Crail Food Festival 2013

 

Last weekend saw the 3rd annual Crail Food Festival being held & as for one reason or another we'd missed the last 2 years, I was really looking forward to going this year.  We went on the Sunday when the festival moved outdoors to the stunning Crail harbour & I'd pre-booked good weather for this....... & luckily, the Weather Gods were compliant as it was glorious!

 

The Crail Food Festival celebrates the best of the regional produce with stands where you can sample & purchase delicacies from local businesses such as The Pittenweem Chocolate Company, Chillilicious, The Doorstep Bakery, Balgove Larder, St Andrews Brewing Company,  St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Company & many more.  I'm sorry for not naming everyone but you can check the CFF website for a full list of participants.

 

 

 

We had a fabulous couple of hours wandering round, taking in the sights, smells & tastes.  I have to say though, I love Spink's Arbroath Smokies so that's where I head to first, letting my nose lead the way!

 

 

Crail itself is a fishing town in the East Neuk of Fife, made up of winding streets with beautiful stone & white-washed buildings, some dating back to the 17th century.  I spent many childhood summers in the town of Anstruther, just a few miles down the road but I'd never really walked around Crail before.  I can't wait to go back & explore it properly, camera in hand, as always!

 

 

 

 

We finished off our day with a late lunch at The Vic in my beloved St Andrews!  We'd not been in here before but have wanted to try it for a while & we weren't disappointed. Great food, friendly staff, funky decor & Etch-a-Sketches for the kids (although I think maybe they could provide ones for adults too as we had bickering between wee man & Mr F about who was going to use it next!!)

 

 

 

Sorry for all the photos but I took hundreds & it was really hard to pare them all down!

 

À la prochaine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forgan's, St Andrews

Apologies in advance for the very photo-heavy post but I just couldn't pare them down any more, I wanted to show them all!

 

So yesterday was the first Saturday of the month which meant it was Fife Farmers' Market at St Andrews.  We love to pop over to stock up on goodies but I can't believe I was so busy stuffing my face full of samples (mainly the Ochil Fudge!) that I forgot to take photos!  Oh well, we'll be back next month I expect.

 

I did however, take lots of photos of the newly opened Forgan's restaurant on Market Street.  We've been eagerly awaiting the opening of this place for quite some time & have been keeping up with the updates on Twitter & Facebook & I have to say, it did not disappoint one jot!!

 

Anticipating it being busy, I'd booked a table in advance which was definitely the right thing to do as we arrived at 12 noon & there were many people waiting already.  Forgan's do a Kids' Ceilidh on a Saturday morning (how bloomin' fantastic is that idea?!) so we had a couple of minutes to wait whilst the tables were being put back out.  I was surprised at how light & airy the restaurant was inside & the decor is awesome, I loved it!!  Seriously, the interior designer is a genius.  It's all washed wood, industrial steel & funky huge lanterns hanging from the ginormous skylit roof.  If someone asked me to describe my ideal setting for a restaurant, I think this would be it!!

 

There are 3 main areas, the largest being right in the centre of the restaurant with 'open' seating.  There is an area called The Den situated at the back which is slightly darker & has a cosier atmosphere.  And then you have the most fantastic idea of the private Bothies lining one entire side.  There are 4 separate bothies each seating 10 people on huge tables which have their very own fireplaces too!!  I could be wrong but I believe the bothies can be opened up for a larger private parties, again such an awesome idea.  (I now know where I'll be holding my meal for my next birthday!!)

 

I have only one tiny gripe about our visit which was that I had to ask 3 times for Alfie's smoothie to be brought out but hey, not a biggie & otherwise the food, service & atmosphere was fantastic.  I cannot wait for our next visit, hopefully during an evening sans enfants!!

Check it out if you ever find yourself in St Andrews!!  I'm not affiliated any way with Forgan's, I just believe in credit where credit's due!!  And now for the photos......

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yes, did I mention the free face painting for kids?  Ruddy marvellous.....!!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Brunch at St Andrews

It's been a couple of months since we last took a trip over the river to St Andrews so we decided we'd go last Sunday & have brunch at our favourite place to eat, Mitchell's.  I'd actually had the foresight this time to pre-book a table as this place gets mightily busy, a true indication of its popularity with both tourists & locals.

 

 

 

 

 

From the outside, this deli~café has the sort of rustic charm that just draws you towards it, it's so inviting.  And as you open the door, you are faced with the most fabulous deli counter stocking all manner of local & seasonal ingredients & the smells wafting around make you instantly start to salivate!

 

The staff are always really welcoming & helpful & it's very child-friendly too, something very important to me.  I can think of nothing worse than going out for a bite to eat with my 4 year old son in tow & made to feel like the staff are counting down the minutes until you leave so they can fill the table with adults only!!  Luckily, this very rarely happens now.......but it has happened.  There's none of that malarkey here though!

 

 

 

 

This is the first time we'd been in for brunch as we normally enjoy lunch here but we both ordered the full Scottish breakfast which was delicious.  The haggis, I can say with all certainty, was the tastiest I've ever tried, just scrummy & Mr F reckons you'd be hard pushed to find a better brekkie served anywhere.  They happily adapted a dish too so my son could have scrambled eggs on toast, which he scoffed down in record time! The coffee, which is lovely & strong (although not so strong it strips the roof of your mouth!) is served in great mugs, none of these super-sized coffee cups that require 2 hands to lift them.  And of course, the bonus part......a wee chunk of tablet on the side.

 

 

 

 

As fab as the breakfasts were, if you ever get the chance to go in for lunch, I urge you to try the rare roast beef & horseradish sandwich served with vegetable crisps, pictured above.  Every time we eat here I say I'll try something different but I always end up with this sandwich as it's just so good.  End of!!

 

I'd like to make it clear that I have no ties whatsoever with Mitchell's, I just think it truly is a great place to eat, drink & be merry & urge you to give the place a whirl should you ever be in St Andrews!!  I'm now eagerly awaiting the opening of Forgan's next door.......