beef patty with smoked bacon and blue cheese, various chicken breast assemblies and veggie, Greek and Indian versions. Burger bars rarely take you to gastronomic Cloud Nine, but the reliability and good taste of the Blue Moon kitchen should keep the angels smiling.
KAREN’S UNICORN 8b Abercromby Place, New Town, 0131 476 2602, £13 (lunch/dinner) Having taken over the running of the long-standing Unicorn Inn at the quieter end of St Stephen Street, Karen’s Unicorn opened a second venue in late 2009 in the prominent New Town corner site vacated by Bellini. Decor is modern if conservative and unexciting, with wall-mounted plasma screens showing off various dishes from the long menu well-padded with familiar favourites: house specials that might turn your head are salty and spicy squid or steamed halibut in a black bean sauce.
METROPOLITAIN 4 Picardy Place, New Town, 0131 556 6629, www.metropolitainedinburgh.co.uk, £16 (lunch/dinner) The arrival of Metropolitain marks a revival for the G1 Group’s Picardy Place venue, with new tenants running the ground floor restaurant, bar and handful of hotel rooms, though not the popular downstairs GHQ nightclub. The name and decor hint at a fin de siècle Parisian vibe, a style perhaps better complemented by the classy cocktail list than a relatively unadventurous menu featuring club sandwiches, bowls of pasta, burgers and fries.
For more food and drink visit www.list.co.uk/food-and-drink
SIDE DISHES A night at the moo-vies
PICKLED GREEN 158 Rose Street, New Town, Edinburgh, 0131 220 0477, pickledgreen.co.uk, £7.50 (lunch) / £15 Into the unlikely setting of Rose Street, and fired with the optimism and energy of youth, pickledgreen exudes ethical attitude, its green principles going well beyond good sourcing into recycled wood and careful waste management. A bright, light café with a long, blond wooden communal table dominating the ground floor space, the sit-in menu has snacky items including a crab and lemon tart and 'toasts' with toppings such as ham hock and lentils. More substantial options include caramelised parsnip tarte tatin with chestnuts or sticky oxtail with mash.
Full independent write-ups on all the restaurants listed here can be found on our online Eating & Drinking Guide, list.co.uk/food-and-drink.
■ The eye-opening US documentary Food, Inc. opens in the UK on Friday 12 February, with a week-long run at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh and three days at the GFT. Feature-length food documentaries carrying powerful messages have been piling up recently: End of the Line, about over-fishing, Vanishing of the Bees, about the dire threats to swathes of agriculture from the disappearance of its primary pollinators, and Pig Business, an exposé on factory farmed pork. While they’re hardly likely to nudge Avatar out of the multiplexes, they are getting noticed by commentators, campaigners and politicians as concern about industrial food processes grows. Soil Association Scotland is putting on a Q&A session hosted by Frieda Morrison following the screening at the Edinburgh Filmhouse at 6pm on Wed 17 Feb. Find out more on the film at www.foodincmovie.co.uk
4–18 Feb 2010 THE LIST 11