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.......

 

 

 

 



Spring has sprung!

Well, it's taken an age & just when I was losing the will to live, it would seem that Spring is finally here!  Anyone that knows me knows that I love winter & all that it brings (you know, roaring log fires, steaming bowls of comfort food, getting into my pjs at 5pm, Christmas etc!!) but I really don't want it to extend into the middle of April!  It was only a few days ago that we still had snow on the ground, eeek!!

 

We live in a beautiful rural village about 8 miles from Dundee & are fortunate enough to have a huge country park about a 2 minute walk from home.  I blooming love this park & it was one of the deciding factors in us wanting to live in this village, as opposed to closer to the city.  There's 2 great play parks for kids with massive wooden forts & zip slides built in amongst the forest & reservoirs for fishing, boating & water sports.  My teenage girls spend several sessions a week windsurfing & kayaking in the school holidays, a welcome break from mooching round the shops with their pals!!

 

 

 

 

 

With the evenings getting lighter by the day now, we love to have a wander round the park after dinner, sometimes stopping in at the park's wee café/bistro for a cheeky vino!!  Last month, the engine in our car went kaput (that's a whole other rant though, I'll save that for another day!) so I was forced to do the school run on foot via the park rather than the usual 2 minute journey by car.  Even though it was still bitterly cold, the sun was blasting through the clouds, illuminating the park in all it's glory (oooh, went all Nigella there for a moment!) & it reminded me what a beautiful place I live in.

 

 

 

 

So in preparation for a lot more woodland, park & beach walking, I treated myself to a new pair of wellies the other day.  I do find it odd that I get so happy about things like wellies these days....is it an age thing do you think?!  Anyhoo, I usually find it insanely difficult to find wellies, or any boot for that matter, that fit correctly as I have wide calves but skinny ankles & feet.  I've tried so many pairs of wide-calf wellies but the manufacturers seem to presume that everyone with wide calves also have feet the same width & they just don't stay on my feet!  That is why I was pleased to come across these Joules wellies in my local Dobbies garden centre the other day.  I tried them thinking they wouldn't fit my calves but they did, oh happy day!!  I went up a size to a 6 so I could fit in some squidgy memory foam soles for comfort & warmth & they really are very comfortable & a great fit.  And to top it off, they're just so pretty, they're crying out to be worn to many festivals!

 

 

 

 

But right now I'm off to get some lunch (rare roast beef & horseradish rolls, in case you're wondering!) & then I have a mammoth baking session planned for this afternoon.  Bring on the sugar overload!  Until the next time mes amis!