BACK LIST
piece ofsumptious chocolate gateaux or apple pie. Alternately
you could be adventurous and go for .
a piece of bright. lime green kiwi torte. lchickened out and rounded off with two large cups ofaromatic tea. (Susan Dawson)
EDINBURGH A
I City Art Centre 2 Market Street. 225 ‘
2424 ext (i650. Always an easy and unpretentious place to drop in to and escape the grind of Princes Street
shopping. the Art (‘entre's cafe stays
busy but rarely runs out ofspace. High walls and an intriguing. but muddy-looking mural. make it not the most intimate ofjoints. but equally. you never feel like you need a degree from the Art (‘ollege to get in. Much of the food is unambitious — and more than one portion ofsalad can be pretty dull — but there's normally a broad enough selection to suit most lunchtime tastes. A choice ofcold meats. quichcs and rolls is supplemented by a changing hot menu including soup and at least one vegetarian dish. The cakes are plain. but tasty. and there are also scones and a choice of coffees (but you'll just get Instant unless you ask for espresso or cappuccino). For £3. I had a filling leek and potato bake and carrot cake and still had 10p left for the slot machine in the captivating Fun and (James exhibition downstairs. (Mark Fisher)
I Fruitmarket Gallery Market Street. 225 2383. The only art I was going to digest was gastronomical. seeing as the exhibition space was stripped bare. Surveying an impressive menu both in price and content it seemed impossible that the end product sitting in some huge vat in the kitchen could live up to its description. ()f the main dishes on offer. four are vegetarian. two meat and one seafood. I eventually plumped for the Sayoor Masak. a vegetable curry made with bamboo shoots. green beans. carrot and cauliflower. safe in the knowledge that my companion was braving the seafood. With each main course you get rice and a generous bowl of salad artfully presented with a slice of kiwi; a snip at £2.20. My curry defied the common grey sludge. and was heartily spiced if a little thick in texture. The seafood casserole in
FOOD
cream was light and de.icious. What joy to discover that the chocolate and brandy mousse broke the £3 barrier by a mere 20p. Despite a rich. smooth flavour it proved impossible to conquer the bottomless glass. not recommended if you intend to digest over a Van Gogh. (Jo Roe)
I Royal Museum of Scotland Chambers Street. 225 7534. Cleverly combining the set of a Star Trek movie with the ambience of a school cafeteria. the RMS cafe provides a welcome respite for the kids but no let-up from them. Naturally. aftera hard morning tramping around the exhibits they are delighted to find a place to relax. sip their Cokes and munch crisps. though other customers may not be so delighted to find such relaxed kids. However. the salad bar has a fairly wide selection and the schoolkid staple of pie and beans seems to be playing truant. Soup and a roll are a just 85p though it would be libellous to describe it as piping hot. Functional and value for money. it‘s exactly what you would hope to find after an exhausting tour ofthe huge building. especially ifyou have been dragging kids round with you. My two. Jo and Mark. thoroughly enjoyed their lunchtime snack. (Mrs Mac)
I Traverse Theatre 1 12 West Bow. 226 2633. Refurbished early last year. the Traverse Cafe is now on the ground floor which makes it more of a public establishment than the cliquey bar it used to be. The light. spacious area. complete with regulation salmon brown mural. provides a comfortable. unobtrusive cafe. appropriate for the solitary diner. However the friendly staff are not helped by a thin menu. When I arrived ( I . 15pm). there was one main course left — vegetarian lasagne. The dish I narrowly missed was ham and cream tagliatelli — not a huge gastronomic range. Otherwise there are a variety of toasties and baked potatoes. both a little overpriced at around £1 . 10 and £1.95 respectively. and a choice of filled rolls. For my £3 I chose — you‘ve guessed — the vegetarian lasagne. which left me with about enough change to buy a sherbet dip-dab. Although a little overpriced. it was reminiscent ofgood. wholesome home cooking. nothing fancy. but a perfect texture and blend of ingredients. (Jo Roe)
GLASGOW
Refurbished and renamed. the restaurant formerly known as Wu!t’r.s'!()m’s. and before that Buzz Curlers. has now become The Dux Restaurant at 201 Hawk Street. 332 146*). A welcome addition to the suprisingly quiet city centre. Dux is presenting an ambitious menu supplied by local produce and an extensive wine list. A pre-theatre menu (£7.50) is accompanied by
a table d'hote (£14.50) and a fairly pricey a la carte. 'I‘here's also a bar which. as the canes. blazers. coat hooksand as a bar as well asan hockey sticks suggest. has i informal restaurant. with been decorated on a school theme. The name and an abundance of ofthis educational . mirrors reflecting an establishment? Truants.
EDINBURGH Recently opened in the environs of'l‘heatrc Workshop and the
health-foodtrendiesof Stockbridge.Hamilton‘Sof
Hamilton Place presents a puzzling image of the Raj meets Cinderella Rockerfellas. Functioning
palm trees. cane furniture
extensive menu. friendly
; staff and extended
opening hours. In addition
tocrepes. curries.
croissants. seafood and
! steak. they are also
; experimenting with theme menus. including Mexican and Cajun.
THE CITY CAFE
OP EN
LUNCH Monday-Saturday Noon-2.30pm
DINNER Monday-Thursday 5.30-l lpm‘ Friday-Saturday 5.30-Midnight
Sunday 630- l 0.00pm
SUNDAY BRUNCH Noon-3pm
APPETISERS l2 noon-8pm Daily
l9 BLAIR STREET EDINBURGH 03| 2200|25
The list ‘) -22 February 199073