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

I’d been looking forward to paying the Manna House a visit, ever since I walked past it on my way to Gregg’s, the other day, when I was in pursuit of hot sandwiches. I felt a little guilty, then, and my stop-off today did nothing to diminish those guilt levels.‬

‪The Manna House has a tall reputation for baking excellence. As you step over their threshold, you can immediately smell why. The place does smell good. It’s hard to pin-down exactly what the smell is, other than “homely, welcoming bakery smell”, as once you take a glance round the shop, you’re confronted with a dazzling array of sweet and savoury treats.

‪We were taking away, today, but there’s room for a few diners to linger, drink in the glorious aroma, and sample the baked goods over strongly brewed cups of tea, or rich, dark coffee.

‪We had a choice of two soups: one featured chorizo and chick peas; the other peppers and aubergine. Gary was in about the chorizo, with no hesitation. I was paused to reflect, as aubergine is a soup ingredient I have toyed with in the past, with only limited success. I made an roasted aubergine soup, many months ago, which tasted very wholesome, but won no beauty contests.

‪In the UK, the aubergine is an ingredient that bears little relation to those you find growing natively in warmer climates. It’s a staple of Turkish food, for example (patlican is one of the few Turkish words I learnt during my first visit to Istanbul), but replicating their recipes over here is quite a challenge.


‪I digress. I decided to go for the pepper and aubergine, in the knowledge that I might regret the choice. I suppose, to an extent, I did, as Gary proclaimed his soup to be an absolute, sure fire 5 out of 5. I was very pleased with mine, though. Firstly, it was an attractive green colour, secondly it tasted rather good, and thirdly it had an excellent, creamy texture, blended to just the right level of smoothness, while retaining a sense of rustic charm.


‪Gary matched his soup with a freshly made, still warm ciabatta, while I opted for a simple rye roll. I was delighted with my roll, but again I think he picked the star item.

‪We both opted to try one of the perfectly pretty mousses from their patisserie counter.

‪I opted for the beetroot and chilli.


Gary chose the cassis.


I was delighted with the dainty little offering, so much so that I decided to take it to my afternoon meeting and share it with two of my colleagues. Plastic forks in hand, we attacked with extreme politeness. I enjoyed it, but I think, on reflection, it looked marginally better than it tasted, but it looked spectacular. The whisper of lingering chilli heat was really quite pleasing, but it didn’t quite match the wow factor you got from first catching sight of it.‬

‪Whatever the case, I will be insisting that Cake Quest’s Sarah makes a visit here, almost immediately, and informs me that any lingering doubts I may have are pure heresy.

‪Overall, The Manna House is a lovely place for lunch. I imagine you could really impress a dedicated sweet-tooth by taking them there, and allowing them to run-riot for an hour of two. Their soupy soup is top quality, as well, so I’ll be back to sample from their range of baked goods again, soon. I suggest you do the same.

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

‪Gary scores The Manna House:
‪5/5 for food
‪3/5 for presentation
‪3/5 for service
3/5 for setting
‪giving an overall 14/20

‪We ate: chorizo and chick pea soup, pepper and aubergine soup, ciabatta, rye roll, cassis mousse, beetroot and chilli mousse.

‪We drank: once more, the soupy goodness was moisture enough

‪We wore: denim trousers, lemon shirt

Total bill: c.£11‬

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

I have something of a shameful admission to make. Susan from the Hula Juice Bar dropped me a tweet to come and visit them when we first started out on our merry questing ways, just a few short months ago. For one reason or another, it just didn’t quite happen. When she dropped me another tweet, yesterday, to say that today’s soup would be haggis, neep, and tattie, she had me firmly signed up to the project.

