In the land of haggis, neeps, and tatties

Near the Iona Abbey in Scotland, local hotels keep an organic garden. (KATHLEEN THOMPSON HILL)

GLASGOW - In this gorgeous country, where you see wild heather, rhododendrons, and yellow iris along the countryside, deep-fried haggis, pizza, and Mars bars somehow turn up as favorite edibles, along with deep-fried ice cream and deep-fried pineapple rings.

In Scotland's rapidly growing fast-food industry, the most popular meal is still fish and chips. Many of these "chip shops" serve deep-fried Mars bars or Milky Ways accompanied by fries. That's not all they're dropping into the deep fryer: they're also frying pickled eggs, Snickers bars, and bananas.

But Scotland's beloved haggis - the combo of sheep's heart, lungs, and liver mixed with oatmeal and spices - is showing up at fast-food shops as well. And you guessed it: It's also deep-fried.

Some places, from hotel dining rooms to rest-stop cafeterias, offer deep-fried blood or black pudding in the popular all-day "full breakfast," which may also include canned Heinz baked beans, fried tomatoes, potato scones (wedges of nearly paper-thin potato pancakes), eggs, potatoes, sausages, and toast. This feast, which will hold you until dinner, costs $8 to $16.

At the other end of the spectrum is the tiny and famously spiritual island of Iona, where the Argyll and St. Columbia hotels both grow organic gardens near the Iona Abbey and provide vegetables for the hotels' restaurants and Martyr's Restaurant & Bar, tucked just to the side of the ferry pier.

Martyr's offers a mouth watering baked pasta with island-made cheddar, butter, and milk. The chef adds diced tomatoes, chopped onions, and pasta shells, arranges the mixture in individual baking dishes, and tops them with more cheddar before baking until bubbly.

Not everyone eats such rich food. Thin sandwiches are a staple of the midday diet. They consist of two slices of bread, about a teaspoon of butter or margarine, with a thin slice of meat or cheese slapped between the two. Mayonnaise and mustard rarely show up in a sandwich, but chutney variations adorn those made with cheese or meat. This might be accompanied by tea, fries, cookies, or a small pastry.

Scotland grows miles of rapeseed, from which canola oil is made; oats, the carbohydrate staple; and barley. Leeks, broad (fava) beans, potatoes, strawberries, and raspberries grow profusely, along with flax seed and mustard. Hunters bring in venison, and fish and shellfish are available all over. Salmon, oyster, and mussel farms abound, although farmed cockles are mysteriously dying by the thousands.

An awareness of the connection between diet and health is evident in some spots. Nearly all better restaurants take great pride in offering the best fair-trade, sustainably grown, and organic foods possible.

Many old-fashioned cooks still make Scotch broth by boiling whatever bones they have left from another meal and adding scraps of meat, carrots, corn, peas, leeks, celery, and turnips. The dish also appears on most restaurant menus.

Pubs and casual restaurants, such as Milne Bar in Edinburgh, serve the ever-present haggis, and something called "haggis neeps and tatties," which is haggis with parsnips and potatoes. A piece of fried or steamed haddock might be presented on black pudding; and it's haddock that generally goes into fish and chips (never served with coleslaw; if you want ketchup, ask for "tomato sauce").

For dessert, you'll find prune or bran bars, and at Martyr's on Iona, the best tiny currant-loaded scones around, along with millionaire's shortbread, which, as the name implies, is very rich and topped with caramel and chocolate.

Along the North Pier in Oban, which has romantic views of Oban Bay, the island of Mull, and the Morvern Hills, you'll see the bright orange roof of the award-winning modern restaurant Ee-Usk. The name means fresh fish in Gaelic.

The MacLeod family, which owns Ee-Usk, buys fresh fish daily from local fishers; shellfish is delivered live. A haddock fish cake appetizer is large enough for a main course; the smoked haddock pot with mashed potatoes and cheddar topping is rich and warming; seared local diver scallops taste like the sea; and creamed leeks, which are served with local sea bass, are so good you'll wish you had a whole bowl.

You probably won't say the same thing about deep-fried haggis.

Ee-Usk, North Pier, Oban, Argyll, Scotland, 01631 565666 or go to eeusk.com.