Lamb chop we loved you - lamb loin you're gone!

Look at them. The lovely fleecy flock. The Hebridean Lamb. Well we had it, and it went down a storm – an absolute blinder. You flocked, (pun intended) and it was consumed. Feedback included
‘The best lamb we have ever tasted’
‘Melt in the mouth’
‘Please Sir, can I have some more?’
Here at Howies we are in love with the Hebridean Lamb..it really is unique.
So...why? .well here's some of the reasons from the one who knows, the farmer himself Jonathan.
They were then known as ‘St Kilda’ sheep (later re-named Hebridean in the 1970’s) as they were brought down from North Uist and the outer Hebrides. The spread of the breed has since been limited due to the animals small size and dark fleece (not so useful commercially for meat or wool), however, they have spread through parklands and estates where a small, hardy, low maintenance and native breed is desirable. Hebrideans are classified a rare breed.
'Hebridean meat is slow grown,  seasonal, lower in saturated fat and higher in nutritionally beneficial polyunsaturated omega 6 & 3 fatty acids than commercially raised flocks. These factors give Hebridean meat added value as it is a speciality meat which is healthier and tastier.


But for now there is nor more. Tis gone. Til next time. And we will keep you informed the second we know when that is.....

Now if you wander Scotland at this time of year you are enveloped by the delicious aroma of wild garlic...it grows in abundance all over the place. Some other things that are hip hop and happening this month include...Mackerel...these ones caught by David Howie Scott - yes on the rare days he escapes the rigours of the restaurant he loves nothing better than to fish. These ones were pulled out of the sea on the NW coast of Scotland.

Other April goodies to look out for that won't have been flown across the world to get your plate in Scotland include....Broccoli, Carrots, Cucumber, Cabbages, Cockles, Crab, Cauliflower, Eel, Halibut, Jersey Royal New Potatoes, John Dory, Leeks, Lettuces, Lobster, Lemon Sole, Mint, Mackerel, Mussels, New Potatoes, Oyster, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Radishes, Rhubarb, Rocket, Rosemary, Spring Greens, Sea Kale, Salmon, Sardines, Salsify, Sea Bass, Sea Trout, Spinach, Sorrel, Spring Onions, Spring Lamb, Whelks, Winkles, Watercress.

And ….Wild Foods for April…
Chickweed, Dandelion, Hop Shoots, Hogweed, Hawthorn Berries, Nettles, St Georges Mushrooms, Sea Beet, Morel Mushrooms, Woodpigeon, Wild Garlic.

Makes our heads spin with excitement....we will be posting our new seasonal Spring menu...right here..so don't go far!

Howies Celebrate World Whisky Day! Slainte!

Do you see how happy this man is ? Well he must have heard about the first ever World Whisky Day!

How on earth the world managed to get to this stage without a day completely dedicated to whisky is a complete mystery? It is astounding - but thanks to this young man Blair Bowman pictured below –  the inaugural  World Whisky Day takes place this Thursday and Howies being a Scottish Restaurant are of course joining in the celebrations from day 1.

One of our most popular sweets is an Affogato – a delicious double espresso drizzled over two scoops of Mackies ice-cream – no we don’t make our own ice cream because Alison, one of the Howies partners is from Aberdeen and this is where Mackies make what we believe is the most delicious ice cream in the world!

Mackies was originally a dairy farm and as the fashion for drinking the cream off the top of the milk waned they wondered what on earth to do with the glut of cream. It was at this point some bright spark came up with the idea of making ice cream. And the rest as they say is delicious ice cream history.

So we serve Mackies at Howies as it fits the criteria of being Scottish and delicious!

So….for the first ever World Whisky Day we are serving a double scoop of Mackies drenched with either a measure of Drambuie or a delicious Malt.
Once tasted – you’ll be smitten.

Or perhaps you would prefer A Rusty Nail? No that's not me being rude! It's a wonderful Scottish cocktail with a kick like a front row forward. YUM!

If you're not in Scotland then don't despair people are celebrating all over the world just check out the website below and join in wherever you  happen to be on Thursday.


World Whisky Day
27th March 2012.


Come and celebrate with us! Slainte! 

Hebridean Lambs....we are mint for each other.

The daffs, the daffy, the daffodils. A sure sign spring is sprung as the weather in Edinburgh has been spectacular. Cool, blue, clear skies and lots of smiling happy people stomping the streets. Ah joy. The vestiges of winter feel like they maybe behind us.

With the change of season, the transition from Winter to Spring, comes our change of menu...and the star of spring, the drum roll, the trumpet voluntary is from the carnivores is that lovely four letter word........lamb.

Yes, spring is sprung the lambs are riz…and here in Spring 2012 the price of lamb has hit an all time high - great news for the farmer - not so great for us restaurateurs. However, lamb is one of the most popular and delicious red meat around, so there is no way it's off the Howies menu.

Of course there is no way on earth we would touch New Zealand lamb. After all why pay for something that has been flown thousands of miles when we can get wonderful Scottish lamb delivered to our door which will have travelled less than 20 miles from being born to your plate. OK we don't like to think about the wee white knitted cuties being cute and real but hey ho that's what they are.

