It was a spectacular autumn sky and, for a moment, with tunnels of sunlight punching through light cloud cover, it resembled the after-burners of a flying saucer – about to land behind Morgan McVeigh’s.
We hurried in; driving from Aberdeen to Colpy had worked up quite an appetite this Sunday lunchtime.
If there was a flying saucer parked around the back during my visit, I had just missed the biggest exclusive of my career.
There were travellers of a different kind inside scouring the menus: probably weary from plodding up and down the exasperating, and tiring, A96 Inverness-Aberdeen road, which passes right outside.
Morgan McVeigh’s is ideally placed for offering a welcome break to people’s journeys.
I lost count of the number of times I had driven past; now I was on the inside looking out at the road from my vantage point in the dining room.
From the entrance, you turn right to Morgan McVeigh’s emporium of interesting things in its shop, selling everything from traditional foods, drink and confectionery to women’s fashions.
We were sizing up the menu in the dining area, in the other half of this attractive wood-panelled building, and found there was plenty of choice: breakfast rolls, home bakes, Sunday roasts and assorted other hot meals, including fish and chips, offering something for everyone.
Staff were friendly and reinforced by willing teenage part-timers. They seemed to be mainly involved in serving at the counter or fetching and carrying from the kitchen.
The system was that visitors approached a main serving area and ordered, while finding a table and helping themselves to cutlery. There did not appear to be much in the way of table service but, with people on the move, does it matter? It was all very simple and straight- forward.
I kicked off with Cullen Skink. You can’t go wrong with that, can you? For my wife, it was cream of cauliflower soup.
I love Cullen Skink and enjoy it at every opportunity. Here, I felt it needed a couple of tiny tweaks. The creamy sauce had a sheen of butter on the surface and was on the thin side for me. Although there were plenty of small potatoes, I would have preferred more smoked fish.
It was tasty, though, and hit the spot on a chilly day. My wife said the same about her soup.
It was interesting to watch how the number of diners ebbed and flowed with the tempo of the road. Sometimes busy, then easing off. As 1pm approached, it was getting full and many seemed to be regulars.
They were all ages, from family groups with small children to elderly couples.
We noticed that the roast dinners were popular, so I ordered beef olives and my wife classic Sunday lunch – roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
They soon arrived piping hot from the kitchen, although there was a mix up over our table number and two young helpers, carrying our lunches, sailed straight past, resisting my attempts to persuade them to plant the two plates on our table.
They paraded around on a full circuit of the dining room, with our anxious eyes glued to them, before finally, after consulting “command centre” at the serving area, coming to rest at our table.
Panic over, we got stuck in. I realised I had made an error straight away. I had ordered the two beef-olives option, even although one was on offer. Greedy. With a huge pile of potatoes and vegetables keeping them company on the plate, I realised I had bitten off more than I could chew.
The beef olives, nonetheless, were tasty, delicious and satisfying. My wife’s tender cuts of beef were also excellent. The portions, I warn you, were generous.
There were mashed potato and potatoes boiled in their skins and masses of carrots and broccoli. There was not enough gravy or seasoning with the vegetables, so they were a little dry for my liking. However, there was so much, neither of us could finish and the overall quality was good.
We rounded off with home-made festive mince meat slice and carrot cake. The delicious slice was also brimming with glace cherries and was a treat to end our meal.
We passed an interesting 20 minutes in the shop and I bought a tin of mints made in Los Angeles, which seemed quite surreal.
Then we were outside again. The peace and quiet lay on us like a comfy thick cloak – a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle of the city.
We felt stuffed, but this is an ideal place to walk it off in the lovely countryside all around, with forest walks, Bennachie and the Glens of Foudland in the distance, giving it a picture-postcard look. I could see why people keep beating a path back to Morgan McVeigh’s.