When the moon hits your eye . . .

Ok over the last few weeks there have been quite a few foodie battles on the Twitter and Facebook pages. The first was a rather impressive and long list of everyones favourites chippies quickly followed the number one non-franchise Pizzas places and in the last two days Curry houses. Many different places from all over the south were bandied about but which one is the best? As Mr Hill would say there is only one way to find out. So lets have a little poll to sort out the favourites in each category.

To start us off lets decide who makes the best pizza in the Southside. The following are the names suggested so far by readers. You have until Friday night to add any that have been missed into the comments below and then we will collate all suggestions into a little voting pole using the wonder of technology.

Pizza Places in order they were suggested:

Where to get the best Pizza in the Southside?

(Poll Closed)

Stefanos (Mount Florida)
Bella Napoli (Shawlands)
Roma Mia (Pollokshields)
Shaheds (Strathbungo)
Bier Stube (Shawlands)
CC's (Netherlee)
Pizza Couture (Giffnock)
Battlefield Rest (Battlefield)
Di Maggios (Shawlands)
Darios (Shawlands)
Buongiorno's (Queens Park)
Bellini (Shawlands)
Da Vinci Take away (Battlefield)

View Results
esurveyspro.com

THE RESULTS OF THE PUBLIC VOTE
So the top three Southside places for Pizza as voted by you are:

Winner - BELLA NAPOLI (Kilmarnock Road, Shawlands)
Second - DARIOS (Skirving Street, Shawlands)
Third - BIER STUBE (Kilmarnock Road, Shawlands)

It was really a bit of a two horse race with just a few votes between Bella Napoli and Dario's then quite a drop down to the next group with Bier Stube just coming in ahead of Stefanos and Di Maggios. All three of the top places are in Shawlands, is it the mecca for pizza in the South or do its residents vote more? One thing is for certain wherever you go in the Southside you are not short of a place to buy a good Pizza.

(We'd love to know your thoughts/ reviews of these places, please add them in the comments below.)

Eat Cafe 69 Kilmarnock Road

We've both been really busy with work recently (hence why its been a bit quieter around here) and yesterday was another really long day. We were on our way home to make our dinner when we suddenly decided we deserved a little treat and decided to go out. That always causes quite the little argument as we've both got our favourites but more often than not we decide to try somewhere new as that way we can kid ourselves on that the expense of a meal out is in aid of a review and to provide assistance to you dear readers.

What I'm trying to say is that last night we quickly reached a unanimous decision to head to the new Eat Cafe in Shawlands. Run by the same guys who own the brilliant Eat Deli in Clarkston it just opened last weekend and everything inside is really lovely and new. Its all been pulled together really well and the decor is great. There is something really nice about sitting down at a table and knowing you are one of the very first people to park up there. The reclaimed wood wall that shields prying eyes from the kitchen is a really nice touch and being the sad designers that we are we wanted to go give it a rub. Its all bright with warm browns and greys and from the outside on a dark evening it looks very inviting inside.

Anyway lovely decor alone is not enough for a new cafe, the atmosphere and food are even more important. When we walked through the door the place was empty which is always a bit unfortunate and makes you feel slightly uneasy. No worries though as the staff were really friendly and made us feel comfortable. We needn't have worried though as we seemed to be the straw that broke the dam and within fifteen minutes of us sitting down there wasn't a seat left in the place and lots more people were stopping to peer in.

The menu was pretty varied, split up into times of the day with a relaxed selection of high quality restuaurant/cafe dining. It has the feeling of a place where people will drop in. Some to just have tea and some of Eat Deli's famous carrot cake and others to get a proper meal. We were pretty hungry so went for the meal option. We started off with a bruschetta special with pesto, sunblushed tomatos and artichoke and it was very good. For our mains I had the burger, minus gerkin and mayo and Ann had mushroom risotto. Both of us were very happy with our choices, the risotto was rich in flavour and the burger was moist, juicy and delicious by the time I'd finished it was falling apart in my hands. (I prob should have used my knife and fork.)

They don't have their alchohol license yet so its BYOB at the moment which I'm sure the nice man in Oddbins round the corner is enjoying. It was a fun informal meal out and a welcome addition to that part of the street. Its a really open frontage and with these guys, Bellini and Bellanapoli all having lively shopfronts and outdoor seating it brings a great bit of nightlife to the area.

