Where's the Beef

Saturday May 16, 2026

Edinburgh 

Sunny with cloudy periods. About 12 degrees.

Sorry for the cliche. Aside from which, we know where the beef is located: it was in Japan but now it is in Edinburgh. 

We had a good day of walking around the central part of the city, starting with breakfast at a busy little cafe with five two-seater tables: two out and three in. We sat in one of the two out, which normally wouldn't be THAT exciting except today, we were sitting there eating breakfast OUTSIDE and I was chatting on the phone with my new best friend Hugo from the motorcycle hire shop in Inverness. I said as soon as he called me that I was out at breakfast so he promised to keep it short. I had emailed him about a few things before picking up the motorcycle next week: could we store gear with them, could they pick us up from the train station, stuff like that.

Hugo LOVES to talk. So, when he says "I'll be brief", that means 10 minutes to answer each questIon. I had emailed him four questions earlier this morning. Despite the fact that he had PROMISED, I had to endure a 40 minute conversation in why I did not need to pick  up motorcycle gear the day before picking up the bike.

But while Nan and I are sitting outside  enjoying our breakfast, a seagull swooped in and took a whole sweet bun off the plate of the gal sitting a few inches away from me.  SHE HADNT TAKEN ONE BITE. I was on the phone but it startled me: the seagull touching down on the table and grabbing the bun and flying away. The seagull carried the bun away and it landed in the middle-of busy Bruntsfield Place (busy street near here) and it looked alot like it was going to be instant Karma for the seagull however, the bird managed to dodge THAT bullet. 

Luckily for the gal sitting  next to us, the people in the coffee shop witnessed the entire exchange and promptly replaced the stolen bun.

Meanwhile, I had to tell Hugo as this was unfolding, that we had just witnessed a little crisis right before our eyes.

We walked for the afternoon down to the Surgical Museum Chamber of Horrors. This was not some cheap sideshow carny act but actual historic displays of anatomical examples of centuries old amputations and disections. It's gross and creepy, which is right up Nan's alley. It is the history of surgical medicine in Edinburgh going back three hundred years. I'll have to say that while i was revolted at what I saw in the museum, examples of what people had endured before current surgical techniques  I was very thankful for the sacrifice made by thousands who had suffered before us so that we could go through surgery with anesthetic and sterile tools.  BTW, photography was strictly verboten and to encourage people to comply, visitors are all given a bookmark with a QR code that has some pictures that you would not otherwise see. If you are just sitting there doom scrolling, I would suggest clicking the link above.

We were walking back to the B&B, scouting for a place to eat and we happened along Ishiku Wagyu Steakhouse. A  quick search revealed a 4.5 rating, so worthy of our attendance.

I can tell you we were both BLOWN AWAY by our dinner. it's not enough

to say that it was excellent. We both concluded that it was THE BEST STEAK WE HAD EVER EATEN. We had each ordered a 100 gram piece of Wagyu fillet. Now, I admit that a 100 gm piece is not very big but I thought "I'm 67 years old - how big a piece of dinner do I need? Well, I wasn't HALFWAY through dinner and I tracked down our waiter and said " bring me another piece of that wagyu steak!" As I took my last bite of the first piece, the second order was set down on the table, which I promptly split with Nan.

I told our waiter "Tee" to tell the chef our impression of the steak. As we left, Tee told Chef Luke we were leaving and he came out from the kitchen to greet us. I wanted to hug him (but I didn't). I think he was thankful for the feedback but I can tell you that I have never had a steak as tender as that one, nor as tasty. If you are in Edinburgh, you need to visit this restaurant. Even if you are vegetarian.

Feeling somewhat  euphoric with our dinner, we decided we would have a nightcap on our way back tgo the B&B. We stopped at Montepelier, a cool, shie-shie restaurant not far from where we are staying. Sadly, we had used up our Karma and were subjected to a disappointing nightcap.