You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

A damn fine Croque Madame can be found at Word of Mouth Cafe , an incredibly comfortable and chic cafe I was taken to walking up from Leith. From the well oiled dark stained wooden tables to the soaps in the loo, the overall aesthetic of the cafe was incredibly convivial to a certain tempo in how I like to enjoy my meals and conversations. The food was also exceptional, beginning with a very berry smoothie that reminds me of home, classic crispy frites which I never knew I missed until being only offered chunky rubbery chips, a light vinaigrette over the mixed salad, and a very well done croque madame, with the right saltiness of ham to cheese, with the egg seemingly embedded into the top of the really good thick slice of bread. The clincher was the liberal use of dried parsley, which is a sight for sore eyes, dashed over everything hot and visually tied it all into the salad. Maybe the food in Scotland has just been really bad, but I went really wild for this meal as it's fresh an...

This is more about memory and nostalgia than the savoury quality of this meatball panini from Costa. My first bite in Scotland was sitting at a Costa, in Glasgow at Queen Street eating a breakfast sandwich. I really had no clue where I was or where I was heading, just that I had ten minutes to eat this thing, be surrounded by my luggage I've carried across all of North America, Iceland, and now the UK, and enjoy the bit of heat in this meal as I did not know when or where my next one would be. Every time I passed a Costa, I remembered it as my first tangible experience in Scotland, and I had actually not returned until this past weekend, four months later, when I played host for the first time. It's not that Costa is amazing, it's not bad, especially for transit food, for food you eat while you're waiting in the inbetween, as another homogenous coffee shop in another anywhere space . . . but it's your personal associations and the value you give to ordinary things ...

I must be British now as these BLT's in the greenhouse were dished up with a heavy dose of homemade raisin chutney. A great acidic accompaniment to the greasy salty bacon and the blandess of the spinach (playing substitute here for lettuce) and chunky tomato slices. I added a dollop to the inside of the sandwich, and I must say it's actually better as a dipper than a spread. Thanks to R.G. for this very hearty breakfast, lunch, and dinner!