice bowl of fish soup served with gruyere and a rouille sauce, and a salad in a bowl. Very nice. Thank you, Ondine, for a lovely Scottish oyster experience.

Soup and Salad, Scottish Style

Ice Cream and Oysters? Only in Edinburgh (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Oyster Time at Loch Fyne (rebeccajohnstone.com)
Inside a Scottish Grocery Store (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Dining at the Timberyard in Edinburgh (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)

Inside a Scottish Grocery Store

Seattle Foodshed — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:13:34 +0000

As you know, when we go to a new country, we love to visit a grocery store. We had a ball inside this Parisian grocery store. And so, the tradition continues in Edinburgh. Just look at all the great items we found!

Okay. Obviously, this is a great idea. A milkshake, a pie, AND banoffee, all wrapped up in an ergodynamic container and presented by a lion who’s attained the rank of Captain. It would have been glorious to be at this product pitch. Also, does the Captain appear to be bound with rope? Small detail. We give this a green light and two paws up.

This is a lot of milk. Scottish cows are very productive. Also, note that the freezers are on rollers. Smart. If there’s a cookie emergency, this milk will be in transit stat.

As far as the eye can see

This was just pleasing packaging.

Beef Bovril

We love eggs. We love pickles. Whaaaat IS THIS??? PICKLED EGGS???!!! We’ll stop squealing and hopping about the aisle. Suffice to say, these fit right in with our mongoose diet.

Eggs!

There’s something Andy Warhol-esque about this very simple can of … mushy processed peas. There is nothing more to say.

Mushy AND Processed?!

Miss Kitty? Any connection to Captain Roary? Any interest? Also, should a kitty be running a henhouse? No judgment. Just curious.

Kitty Eggs

Seattle Foodshed: Aloft and Abroad (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Ice Cream and Oysters? Only in Edinburgh (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Adventures in New Town, Edinburgh (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)

Dining at the Timberyard in Edinburgh, Scotland

Seattle Foodshed — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

The Timberyard - on Lady Lawson Street in Edinburgh, Scotland – is on the site of a former… timber yard and warehouse. It’s run by a family, and features food from local artisans and growers, which sounds very similar to the kind of restaurant we’d check out in Seattle. It’s a beautiful little gem of a spot, and its popularity is a tribute to the quality of its food. We highly recommend paying them a visit.

Drinking a Green Door

The Timberyard

First Course:

Ham hock jelly, smoked quails egg, pea shoot, mint, mustard, apple and bread. The quail egg was perfectly done and woth the ham hock jelly; it added this nice sweetness that complemented the mint and peashoots nicely.

Ham Hock Jelly

Crab, pear, fennel fronds, horseradish & creme fraiche sorbet. Crab with horseradish sorbet? Who knew you could do that! But it’s brilliant. It cut the richness of the crab so it was a perfect match.

Crab with horseradish sorbet

Second Course:

Grilled lemon sole, langoustine, tomato, samphire, shallot, potato. With larch buds? Crazy but true! A fresh springy combination! We love these foragers.

Grilled Lemon Sole

Fried duck egg, asparagus, charred spring onion, cider vinegar and celery shoots. This was seriously delicious. The little smatherings of puréed potatoes with the sweet onions was to die for!

more deliciousness

Third Course:

We shared the lamb and that with the potato purée and minced beets was amazing! There was a beautiful green sauce on top of the lamb that was pesto like and blended the whole dish.

the lamb

Dessert:

We had a rhubarb dity, and also a pear pine one. Both not too sweet and a great way to end a thoroughly delightful meal.

Pear Pine and Rhubarb Dittys

Wood for Warming

Ice Cream and Oysters? Only in Edinburgh (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Seattle Foodshed: Aloft and Abroad (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)

The Black Cat: A Dry Place to Curl Up

Seattle Foodshed — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:52:50 +0000

The weather had been warm and bright… But now, it’s downpouring in Edinburgh. Perfect! Time to go get cozy at the Black Cat pub. Wait, where are we? Oh, right. 168 Rose Street.

The Bar at the Black Cat

Birds, bees, AND a black cat? Perfect!

Well, Might as Well Have One

Goodness, it’s wet out! Feeling very Scottish. And reaffirming the pub decision.

Down the Street

And before the rain started, we spotted this little fellow doing some street watching from the window in the lower right. Darling!

A Scottish Gentleman

Adventures in New Town, Edinburgh (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Ice Cream and Oysters? Only in Edinburgh (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)

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