As I left my office, which is around a 15 minute walk from Hula’s Victoria Street residence, the rain had just begun to tinkle down, gently. I was clad in my overcoat (which was keeping me way too warm, on this uncharacteristically mild day), but had neglected further rain , such as a bonnet or brolly. I had visions of turning up at Hula, soaked to the skin, to find out they’d run out of soup. In Angus’s terms, I was wearing a metaphorical black hat, but metaphorical hat’s do not keep the rain off, sadly.

As I promenaded up the Bridges, a wonderful thing happened: it stopped raining. The sun didn’t come out, nor did I burst in to song, but it was still a joyous moment.


I was soon at the Hula’s welcoming door. I walked in and made my introductions. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tarry for a sit-down lunch, today, so took Susan’s recommendation, opting for their takeaway meal deal. This meant I could sample the much vaunted soup, along with a Cajun chicken wrap (again on Susan’s recommendation), for the princely sum of £4.


As I waited for my wrap to be toasted, in the sunny surroundings of their compact little café, Susan offered me a little sample of their famous “juice”. Now, I’m not a fan of these things, but the banana and mango lassi was very nice. Maybe if I thought of it as chilled fruit soup it would make more sense to me.

My victuals were packed up for me in compostable containers and bags, much like yesterday, and with friendly farewells ringing on my ears, I toddled off back to the office.


When I got there, I tucked in to the soup. It was very good, with an excellent full flavour from the haggis, and pleasingly light creaminess from the potatoes. The wrap was similarly excellent, with the spicing offering a welcoming cuddly warmth rather than a brutal slap of one-dimensional heat. It was balanced, filling, and enjoyable.


Overall, I have to say that I’m very sorry for not popping along to the Hula Juice Bar before now. It truly is a little ray of sunshine, twinkling at the corner of the Grassmarket (my mixed metaphors show no signs of improvement, I think you’ll agree). It’s always such a delight to see people enjoying what they’re doing at the same time as producing things to a high quality. I’ll be back to try more soups and wraps from their range, soon.

Scores
Blythe scores Hula Juice Bar
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
4/5 for setting
giving an overall score of 15/20

Today’s Lunch Quester was: Blythe

I wore: That lemony yellow and blue tie that I used to wear all the time

I ate: Haggis, neep, and tattie soup, toasted Cajun chicken wrap

I drank: A wee sample of banana and mango lassi

Total Bill: £4 (daily takeaway meal deal)

I’ve been planning this quest for some time, so it was with a jaunty and lilting gait that I strode all the way to Easter Road to sample Greggs new hot sandwich range.

I won’t lie to you: I have a thumping hangover, today, after a family night out ended up in the horrors of Espionage, last night. A stop at the all-night bakery on the way home, for steak pie, was the only sustenance that was taken all evening, so I was feeling incredibly hungover-hungry, as well. So, while my taste-buds may not have been in brilliant fettle, my appetite was certainly keen.

Not all the Greggs stores do this new hot sandwich malarkey, hence the reason for the walk to Easter Road. On my happy trails, I saw two solitary, sorrowful magpies, both of which I saluted, and a scampering squirrel, too. I want more animals on our future quests, starting with a pony, a unicorn, and a dinosaur.

I digress. Greggs are clearly keen to diversify, and pinch some customers from Subway, with their new range. You have the usual things you’d expect from a hot sandwich selection (tuna melt, chicken club, mozzarella and tomato), with my choice, the meatball melt, the healthiest option at a measly 380 calories.


The sandwich came pre-wrapped in brown paper, meaning I couldn’t get a good look at it, before I commenced shoving it faceward. This, coupled with its suspicious lightness, set off alarm bells in my head. I had assumed that a hot sandwich would negate the need for additional baked goods that their conventional temperature sandwiches usually demand. I resisted the impulse to augment things, sticking solely with the sandwich.

I trundled back towards my work, feeling a little guilty for walking past the Manna House, in favour of this inauspicious looking item. I’ll pop in to the Manna House soon, though.


