Dinner and Drinks

Fancy a drink and something good to eat? Well go to Scotland...well not quite lol but tis Friday, and Scotland week would not be complete of course without a mention of some of the food and beverages as a source of tourism.

Speaking from experience, all Southern people here in the states think they know all about what makes good cooking, and while there are places that leap to mind when you traditionally think of fine cuisine (France, Italy, Greece, some cities in the US etc) frankly I dont know that many folks goo oh yea, lets head to Scotland for all that fine food!.... Unfair of course, because there is good food to be found EVERYWHERE, although there is the dreaded Haggis that is so associated with the food in Scotland which errm well doesn't exactly appeal to me. I gotta say that is one food I have zero desire to try, cowardly lol perhaps but i dunno (then again there is a certain understandable amount of disdain for some meals served in the South ie Crawfish which aren't generally considered haute gourmet despite ole Emeril and his blams! Personally I recommend Commander's Palace and well just about anywhere in New Orleans really)

Right, well in my family beer reigns supreme with my father in his retirement now serving as a consultant to many of the microbrewers who focus not just on quality beers (which is my dads area) but are also hiring great chefs as microbrew food is big thing (and totally not complete common pub fare anymore!) On a few occasions Ive tagged along with my parents on this visits, I've spoken to the chefs and have been impressed at the quality and talent, yes really, that is actually going into some of these places. As much as I enjoy wine, I do enjoy beer and would love to go to where they brew McEwans and try some of the various local whiskies ,Pop also mailed last year quite excited about some beer trail thing he hopes to drag us all on when we descend on Scotland hopefully next year for that Gathering 2009 event which I fear will dominate the time there alas lol (great a whole week of drunken Americans tourist roaming rampant in the country, just what the Scots want lol NOT). Anyway, I enjoy going to restaurants (clearly as no skinny minnie I appreciate good cooking!) I also pay attention to things in the culinary world and food tourism too. Most certainly food tourism is a hugely profitable thing no matter what country, and as such I saw there is a nice EatScotland page online which is definitely worth checking out.

Now, I'm fairly certain the fine folks at Sigma Films all appreciate the finer art of cooking for in at least two videos Ive seen Gillian Berrie being interviewed in the kitchen cooking or doing something with the groceries in one of Colin's podcasts. (nitpicky me: I so wish Glasgow film office would offer the films they have on their site easier to link too, and bigger so you can see what is going on, the tiny size is so frustrating!) Plus die hard Monarch of the Glen fans like me remember that Archie clearly was into the restaurant scene, and Lexie the housekeeper/cook and all round awesomeness of course ,with food and the practical aspect of running an estate being a nice and honest, and realistic backdrop in the show.

I was thrilled to stumble over a pretty nice film Alastair Mackenzie did outside of acting, where he interviewed a famous chef regarding his modern cuisine. The restaurant is someplace in Cumbria and while not all of the food appealed to me, some of it looked fabulous and it was especially nice to see Mr. Mackenzie talking about something he so clearly enjoys. Food network hire him please!!! He was also apparently a host at something called The London Gathering celebrating things Scottish in the fabulous London, and not sure if besides presenting he did anything with the food displays or anything but that would be a FUN event to go to this year.

While all the various cities and such have pages on the restaurants and bars in their respective cities, places to hit while in Glasgow are fore on my mind. I really would love to try a couple great restaurants and see as much as I can, so reading up on all of this, I was thrilled when I saw that they have a page up now featuring the awesome Dawn Steele doing a tour of the city. There is a video she narrates on the page, plus on iTunes there is a slew of really good podcasts (free! bonus!) she does about various things in the city...such a nice surprise and what a great way to end the week! Cheers!