Edinburgian provender

A weekend north of the border has induced the discovery of several enchanting dining establishments in the Scottish capital which I am gratified to add to my repertoire; a sad deficiency of such ventures in Durham only serves to heighten my appreciation of such revelations when visiting elsewhere.


The first port of call, Urban Angel, did not initially grab me - when I say initially, it only took a half a minute or so to grasp the distinction of the place. The atmosphere and vibe is fresh and bright, with a dazzling display of deli products and appealing salads behind the glass counter, and on top, the finest specimen of almond croissant I ever did behold. Despite a twenty minute wait, due to its blatant popularity, the time passed quickly as we oggled over the delicious array of freshly baked goods in front of us, and it also gave us a chance to study the menu at length. The specials board was extremely tempting, in particular the chorizo risotto and the mutton tagine, but I eventually settled on the lighter option of the BLT on toasted flatbread with a deli salad - something I would not normally go for, given what I would consider the distinctly poor and tasteless quality of a bogstandard everyday BLT, but already this place had inspired a confidence in me that told me it would not disappoint. It arrived on a platter with an explosion of quality bacon and its accompaniments nestling inside a chargrilled flatbread, with a bowl of giant couscous, goats cheese and roasted vegetables by its side, with various luxury  sauces - overall extremely impressive. My brother ordered the urbanangel burger, something which I usually steer clear from for the same reason as I do BLT's, but the meat was incontestably fresh and full of flavour, and a real mouthful. Given the quality of the food, the bill was not at all unreasonable and I came away extremely satisfied, not least because I was clutching a colossal chocolate brownie bursting with nuts, which I could not fault: pure ambrosia.


The beast that is 'the brownie' turned out to be a recurring feature over the weekend, as my next centre of sustenance, The Elephant House on George IV Bridge, provided me with a breed of brownie I have long wanted to sample - the peanut butter variety. Being a huge fan of both peanut butter and of brownies, I had suspected this seemingly dreamy combination may sound nicer than it actually is, and if I'm honest it is probably better to keep the two separate, but it did a job alongside a very out of character 'Mallow Delight' (an absurdly decadent and frothy drink with more marshmallows than fluid; a dubious ratio), and in a very cosy and warm setting, "made famous as the place of inspiration to writers such as J.K.Rowling" no less. My companion had the Brie, Bacon and Chutney panini which was superb.


Between several laps of the breathtaking M&S Food Hall and its outstanding instore bakery, which without fail leaves me awestruck after every lap, or indeed after each venture down a different aisle, my third Scottish destination was the vintage Italian deli Valvona & Crolla, on Elm Row, which I had in fact been in recommended as it is not exactly stumble-across-able: its sister operation, the restaurant Vin Caffe, however, is situated just off Harvey Nichols on Multrees Walk. The expanse of meats and cheeses on display and the walls of enticing Italian products at once made me feel at home, and as I ventured through the shop towards the back, past copious bottles of wine, I found the cafe, and settled down with the Sunday papers. There were not many people in there, and it was clear that it was probably a place you had to know about, but there was a relaxed and friendly Sunday morning atmosphere, and lots of delicious looking pastries in baskets on the counter. I ordered a double Cappuccino, and one of their Panetellas, with Italian sausage, mustard fruit chutney and rocket -I did not have to wait long, and it was very tasty, although the chutney was rather sweet. The real treat was gaping at the wealth of goods on display afterwards, and I felt it would be rude not to try my third brownie in 24 hours when I saw it looking back at me from its perch - another exemplary model, perhaps not quite attaining the dizzy heights of the Urban Angel design.
I returned to Durham feeling somewhat satiated, and intent on investigating some new establishments within DH1.