We met the guide for Secret Food Tours at St. Giles Cathedral:

And started out with a delicious smoked haddock chowder and really good bread at Howies.

Then came haggis, nips (turnips), and tatties (potatoes) with whiskey gravy at the Beehive Inn:

It was good. Haggis isn’t something I’d order for itself, but it was good and, more importantly in the frigid wind, warm and filling.

A whisky stop was next:

David offered to get us non-drinkers ‘The Second Drink of Scotland’ –

It was neon and carbonated and caffeinated and far too sweet.

David also whipped out a box of ‘tablets’ for the table:

A variety of fudge, it was essentially the grainy-sugary version of when we miss cook toffee.

Next was a cheese plate at Angels with Bagpipes:

The middle cheese, a cheddar, was my favorite, although the toast and the chutney were also definitely worth going back for.

A quick stop in The Fudge Kitchen for some samples:

Then we wrapped up the tour with a Turkish almond cake at the Fig Tree Bistro, which symbolized how Scottish food is adapting to the international food scene: