A Teuchter, for those of you not in the know, is Scottish slang for someone from the Highlands. In American-ese, the closest analogy is probably the word "hillbilly".

The Teuchter in this case is not a person, but rather a restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland. They have a couple different locations here in Edinburgh, but my particular favorite is the one that's across the street from me here in Leith. It's in the old ferry building that used to carry passengers up to the north and has one of the best beer gardens in the city.

But not only do they have one of the best beer gardens in the city....they also have some of the best damn nachos I've had in the UK.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and I think by the picture that accompanies this article you can see what I mean.

For starters, the nachos were cooked to perfection. See how they're burned at the corners? That's how nachos should be cooked. The cheese was all melted throughout, with no "secret" unmelted parts. The other great feature about Teucher's nachos? The toppings were all on the side! So you could mete them out as you felt was necessary.

The only drawback to the nachos were the fact that Teuchter's used flavored chips. I think they were supposed to be chili flavor. Totally unnecessary Teuchter's! Your nachos were so good they don't need any additional flavoring.

In short, if you're in Edinburgh, and in need of a nacho fix, make your way to Teuchter's. You won't regret it.

Stopped by the Royal Marine Hotel in Brora on my way back from a jaunt up to the Orkney Islands with my pal, Jeff Radice, director of the documentary "No No." We wanted to have a pub lunch but, alas, it was after 3pm and we were in the wilds of Scotland. So no pub lunch for us. Luckily enough we were recommended the Royal Marine in Brora.

The crowd was gathered to watch Andy Murray on his way to victory at Wimbledon. It was funny because a kid in one of the families was getting very excited and kept cheering for Andy. Every time he opened his mouth his parents would hush him and apologize to everyone around. Come on folks, he's just a kid. Ahhh.....you Brits are so polite.

The place was pretty posh, so I was surprised to see - wait for it - NACHOS on the menu. HOOORAY!! I hesitated to order but was soon goaded into sampling the local fare by my travelling buddy.

The nachos arrived quickly and I sampled what the Broronians had to offer in the way of nachos.

Overall, they weren't too bad. The chips were ok and there was plenty of cheddar. The problem with the nachos came down to the same problems encountered on this side of the pond: nachos not cooked long enough and WAY too much sour(ed) cream.

I always forget about that when I order nachos here, but I don't want to seem like a prima donna... "Yes, I'd like the nachos, but could you not put anything on them other than cheese and beans, cook them until the cheese starts to brown - not just melt - and leave off any other toppings because otherwise they get really soggy?"

The other odd thing was that they somehow got the salsa UNDERNEATH the cheese. I just remembered that from looking at that picture I took. Which means they piled the dish up with chips, put salsa on top and then put cheese on top of the salsa and THEN put it into the oven. Salsa, for those not from the Southwest, is generally served cold. The really awesome places will have their salsa sitting on ice.

However, overall, I can't be too critical about these nachos. Not as good as some other places, but not the worst that I've ever had.