Brooklyn Cafe @ 21-23 Minard Road

It's a Southside institution's birthday this week and its just a mere 80 years old!! Serving the Southside Community since 1931 (when the above photo was taken) the Brooklyn Cafe has long been the haunt for generations looking for a big Sunday breakfast and a tub of their famous ice-cream (listed in the Herald as one of the 100 things to do in Scotland before you die). It's funny that we've not written a post about these guys before but I guess there are certain places which we've not covered due to them being so well known that we all take them for granted. 

We are big fans of family run local businesses, especially places that have been established for a long time. They embed themselves into the history of the local area and give that area an identity and connection to its past. Brooklyn Cafe is one of these places.

We've heard stories of people going there for breakfast before they went ice skating at the old ice-rink at Crossmyloof or memories of ice-cream and walks round the park when they were Children. Today if you go to the cafe you'll see a host of images on the walls showing the cafe through the ages and its fun to spot the different time periods and changes it goes through in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Some of the really old ones, as per the one above look great, with tall thin glazing panels and delicate and intricate lettering. Would love for more shops to go back to that old style, the modern way of large flat plastic fascia boards lose the skill and design flair of the traditional sign writer and a lot of the character is lost.

Another lovely nostalgic touch about the interior of the Brooklyn Cafe are the stairs, where the risers have all been formed in glass with the various different owners etched into the frosting. Its a subtle link to the past and shows a place proud of its history.

 As it says on their menu "Domenico Pelosi arrived in Glasgow in the early 1900s after a brief spell in Wales. On the 15th October 1931 he opened the Brooklyn Café. From the 1960’s it was run by his youngest son Adolfo (Dolfi) and Michael they were helped by members of their own families most notably Dolfi’s wife Domenica (Jean). Tragically Dolfi then Michael died suddenly within 10 months of each other in 1979 and 1980. Jean was therefore thrust into running all aspects of the business as well as bringing up and caring for her family. She threw herself into these tasks and was helped in the café by her daughter Caroline and soon after by her son David. Jean followed her instincts by slowly introducing more home cooking to the menu, to add to the ever popular family ice cream from the Pelosi Ice Cream company. In 1986 Jean and David invested in the café and completely overhauled the layout and concept of the café bringing in better, wholesome home cooking as she had provided for her family all these years. It was an instant success with queues for tables almost everyday. As David recalls “It was a far bigger hit than we ever expected, we had never encountered any thing like it… we had to learn on our feet. We both went 9 months without a day off!” "

The food in Brooklyn Cafe is good quality, it's not a fancy place but you will get good value for money and its all pretty tasty. They have a pretty big menu with all the family favourites, they do a mean Cheese Steak, tasty pastas and the very successful All Day Breakfast which I must admit to having eaten one or two of over the years. If you are after a quick relaxed bits on the way home from work, you'll not do to badly popping in here and afterwards you can treat yourself with the rather famous homemade ice-cream which is still made on the premises. They make it freshly throughout the day with the peak of summer seeing them mixing up new batches every thirty minutes!

One thing we have always wondered was where did the "Brooklyn" in Brooklyn Cafe come from. The manager Johnny advises that sadly the story behind the name is lost to the history books. People seem to have their own theories, that it was named Brooklyn as it was across the way from Queens (The two famous districts of New York) others that it was linked to Mount Florida, to a family connection in New York or that it just sounded good. Anyone got any good suggestions for a reason why it might have got the name? Stick them in the comments below.

Brooklyn Cafe

21-23 Minard Road

G41 2HR

0141 632 3427
Mon - Sat: 08:00 - 21:00
Sun: 09:00 - 21:00

Nur Restaurant

Just before Christmas I went along to the new Egyptian restaurant on Bridge Street. I'd passed it quite a few times but hadn't had a chance to get along. A few friends and I were going along to see Tron Legacy at the Imax (Looked amazing, so so story) and we wanted to find somewhere to eat on the way. We weren't really sure what Egyptian food would actually be like, possibly everything would be in wraps? (sorry) As it turned out its actually quite similar to Greek food with lots of kebabs, mousaka, flat bread and houmous. Interestingly they serve Pasta which according to the waitress was originally an Egyptian invention, though there seems to quite a few places claiming pasta as their own on Wikipedia.

Our first impressions on walking in were very positive, the inside is really lovely and the lady that greeted us at the door and served us was super friendly, talking us through the menu, offering us some dish suggestions and giving us a glass of deliciously warm Egyptian style festive wine. It was amazingly tasty and really warmed us up on what was a pretty miserable grey day outside. Actually the whole restaurant was ideal for a day like that, its all dark wood, cushioned seats and warm flickering lamps. It makes you feel toasty and warm and far away from the rain and cold.

It was early evening and it was reasonably quiet so we were allowed our choice of seats. We chose the mezzanine  level where large cushioned chairs and a long low table allowed a comfy and social eating space. Our waitress explained that they don't have an alcohol licence but that you can bring your own, or purchase from the Spar across the street with corkage £3.95 for wine and 75p for beer. We decided to opt out of any more alcohol and gave their selection of fruit drinks a go and I can vouch for the Mango juice being very tasty.

After a bit of guidance we decided to get the following items and have a little share around:

Foul Sausage (A lot tastier than its sounds.), Falafel, Charcoal Grilled Kofta, Grilled Chicken and Chicken ; Spinach Tagine. My dish was the tagine served with a pyramid of rice and it was pretty tasty but when the food  arrived I wished I'd gone for some of the grilled meat, I managed to pinch a bit of both the chicken and the lamb and they were really juicy and nice crispy on the outside. We were running a bit tight for time so we had to forgo the deserts and get ice-cream at the Science Centre but will try and give them a go next time.

All in all a good addition to the Southside restaurant scene. Egyptian food is rich, hearty and full of flavour but I don't think its going to knock Italian and Indian from the top of the Glasgow Food Culture list. While I'm not sure I'd go every night, for a evening trying a few new tastes or if your on your way to the nearby Citizen's theatre its worth a visit. If you really want to get into the spirit of things you can take part in some belly dancing classes on a Saturday morning at 11:30am - see their website for details.

Nur
22 Bridge Street,
Glasgow, G5 9HR
Phone: 0141 418 0990

http://www.nur-restaurant.co.uk/

Mulberry Street - Strathbungo

Mulberry Street has been situated on the corner of Pollokshaws Road and Regent Park Square in Strathbungo, since 2006.  It's a busy wee family run bar and restaurant and is a popular socialising point for Southsiders especially the Strathbungo residents.

The Mulberry is split in two with the light airy bar on one side and on the other side a more intimate bistro area. The bar is a great space for chilling out on a Sunday afternoon or for some sociable drinks on a Friday night. It does get busy on the weekends and it can get quite difficult to get a seat. However they've recently been given permision for a south facing outdoor seating area. It is a great place to sit with a coffee or a glass of wine and people watch. The outdoor area closes at 9pm but by that time it's normally getting a bit chilly and you want to get inside anyway (top tip: move inside 5mins before everyone else that way you get a seat inside)

The menu in the bistro area can be described as up market pub food - Fillet of sea bass, Pork loin steak,  Thai green curry, mussels and fajitas. We've been several times as their steak is a favourite of Alburt's dads.  The food has been consistently good and service always friendly and polite. My only critism is that they could maybe do with adding a couple more vegitarian options to their menu. It's a busy wee place so make sure you book on a Friday and Saturday night.

They also have a quiz night on Monday night, it has been running for  six years - I ve heard it's quite challenging so maybe it's for the more experienced quiz team. 

Mulberry Street is a great place to have on your doorstep - just remember to book a table if you are going on a Friday or Saturday.

Mulberry Street Bar/Bistro

778 Pollokshaws Road

G41 2AE

Tel: 0141 424 0858

Sherbrooke Castle @ 11 Sherbrooke Avenue

After the excitement of our trip to Pollokhouse we decided to go somewhere really nice for our Mothers Day dinner. We decided to stay within the original Stirling-Maxwell familiy's domain though and headed to Pollokshields.

Sherbrooke Castle was built in 1896 as a baronial villa for John Morrison, a respected and obviously well off contractor. The building was designed by the architect Robert Sandylands and John Thomson, the eldest son of Alexander "Greek" Thomson and must have been a pretty impressive house at the time, as its still a pretty impressive hotel today, with a grand vista over the surrounding area.

It was a bright but bitterly cold day and as we walked into the dining room, we were pleased to see a roaring coal fire on one wall pouring out heat. We were initially a bit jealous of the couple who were seated right beside these flames, but as their faces grew redder and redder I think we decided viewing the flickering fire from a distance was actually the best bet. The whole interior feels very solid, with thick dark wood and original prints, paintings and books lining the walls. Its been given a recent make over as well though and the furniture and new decor are modern but entirely fitting for the space. I could easily imagine it as an old gentlemans' club in an other era.

The menus were really tasty looking, with an evening restaurant menu  or the lounge bar menu to choose from, between which all bases were covered. I opted for the haggis filo parcel to start, which was light and very yummy and then went for the rib-eye steak for my main. I have to admit it was one of the best steaks I've had in a very long time, rich juicy and melted in the mouth. The rest of the group all really enjoyed their meals too and we agreed it was a place we'd all happily go back. 

We were in the main restaurant which was very much fine dinning. The lounge bar however is far more relaxed and when we were leaving I noticed lots of families in having dinner so it looks like its popular with the locals. In short, a great place to take families for special occasions, a pretty ideal Mother's Day venue. Would love to get a proper look round the rest of the building. I bet the bedrooms at the top, which have turrets, have amazing views. Anyone ever stay there and can tell us what its like?

[Images from Sherbrooke Castle Hotel Website]

Sherbrooke Castle Hotel

11 Sherbrooke Avenue, Pollokshields, Glasgow, G41 4PG
0141 427 4227

Boho Kitchen

Boho Kitchen is the exciting new idea of fellow Southsider Heidi and Sunday's event was hosted by Cookie, on Nithsdale Road

I don’t want to compare it to the obvious – come dine with me – because the quality of food, presentation and company was so far above that.

The concept behind Boho kitchen is simple: 3 non professional cooks take over a restaurant for one night. Each one is responsible for one course. Each course is marked by the diners.

Each of the Boho cooks worked with the professional chefs at Cookie. Buying and cooking only what was available at the markets and then serving it up to approximately thirty five diners. So along with showing off your culinary skills, there is a real opportunity for the cooks to learn tips and tricks from the professional chefs.

First up was Dom, who served up delicious home baked bruschetta topped with fennel, caramelised onion and olive, with slow roast tomatoes.

Pete took on the main course serving twice cooked crispy pork belly, Jerusalem artichoke, celeriac and apple puree, served with glazed carrots and spring broccoli. [for the vegetarians there was sun dried tomato and goats cheese risotto]

Last but certainly not least was Ali’s winning perfect pears poached in saffron syrup with homemade vanilla ice cream.

The whole event was really well thought-out. The course’s were organised, prepped, and served in a relaxed but timely fashion and I have to say all the food was excellent.There was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the night, with lots of clapping and cheering for the brave cooks. It was £17.50 per person, which included three course’s and a couple of Pincer Vodka cocktails. The standard of food was so good that it really was a bargain and a great fun night out.

Well done to the first Boho cooks your bravery is admirable and your cooking skills are enviable.

If anyone reading is interested in taking on the role as a Boho Kitchen cook or would like to go along to the next event, take a look at Boho's facebook page

Big Licks @ 384 Victoria Road

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

I'm a big fan of ice-cream, everything from the extravagantly expensive miniature Haagen-Dazs for sale at the cinema, the classic tubs of vanilla from a Glasgow cafe, to a double nugget drowned in raspberry sauce from an ice-cream van. I was therefore quite excited by the idea of an ice-cream parlour opening up in the Southside and had been looking for an excuse to wander down and take a look.

Inside the shop we got chatting with the owner, a very happy young man who smiled and agreed that the midst of the coldest winter for 20+ years was an odd time to open an Ice-cream shop. We were given a quick tour and shown the 26 different flavours on display, though he was quick to point out that he has dozens and dozens of other flavours in the freezers out the back but only has room to display 26 at a time. The flavours contain the usual suspects, Chocolate Mint, Raspberry Ripple etc but there are also loads of more unusual and interesting flavours like Curly-Wurly, Kinder Surprise and Ferrero Rocher.

Ordering in the shop takes a long while, as trying to reach a decision is pretty much impossible. First you have to decide if you want a cone or a tub. If you choose a tub you have to choose from 5 different sizes. If you want a cone, you again have to decide on the size and then on the type - waffle/ chocolate waffle/ choco-sprinkles waffle. You then have to choose the flavours you want (free samples are available to assist decision making) then you have to choose from a multitude of sauces and then about a dozen different toppings – then choose the colour of your spoon. We settled on - a2 scoop tub with Ferrero Rocher, Cookie Dough + Honecomb pieces/ 1 scoop tub with Curly Wurly/ 2 scoop cone with Super Cookie and Chocolate Chip Orange. The total was £6.40 which we thought was pretty decent, considering that the Chocolate Chip Orange had almost been finished so he gave us a normal cones worth plus the last couple of scoops for free.

