A fresh take on Scottish cuisine? Haggis and more
Sunday, February 21, 2010 - The Boston Globe - Travel - RAVE
DUFFTOWN, Scotland - Traditional Scottish cuisine might not have the best reputation, but Sandy Smart’s take on it should.
Smart purchased his 28-seat restaurant, A Taste of Speyside, here in 1997. It is a kitschy bit of the real thing: a red tartan carpet, cases filled with trophies on the wall next to tacked-up coloring-book drawings by younger patrons. Of course, there’s a well-stocked bar with excellent whiskies.
For Smart, the key is fresh ingredients, done right. If you want to try haggis, this would be a good place to understand why the Scottish still love it. His salmon fillets come out perfectly cooked and adorned only with a sprig of thyme. “My steak,’’ he notes, “is Aberdeen Angus. You don’t mess with that.’’
First-time visitors are encouraged to try the Speyside platter, a selection of local cuisine such as smoked salmon, whiskied chicken liver pâté, local farmhouse cheese, smoked venison, sweet cured herring, and oatcakes.
While the food is important, Smart, the son of a cooper, knows the importance of hospitality, of showing visitors a good time. “I’m not here just for the food,’’ he says. “It’s about how you’re greeted, how you’re spoken to. It’s about picking up on if your customers are a young courting couple who want to be left in peace, or if you want to come
and have a laugh and a joke with us. If so, we’ll have a whale of a time.’’
A Taste of Speyside
10 Balvenie St.
Dufftown, Scotland
+44-1340-820860
Web site
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