Going back to Fife, I'd suggest you consider the Ostler's Close in Cupar, which I've not visited for ages, but which was very good.

The Cellar at Anstruther is also very good.

Sangster's in Elie was getting grest reviews a wee while ago, too.

These are all,with the exception of the Ostler's Close, fishy.

caroline_edinburgh: &quot;<i>what time does the rush hour start where you are ?!?</i>&quot; You don't want to know :)

In my mid-sized city west coast city w/ vast suburban sprawl, if you don't live in the center of town you need to be out the door by 0600 or you'll be stuck in really bad traffic. The commuter buses start running at 0500 or 0515. The main commute here runs from about 0600/0615 to about 0900-ish. And in major metropolitan regions like LA or SF, it can be even worse.

But then, many of our civil servants/office workers that aren't in &quot;public contact&quot; jobs start work at 0700.

Caroline,
I just had the Scotsman make a reservation for me at Kitchin for that Wednesday night. So my dinners are set.

But while I have your assistance - let me ask you about car rental as well. I need a car to get to from Edinburgh to St. Andrews and then while we are in St. Andrews and then we will drive back to the Edinburgh airport to leave for home. I am now thinking that I should just rent from the airport and then I can return there as well and save some money. If I rent in town and then return to the airport I think I will be hit up with extra costs. And from what I gather, it is not a big deal to get out to the airport to pick up the car. Or does it just make sense to rent in town and return to the airport? What do you think?

I've rented in Edinburgh many times. There really aren't any major drop off fees - usually it costs the same to pick up and drop off at different locations.

I'd just check AutoEurope and try both options. Getting out of central Edinburgh in the morning won't be too bad since you'd be going against the commute. Getting out to EDI is on the airport bus is easy too.

So there really isn't much advantage to either choice. The main thing is to find a convenient pick up location w/ a good rate.

If you find a good rate from a rental location near your hotel - that would be my choice. But just slightly . . . .

bookmark

Thank Janis,

I just checked EuropeCar and the rates are great. But can you tell me which location is closest to the Scotsman hotel? 24 East London Street or 39 Roseburn Street? Or I could just do the airport for drop off and pick up I guess.

And Caroline,
Rush hour in my area is the same as Janis reports. I take the train to work in the city and trains are packed from 6:30 until 7:30. You are lucky to get seats!

Of those two, East London Street is closest.

Have you tried AutoEurope? It is a broker that handles all the major international rental firms and may have a location even closer to the Scotsman.

I &quot;mis wrote&quot; it was your suggestion, AutoEurope that I tried. And these are the locations they listed. Would the airport be closer?

East London Street is not very far from the hotel - walking distance if you were out for a lengthy stroll but much too far w/ luggage. It would be a short cab ride though.

Go into mappy.com and plug in 24 East London Street and you'll see it is not at all far from the Scotsman on North Bridge.

I just realized that AutoEurope has an office listed at the Waverly Train Station - that would be very close to the hotel - right?

Uh - yes :) Very close . . .

Yes, the Scotsman is actually on top of Waverley station !!

Re your rush hours - quelle horrer !!! I find it bad enough trying to get out of the door by 7.45, although this week is easier as the schools are off.

Susan where are you eating on Monday night - or will you just play it by ear ? I think I mentioned before that the Atrium is open &amp; it's quite nice. Or try one of the Stac Polly (Scottish) restaurants - they have 3 of which the newest, on St Mary Street, is very near the Scotsman.

Also, I don't know if you've looked, but the Scotsman has 2 restaurants. The North Bridge Brasserie is the cheaper, cafe-bar style one (also part is a cocktail bar) - I haven't eaten there for a while but when I did, it was quite nice in a non-fancy way. The posh one is Vermilion which I've not been to and have read very little about - and curiously, now I look at the hotel's website, it doesn't seem to be mentioned - so not sure if it's closed ?

Just as a note, Anthony Bourdain visited The Kitchin while he was in Edinburgh on a recent episode - the food looked great :) However, it had the typical nouvelle cuisine plating, i.e. small portions artistically arranged with colorful sauces drizzled in patterns, that sort of thing.

However, the food looked soooo yummy! And not so tiny that I would go away hungry.

Caroline,
I followed your earlier suggestion and made a reservation at Atrium for Monday night. So I am set and looking forward to what should be wonderful meals!

Now I just have to rent the car and I am finished. I am thinking that I will most likely not make advance reservations for dinner at St. Andrews because I don't know my sons plans and I would assume that we will be taking him and assorted friends to dinner every night. I do want to try The Seafood Restaurant, but other than that, I think we will just take it day by day.

As for the commute, this is going to sound really crazy, but I leave my house between 5:30 and 5:45 each morning. I am a figure skater and I get in lessons and ice time before work! So I am really crazy.

Susan, wow ! Not sure whether to be impressed or what !! So glad you are all fixed up. It sounds like a good plan to play St Andrew's by ear, when you see what your son wants to do. Possibly he will want to eat in pubs every night ! And for a week night at least, I shouldn't think the Seafood Restaurant will get booked up far in advance; although if you want to go on Fri/Sat, maybe it would be worth booking a week or two ahead.

GreenDragon, the portions at the Kitchin do look small - the cheap lunch portions look minute ! - but we find the flavours are so intense, and there's such a combination in each dish, that they do fill us up.

It DID look like it was worth it :) The food looked incredibly tasty! French techniques on local Scottish ingredients.

Excluding Haggis what is tradional Scottish fare like?

Think...oats.

Great game (especially venison), beef, lamb &amp; seafood. Here's a link to the Scottish association of farmers' markets - http://www.scottishfarmersmarkets.co...bers/index.htm

The Kitchin actually does have a signature starter of haggies, neeps &amp; tatties - with foie gras :-)

Pardon my ignorance but what are neeps?