Hollywood rolls into town and Howies celebrates in style!

I can't tell you how proud we are to be supporting Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012.

Well I just did.

Very proud.

We have made Howies in Edinburgh both Waterloo Place in the new town and Victoria Street in the medieval old town available to delegates and jurors who have people to meet, things to do, delights to eat and films to see.

Our Private Dining Room sadly is booked for the night they wanted it for the deliberations of the jury but none the less we are all on red alert for the glamorous film types that we expect to see wandering in.

The opening film this year is Killer Joe,  a William Freidkin film starring the rather delicious (in restaurant terms of course) Matthew McConaughey. Though it would be fair to say he is hardly a pussycat in this film he is more your mad deranged assassin type of guy. Still even they have to eat.

A filmy type person reviewed Killer Joe as follows:


'Brilliant, hilarious and shocking film. Saw it at the Venice Film Festival and it was definitely one of the most enjoyable (and enjoyed) films there. Go and see it'.

Ah we do love it when the film juggernaut rolls into town.

It used to be in August the same time of year as the Fringe and International Festival but cleverly it is now a month and a half earlier than that other monumental bun fight which frees up more time energy and space to concentrate on this one.

With a restaurant in the new town and one in the old town we do get a fair number of the glitterati turning up on our doorstep. They are seldom recognised which they seem to love– this is mainly because there is aye such a buzz of comings and goings and of course everyone here is so obsessed with food that a film or TV star can easily go unnoticed. Of course if Marcus Wareing or other world renowned chefs were to pitch up there would be a collective fainting fit.

Oh did I mention that Sean Connery celebrated his birthday at Howies Waterloo a while back?. Our pal has promised us photos….you will see them here…when he follows through on that -  and he had better! Oscar?????

The Howies Team Loaf Around

Bread,

Yum.

Warm from the oven.

Slathered in butter.

Does it get any better than that?

Well yes when you get to visit the bakery, meet the artisan baker and taste some of his fantastic breads. Holy Tamoly.

Breadwinner in Edinburgh is an institution and who wants to live in an institution? Well if it’s this one. We do.

A family run business making bread since 1973 as we walked along the road the waft of fresh baking curled into the collective nostrils and we practically burst in the door shouting ‘feed me!’.

And they did. But not before showing us round  and introducing us to the team.

Their new French baker Sebastien pictured here – a strapping lad – proving (pun intended) bread and kneading are good for the physique. Ahem.

His French stick was a thing of a beauty, Please insert your own joke here – this is not the Benny Hill Show you know.And here he is doing the croissant thing......big light buttery oh I could go on. And frequently do.
As we ate our way round the bakery one of the delivery drivers left with a big grin on his face and a hunk of bread in his hand. 25 seconds later he came running back in 'It's sooo good' he beamed 'I have to have some more!'  So even a man who sees the bread day in and day out cannot resist the lure of the dough.

Fruit bread, croissants, rolls, loaves, cottage loaves, corn bread, rye bread oh any kind you can think of and lots more besides. Howies frankly loves this bakery. 

The Team. Lesley, Kris and Sean McVey.

And this month - after 40 years in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh they have moved to The Gyle and we just want to wish them the very best of luck with the next phase of their wonderful business.
So next time you’re in Howies  and yumming down on the bread you can be assured it is years of experience you are enjoying, and boy does it taste good.

Lights, camera, action!

Of course if anyone is insane in enough to go into the restaurant business they won't be reading this.

They will be working as its 7 days a week 24 hours a day. 

A non-stop bun fight of mayhem, stress and drama. 

But goodness me it's addictive. 

Being out on that floor on a busy day is like a performance. It is.  No matter how you feel, you park it, put on your slap, brush your hair, get your shirt tucked in, take a deep breath and out you go.

And the hours whizz by. When I say whizz I mean they just ZAP by.

One minute you're being briefed about  the specials of the day and the next you're waving off your last customer only to realise you haven't eaten or drunk a thing since the doors opened. You have literally been rushed off your feet and not had a minute to think.

Aye its not one for the faint hearted. 

But what a buzz.

Adrenalin coursing through the veins - just like a performance you can't just sit down and doze. You need to wind down, to calm down, to settle. It takes a while, sometimes a long while. A drink helps. But you don't want to do that all the time, that's where the trouble starts so you sit up late, talking , watching TV and eventually falling into bed. 

Head hits the pillow. 

Out like a light.

Bang.

Another day another dollar.

A total eclipse for the numerically challenged.

The joys of the winter subsiding in the restaurant is the application for the pavement license in order to serve food and drink on the streets in an hugely European and international supermodel kind of way.
Measuring the area with a ruler, a tape measure, a wing and a prayer is not quite so glamorous. In fact its a bit of a pain but, we have found out the hard way,  necessary.
Why?
Well recently someone who shall remain nameless,  ordered an A board without measuring the size, just by guessing when they saw the dimensions online. When it arrived it practically engulfed the 3 delivery men and when it was opened people thought they were experiencing a total eclipse - as it blocked out the sun. You will see below what I mean.

A normal blackboard you might think.
But think again.

This is a 5ft 6 womans head just peeping over the top of the board.
This gives you an inkling of the size of it.
(The same 5ft 6"fool who ordered it)

This is Howie himself a strapping 6 footer - in fact a virtual size twin for the giant board.
On the other hand below...is the A board ordered for Howies Victoria Street.

Clearly ordered by an intelligent human being.
Aka Not me - the 5ft 6" nitwit.

This is just the job. Small but perfectly formed.
Lucky it.

Yes. The numbers in this brain do not work well. So I thought lets put it up outside anyway. Yes but no-one can lift it and if it falls over it might kill someone. A helpful onlooker suggested,

'Ah well any publicity is good publicity' I said

Looks of disapproval abounded so what are we to do with it?

Suggestions please....

PLEASE...

or they are going to cut it up turn it into a giant box and bury me in it!

These are the yolks folks!

Call us old fashioned.

‘You’re old fashioned!’

Thank you.

But if there is an excuse for a party or a large mouthful of chocolate then we grab it with both hands.

So to put a smile on our hard working teams faces we ordered up an Easter egg for everyone.

That means that a total of 95 eggs were delivered between Aberdeen, Howies Waterloo and Victoria.

Pictured above is evidence that when a woman is confronted with a pile of chocolate all self control leaves the building. You will be pleased to hear we managed to talk her down and finally dislodge the egg box from her mouth which mean she got on with her day-  a little high on sugar - but happy none the less.

We will be tweeting about how to get some of the chocs so do follow us if you are a Tweeter @HowiesScotland.

If you pop into Howies this weekend expect a lot of chocolate related nonsense....and most important of all

HAPPY EASTER TO YOU AND YOURS!

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!