Scottish fare - Balmoral, etc.

Anyone know of a place that serves Scottish fare? (in the greater Chicagoland area?)

I don't mean a menu with buffalo wings & hamburgers & salads & fried shrimp/chicken that have dorky "Scottish" names; I'm looking for somewhere more authentic.

Looked at Duke of Perth menu (ho-hum) & several other "pub fare" places which don't seem to offer much more than bangers & mash, fish & chips, & shepherd's pie. Bo--ring. And Tilted Kilt is just Hooters in plaid with about the same menu.

My nephew has become obsessed with bagpipes (and is taking lessons) and goes 'squee!' at the sight of tartan. His birthday is approaching and, if there is such a place, I'd like to treat him to a (more than less) authentic exdperience.

Any suggestions?

I'm no expert, but I would take a look at the online menu for The Gage (which I realize is owned by an Irishman, but maybe there's some overlap) and see if there's anything that fills the bill.

I get my fix at the annual Illinois St. Andrew Society Feast of the Haggis -- said to be the longest-running uninterrupted event in the United States (this year is the 166th). The haggis is always great -- and this year's speaker is Charlie Trotter, so a double draw for foodies. http://www.chicago-scots.org/feast-of-the-haggis.html

Then, there's usually a Burns Night in January and the Highland Games in June, and other than that, lamb and beef keep me going until the next Scottish outing.

Cynthia wrote:I get my fix at the annual Illinois St. Andrew Society Feast of the Haggis -- said to be the longest-running uninterrupted event in the United States (this year is the 166th). The haggis is always great -- and this year's speaker is Charlie Trotter, so a double draw for foodies. http://www.chicago-scots.org/feast-of-the-haggis.html

Then, there's usually a Burns Night in January and the Highland Games in June, and other than that, lamb and beef keep me going until the next Scottish outing.

The one St. Andrew Society's Feast of the Haggis I attended was indeed fantastic, and the haggis was excellent - I ate all of mine, and then helped myself to my wife's and a couple of our Scottish tablemates' servings

The only downside is that the attire is black tie or Highland dress. However, if you & your nephew are willing to don tuxes (or kilts & sporrans), then you should definitely try to score a couple of tickets.

Khaopaat wrote:The one St. Andrew Society's Feast of the Haggis I attended was indeed fantastic, and the haggis was excellent - I ate all of mine, and then helped myself to my wife's and a couple of our Scottish tablemates' servings

The only downside is that the attire is black tie or Highland dress. However, if you & your nephew are willing to don tuxes (or kilts & sporrans), then you should definitely try to score a couple of tickets.

When I first attended, a few decades ago, when it was still at the Conrad Hilton, they would make a super-abundance of haggis, and people would actually show up with Tubberware. One would have two or three servings, and then out would come the containers, and the hotel would obligingly fill it. Unfortunately, over time, as the costs went up, one cost-saving measure was to only make as much haggis as was likely to be eaten at the feast. Bummer. But mighty fine haggis -- among the best I've ever eaten.

Of course, I go for the pipe bands and highland dancing, as well. But the haggis is definitely a big draw.

Oh -- and since his birthday is approaching, the timing is pretty good -- as the event is November 18 -- so in the neighborhood at least of the birthday.

http://www.chicago-scots.org/feast-of-the-haggis.html

The only downside is that the attire is black tie or Highland dress. However, if you & your nephew are willing to don tuxes (or kilts & sporrans), then you should definitely try to score a couple of tickets.

. . . and those tickets start at a cool $150 per person (for the early-bird special). Hoot mon, indeed!

sundevilpeg wrote:

The only downside is that the attire is black tie or Highland dress. However, if you & your nephew are willing to don tuxes (or kilts & sporrans), then you should definitely try to score a couple of tickets.

. . . and those tickets start at a cool $150 per person (for the early-bird special). Hoot mon, indeed!

Hmm. That might explain why it's been a few years singe I attended the event.

Though for those who are interested, it might be tax deductible, as it supports the Scottish Home, a nursing home for "Scottish gentlefolk."

Well, then perhaps I'll just wait for one of the many Burns Night dinners in January -- not as flashy, and not as many pipers, but still nice -- and much cheaper.