Eat Cafe69 Kilmarnock Road
G41 3YR

GLADFEST - 25 September 2011

It's the September weekend so why not spend your Sunday enjoying some quality live music at Gladfest? The lineup is; The ID Parade, The Method One, Tragic O'Hara, Outi Smith, Derek McLean, The BabèDox, Trade, Hanging With Jake, La Roche Rumba DJs and Sneak Show. Host and compère for the night will be Mr Bruce Morton.

Tickets are £8 and will be available on the day at the venue. All proceeds raised from the event will go to the Glad Cafe which will be a café/venue based in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow.

25 September 3pm - midnight

This Weekend 09-11 September 2011

It's the second last weekend before summer officially ends and although it looks abit wet out there today, Saturday is suppose to reach the dizzy heights of 18c. So go and get out side, explore and join in the fun this weekend. Here's our suggestions of what to do.

On Friday night Southside Studios are hosting  'Backpacker Blues' a play by Douglas Maxwell and directed by Gary Mcnair. In addition to the play there will be live music with La Roche Rumba. Starts at 8pm and tickets are £5.

On Saturday the Southside Crafters Craft Market returns to the Shawlands Kirk (Shawlands Cross) They'll be more than twenty stalls selling hand knitting, cards, jewellery, gifts etc. They also have a tea room filled with homebaking and childrens arts and crafts.

The NVA'S South Harvest is taking place in Toryglen. This year the Harvest is being hosted by Urban Roots. The Harvest is a celebration of local food. An irreverent homage to the village fête – centred on the Harvest Meal – there will also be live music, communal cooking, food sharing, workshops and competitions. Free event.
The Govanhill Festival is taking place in Govanhill Park from 11am till 3pm with Information stalls, Pipe Band, Kiddie Karaoke, Bouncy Castle, Face Painting, Beauty Therapy, Hair Braiding & Build a Bird Box.
The Southside Studios are holding a BBQ from 4 oclock, the 'Backpacker Blues' play will commence at 8pm  and  there will be live music from Jonnie Common from 9pm. Tickets are £5.
Southside Seeds are hosting Listen in - light out 6 at Go Slow cafe on Victoria Road, from 7pm.

On Sunday we would suggest a trip to House for an Art Lover to see 'The Riveted Eye' an exhibition of works by Glasgow based artist Patricia Cain. 

Have a good weekend.

Creative Thursday Nomad RDC

This week's Creative Thursday interview is with multidisciplinary design creatives Nomad RDC who are based in "The Bungo".

SSH: What do you do?We are a bit unique, we take a people centered approach to design and have developed a methodology for working with people on large public sector projects.  Our work focuses on the Education and Healthcare sectors where we use a range of research techniques to extract the right information to feed into our work. This information is then used to create a holistic interior using bespoke furniture and graphics to create a specific identity for each project ensuring we give the client the right product first time.

Scott Mason and Val Clugston, both graduates of the Glasgow School of Art, met while working at Curios Oranj where they worked on the successful Saltire Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University. It was this project that inspired them to start Nomad RDC where they could focus on the public sector with a unique process of designing through research. Now five years later Nomad are a successful practice featuring teams of talented art school and design graduates all focused on bringing a unique and tailored solution to our clients needs.

SSH: What's your favourite piece of work?Too difficult to say – we get attached to all of them.  Our most local however would be the Fraser Building at University of Glasgow. It is a four floor student services building which includes a 420-seat restaurant, a 120-seat office, a service floor, meeting rooms, a GP practice and a bookshop.  The architect for the project was Page/Park Architects and we created the full interior design including signs and artwork.  The artwork created for this project was so successful that it has now featured in the Universities literature and even their merchandise. We love working with UoG, they are a great organization and it helps that they are on the doorstep considering the major portion of our work is in London and the South East of England.

SSH: What sources of inspiration do you use?

Our inspiration comes from a wide range of sources. We use a lot of design blogs as initial inspiration i.e. www.dezeen.com.  We also spend a lot of time on TED, www.ted.com which is always fascinating.  However our main source of inspiration comes from the people we work with and finding out their ideas.

SSH: What key piece of advice do you wish you'd known?Lots of things, but mostly that there was going to be a recession in 2008!

SSH: Favourite place in the Southside?

Strathbungo generally - particularly Moray place. We also love the lovely Queens Park and of course a slap up lunch at ‘Moyra Janes’

SSH: Name another Southside Creative whose work you admire?Greek Thomson.  We have been led to believe that our unit is actually part of a tenement built by one of his apprentices – but if you are looking for a living person then we are big fans of Frozen River who used to be Lapland www.frozenriver.co.uk - fabulous print/art work.