One thing that I think we’ll definitely have to try one day is the Big Dipper – a massive cone that holds up to 7 scoops of ice-cream. Its £8 but imagine the looks of jealousy on kids faces as you walk up the road eating a cone that requires two hands!!!

I'll admit that when I first saw it I had been slightly confused by Big Lick's branding, with its jet blacks, strong pinks and shocking reds it had more of the look of a trendy chain bar than the kind of place that the words "ice-cream parlour" conjured in my head. I was a bit worried that it would turn out to be a disappointment. But after having been to the shop and chatted to the owner and tasted the wares I think that once it makes a name for itself then the branding will work well to distinguish it from the normal Glasgow Cafe’s. We can also definitely say that it is not a disappointment and highly recommend it as a good way to finish off a trip to the farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings.

Big Licks
384 Victoria Road

Langside Cafe @ Langside Place

We’ve been meaning to go to Langside Café for ages, well several months at least. I never really realised that Langside Place really existed, having always walked along Langside Avenue and down into Battlefield. It’s a great find, there are some interesting wee shops there, which I’ll have to go back and have a look around.

One of these is the Langside Cafe, which is located opposite the Queens Park Camera Club. It's traditional bright yellow sign and red and white stripped awning harks back to another time. The café is actually quite small inside, with red booths down both sides, with old style narrow tables, which means you have to stagger the plates to fit them on the table. A long the walls are images of old glasgow and behind the counter are rows and rows of jars of sweets like soor plums, sherbet lemons, Everton mints and the likes.

It was really busy when we arrived, but we managed to get the last booth at the back of the cafe. We ordered a full cooked breakfast and another without the meat, two cups of tea and some toast. The breakfast was ok just what you expect from a greasy cafe, but the cafe itself is unique and worth a visit. There is a huge selection of sweets in jars, large boxes of chocolates and ice cream. So we also bought a small tub of ice cream and a quarter of fudge. Alburt introduced me to the delight of biting a piece of fudge and then eating some ice cream at the same time - it's actually very good.

It was too busy too take many photos but Anne at I like has some really nice ones. We'll try and get some more pics soon

Full breakfast for £3.95

Mon - Wed 9am- 5pm

Thur - Sun 9am - 8pm

Battlefield Rest - 55 Battlefield Road

The owners of the Battlefield Rest should be congratulated, for many things, one of which is the saving of the building itself which was the subject of a demolition order by Glasgow District Council in 1990 and was only saved by the petition of locals. In 1994 Marco Giannasi took over ownership and converted into a restaurant and its become a landmark location in the Southside ever since and is celebrating it's 15th birthday this year.

Built in 1915, back when we built things properly, the "Rest" was a small newsagent kiosk and shelter for tram passengers, it was once described as "The most exotic tram shelter in Scotland". The iconic tiles are in the original Glasgow Corporation Transport colours of green and cream and really make it stand out and give it character. Compare it to the little glass stops we have these days. It must have been amazing back in the day when the Southside was serviced by the Trams, that whole junction must have been jumping with so many people passing through.

Inside, the restaurant is warm and welcoming, the staff are really friendly, though we didn't quite understand some of our waiters jokes. There was obviously some banter going on in the kitchen and when he brought us out our food, he laughed and jokingly said he was going to get revenge on the kitchen staff by putting laxatives into their food. Probably not best timing, to say that while actually handing us our food.

The menu is as you would expect from an upmarket Italian restaurant with all the typical favourites of lasagne, various pastas etc but there are a few twists and specialists thrown in. For example, my favourite starter is the "Battlefield Bruschetta". This consists as you would expect of amazingly moist and juicy grilled garlic bread, topped with fresh chopped tomatoes, vinegar and oil. What makes it special however, is the ingenious decision to add grilled bacon and courgette - one of the best bruschettas, I've had anywhere, I'd probably quite happily eat a giant one of these for a main meal. Word of warning - "Battlefield Bruschetta" is currently not on the menu and I had to ask for it specially, it was worth it though.