I used to attend every year ... but that was when it was $20 or $30 per person - so you can guess how long it's been ...

nr706 wrote:I used to attend every year ... but that was when it was $20 or $30 per person - so you can guess how long it's been ...

I think I made it up to $90. Of course, when I think about it, I have often spent well over $150 for dinner -- and that's without the bagpipes. So I guess for a charity fund-raiser, it's not bad. Still don't know if I can swing it this year, but it sounds more reasonable the longer I think about it.

tardis wrote:Looked at Duke of Perth menu (ho-hum) & several other "pub fare" places which don't seem to offer much more than bangers & mash, fish & chips, & shepherd's pie.

What else are you looking for?

I don't think there are any "true" Scottish places that will give you exactly what your looking for. The one place that popped into mind is Owen & Engine, besides the standard shepard's pie and fish and chips, they add bubble and squeek, Yorkshire pudding and "hairy taddie" haddock cakes. Not Scottish perse, but a representation of the general area.

What else are you looking for?

I was wondering the same thing. I saw Tony Bourdain once eating deep fried Mars bars and pizza in a Glasgow chip shop on TV. I guess that's authentic in a way. But high end Scottish food is more about the use of locally sourced ingredients like venison and salmon rather than especially unique dishes (other than haggis).

For what it's worth, I love Duke of Perth, and think that the OP and his nephew probably would enjoy it a great deal. I think you'd really be hard-pressed to find a Scottish-oriented (as opposed to Irish) pub with more character in the Chicagoland area.

rickster wrote:

What else are you looking for?

I was wondering the same thing. I saw Tony Bourdain once eating deep fried Mars bars and pizza in a Glasgow chip shop on TV. I guess that's authentic in a way. But high end Scottish food is more about the use of locally sourced ingredients like venison and salmon rather than especially unique dishes (other than haggis).

I agree. I spent 2 months in Scotland, staying with relatives. In all that time I never saw any of them go to a Scottish or Brititsh restaurant. When they ate out, they would invariably go Chinese, Thai, Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, and such as that. At home they would eat a lot lamb, beef, and salmon. The home cooking was very good, but also very monotonous. The one time I sought out a real British restaurant, the food and service were both horrible, and it was very over-priced.

Since there isn't a good Scottish restaurant in town, you could consider ordering from thescottishgrocer.com. Lots of great options there.

If you're willing to schlep out west....

Colin Smith, 61, is bringing a taste of Scotland to Campton Hills with the opening of his first restaurant in the United States, Balmoral.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct ... story.html

I did indeed shlep out west (after a morning trip to Merrilville, no less) for a friend's retirement party. Fantastic service, really good food.

The appetizers were more distinctly Scots than the mains with a haggis (with drambuie cream sauce), smoked haddock dip, Scotch egg, etc., but the menu is quite large with several different steaks (Sue had the filet with stilton, but was very tempted by the mushroom rib eye). I had a rabbit pie which was extremely tasty with a very flaky crust (top only, it was a pot pie) and savory filling. Several fish dishes, a number of interesting-sounding poultry (pheasant was my #2 choice).

Big whiskey list, moderate beer list (with several ciders, yay), small by-the-glass wine list. It's steakhouse pricing, with entrees in the $22-38 range a la carte.

If you're going to be out by the Fox river and want a special occasion meal, you really can't go wrong here.

Info:
Balmoral Restaurant
40W099 Illinois Route 64
Campton Hills, IL 60175
(331) 901-5224
(331) 901-5225
info@balmoralrestaurant.com
http://www.balmoralrestaurant.com

I did not quote anybody

I went there with a group the last Sunday in September. It was under an hour from a northwest suburb. Hidden around the right side of the counter where you walk in were foldover business cards giving a 20% discount for the entire party if anybody is over 65 or active/retired military. Hint: if you have 6 people going with no discount qualification, you could add me as your guest and still save money..... LOL

Balmoral Restaurant
(331) 901-5224 (phone number added later)
40W099 IL-64
Campton Hills, IL 60175
http://www.balmoralrestaurant.com/

The appetizers and Desserts were mostly, in my limited experience, unique and outstanding, and many were the best I have ever had.

