shewhomust | Scallops two nights running

We dined last night at Sutor Creek, Cromarty's bijou fine restaurant (it claims a Michelin commendation of some kind, though I don't know exactly what...). We were booked in for eight o' clock, the earliest we could get because a group from the University of Aberdeen (who have a Field Station in the lighthouse) was also dining there. By the time we ordered, they had eaten all the potted shrimps and all the asparagus soup, but we outmanoeuvred this limitation, starting with a big bowl of olives (hidden on the pizza menu) - and we both went straight for the Shetland scallops as a main course. The olives were big and juicy (and a generous bowlful). The scallops were served with salsify, new potatoes and broccoli in place of the advertised asparagus (this may have been an improvement) in a light crab-flavoured sauce. There was a very acceptable bottle of viognier, and afterwards there was cheese for me and a lemon posset for

durham_rambler.

And all the while we were enjoying this elegant cuisine, the staff were also keeping a steady flow of takeaway pizza out of the door. We remarked on this to our server: "Oh, yes, we do a lot of pizzas for the oil rigs." You don't make a success of a small town restaurant without being flexible: if there are oil rigs in the Firth, you make pizza.

Today the ferry (the Pentalina) didn't bring us into Saint Margaret's Hope until after eight, so as soon as we were installed at the Creel (now in new hands, and a B&B), we went round the corner to the Murray Arms. Scallops were on offer again - Orkney scallops this time, and with chips and salad - and again we agreed that we were not yet tired of scallops.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?