This week, dear readers, I had the opportunity to journey to Scotland and spend a few days there. I know that British cuisine is not exactly world-renowned for its succor, but that reputation is a bit ill deserved. While traveling through Glasgow for a few days, I was able to not only dine quite well, but also to have one of the best meals of my life.
Though I may not be local, I can still eat locally. While wandering down a lane with my friend Cassandra and my dear illustrator Mr. Groenink, we chanced upon a rather promising menu posted in the window. Not only did the restaurant serve local food that was sustainably grown, they listed the actual farms certain ingredients were procured from. Add to that the little business card quoting Virginia Woolf – “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well,” and we were decidedly intrigued enough to step inside.
The restaurant we visited was called Stravaigin 2, and it was billed as the more bistro-like alternative to Stravaigin 1, which has been open in Glasgow for ten years. The motto of the restaurant “think global, eat local,” was reflected in the diverse menu we perused. In addition to traditional Scottish fare like haggis with neeps and tatties (mashed turnips and potatoes), there were items ranging from hamburgers to whole roasted sea bass. Our little trio made quick work of dissecting the menu, ordering “kick-ass olives” to start, then the aforementioned ground sheep organs to share before dinner arrived.
Each entrée could have assumed the “kick-ass” label as well. There was roast chicken redolent with lemon and rosemary, served beside a thick square of polenta topped with lightly roasted cherry tomatoes. My illustrating companion ordered pork belly stuffed with apricot next to a heaping scoop of fluffy mashed sweet potatoes, and I decided to stick to something Oregon-esque: seared salmon nestled up to risotto with chanterelles. Everything was absolutely delicious, and we still managed to find room in our stomachs for dessert: we shared a slice of lemon-almond cake topped with orange caramel and a scoop of white chocolate ice cream, and a parfait of honey and pistachio topped with plums stewed in vanilla.
Our fabulous meal at dinnertime was the reward for a long day of cheap eating, which is what I suggest for travelers. Stay in a hostel that feeds you breakfast, then hit the grocery store for bread and cheese, and picnic during the day. You’ll have saved enough money to have a truly wonderful supper, which beats the pants off eating cheap takeout all day long.
The British Isles is blessed with a variety of sauces to make those cheese sandwiches tasty, too. Each restaurant we ate at delivered a small bowl of sauce packets -- most of which were produced by the Heinz Corporation (shocking to this native Pennsylvanian – what were Pittsburgh products doing across the pond?). In addition to ketchup, mayonnaise, and tartar sauce, we also received malt vinegar, English mustard (which is like our yellow mustard, only much spicier, almost on the level of wasabi), salad cream, and brown sauce. Salad cream is something like a thick Miracle Whip that actually tastes good, and consists of that delicious mustard mixed with mayonnaise. Being Dutch, Chuck enjoyed dipping his chips in it. The brown sauce, however, tasted good on everything.
Brown sauce is a special little British treasure. The brand we saw used most often was called HP Sauce, which was apparently first mixed by a man who created the recipe, then sold it to the owner of a vinegar company in return for 150 pounds and forgiveness of his debt. Brown sauce is basically malt vinegar mixed with different fruits and spices. Ironically enough, this ubiquitous product isn’t even created in Britain: the processing and production facilities now are based in Elst, the Netherlands (a town which I may now need to visit). Cultural diversity at its finest!
Whether you’re thinking globally by experimenting with different kinds of cuisine, or enjoying some special condiments, remember: something local and lovely may be just around the corner, so keep your eyes open.
For more information about Stravaigin.
To find out more about brown sauce: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Sauce
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