We had a preset banquet menu with 4 choices each for appetizer, entree and dessert, plus soup or salad. At my table of 6 we coordinated and offered tastes so we each got a sample of all but one of the desserts.

Pictures to follow, since I'm having wild mouse problems: an accidental click and the next letter typed wipes out 5 minutes of typing. Apologies in advance, some photos were not till the dish was partly consumed. Also, if I can dig them up, I went with a similar group in August for afternoon tea. I think more of those pictures were out of focus, contributing to why I did not post back then (it wasn't a real meal, anyway)..

Interesting and tasty assortment of breads.



Taste of heaven. Almost worth going just for this. So light and subtle.

It was american haggis, not scottish haggis, meaning mild, not aromatic (or so I am told) and lacking authentic ingredients which cannot be sold for human or animal consumption in this country. It was nice, better than the canned I had 2 years ago, but....

I only got a small taste, but it was very good

only tasted the cheese, which was good.

(salad appeared to be just mesclun greens) I could drink a whole glass of the dressing, kind of a balsamic vinaigrette

best I've ever had

Didn't really get a big enough taste, but seemed good, though nothing unique to my experience.

moist and tender, but no different than many fine restaurants.

My apologies, but I thought this could have been sitting on a steam tble at old country buffet for 3-4 hours. It was huge and fall apart tender, though.

was moist and tender, but not special, IMHO, and I prefer grilled, broiled or even fried (without breading)

Sides came on a common plate for 3 people.

Another 'best in class'.

I probably would have ordered the toffee pudding if I was alone, but somebody else had taken that, and the idea of a savory dessert appealed, and I am glad I did. Plus I got a whole lot more, especially because few samples were taken by others.

photo from another table

Tasty and different.

I thought I posted about them early this year. Definitely a nice place.
(edit) Thanks for the thread merge.

The Small Household Food Exchange ventured to the edge of the earth (okay, technically, it was Campton Hills, west of St. Charles) to Balmoral last week. It was a surprisingly good, even somewhat elegant, meal.

We started with the bread course — three types ... ... with a lavender-infused butter
Two appetizers — First was Haggis in a Drambuie Sauce As our waitperson noted, it's not traditional Scottish Haggis, because to be traditional, Haggis must contain lungs as well as the other offal. (Lungs aren't legal as food in the USA.)

The Scotch Eggs, served in small nests, had a barely-cooked-through yolk. The HP sauce truly ratified this as a Scottish dish.

I thought the most interesting (but. perhaps, least photogenic) dish was the Beef Suet Pudding, a rich amalgam of shredded beef in a beefy flavored crust.
The Braised Lamb Shank we had was, as noted above, fall-apart tender. The wild herbs, while subtle, added to the dish.
Although Sundays are all about roasts, they're served 'til they run out, which they did shortly before we put in our order. So the backup beef dish was a garlic-sauced ribeye steak. Thankfully, we had more of the bread to so up the delicious sauce.


Huge menu, interesting beer and Scotch choices ... definitely worth the trip.

Hi,

When the steak arrived at the table, we were advised the meat came from Ream's in Elburn. It was pretty damn cool to hear those words.

We did try to order the duck in cherry sauce, but they had retired it due to an upcoming menu change.

If you want the red carpet service, this place delivers: red carpet leading into the building with red velvet ropes between shiny brass columns. Was this dinner or the Academy Awards?

There was a Tartan table runner on the table of varnished wood. Tom inquired whose family tartan it may be, they advised nobody's specific because it could cause problems. Later when I remarked this place had everything but a white tablecloth. I was reminded this table runner was the equivalent.

When we sat down, the hostess/floor manager pointed to the bell on the table. If there was anything wrong with our meal, we were to ring it. Of course, I suggested we might want to test this out, but I got firmly shut down. We did get to ring it when we wanted to settle the bill.

By the standards of the small household exchange, this place was a wow at the level of service and attention to detail. I felt like I was at a special occasion dinner with my grandparents.

All of us took about 90 minutes to get there, but the bread and circuses made it worthwhile.

Regards,
Cathy2