The Flying Lemon

   The first post should be from all three members of J.A.M. it should, but this dining experience had to be shared.
     My husband took me out to Ingram Wynd for Canadian Thanksgiving last night.  This was my third time dining there and my husbands second.  The dining room reminds me of 1930's speakeasy meets Victorian charm, and I love it.  It's dark inside which is something I love in a restaurant.  I also love that you cross a small bridge to enter the dining room (This might be the little girl that still resides somewhere in my lower spine that has always loved bridges).
    We were greeted by the (I assume) manager, who has worked every time I've been in.  We were remembered and treated warmly.  Restaurants experiences are always so much more pleasant when there is some familiarity.   We were seated in the corner overlooking the basement level.  What I enjoyed most about our seat was that no one else was sat near us during our entire meal.  Ah peace.

    Now onto the meal!  I ordered the smoked mackerel and potato salad with rocket as my starter.  My husband ordered the  haggis, neeps and tatties tower with peppercorn sauce.  My salad was delightful.  The potato salad tasted like it has slices of lemon peel throughout.  This confused my mouth at first just because it was so unexpected.  It was very good though.  The vinaigrette that was drizzled on the plate I cannot place.  It tasted like balsamic, so my guess was a white balsamic vinaigrette?  It complemented everything on the plate nicely, and I could have just had it as a drink (yes it was that delicious).   

Smoked Mackerel Salad

    I can't really say anything from personal experience with the haggis, but I have been told that it was wonderful.  The peppercorn sauce contained green peppercorns along with the black, and was most tasty.  Every last bit was eaten, so I can only assume it was enjoyed.

Haggis Tower

   The mains!  I had the char-grilled swordfish with warm potato salad, dressed rocket salad and finished with salsa verde.  My husband had the roast pork belly with black pudding mash, green beans and a red wine and rosemary jus.  Let me say the swordfish was wonderful in every way.   It was cooked to perfection! I ate every bite of it.  The rocket was dressed in the same balsamic(?) vinaigrette that came with the mackerel, and it tasted like candy.  I was delighted.  However!  The fish came with a wedge of lemon.  I was always taught to never serve fish with a lemon wedge.  If a customer requested it, well then by all means.  This didn't bother me much as I do love lemon with swordfish.  I tried the fish with just the salsa, and decided "Why yes, I think I will have a squeeze of fresh lemon on my little fishy'.  So I picked up the wedge and began to squeeze.  Then to my horror and surprise,  the little wedge flew.  Oh how it did fly!  It soared through the bars onto the floor below, landing with a hollow splat.  I am unsure if anyone else in the restaurant heard it, but my husband and I sure did.  It just sat there.  A little yellow blob in a sea of black tiles.  I was speechless.  These things happen to me fairly regularly when I'm dining out.  I'm clumsy, I am.  Then the laughing started.  I couldn't stop.  I really didn't know what to do.  Thank goodness there was no one dining downstairs.   This lemons unscheduled flight left my fish lemon-less, but it was still delightful just the same.  Later on in the meal my husband went downstairs to rescue it.  It was placed in one of the empty water glasses, and with any luck no one will ever learn of it's flight.

Grilled swordfish and the flying lemon.

    The husbands pork belly was served on a bed of black pudding mash.  It had a piece of battered and fried pork rind (we think) as a garnish.  This garnish I have been told was tasty, but almost impossible to eat.  I did taste the mash and the red wine and rosemary jus.  These were delightful.  I could eaten a bowl of just that.  One black pudding mash with red wine and rosemary jus please!  I was told that the pork was a bit dry, but besides that it was very good.  

Roast pork belly.

   By the time we finished our mains, we decided that desserts were out of the question.  We were so full.  So we just had cappuccinos.  These came with delicious squares of tablet.  The tablet was all the sugar I needed at the end of my meal.  It was perfect, and so was the coffee.

Cappuccino and tablet. A nice finish to the meal.

   A most enjoyable Canadian Thanksgiving dinner.  Very nontraditional, but hey, there was a flying lemon!
M.