My friend had the minestrone soup and for mains we had Lasange and another Battlefield twist - Haggis cannelloni. Both were very tasty and we ordered another round of the tasty garlic bread to mop up our sauce.

With its big hearty style of comfort food, the Battlefield Rest is an ideal place to escape from the cold in the winter months with a nice glass of wine. The only thing is they are only open Monday to Saturday 10am - 10pm so you can't go on a Sunday night which does tend to be the night we fancy getting some tasty comfort food. You should also try and book in advance as they are very, very popular.

Currently they are doing a Christmas menu, and a range of special offers. When we were in, it was £6.90 for a main and a drink. In total for the two of us it was £20 for two courses which is great value considering we had to roll up the hill home we were so stuffed.

Battlefield Rest
Battlefield Road, Glasgow, G42 9JL

0141 6366955
http://www.battlefieldrest.co.uk/

Cookie @ 72 Nithsdale Road, Strathbungo

Last night we ventured along to Strathbungo, to Cookie the new eatery at number 72 Nithsdale Road. Cookie is hard to define it’s a restaurant, a deli, a cookery shop, a gallery and a cookery school. Their food is seasonal and sourced locally where possible and they have a selection of hearty daily specials.

We were greeted by Dominico one of the founders of Cookie, who showed us to our table and who suggested an aperitif of Scottish Hendricks Gin with soda water, tamarind and a slice of lime. Followed by Freshly baked breads and organic olive oil, which Dominico explained was only three weeks old.

We ordered locally grown green beans and almond salad, along with Chorizo and Bean Soup for starters. Ayrshire Beetroot Risotto and Pork Crackling casserole, Roast potatoes with rosemary for mains and a sliver of apple tarte and plum tarte for dessert. Accompanied with a bottle of the house red, sourced from Dominico’s home town in Italy.

As a vegetarian I often resent my meat eating company not because of their carnivore instincts but for the choice and quality on offer to them, which is rarely offered to non meat eaters. This was certainly not the case at Cookie, as my meal was absolutely delicious, fresh seasonal ingredients and interesting dishes. I’ll forgive them for not having a vegetarian main course on the menu, as it's part of their open kitchen philosophy, allowing a dialogue about the origins of the food, how it'll be cooked and then observing the cooking process.

Dominico is a charming attentive host, who’s enthusiasm for good food is infectious, he grew up in the Southside, his father being Italian and mother Scottish, and has spent many years living in Italy. He has founded Cookie with his wife Dr Melanie McCallum, their focus is on seasonal food and local produce made available at an accessible price.

Dominico's architecture back ground is visible in the tactile quality of Cookie, Everything from the Ryan Frank Furniture, to the cutlery, to the beautiful simplicity of the lights has been especially chosen to create this unique establishment. Multiple materials create an impressive layering, which encompasses the existing narrative of the building. A large black iron mechanism remains on the ceiling, a memory of the old butchers which once occupied the shop. The external signage of the H.C Niven & Co garage remains, left as a reminder of what once was there, all this has been carefully thought about to create this unique place, which although beautifully created is a relaxed and enjoyable place to hang out with friends and family.

As mentioned earlier Cookie is not just a restaurant, There is the cooking club, which you can join through Cookies website. If you're interested in cooking, art and design, Cookie offers itself as a resource to its members and will be organising regular events though out the year, with guest speakers, cooks and other people of interest.

The shop sells local produce, ingredients and wine. They also showcase young designers and artists work, so many of the pots, pans and other culinary utensils used in the kitchen to prepare your meal, are available for sale, as are most of the cutlery, dishes, tableware, chairs, sofas and tables in Cookie.

It's not just about the food in Cookie it's the story of the food. I would recommend you get along to Nithsdale Road to try it out, have dinner, join the cooking club, have a coffee and browse the shelves. Those from the other side of the river – your going to have to venture south but it will be worth it...

cookie Scotland ltd. - 72 Nithsdale Road, Glasgow 0141 423 1411

Balbir's Saffron Lounge

After a few weeks of quite a lot of hecticness Ann and I decided to have a night off and go out for dinner. We decided to try the Saffron Lounge which is part of the Balbir's chain of restaurants. I'd been before and had found the food delicious but I had noticed the other day that they are now offering home delivery and have a banquet dining offer to allow you to try lots of different dishes.

