Cranachan Café

While in Glasgow visiting friends I found myself having lunch at the Cranachan Café in the unlikely (for Scotland) bourgeoisie shopping arcade of Princes Square.  The café’s specialty is as advertised “Coffee & Modern Scottish Fayre” and it is mighty good fare, despite its cutsie Scottish spelling.  

Off their menu I chose to order the Cullen Skink soup ( I’m always attracted to menu items that could easily be misread or mispronounced…I like Poisson) which is a traditional Scottish soup consisting of smoked haddock pieces swimming in a creamy broth with leeks and corn.  Cranachan claimed this was their specialty soup which meant it could either go terribly right or wonderfully wrong, with absolutely no room for anything in between.  Thus, I was anticipating being served a liquid version of Janet Jackson and her exposed nipples, a hit or miss affair depending on mood and timing.

When the dish arrived it had an appearance a bit like that of a  leek and potato soup  and it was also  served with two pieces of hardy looking brown bread.  I could not help but feel I  stepped into a minimal security cafeteria prison where a white collar criminal was about to pinch my credit card details at any moment. My concern thankfully vanished with the first spoonful of Cullen Skink:  the creamy broth had a slightly heavy semi-sweetness about it while the haddock was a melting excursion of meatiness. These flavours made a wonderfully soothing winter soup reticent of a proper New England chowder (found mostly in New York where no actual New Englander is available to perform a culinary massacre).  What made the dish particularly delicious, however, was the brown bread that was served with the soup ( I must admit that if I miss anything by living in the UK it is decent bread). It was flavorsome and absorbent bread perfect for dipping into soup (and perhaps even for some sharp cheddar and Irish butter), the kind of bread one would like to be served for their last living meal. I wish Mary, Queen of Scots, had this delightful bread before her head ended up decorating one of Queen Elizabeth’s front parlors. Imagine the scandal of Elizabeth trying to wipe a smirk of the dead Mary’s face! Alas, even in death Mary disappointed the Scots (and me) but fortunately, back in present times, the bread was a very tasty affair for me.

Unfortunately, however, the combination of the heavy bread and creamy soup meant I was too stuffed to have pudding with my friends, who ended up ordering a sizeable scone (think face, body and stringy limbs of that round headed scientist from the Muppets). I did try the other thing Cranachan advertises, coffee and that happily was a very nice cup of coffee. I highly recommend you visit Cranachan if you find yourself in Glasgow and in need of comfort food, pleasant service and perhaps even some refreshing décor (Timorous Beasties design marks are found throughout the premises).

(For more details please visit Cranachan’s website: http://www.cranachancafe.co.uk/ ).

Smorgas Chef

Smorgas Chef was one of my first experiences with Scandinavian cooking several years ago and I fell in love with it.  The food features vibrant herbs and delicate flavors. Cloudberries, lingonberries, herring, house-cured gravlaks, and Norwegian Jarlsberg cheese are all over the menu and its fabulous.

I’m particulary fond of their brunch menu – which features delicious skillet baked eggs. Whats a skillet baked egg?  Two pan fried eggs in a cast iron skillet with ham, Jarlsberg cheese, spinach, tomatos, and hollandaïse. Amazing. So amazing. You wont need to eat anything else for the rest of the day. They also have one with just mushrooms and veggies and one with baked cod, tomatoes, spinach, and parmesan. They also make very light and fluffy vanilla waffles with clouberry sauce. Mmmmmm..

Brunch not your thing? The swedish meatballs with chive mashed potatoes and aquavit cured gravlaksare awesome. Go here, try some of the food, and let me know just how much you liked it.

Wall Street Location:

53 Stone Street New York, NY 10004
(between Broad Street and Hanover Square; 2 blocks south of Wall Street)