One of my other passions is comedy. I love to just laugh and have a great time. Silly jokes, films, shows, comedians and the general humour of day to day life makes me glow inside. When my good friends back in January mentioned that we should go for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I was well up for it. What’s not to like? A great city, comedy everywhere you turn, great food with awesome friends.
During the month of August, every possible space is turned into a venue for comedy, theatre, music, cabaret, dance and so much more. Down the Royal Mile is leafleters baying for you to come to the shows they are advertising, some taping themselves to lamp posts or on the ground, everything to get someone to take one of their leaflets. The city has such a great buzz about it and I soaked in the atmosphere when waiting for the rest of the crew to head up from London.
It felt like on Saturday we went from one eating adventure to the next great foodie spot. We did see some shows in between – I promise! I had booked Monteiths for dinner and it was such a great choice if I do say so myself! A great menu with fresh dishes with locally sourced ingredients, whilst being wholesome but not heavy.
I went for the Braised Ham Hough with peas and lettuce. Which was light and packed a flavour punch. Tender ham in a beautifully flavoured stock, fresh stripes of braised lettuce with sharp mini gherkins and silverskin onions.
I also ordered a side dish of the smoked mushrooms in garlic butter to the great disgust of the mushroom haters at the table. But they were nuggets of joy. A light smoky note which just enhanced the great earthy mushroom flavour.
Unfortunately we could try out the delicious desserts as we had to run to check out a show by these crazy guys….
Oh Edinburgh, you is cray cray….
Between shows on the Sunday we grabbed dinner at Holyrood 9A which had a rather impressive drink selection…..
A great drink selection of which my brother had a bit of trouble pouring his craft beer… smooth bro
He also went for the deadly sounding The CHILLI DEATH burger!!!! With pickled jalapenos, chilli cheese, fresh green chillies, sour cream and death sauce – which he may of added more hot sauce to….
I went for the safer option of THE “Holyrood” BBQ Burger with smokey bacon, BBQ sauce, onions, peppers and chilli cheese and tucked into a brioche bun and sweet potato fries. Which went particularly great with a glass of prosecco, we are all class. Great juicy burger, nice flavoursome with good crispy bacon. Exactly what was needed to comedic doctors ordered to get us through another evening of amazing comedy.
At some point you’re gonna need a pick me up and Brew Lab, Artisan Coffee Bar was exactly this for us. Super cool area that served up a mean flat white to keep the pep level at an all time high. Using some fun techniques and roasts to get a fantastic cup of coffee.
My brother also loves to point at the item I am taking pictures of for my blog, adds a certain something I think you can agree!
We ran through the streets of Edinburgh to get to the next show which was one of my favourite of the whole festival. Austentatious; An Improvised Jane Austen Novel was fabulous! They took fake Austen book suggestions while you queued up for the show, then picked one at random to do a whole hour improv show in that style. And mine was picked! ‘How to get a husband in 500 easy steps’ got a certain ring to it! It was hilarious and so clever. Hopefully I can catch one of their other touring shows soon.
By Monday night we had had our full of rich food and wanted something slightly more wholesome. Luckily I had booked a table at the super cute Edinburgh Larder using only Scottish produce which them themselves say can be a bit difficult in Winter time! But that’s when more foraging comes in.
After a large about of meaty treats over the last couple of days the intriguingly named veggie option was calling to me. Rumble-de-thump cake, wild horseradish mousse, rhubarb and sprouting broccoli was delicious. Similar to bubble and squeak but with wild leek, cheese, potato, cabbage and onion. The horseradish mousse added a great fire to the dish and the rhubarb a tart sweetness that worked with the creaminess of the mousse and the cheese in the cake. The broccoli was a welcome veggie after all of the overindulging.
Again, unfortunately, we were running to get to our last show so didn’t manage to squeeze in a dessert, but that just means there’s an excuse to come back again as well as getting my paws on one of their foraging courses.
We scampered back to the Underbelly (a big upside down purple cow) for sadly our last show, which was bitter sweet as we loved the show (check a clip of the brilliant Abandoman below) but the Fringe was drawing to a close and we had such a great time. I love hanging out with my incredible friends and in such a great city with such a great atmosphere that I really didn’t want to leave! So now begins the planning for next years Fringe…….
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