Lunch Quest: Edinburgh

Over the years, Broughton Street has become a diverse and eclectic collection of restaurants, shops, bars, cafes, and grocers. Nestling snugly within the mix is Chequers, a sandwich shop and takeaway.

With no provision for seated munching on the premises, Chequers is styled somewhere between Snax and Greggs, so far removed from the some of the “cool kid” delis in the district. It has a busy board of options, a range of different rolls to choose from, covering both breakfast and lunch roll requirements, and a good array of fillings.

The fillings were generally your standard, pre-packed fare, but the brie looked pretty decent, and the rolls came from a local bakery that supplies a number of the local sandwich shops.

Gary, a fellow soup fancier, and I both opted to try their soup of the day, a vegetable broth.


Gary described it as “proper Granny broth”, as his grandmother used to frequently make a similar concoction. I thought it was very tasty, with a good amount of lentils, beans and barley lurking in its depths.

We both chose a ‘hedgehog’ roll, Gary opting for roast beef and mustard, while I sampled the nice looking brie, adding some ham and mustard.


The rolls were substantial, with the freshly-baked roll itself the highlight. The fillings were well balanced, if a touch unspectacular. But at £3.30 for soup and sandwich, this place certainly offers you good bang for your buck.

Overall, Chequers provided us with good soup and hearty rolls. I was very pleasantly surprised by the place. It lacks the elegance of some of the other local venues, but for a quick bite on the run, which was very much the order of the day, today, it gives the impression of being totally reliable. I have a feeling that it will do pretty good breakfast rolls, also, so I may be popping back once the December hangover season swings in to effect.

Scores
Blythe scores Chequers:
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 13/20

Gary scores Chequers:
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
5/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 15/20

We ate: Roast beef and mustard ‘hedgehog’ roll, ham, brie and mustard ‘hedgehog’ roll, vegetable broth (2)

We drank: the soupy goodness was moisture enough

We wore: coats that were just a little too warm for this very mild lunchtime

Total bill: £6.70

I do like the way that places are increasingly using Twitter to advertise their daily menus and specials. Hula do it; Union of Genius do it; and so do the lovely folks at the Broughton Deli.

In years gone by, Barony Street was a regular haunt, as friends of mine had a flat there, in the years directly following our academic studies. Many an enjoyable evening was spent playing poker, or supping on ghastly cocktails at the Baronial Mansion.

Anyhoo, to the matter at hand. I ambled down Broughton Street from office land and was soon in the deli’s bright confines. It seems to pull off the trick of being both simple and elegant, yet homely and with lots of characterful details. It looks like the kind of place you could happily wile away an afternoon, eating healthily and being thoroughly entertained by your surroundings.

On this occasion, I pursued the takeaway option. The soup of the day was spiced apple and turnip.


This was very reminiscent of the roast swede soup I’d tried when reviewing Signe Johansen’s book Scandilicious for Edinburgh Foody. It had lovely, warming spice and would have sat very nicely as a festive yuletide starter. For my palette, the apple pushed it in to the realms of being just too sweet, which was a shame, as it had excellent texture and had clearly been made with considerable care, and the idea behind it showed elegant flair.

The standard order included generous slices of bread and butter, but I was more in the mood for a filled roll, so I opted for a hummus, aubergine and sun-blushed tomato baguette.


This proved to be a good choice, as the hummus was very tasty indeed. The baguette was crusty to the point of being a little challenging for my teeth, and it could have used some salad leaves to really round it out, but I was pleased with my choice.

Overall, I thought the Broughton Deli had a lot of charm, and you can’t fault it in terms of seeking to blending heartiness with elegance. It’s more the sort of place I’d prefer to sit-in for lunch, rather than regularly visit for takeaway, but I’d recommend you pay it a visit and soak in its undoubted delights.

Scores
Blythe scores The Broughton Deli:
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3/5 for service
4/5 for setting
giving an overall 14/20

I ate: spiced apple and turnip soup, hummus, aubergine, and tomato baguette

I drank: in the array of different dishes on offer

I wore: totally the wrong socks

Total bill: £5.50

Crolla is a prominent name in Edinburgh culinary circles, so when I spotted this unassuming little café on Broughton Street, the other day, I was intrigued enough to add it to our list for a little visit.


Broughton Street is a hot-bed of restaurants and cafés, with a place to cater for every taste and budget. For some reason, I’ve had it in my head that it’s just a bit too far away from my work to make it my regular brown-bag lunch haunt, but for two reasons, I’ve decided to amend that view. Firstly, it’s completely incorrect; and secondly, I’m now in training for a 100km walk, which takes place in May 2012. This sounds impressive, but is nothing when you consider that Lunch Quest’s inspirational leader, MJ, is planning to run a good chunk of this daunting distance!

I digress. Crolla’s has been open for around a year and half, offering simple sit-in and takeaway fare, from its charming confines. There’s room for around a dozen to sit in; a little more if you factor in the possibility of outside seating during Edinburgh’s generous temperate season. The interior is neatly appointed and very welcoming.

Having gone a couple of days without soup (how I coped, nobody knows), my first priority was checking the available varieties. I was pleased to hear wild mushroom, and minestrone were both on offer. I opted for the mushroom.

The deli counter offered a nice range of sandwich fillings, so I opted to match chorizo with brie, then top it with salad and pesto, all generously heaped inside a poppy-seed roll. Following the completion of the necessary financial exchange, I waltzed my way along the street, heading back to the office, with a considerable spring in my step.


Inspecting the soup, it was revealed as a richly creamy offering. I supped a little from the top, verifying that it was good stuff, then turned my attention to the roll. I have long bemoaned my separation from my beloved Domenico’s, and have pretty much given up hope of regularly eating good sandwiches again, until I get posted back to the Leith district. This roll, although not comprising quite the same symphony of flavours, was definitely the best one I’ve eaten since my last trip to Domenico’s hallowed halls. I devoured it, much in the same way as a former Prime Minister might ickily devour his wife’s love. Sorry for bringing that up, but Uncle Tony really has sullied that word for future generations.


I returned my focus to the soup, which proved highly satisfying. It wasn’t quite at the level of the mushroom soup from Union of Genius, but it was speaking the same lingo and living in the same postcode. I might even venture to suggest that they would be firm friends.


So overall, I was very impressed with Crolla’s. The fact that this lunch cost a total of £3.70, which struck me as exceptionally good value, only served to add a cherry on the top. If, like me, you’ve not noticed this place previously, I’d suggest you seek it out give it a try. From now on, it’ll be on my regular rotation of lunch places.

Scores
Blythe scores Crolla’s:
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 14/20

I ate: chorizo, brie, salad and pesto on poppy seed roll, wild mushroom soup

I drank: the soupy goodness was moisture enough

I wore: a plaster-free ear, for the first time this week

Total bill: c.£3.70