So today we had some free rambling Hebridean lambs delivered from Slipperfield Croft a farm in West Linton where they were born and raised. No they were not gambling around and looking cute they were butchered, vac packed and ready for our chef - bless. And how they taste is hard to describe. Sweet. Tender. Melt in the mouth.

Of course we get the whole jing bang which means we can utilise all the different cuts; lamb for casseroling, roasting, chops, and the loin - the sweet spot. Oh listen to me I am in lamb love, my mouth is watering as I write about it.. Slurp.

Of course it doesn't stop there.... we will get stock from the bones for gravies, jus, and then there are the kidneys which look beautiful but the chef may have them for his lunch - and he deserves it.

The farmer Johnathon James delivered them with his three little helpers. You can see here. 2 labs and a cheeky wee collie. Of course as the restaurant readied themselves for lunch service we were straight out with the camera. How cute are these wee darlings?

The big lab is half chocolate and thus a bit daft but what a beauty.
The collie is just a wee pup and potential super model and the other lab is staring right into the lens of the came just like an ad for L'Oreal because she knows she's worth it.

So this is new supplier relationship for us and we are hoping a long term one, after all, to us this is what it's all about. Great Scottish produce, seasonal, sustainable and frankly devine.

Now, where's the mint sauce?

Name the problem in one.

Business is stressful. Despite the lovely ideal of chequered table cloths, white starched aprons and the smell of baking wafting from the kitchen sadly the day to day stuff of being a restaurant has to be attended too. I am of course referring to paper work and sensible stuff.
Sensible stuff is nothing to do with food, creative energy and smiling happy staff and customers but more to do with phones, electricity, gas, invoices, bills and all that insanely annoying stuff that cannot be avoided.
And it is the things that seem straight forward that frankly could drive you to drink. Having just bought Howies a couple of months ago we are getting through things slowly but slowly.
So the latest challenge has been interesting.
When I say interesting I mean.
Frustrating.
Annoying.
Hair yankingly time consuming.
And legitimately holding the key to the wine cellar - dangerous.

This weekend and today has been all about the mobile phones. We all have them. They are all with different providers and thus we would like to have them all under the one umbrella - aka provider not actual umbrella although that would have been a darn site easier - in addition to that we want to hang onto our own existing phone numbers. So how hard is that?

Well building a life size model of Barrack Obama out of cheese with my feet would be easier. And less time consuming. And you could eat it in the end - providing I wore socks. I digress.

So rather than go to the first place of course you shop around. So the weekend was spent trolling between the phone providers. What an experience that was.
Walk into showroom A and you are completely ignored.
In Showroom B you are swarmed at by 6 men in shiny suits with commission tattooed on their foreheads and run out fast.
Showroom 3 I spent at least 20 minutes with a lovely girl whose accent was so obviously Spanish I made the mistake of digging deep into my Spanish vocabulary - I worked in a bar there 20 years ago - to say 'Si' at which point she stopped, her face spread into a massive grin as she understandably thought I was a mistress of her mother tongue and began talking to me in technology terms about phones, contracts, money - well I assume that's what she was saying. I didn't have a clue or the heart to stop her and tell her my Spanish really consists of una cervesa por favor.Uno grande vasso rosado or pinchos gracias. So after she had finished and as she waited expectantly for my reaction I just grinned back and said 'Gracias.' pointed at my watch and said 'mucho late, haste la vista' Happily she sent me off with a cheery wave I just wish I had understood her, she was charming - but I didn't - so off I went back to the restaurant for sustenance.

Last night was spent trolling the internet to find a deal. At every page I was virtually assaulted with bright flashing offers, so finding the deal is one thing, it's when you have to phone these 08000 numbers and sit in a queue for the rest of the day listening to Mozart or Lady Gaga by which point it's back to lunging at the wine cellar key.

Eventually I did get through to one provider - who shall remain nameless, no they won't it was Talk Talk who started well but then nearly pushed me over the edge. The conversation went like this. After 30 seconds they identify your name. Alison.
'Can I call you Alison?'
Yes
'Thank you Now how can I help you Alison?'
Well I would like to enquire about opening a business account
'Certainly Alison what sort of business account?'
'I don't know. We have a few numbers we need under the one umbrella.'
'Umbrella Alison? OK. Now Alison I will just have to ask my supervisor about that Alison, so if you can hang on Alison? I will come straight back to Alison you Alison'.
By the end of this ridiculous exchange I was back on my laptop googling 'change my name by deed poll fast'.
So Customer Service whoever you are ditch the name thing it put me off hanging on - so I didn't.

So two days into what I naively thought would be a simple process off we went...to another shop on another street where hallelujah we met a guy who knows what he's talking about. He sorted us out and made the whole thing an entirely painless experience. I love him. I do. He is coming to ours for Christmas. If I ever have another child he will be it's Godparent. When you get a great member of staff offering great service it can make not break your day. So once this deal is done I am going to drop off a lovely bottle of white Rioja for his delight and delectation.
Gracias young man.
You stopped me from crawling into the wine cellar with a corkscrew, a straw and a bag of cheese and onion crisps.
Next on the list? The website....help? I can feel the vapours coming on.