(This venue is closed.) At the Argyle, even the fish sometimes turn their gaze toward the haggis.
On January 25 (and thenabouts), folks of Scottish descent celebrate the birth of the poet Robert Burns, most notoriously by paying homage to haggis — sheep's offal minced with oats and the barest of spicing. In the entrée below (special; $15), which included the traditional accompaniments of neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes), the brown scoops of haggis were softer than I expected; chopped liver came to mind. Other specials at our table: a steak pie with the crust laid on top like an unhinged door ($15) and a shepherd's pie (not shown; $15).
Though Kearny and nearby northern New Jersey are still home to a fair number of folks who claim Scottish descent, in truth, fish and chips was the most common entrée at other tables. I haven't tried the Argyle's fish, but based on the scotch eggs, the fry cook certainly knows his business. (The $8.75 lunch special is shown below; the closeup is from a pre-haggis appetizer we couldn't resist.) This iconic cholesterol bomb consists of a hardboiled egg coated with flavorful sausage meat, rolled in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried; I like to pour on HP sauce, a thick, brown malt-vinegar-based concoction with notes of molasses and maybe tamarind. As for those chips, they were golden, crisp, excellent.
The whiskey cake (another Robbie Burns special; not shown; $7.50) was the best I've tried; the whiskey flavor was notable but not pushy, and exceptionally well integrated into the cake, our table agreed. From the standard dessert menu, the cloutie dumpling ($5) drowned a suet-based, raisin-studded cake in a pool of custard.
Argyle Restaurant
212 Kearny Ave., Kearny, New Jersey
201-991-3900
