GetStuffed FoodDrinkRestaurants
Spice Sisters Donald Reid reports on a friendly lunchtime curry café in Leith that’s a local equivalent to Jamie Oliver’s social enterprise restaurant, Fifteen
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Glasgow
AUNTIE M’S CAKE LOUNGE De Courcy’s Arcade, Cresswell Lane, West End, 0141 334 4053 Tucked upstairs in De Courcy’s Arcade, Auntie M’s Cake Lounge offers a very West End antidote to Starbucks et al. It has a homely, retro feel with flower print table cloths and dainty cups and saucers, but the excitement lies in owner Michelle Aaron’s innovative cakes – maybe white chocolate pistachio or sweet potato and pecan – alongside regular favourites such as brownies and scones. Also worth trying are whoopie pies, a kind of Elvis-style cake sandwich, while loose leaf teas and filter coffee are both available.
P unjab’n de Rasoi (the Punjabi Women’s Kitchen) is the latest stage in a project set up by Sikh Sanjog, a voluntary organisation set up to support Sikh women and their families that has provided dozens of women with experience and training in commercial food handling, customer care and business skills. A shop conversion on the lower reaches of Leith Walk with a strong orange frontage, it’s furnished with school tables spread with paper tablecloths and simply decorated with a ceiling drape and a few Indian artefacts. From late morning through to mid-afternoon a selection of traditional, and mostly familiar, North Indian dishes are available including a breakfast of stuffed parantha flatbread with masala tea, spicy samosas, pakora, clean- tasting curries, daal and fresh chapattis. Though mostly hidden, there seems to be a
10 THE LIST 24 Jun–8 Jul 2010
cast of dozens behind the scenes, a hands-on approach that’s backed up by the honest, freshly cooked food and the enthusiasm of all involved. Unlike many Indian restaurants, the women clearly know how to make lip- smacking desserts, with syrupy gulab jamuns stealing the show.
+ Sharing both food and the sense of community building – Weekday lunchtimes only
PUNJAB’N DE RASOI
122-124 Leith Walk, Leith, Edinburgh, 07865895022, www.sikhsanjog.com,
Mon–Fri 10am–3pm Ave. price two-course lunch £7.50
VANISHING WILLOWS Erskine Garden Centre, Bishopton, 0141 814 4626, www.erskine.org.uk, £8 (lunch) Vanishing Willows is a new venture between Erskine, a charity to support ex-servicemen and women, and chef Nick Nairn. Part of Erskine Garden Centre, near Bishopton and Erskine town, the café offers a healthy and welcome stopover point on a day out of town. There is a bright dining area and a large outdoor terrace overlooking the hills – or the garden centre depending on which way you are sitting. Nick Nairn created the menu which includes brie and bacon or hummus, red pepper and spinach paninis and a good selection of cakes and tarts. Soup and hot lunches, served until 2.30pm, change daily but might include local bangers and mash or haddock and chips, and all profits go to the charity.
Edinburgh SPARK
25 Dundas Street, New Town, 07858 331894, www.sparkcoffee.co.uk, £4 (lunch) This is one of a small collection of places around the city that persuade you of the vibrancy of Edinburgh’s
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