Scottish Cullen Skink in the Bay Area?

It’s a thick soup also known as smoked Haddock chowder in other parts of the U.K. I’ve been craving this for quite a while and won’t be traveling to Scotland anytime soon, so looking for any hint of its existence in a restaurant here. There seems to be a dearth of Scottish food in the Bay Area overall. There are a few “pub” type establishments that have the odd Scotch Egg or Shepherd’s Pie (usually a Cottage Pie with the wrong appellation), but I’ve never seen this locally.

I could order the fish online and make it myself, but it’d be great to know of a place that serves this on the regular.

(Also, I’m not Scottish, just hungry.)

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You’re likely not going to come close to anything so scrumptious in the Bay Area, where your take on “shepherd’s pie” is a bulls-eye. We can’t remember exactly what Mom/Dad did with it (our family’s not Scottish), though we remember seeing finan haddie in the childhood fridge, and enjoying whatever resulted from their A&P (likely) purchase/impulse buy.

The Whisky Shop of San Francisco in Union Square does sell some Scottish packaged food, so you might find canned cullen skink there (at suitably high prices).

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Thank you. I’ll give that a try but still hoping someplace makes it from scratch.
It’s relatively simple to make so I’d think some establishment would modify their clam chowder recipe and give it a go since it’s so tasty.

It’s not like I’m asking for deep fried pizza.

You’re probably right, but if it exists this is probably the place to get the info I’m looking for.

I buy finan haddie (frozen from Canada) at Cook’s Seafood, Menlo Park and. make my own chowder. It’s easy!

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http://southbayscots.org/links/

I checked a dozen menus- not seeing any Cullen Skink! Quite a few places have cottage pie!

https://sanfran.com/bay-area-british-restaurants

I love Felicity Cloake’s recipes.

here’s a recipe, if that helps – https://johntannersbbqblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/18/recipe-time-cullen-skink/

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Thanks for the recipes folks. I do appreciate it, but I expect you know that some times it’s nice to not cook but instead savor the experience of sitting down and having someone else worry about all that as you simply order and receive and enjoy the ambience of friends, food and atmosphere. I make a tasty smash burger, but I love going to (good) burger joints and chowing down on their creations while sitting outside watching the world go by.

I does appear this may be a fruitless quest and I’ll just capitulate and make it myself. It’s a perfect dish for cold, rainy weather like we’re having this week.

I’m hoping things change in the future and someone sees this thread and points me towards a hidden gem of a place that has it.

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I poked around, looking for it. It sounds like the kind of place you were looking for used to exist.

If a chowder will scratch an itch, this 2016 list might help

Estero Café used to use a smoked salmon in their chowder. Not the same, but at least it’s smoked fish, but it looks like chowder is not on their current menu. Sorry!!

This is the best – the only thing – I could find in the US with my limited Google skills and feckless efforts – https://www.amazon.com/Baxters-Luxury-Cullen-Skink-Soup/dp/B075CRMZYZ

This information does not constitute and endorsement

Ya know, I might just buy a few cans for those times that instant gratification is what’s on the menu. Thanks.

I expect a few wee drams of Scotch would help

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Thanks for the Cooks MP lead for finan haddie, havent eaten it in probably 60 yrs or so & it brings back good memories of my grandma who was a great cook! Cooks is about 15 min from my house… Might have to give it a try! :yum:

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This just popped up in my Facebook news feed, and I am generally a fan of SE:

Well, I tend to agree with the folks with the recipes here since it seems on its face sort of straightforward for someone that has made chowders (or maybe for a first timer too) so thanks for the suggestion on the dish too, this could come into play for our Burns night in January…haggis kind of calls out for other stuff (beyond whiskey) and we usually have the cockaleekie soup instead…still, for the bay area, I think you need to consult these guys

Mike Myers So I Married An Axe Murderer GIF - Mike Myers So I Married An Axe Murderer Scottish - Discover & Share GIFs

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Burns Night

I’m now a big fan of Cranachan!

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Wait. Is that a wild haggis you cook? And if so, is it clockwise or anti-clockwise one?

hi jack - i dunno about clockwise or anticlockwise but my buddy does the ordering from a spot called

Scottish Gourmet USA sells the best Scottish foods available in the USA.

here’s a picture of the one from a few years back

image

its the 5lb “presentation haggis” natural casing

looks like you can get the smoked haddock at that spot too but didn’t see the soup

ok…now im catching your drift … :slight_smile:

The Legend Behind Scotland’s Most Famous Animal: The Wild Haggis (wingingtheworld.com)