The Saffron Lounge is pretty huge inside but is divided up into lots of different areas and spaces which mean that despite its size it still feels quite personal. In a previous life the restaurant housed the Urban Grill and quite a lot of the decor has been retained which is good as its quite modern, clean and comfy.

We were given a little two seater booth near the front of the restaurant and the waitress brought over some drinks and the menus. We asked about the banquet and the waitress said she would get one of the head waiters to come over and discuss our tastes. We were a bit worried about that but we needn't have worried. The extremely friendly waiter was full of information and asked us all about what kinda of food we liked and what had we tried before. When he heard that Ann was a vegetarian he listed off a load of different options he could make and then suggested would she like to try a little fish which is something she has been trying small amounts of since our trip to Japan. In the end we agreed to go for Bhel Poori, Bhatura Chana and Salmon Tandooi for starters with Mixed veg pakora, Chicken Tikka Chasni, Veg Tava, Palak Paneer, Peshwari nan and rice for the main course. (Not bad for £14.50 each)

Just before leaving the waiter asked, "Is there anything you really like or dislike Sir?" and I replied that I really wasn't a fan of fresh coriander. Doh I should have kept quiet.

I think the waiter must have missed heard me - because every single dish came garnished with huge amounts of coriander. I kept laughing every time a new dish came out, as the levels of coriander kept growing. I'm not sure why I don't like fresh coriander - but for some reason it tastes like soap to me. Thankfully it was just a garnish and I was able to move it to the side and it didn't effect the delicious food. I've never had fish in an Indian before but the Salmon Tandoori which is one of the speciality dishes at Balbirs is very tasty and a perfect light starter before getting tucked into some of the heavier main course dishes.

We opted to mainly have veggie dishes so that we could both share but I did get one meat dish all to my self and I was very glad too. The Chicken Chasni sauce was amazing and to be honest I'd quite happily just eat a massive bowl of that with a large sweet peshwari nan.

Despite the fact we were both pretty stuffed from just the starters we forced ourselves on. I almost did my self an injury, I was so determined to make my way through the whole bowl of chicken. It was just too tasty - not too would have been an insult.

It would have been nice to get a try of some of the deserts but sadly that was a bridge too far.

They do a pre-theatre menu for £9.95 but the banquet deal is brills and is £14.50 during the week and £17.50 at the weekends. We suggest getting along and having a good chat with the waiters and allow them to draw up a tasty sounding meal based on your own tastes.

All in all an excellent meal in a very relaxing and spacious restaurant and highly recommended.

(PS - anyone notice that nearly all our food reviews are for Indian food? Where else is good we should try.)

Ketchup - Shawlands

So on Saturday I went for lunch with the MacDonald Bros and Nikitta Agnes. I had been helping out at the Festival Stars Auditions which were being held at Destiny and the MacDonald Bros and Nikitta were judging the heats.

We went to Ketchup , the newish posh burger bar on Pollokshaws Road. It's owned by the G1 group and it's everything you expect from one of their establishments.

It has quite a vast menu of different burgers, beef, Chicken, Lamb, vension and a few veggie burgers. They all have a different combinations of different toppings. I had the veggie goats cheese burger which was pretty good, large chunky chips and a side of coldslaw. It's not that cheap but you can go onto ketchups website and get a secret password, which gives you a two for one deal.

The boys Brian and Craig and also Nikitta all enjoyed their burgers. Our only complaint was that it was a bit messy. Would I go back probably yes...but next time, I won't have a queue of people asking my companions for autographs.

* Ketchup are taking part in the Southside Flavours event at this years Festival. It might be a good time to try a few different burgers...

World Famous Pies

In the second of today's posts about things on other peoples blogs - I thought I should mention a post on the very enjoyable blog Getting Worse about something I had noticed myself but forgotten about. I really enjoy the Getting Worse blog as it combines one of my own favourite past times, moaning about things, with some really valid points and catches all kinds of stupid behaviour in a humourous way. Well worth a read.

"DOES THE TRADES DESCRIPTION ACT COVER THIS LOCAL SHOP SIGN?
It says:
“HOWARD’S QUALITY BUTCHERS
WORLD FAMOUS STEAK PIES AND SAUSAGES”
Can Howard really get away with this? World famous sausages? Seriously?
If I travelled to France or Australia and asked a random person on the street if they had heard of Howard’s of Shawlands and his world famous pies, what do you think the answer would be?
Yep. Things are getting worse when bizarre claims are made on shop signs! Come on; we can do better than that, surely!"

