Travel Caper: Glasgow

In early April, my friend Mary-Anne and I headed up to Glasgow for our final visit before our friend Anna moves back to London. While we're beyond excited for all the adventures we'll get up to here in London town, I have to admit I'll miss having such a lovely excuse to visit Scotland. However, on the other hand, this might be a good opportunity to venture beyond Glasgow since there are so many beautiful Scottish places to explore... Anyway, back to this visit where we were greeted with a tasty snack of deviled eggs, spicy rice snacks and, of course, plentiful G+Ts... 

Anna's Glasgow flat is not only super cute, but also eye-wateringly cheap to a jaded London dweller like myself. Note to Caitie: move literally anywhere outside of London. Immediately. This visit was unofficially billed (by me) as a tour of Caitie's favorite Glasgow spots... which is convenient since they are also Anna's favorite Glasgow spots. After we finished our cocktails, we headed off to the first of these locations... which we were horrified to find was actually closing its doors two days later! 

Squid and Whale was a fantastic little bar/restaurant that specialized in surprisingly authentic Mexican dishes. While there were the usual Tex-Mex classics such as pulled pork nachos, we also found a delicious variety of taco offerings. This time, we went with the achiote pulled pork, chipotle cauliflower, and chicken mole negra which were washed down with margaritas (naturally). 

For dessert, we tried to avoid being too greedy by sharing the churros and key lime pie. While the vanilla ice cream that came with them was not the best (i.e. kind of flavorless), who can turn down a churro? No one. Add in piece of my favorite pie and we're in business. Delicious! 

Our second day in Glasgow, we awoke to a relaxed morning featuring girly chat and Anna's incredible earl grey infused scones. Over coffee, we slowly got ready and headed out to the train station. Catching our train to Balloch, we were off to wander the shores of Loch Lomond and treat ourselves to a deliciously decadent lunch at one of my all time favorite restaurants: Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond. Such an indulgent lunch deserves its own write up so I've moved it to it's own post here. Coming home several hours later, we knew we wouldn't be hungry enough for a proper dinner so instead popped into Waitrose for nibbles. Chorizo, salami, brie, cheddar, goats cheese, tomatoes, olives, hummus and crisps - a perfect recipe for a perfect evening in. 

Sunday morning brought with it a visit to my favorite Glasgow brunch spot: Cafezique. Conveniently located just down the road from Anna's flat, I love the rustic, industrial decor almost as much as the locally sourced menu.

It was typically busy when we arrived so we bided our time at the bar by ordering some hot chocolate to take the edge off our hunger. Topped with a homemade marshmallow, this little cup leaves the coffee options in its dust. 

Knowing this might be my last visit, I couldn't resist the Big Veggie Breakfast - which is a twist on the traditional English fry up. Alongside the classic items such as grilled mushroom, tomato and baked beans, there was also shredded baby spinach, grilled halloumi and a homemade tattie scone (a savory potato based griddle cake). I went with poached eggs, rather than fried, as a belated nod to healthy eating and then promptly devoured everything. An added bonus was the little pitcher of chili oil that added an extra punch of flavor. 

After our brunch, we had time for a walk through the beautiful Glasgow Botanic Gardens and along the River Kelvin. We were so lucky with the weather on this trip - blue skies despite Glasgow's reputation as being home to some seriously wet weather. 

The walk along the river includes some seriously picturesque spots that my photos clearly don't do any justice to despite my constant attempts. I particularly love the bridges you see along the walk as they are each unique and almost haunting... 

Even though the day got gloomier as we headed back to the flat, that only served to add to the aura of the scenery. I highly recommend a wander along these paths if you're ever in Glasgow - they're free, not too crowded and offer plenty of dog-spotting opportunities... 

And with that, our all too short visit came to an end. We made our way back to the flat to collect our things and then headed back to Glasgow Central station to catch our train to London. Fortunately, we had been able to take advantage of Virgin Trains' seat sale and ended up with first class tickets for our return leg. I really hope I'll have more opportunities to visit in the future as I think this is such an underrated city...

So, this isn't goodbye... it's just farewell for now, Glasgow.

Travel Caper: Martin Wishart on Loch Lomond

While visiting Anna in Glasgow, we were able to take advantage of the lovely weather with a trip to beautiful Loch Lomond... and one of my all time favorite restaurants: Martin Wishart on Loch Lomond. This was a classic win-win scenario as we strolled along the waterfront, stuffed ourselves with delicious and beautiful treats, and then rolled ourselves home. 

This was my second visit to this particular restaurant and I was definitely not disappointed. When describing the visit, I often compare the level of service and the quality of the experience to that found at Alain Ducasse's restaurant in the Dorchester Hotel. However, as this setting allows for less formality and an escape from London, it might just edge out the lunch offer at the Dorchester to reign at the top of my favorites list. 

