Deep Fried Jam Sandwiches

a.k.a restaurant review of Treacle, Broughton Street, Edinburgh

Well... I guess this is the first guest post on Ruth's blog. I'm Jono, Ruth's other half, and I love fried things. This is pretty fortunate since I live in Scotland, the home of the Deep Fried Mars Bar. Now despite how scary the Wikipedia article makes it sound (and how badly a foodstuff like this reflects on the national Scottish diet) wrapping a Mars Bar in batter and frying it actually makes it even tastier. The batter goes crispy and the Mars Bar goes all hot, gooey and melty inside sort of like an extreme version of a fritter. Yum. It is, of course, unhealthy but that doesn't stop it being tasty and provided that don't have one too regularly then you shouldn't feel too guilty. Anyway, chip shops in Edinburgh have largely stopped selling DFMBs due to the fact that they make a bit of a mess in the chip fryers. (By the way... you don't get chips with your DFMB - it's a sweet thing not a savoury thing). One of the few remaining Edinburgh chippies still willing to nuke a Mars Bar for you is Cafe Piccante which, coincidentally, is just a few doors away from Edinburgh's newest cafe/bar Treacle - home of Scotland's next Deep Fried Odyssey! Treacle opened it's doors at the start of May and has a modern take on the bar menu, serving up their burgers and pies on wooden chopping boards and fries in little metal buckets. The high quality of the ingredients shines through and their main courses are fab. The relaxed feel of the bar blurs the line between restaurant, cafe and bar making it feel more continental than many of Edinburgh's establishments. With a good selection of beers and wines, good music, ace Manga-style artwork and polite staff Treacle already looks like they've got the formula in the bag. Where Treacle really excels is their dessert menu. Nestled amongst a cheeseboard from I. J. Mellis and white chocolate mouse with raspberries is the fantastic sounding "Deep Fried Jam Sandwich With Handmade Ice Cream": the reason for the rant about Deep Fried Mars Bars. As I ordered the waiter grinned and told me I'd made a good choice - always a good start. When it arrived it was better than my already high expectations. The Deep Fried Jam Sandwich was a plain teacake spread thickly with raspberry jam, dipped in batter, fried and rolled in sugar served with a simple ball of vanilla ice cream. It tasted better than any jam doughnut. Better even than a Deep Fried Mars Bar. I'm already looking forward to my next trip to Treacle.