Posts by Tom Johnston
Spicy Lamb Burgers
Lamb burgers Sometimes I shop with specific dishes in mind. At other times an ingredient or two will catch my eye, then the day’s dinner is shaped by a flash of inspiration. Today was a bit of both. I had bought some lamb mince and a couple of aubergines, intending to make a moussaka, a…
Read MoreSo What Do You Look For On Holiday?
Now fret not. We haven’t forgotten that this is a food blog. We’re not about to turn into reincarnations of Judith Chalmers*. This is penned just a few days before we’re off for ten days in the sun, somewhere in Europe. I was going to say that my mind is turning to food, but truth…
Read MoreTahira Nasim’s Pilau Rice
Tahira Nasim You have not forgotten our Tahira. Trust me on this. Once you’ve met our Tahira you will never forget her. The circumstances of our first meeting are odd enough – at a concert in the Usher Hall during the Edinburgh Festival, since you ask – but things got odder still. She slagged me…
Read MoreRoyal Durbar, Edinburgh
Royal Durbar Indian Dining and Bar 35 – 37 Shandwick Place Edinburgh EH2 4RG 0131 229 2021 www.royaldurbaredinburgh.co.uk The Bill A la carte Starters £5.95 – £12.95 | Mains £11.95 – £19.95 Desserts £2.95 – £5.25 The Score Cooking 6/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 5/5 Total 19/25 One good meal deserves…
Read MoreThe Food Alphabetical: E is for Empanada
Empanadas Writing this column is becoming ever more scary. I may demand danger money. I’ll tell you why in a bit. And when it comes to the alphabet, some letters are much harder than others. Five years ago, first time round, we took the obvious choice and went for egg. So what next? What about…
Read MoreBistro 1155, Glasgow
Bistro 1155 1155 Argyle Street, Finnieston, Glasgow G3 8TB 0141 208 2041 www.bistroelevenfiftyfive.com The Bill A la carte Bites £5.00 – £21.00 | Starters £11.00 – £13.50 Mains £19.00 – £40.00 | Desserts £10.00 – £12.00 The Score Cooking 7.5/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 Total 22.5/25 You can have…
Read MoreStrawberry Pavlova
Having spent a couple of years bemoaning the quality of British strawberries, I am cautiously pleased by what I’ve eaten this year. Early in the season of course. I’ve always associated the good old strawb with my birthday in July, but that’s modern growing methods for you. A week or two ago I mentioned Eton…
Read MoreChef Watch, Featuring Peter McKenna of Bistro 1155, Glasgow
Chef Watch Featuring Peter McKenna, Chef and Co-owner Bistro 1155, Glasgow How long have you been a chef? I stepped into my first professional kitchen at the ripe old age of 14 as a kitchen porter. Over the years that followed, I progressed to working within the kitchen team of a local Monaghan hotel and…
Read MoreChicken Katsu
As we’re on a Japanese theme this week, it seemed appropriate to stick with that for today’s delight. After our eastern jaunt three years ago I gave you recipes for teriyaki and tamagoyota, and explained how to make your own sushi – I’m sure you do it better than I. Later today is going to…
Read MoreIchiban, Glasgow
Ichiban 50 Queen Street, Glasgow G1 3DS 0141 204 4200 www.ichiban.co.uk The Bill Set Lunch Main Dish £10.80 | Main Dish and Side £14.90 A la carte Sushi £4.80 – £ 7.60 | Main Dishes £13.00 – £15.90 Sides and Sharing Plates £5.00 – £9.00 The Score Cooking 4/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 3/5…
Read MoreKnives from Nippon
Forget sweetie shops. This overgrown kid can easily pass them by. But a shop selling knives and kitchen equipment? That’s another matter. In Edinburgh, Nisbets in the West Port has often sucked me in with some strange, magnetic-like force. Purchases started small: tiny inconsequential pieces of kitchen ware. Then, as with any addict,…
Read MoreSpaghetti alla Casa Johnston
Seasonality? Not easy here in Britain. We saw the sun early in the month. The first asparagus came with spring promise. Our sojourn in London wasn’t of the warmest, but in the gentle heat of our last day I was contemplating dishes with which to tempt you. Something light to be eaten al fresco, perhaps,…
Read MoreLa Locanda, Edinburgh
La Locanda 61 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1BS 0131 622 7447 lalocandaedinburgh.co.uk The Bill Starters £10.95 – £16.90 | Mains £19.90 – £29.90 Desserts ? The Score Cooking 6/10 | Service 3.5/5 Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 1.5/5 Total 15.5/25 Cockburn Street Edinburgh in the summer can assume a surreal, sometimes magical quality. The surrealism…
Read MoreLondon Food: What is London Food?
On our regular jaunts to the capital we enjoy a couple of principal activities. Food obviously is one of them. Purely, you understand, in the interests of keeping you informed, dear reader – and this trip has yielded three yet to be written articles. We also spend much time wearing out shoe leather following the…
Read MoreThe Baring, London
The Baring 55 Baring Street, London N1 3DS 0207 916 5861 www.thebaring.co.uk The Bill Starters £10.00 – £15.00 | Mains £25.00 – £39.00 Desserts £9.00 – £10.00 The Score Cooking 7.5/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 Total 22.5/25 If your first question wasn’t, where on earth is The Baring?, I’d be surprised.…
Read MoreAsparagus & Prawn Frittata
There are fewer pleasures greater than the arrival of the first British asparagus. And as with much of life, simplest is often best. Steamed (never boiled, please), grilled, barbecued, baked. With melted butter or Hollandaise sauce, with lemon juice, with Parmesan shavings, with a poached egg. All the obvious ways, but no less delicious for being…
Read MoreThe Malt Shovel, Edinburgh
The Malt Shovel 11 – 15 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1BP 0131 225 6843 www.belhaven.co.uk/pubs/edinburgh/malt-shovel-inn The Bill Starters £5.75 – £8.45 | Mains £13.45 – £20.95 Desserts £6.25 The Score Cooking 5/10 | Service 4.5/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 4.5/5 Total 18/25 Fish and chips since 1860. That is the remarkable, not to say…
Read MoreDiana Thompson on Wine: Italy
On more than one occasion I have been asked why the blog doesn’t contain a fourth column, Tom Drinks! There are a number of reasons. What do you think I am, a professional journalist? Putting together three columns a week is quite enough work, thank you. But the main reason is quite simply that I don’t…
Read MoreGamba, Glasgow
Gamba 225 West George Street, Glasgow G2 2ND 0141 572 0899 www.gamba.co.uk The Bill Set Lunch Wed – Fri: 2 courses £30.00 | 3 courses £35.00 Saturday: 2 courses £40.00 | 3 courses £45.00 (includes glass of wine) A la Carte Starters £15.00 – £25.00 | Mains £32.00 – £40.00 Desserts £10.50 The Score …
Read MoreAn Authentic Brown Lentil Dahl
You may or may not recall a recent On The Side column on the subject of dahl. These are usually followed up on the Friday with a recipe; however, I was on a roll with the sandwich series and didn’t want you to get crusty if I interrupted it. But today is the day. Now…
Read MoreNational Cherry Cheesecake Day – What?!
That’s tomorrow, that is. I kid you not. Much harmless amusement can be gained from a Google search (other search engines are available) on national food days. It is not unfair to say that most of the weirder stuff comes from the States. So let’s consider this further. A cheesecake day. One might consider this…
Read MoreLiz Turnbull’s Smoked Bacon, Spinach and Blue Cheese Tart
Thanks to good friend and ace cook Liz Turnbull for today’s recipe. A tart – definitely not a quiche. The history of this dish is of some interest (well, to geeks like me). In Britain we have had savoury tarts for centuries. One can trace recipes going back to medieval times. Originally they were made…
Read MoreThe Spence, Edinburgh
The Spence Gleneagles Townhouse 39 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH2 2AD 0131 332 3780 www. gleneagles.com/townhouse The Bill Bread & Snacks £8.00 – £10.00 | Seafood £18.00 – £24.00 Starters £16.00 – £19.00 | Mains £24.00 – £55.00 Desserts £12.00 – £14.00 The Score Cooking 7/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 4/5…
Read MoreCooking: The Book(s) That Influenced You
Getting something On The Side is ticklish. Note I used the capitals to stop the sniggering in the back rows. Childish. Really! The point is the varying degrees of difficulty presented by each of the columns in the blog. Food is infinite. If I felt the urge and, more importantly, if I thought your boredom…
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