Located in Cameron House on the shores of the loch, the entrance to the restaurant has a decidedly Scottish feel as it echoes the stereotypical decor associated with hunting lodges in the Highlands. As a result, the view when entering the restaurant comes as quite a surprise with it's bright green chairs and nautical stripes. I love how bright the space manages to be - it must feel like a little hideaway on stormy days...

The restaurant offers a fabulous and surprisingly affordable lunch menu, which was what we were there to take advantage of. Billed as a three course meal, the reality is more along the lines of seven as there are so many complimentary dishes along the way. The menu changes weekly so although I had stalked the website almost daily in anticipation, the options were still a happy surprise. 

After placing our order, we were offered our first amuse bouche... yes, they actually have more than one! Consisting of two items, these little packages managed to pack a lot of flavor into a tiny space. The first was a potato puff with salmon mousse which the uncultured side of my mind likened to an upmarket potato chip dipped in salmon cream cheese. Despite that simplistic comparison, it was delicious and I could have easily had a whole plate of them.

The second amuse was a cheese and onion puff - crisp choux pastry filled with an incredible savory creme. I knew just from the description that I was going to love this so I was completely unsurprised to find it full of flavor and entirely moreish.

After the plates were cleared, we were next offered fresh baked sourdough with a choice of salted and unsalted butter. As bread is a particular weakness of mine, I really struggled to not inhale it as I knew there were several courses still to come. It was lovely. Of course. I'm not too proud to admit that, although my butter to bread ratio was close enough to 50/50 to alarm even the most oblivious GP, I could have easily eaten the butter on it's own. Freshly made, salted butter was clearly created by a most benevolent God.

While happily munching on the bread, we were offered our third amuse bouche: a sushi cracker with turbot skirt and creme fresh. I had never tried turbot before and found it to be an extremely strong flavor - particularly when paired with the simplicity of the creme fresh and the cracker. However, the light sprinkling of dill helped to pull the two waring sides together and we were ready for our next dish.

Next up: our final amuse bouche... Puy lentils with Iberico ham and creme fresh. For some illogical reason, I tend to shy away from recipes with lentils and as a result, these were a revelation. They completely soaked up the flavors of the ham and the crispy bits on top added just the right amount of texture. I could have easily had a soup bowl full rather than this little bite. Definitely a winner in my book. 

Finally, it was time for our starters! One of my friends went with the cannelloni of squab pigeon and was kind enough to offer me a bite. It was so tasty, I'm not sure I would have been as generous... Although it's hidden in this photo underneath the accompaniments, this was the most moreish dish I've tried in a long time. Just the right amount of richness with the most tender meat... I think this might have been my favorite dish of the day and it wasn't even mine (sadly). 

We noticed that each course had divided the options with one being a lighter choice while the other was comparably heavier. For example, my starter of marinated Orkney scallop was a perfect choice for an early spring day. Super light with a refreshing burst of green from the cucumber, melon and basil. While it wasn't as richly delicious as the cannelloni, I thoroughly enjoyed the dish. 

Moving on to the main, we all went with the confit duck leg and salt baked vegetables. This dish had mixed reactions as I loved it while my friends found the seasoning a bit heavy. The dish was designed to be eaten all together and as a result, the vegetables were heavily salted while the duck was comparably under seasoned. If you made sure to ration the veggies so that every bite had some, then the salt level was perfect. Since I like a heavier hand when it comes to salt, I was perfectly happy. 

\

After our main dish, we were presented with a little palate cleanser of vanilla cream with rhubarb and sorrel. The rhubarb cream was surprisingly flavorful and the touch of sweetness had us eagerly awaiting dessert... 

With dessert, as with our starters, we were divided between the heavy and light options. One of my friends went with the buttermilk meringues, which proved to be a great choice. Light and airy, the verdict came in that they were delicious. 

Unfortunately, I was too busy inhaling my dessert to try and beg a bite of hers. I went with the hazelnut praline parfait that turned out to be a very fancy and imaginative take on the flavors of a Ferrero Roche... which happens to be one of my absolute favorite treats. So, the writing was on the wall: I was definitely going to love this. And I did! 

And so, our meal came to an end... Oh wait, there's more! You thought we would leave with just one dessert? Not at this restaurant. Instead, we were presented with four mini desserts to savor as we contemplated attempting to roll ourselves back to the train. These included whisky and dark chocolate truffles, pistachio macarons, rhubarb and black current jelly, and mini lemon tarts. 

Suffice to say, we were completely stuffed and very, very pleased with ourselves. It makes me quite sad to think that, once my friend returns to London, I won't have as much reason/excuse to visit this lovely restaurant. However, if there was ever a reason to sneak off to Glasgow, this would be it. 

Restaurant details: 

Martin Wishart on Loch Lomond

www.mwlochlomond.com