SSH: If money was no option?

We would love to see some of the over ground rail lines adapted and re-imagined as a parkway similar to New York’s Highline. We investigated this in the studio, however it seems these rail lines are used freight services.  We would love to see the boating pond in Queens Park transformed in some way also, it is hardly ever used – bring back rowboats!

SSH: Tell us one interesting fact about yourself?

Our name 'Nomad' – it actually refers to our desire to travel wherever people want to work with us.

We were appointed to design the interior and identity of a doctors surgery in Kinning Park that we are very excited to see finished. We worked closely with the doctors and patients to design a holistic interior that uses the history of the area as inspiration. Part of the commission was a fence surrounding the site which had to provide public art and we are really exited about this.   We also have a couple of really big projects in London but we can’t say much about that yet

Backpacker Blues 8th - 10th September

Next week the Southside Studios are hosting 'Backpacker Blues' a play by Douglas Maxwell and directed by Gary Mcnair. We're big fans of Gary McNair so we recommend that you don't miss this.

“So he decided that when he went to university he’d be a totally different person; a wise cracking, adventure-having, paragon of youth. I think he was using Fresh Prince-era Will Smith as his model. Only Keith’s a wee idiot from Fife with glasses and a cow lick.”

In addition to the play there will be live music; On Thursday night from 9pm - acoustic lovliness with Laura Corrigan. On Friday from 9pm - La Roche Rumba will get the weekend started.
On Saturday 10th September there will be a barbeque from 4pm, an exhibition  of Ben Walker's paintings and live music from Jonnie Common.

8th, 9th, 10th September: Play starts at 8pm - Tickets £5

Southside Studios, 17 Westmoreland Street, Glasgow G42 8LL

Creative Thursday with Alan Bissett

This weeks Creative Thursday interview is with Scottish writer Alan Bissett who is based in Polloksheilds who describes himself as "a novelist, playwright, performer and middleweight boxer. (One of those was a lie)."
SSH: What do you do?I write novels and plays about Scottish working-class life, in all its strange variety.  They’re generally, but not always, set in my hometown of  Falkirk.  I also perform my work onstage often, and at live literature events such as Words Per Minute.
My first novel Boyracers was published in 2001.  I then earned a Masters degree in English and became a lecturer in Creative Writing at the Universities of Leeds and Glasgow.  Increasingly my work has become stage-based, and in 2010 I wrote, performed and toured my own ‘one-woman show’, The Moira Monologues.  This has since been bought by the BBC Scotland for development.  A short film I wrote and narrated The Shutdown, has won several awards at international film festivals.

SSH: What's your favourite piece of work?

My favourite work is Death of a Ladies’ Man, my third novel. It’s about a sex-addicted teacher, and is set against the backdrop of the indie music scene in Glasgow. It’s my most complex and entertaining novel, and I think I managed to achieve a bit of a creative breakthrough with it.

SSH: What's next?My new novel, Pack Men, is launched on Sept 1^st at Waterstones in Sauchiehall St.  It’s about a riot in Manchester, so has turned out to be a wee bit timely.  Irvine Welsh has just called it ‘a landmark in Scottish fiction’.  Which was very nice of him.

SSH: Where do you go for inspiration?Scots Whay Hae is a great website reviewing contemporary Scottish literature.  At a time when big bookselling has closed down opportunities for Scottish novelists who don’t write Crime, coverage like this is now indispensible.  Bella Caledonia also gives an excellent radical perspective on Scottish issues.  Given the times, we need that voice.

SSH: Any bits of advise you've learned that you'd like to share?London doesn’t really care.  All the more reason to do it.

SSH: Favourite place in the Southside?I deliberately don’t have the internet at home, in order to preserve some mental space, so enjoy going to Tapa or the Tramway to use the Wifi.  I’m looking forward to seeing what the imminent Bella Café, a self-avowed arts café, can come up with.

SSH: Name another Southside creative whose work you admire?Rodge Glass, the novelist and biographer of Alasdair Gray, I think will make a real breakthrough with his next book Bring Me The Head of Ryan Giggs. I’ve read it and it’s great, like Fever Pitch meets Taxi Driver.  It’s about time someone wrote a dark novel about the footballing mentality.

SSH: If money was no option what would you change about the Southside?

A wee independent cinema would be handy.

Alan's new novel Packman is being lauched tonight (thursday) at Waterstone's Sauchiehall, at 6.30.