I have had pies and sausages from Howard's and they were rather tasty but I'm pretty sure I'd have struggled to remember the name of the butcher and I wonder how many people in Glasgow let alone France or Australia know the famous meat products - though I could be wrong.

Pakistani Cafe

The other night I arranged to meet a couple of friends for some tea. Normally I'd have planned to meet at Tchai Ovna but now that it is no more I had to come up with somewhere else. I decided to give the Pakistani Cafe a try as it seems to embody a similar attitude to Tchai Ovna . From the outside I'd always thought the cafe appeared to have a pretty relaxed and unusual atmosphere and looked like the kind of place you could happily spend a few hours with friends chatting away. A sign on the door made me smile and I knew I would enjoy the place - it very politely advises that they are sorry but that they don't serve Nazis.

We wandered in to find the small spaced packed with people - it only has a dozen tables. The owner made clear that this was not a problem and indicated us to a table near the rear covered in CD's. The owner welcomed us in and simply swiped all the CD's to one end the table and let us sit down.

The inside of the place is extremely bright and slightly wonky but wonderfully welcoming and I really enjoyed all the colours and the fact everything has a great hand crafted quality. It may be small but the cafe has a lot of character - our table for instance had one short leg and the bathroom had a sign apologising for the smell from the neighbouring close. There are also piles of books to read, and short poems written on cards on the walls and when we first sat down I noticed a sign that said Salman Rushdie had been in to sign copies of his new book??

We had planned on just meeting for a cup of tea but a scan of the tasty menu put some doubt in our minds and we decided to give one of the fresh fruit milkshakes a go. I went for a tall glass of banana and mango and I can honestly say it is one of the tastiest things I've had in a long time, it tasted fresh, healthy and was very, very refreshing. We had just finished these drinks when the smell of the kitchen started to really grip our attention. Spurned on by the delicious drinks we decided to splash out and share some food between us but couldn't come to an agreement over what to try - so ended up getting a dish each. We tried the Chicken Korma, the Hallem with chapatis and some mango's with ice-cream. All were very good value and very tasty. It was all pretty cheap too - for instance a lamb cheese burger is just £1.60. I really fancy trying the Punjabi breakfast next time or popping in for a "Curry out".

The owner Jimshaed Sharif was as full of character as his cafe - when we asked him about Salman Rushdies book signing he just smiled and said that one day Salman might come but he hadn't made it that day which was rather mysterious. I also suspect quite a few of the poems on the walls may well be his own work. Several of these poems deal with the empowerment of Muslim women and an interesting idea that the cafe is planning on trying is a woman only Thursday to allow women who normally spend all their public life covered up, a place to go and meet their friends with more freedom. It seems to be a place designed to encourage discussion and debate over some tasty food.

To demonstrate the relaxed nature of the cafe when I asked Jimshaed about the opening hours he said 11am til 8pm but if people want to stay longer then he just stays open until they go (It was well after 9pm by this point) sometimes he ends up there til after 11pm.
It is definitely an odd place - but if you are in the mood for tasty food, in a relaxed, friendly and enjoyable atmosphere then it is very recommended.

What's up - ketchup

Ketchup - Southside - 1179 Pollockshaws Road, Shawlands,Glasgow South Side, G41 3NQ (behind the granary)

A friend has alerted us to the news that the newly closed JAM on Kilmarnock Road is about to be re birthed this Friday night as The Southside Social and Ketchup Southside. They are quite excited by this as they tell us that the original Ketchup in Ashton Lane is a delicious burger bar. This sounds like an interesting new addition to the Southside - even if it is part of what is the quite homogeneous G1 group but if our friend and the following review in the Herald are anything to go by it should prove very tasty. [Herald review]

There is a launch party Friday 30th at 7pm - see the link to register for tickets.

We shall endeavour to check it out and post our review. Fingers crossed its tasty - I have visions of this greasy burger place I went to in Brooklyn a couple of years ago where you got these amazingly tasty teeny tiny mini burgers called snax. If its half as good as that I'll be well happy.

5PM - Southside deals

If your heading out tonight for dinner or meeting up with friends for lunch, don't forget to check 5pm.co.uk. It lists special promotions and discounts at restaurants and bars through out the city.