Upon my return to my desk, I cautiously opened the packaging and my suspicions were somewhat confirmed. It was a little underwhelming, a little little, and didn’t set my heart racing in quite the way I’d hoped it would. Upon eating, things improved. The roll itself wasn’t brilliant, but the filling was plentiful and tasty. It could have used a little more cheese to give it more of a melty texture, but it was pretty satisfying and filling enough on its own.

Overall, I feel I’ll need to sample another one from the range to reach a definitive position, but for now, I don’t think this is going to elevated to the pantheon of Greggs goodness, to sit alongside the steak bake and the macaroni pie. Nor is it quite good enough to pinch a significant chunk of Subway’s business. But it is a good notion, Greggs are outstandingly good at refining and improving their range of products, and it is priced very competitively, so I will look on with interest as to how the range develops.

Today’s Lunch Quester was: Blythe

I wore: Blue tie with gold checks.

I ate: Meatball melt baguette

I drank: Nothing (I’d had a cuppa, shortly before lunch)

Total Bill: £2.10

I hadn’t done a brown-bag lunch review for a while, so thought that I should rectify that, almost immediately. Accordingly, I wandered along to The Square, on St Andrew Square, to see what lunchtime delights they had on offer.


I’m still trying to find the opportunity to review the new Greggs hot sandwich range, but it just doesn’t seem to be happening. I’ll try to make a concerted effort, tomorrow.

I digress. The Square is a popular little café and deli, with seating for around a dozen folk. It opens early for breakfast service and tends to be very popular with the local office crowd. I’ve stopped by for a sandwich on a couple of occasions, but it’s just slightly beyond my usual lunchtime scope, particularly given that trips there involve walking past both Greggs and Snax (not to mention the Hong Fu Noodle place, which we must try, one of these days).

Today, I found it as busy as ever. I was in the mood for a roll, so I chose from their nice array.


I considered their impressive array of soups: no less than six to choose from. I’ll perhaps revisit in a few weeks, but all soup roads lead to next Monday’s grand opening of Union of Genius, on Forrest Road.

Three busy roll makers, along with a dedicated soup ladler, dealt with the queue efficiently. I opted for my go-to hangover buster (I was in Teuchters, last night) of ham, egg mayo and salad.


Generous spoons of good, chunky egg mayo were spread across the roll, joined by a nice slice of ham, then topped with lettuce and cucumber. I devoured the thing with remarkably little mess. It was hearty, filling and comforting, and set me up nicely for an afternoon of careful pondering of the wonders of the information age.

At £3.50 it was maybe a little pricey, but given its location they could probably charge more and people would still keep coming back.

Overall, I enjoyed my little stop at The Square. If you're in the neighbourhood and looking for lunchtime fodder, I'd recommend you pop in and order a nice roll from their impressively stocked deli counter. I'll get back to you, in a few weeks, to tell you if their soup is worth invesigating, too ;-)

Today’s Lunch Quester was: Blythe

I wore: Blue tie with red spots

I ate: Ham and egg salad roll

I drank: Nothing (I’d had a cuppa, shortly before lunch)

Total Bill: £3.50

I've already spoken at length about my appreciation for Domenico's. I popped down there to pick up sandwiches, this lunchtime, and thought I'd share the pictures.

This one is a long prosciutto, parmesan, sun-dried tomato, and truffle pesto roll:

This one is a round prosciutto, parmesan, sun-dried tomato, and truffle pesto roll:

They were up to their usual excellent standard, with top quality ingredients coming together in rich mouthfuls of gutsy flavour. The lightly smoked prosciutto was particularly tasty, and boy have I missed the generous helping of rocket that typically tops a Domenico's roll. It seems an odd thing to miss, but its subtle pepperiness really adds to the overall enjoyment.

