This appears in April’s Bite Magazine, and can be found online here.
It’s April! The clocks have sprung forward and after the winter, us ‘burghers can look forward to well-deserved long summer days ahead. This month the bunny will drop by to share chocolate goodies, and we’ve that extra bank holiday thanks to K&W’s nuptials.
These long weekends put me in mind of the first picnic of the year. Usually planned within hours, blanket hastily-packed (make that two – wise to take a spare to sit under)and the essentials shoved in a bag or basket; knife, napkins, plastic glasses. The Meadows are a top spot, with loads of space for kids, dogs, and Frisbee!
Forget planning the food, head to a deli to pick up the goodies, and in this part of town, it has to be Victor Hugo’s. They’ve been on their corner spot of Melville Drive since the 1940s, and as such, are a well-established favourite in the meadows area.
On to the ‘menu’ and first up, the bread. I’d go for the obvious choice of crusty baguette, easy to tear and share, but there’s also a tasty selection of rolls and rye breads and very nice wholemeal loaves from the Engine Shed bakery. For savouries, pick up couple of tubs of different types of olives and maybe some stuffed peppadew peppers or roasted artichokes. Next a few chunks of cheese, my fave is a salty mature Pecorino Romano, or you might prefer a soft Brie to squish into the bread. From the counter, take your pick from different types of cured meats like salami, Parma ham or chorizo.
For fish-fiends, there’s Orkney dill herring fillets (admittedly not my thing!) and smoked salmon. For meat lovers, there’s pre-sliced duck breast and silky venison from the Rannoch Smokery, which go brilliantly with a dollop of Galloway Lodge’s Beetroot Chutney.
Grab a cider, bottle of wine or ginger beer, a packet of chocolate biscuits or a couple of their pretty cupcakes and you’re ready to go!
So whether you’re picnicking on the Easter weekend, that of the Royal Wedding or just a random afternoon, enjoy the al fresco dining, and if you do end up a little too ‘fresco’, you can always pop back into Victor Hugo for a warming cuppa’ Union Roasters’ joe.
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