I'm off for more Italian fare this evening, at Amore Dogs, so will write about that (as a Late, Late Lunch Quest), tomorrow :-)


Today’s Lunch Questers were: Gary, Blythe

We wore: Wednesday suits

We ate: Prosciutto, parmesan, sun-dried tomato, and truffle pesto rolls

We drank: Nothing

Total Bill: £5.20

Domenico's
30 Sandport St
Edinburgh EH6 6EP
www.cafedomenico.co.uk

In a slight departure from our regular stuff, today I thought I’d do a little contribution on the sandwich shop lunch, a staple of those days when we don’t have somewhere lavish to dine.

I have written fondly of my halcyon days in a previous office location, where daily trips to Domenico’s brightened my very being. Nowadays, transported to one of the most unlikely lunching dead-zones in all of the city, I have to content myself with regular trips to Greggs, in between trips to more glamorous lunch spots.

Greggs is a fine old institution, founded Gosforth High Street in 1951. Although much-maligned over the years, the business is a considerable success story, with expansion continuing even in the face of straitened economic circumstances.

It has a reputation for hearty fare, and although previously criticised for being light of the calorific detail, you can now munch sandwiches in proud awareness of the 770 calories you are about to ingest.

Among my generation of grubby, unhealthy, slovenly blokes, Greggs provides a widely accepted taste marker. As once there was Miller or Kronenbourg, Marlboro or B&H, there is and always will be Steak Bake or Macaroni Pie.

Now, this is not to say that the steak bake and macaroni pie are mutually exclusive, but it’s certainly always at the forefront of considerations. For me, it’s always the macaroni pie. Indeed, this carbohydrate loaded beauty has a very special place in Lunch Quest hearts, given that it’s one of the great inspirations behind the establishment of Lunch Quest: Jerusalem.

I digress. To the task at hand: is lunch from Greggs any good? Let’s confine things to what we sampled, today, for now. My colleague Gary, who previously joined us for a spot of Mosque Kitchen lunch questing, chose a limited edition Mexican Bandit baguette.


I chose a simple ham and cheese.


We then pooled our resources to capture a pair of macaroni pies at a knock down price of 2 for £1.50.

My cheese and ham baguette was a remarkably literal interpretation. It had cheese, ham and nothing more than a smear of butter. 10/10 for accuracy; 2/10 for imagination. Gary’s had some spicy chicken and chilli cheese, with sweet chilli relish and a hint of mayo, topped with crunchy salad. These were both good enough, but largely unremarkable.

However, as previously suggested, it is with baked goods that Greggs excels. Today’s macaroni pies were spot-on: warm but not volcanic; filled to the brim with gooey goodness; and caramelised to just the right level. They’re possibly the most unhealthy thing in history, but boy do they taste good!


As a one-off experience, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with Greggs. They keep things simple, cater to their audience, and make tasty things.

But here’s the rub: repeated exposure can’t be good. Primarily, their range, particularly on the sandwich front, lacks sophistication and breadth. Due to the aforementioned lunch dead-zone, I eat at Greggs a couple of times a week. I will never tire of their baked goods, but the sandwiches quickly lose their appeal. The calorific content probably isn’t entirely a good thing, either.

On that dead-zone, I wish Domenico’s would hurry up and open “Domenico’s in the City”. Our other options in the vicinity are Deli Fresco on Leith Street, which offers incredibly poor quality and value, and The Square in North St David’s Street, which I quite like but is a little pricey.

I suppose I could use Boots, but the idea of buying lunch from a chemist that wants to prescribe me crisps for lunch has never quite appealed.

So, I’d say pop in to Greggs and try their stuff, but keep lunchtime visits well spaced out. On the other hand, macaroni pie indulgence time should be as frequent as your physician and tailor will allow! ;-)


Today’s Lunch Questers were: Gary, Blythe

We wore: The workaday suits of automaton drudgery

We ate: Mexican bandit baguette, ham and cheese baguette, brace of macaroni pies

We drank: Nothing but salty tears

Total Bill: c.£6

Greggs
Various Outlets across Edinburgh (and beyond)
http://www.greggs.co.uk/