You can search under the southside and find special deals in loads of Southside Restaurants - Tapa, Bacco, Waverley Tea Rooms, Di Maggios, Jam and more. Special offers are up dated daily.

Tapa dancing at Tapa Coffeehouse

We have many cafes in the Southside so why's this one so exciting? The reason is that its an offshoot of the hugely successful Tapa Bakery in the Eastend and as such they make all their breads and cakes freshly themselves from organic ingrediants. (And they taste amazing.) They also roast all the coffee beans themselves -I don't like coffee so no idea if they taste good or not, but they sure do smell nice.

Not entirely convinced by the strange wallpaper and colour inside - but I think its remenants of the old Kurdish restuarant that used to be here. Don't suppose thats too important really as long as the food tastes good. I had a very nice bowl of leak and potato soup and a grand bacon Sarnie (Still think the best bacon rolls are from the Cornish Pasty company in Central station though.) The food was excellant but was bit pricey - but you are paying for the taste and the healthyness of the ingrediants.

For more info then check out their website - http://www.tapabakehouse.com/index.php

Heres what the Glasgow Herald had to say about them:

"If you haven't yet discovered the Tapa coffee and bakehouse in Glasgow's Dennistoun, do so immediately. Not only are their chocolate and cherry brownies possibly the best brownies ever to pass your lips, all their food and bread - cooked and baked entirely on the premises with the best possible ingredients - is organic. So good are they at the bread-baking thing that they supply several of the city's best restaurants and delis."Sunday Herald 8 June 2008

Tea Time

Pollokshaws Road 1920's

Back at the end of the 19th Century, mini cafes, tea shops and coffee houses were big business and nearly every Glasgow street corner had a Lyons or a Liptons store where people could meet, chat, drink tea and, most importantly of all, be seen. But by the end of WW2, 90% of these had closed and the rest soon followed, so that by the time the 1980's came round and Starbucks, Costa etc began to appear, they were heralded as some kind of new unknown concept.

If you look around the streets of the Southside you can see that our cafe culture is continuing to grow. While the big name brands continue to dominate, (joined now by the nicer Scottish mini brand version Beanscene), there are also more and more individual places popping up as well, for example Tchai Ovna, on Deanston Drive, - where you can have a cup of tea from a massive selection, and then sit around on cushions for a couple of hours playing Scrabble or listening to someone playing guitar. (I recommend a tea called Yogi Yogi Tchai.) There is also a huge increase in the number of deli-style eateries in the South. In Shawlands alone there has been recent additions of a Polish Deli (See photo below) and a Persian style cafe selling what sound like very tasty fruit milkshakes.

I'm all for these places and hope they get the support they need to survive. They bring an additional night time use to our streets and help give the place a bit more of a buzz. They help get us out of our homes to meet up with friends to hang out, chat and just experience other fellow humans behaving and interacting. Much better than sitting at home and watching a DVD. (Though in saying that I've just got the boxset of the US police drama "The Wire" and its supposed to be very good . . . and well, it is rather cold today . . . hmm maybe I'll not go out tonight after all.)

Little Krakow 2007

More indian grub

CHAI WHAI
In contrast I also recently went to Chai Whai, one of the newest restaurants to open in the southside.

The look of Chai Whai is another odd one, while Shimlas is going for a very trendy, deliberate, eye catching style, Chai Whai seems to be a place in the middle of working out who it is.

From the outside, it doesn't look anything special, a doorway between a baby shop and an empty unit leading to a long uninviting corridor. At the end of the corridor however is a HUGE restaurant, probably 160 seats.

The staff were extremely friendly but looked a little cold - they were all still wearing their coats and jackets. They seemed almost surprised to see us as we walked in and as we looked around we realised why - the place was even emptier than Shimla Pinks had been. This may to some extent be explained as they have only just opened and have yet to start really spreading the word that they are there. So new are they in fact, that they haven't yet got round to hanging any pictures or images on the walls. I recommend they do that quite soon as it felt very odd to sit in a bright white room - a bit like a canteen.

From our first impression we were therefore not expecting too much from the food. The staff bustled around us, advising on a good selection of tapas dishes and then all scurried off to get them for us. We sat looking around, a bit confused - its odd being the only people in a restaurant.
We then heard the clinking of cutlery and thought that there must be other patrons that we hadn't previously noticed. I poked my head over the low division wall only to find the sound was coming from the staff who were all sitting down to dinner together.
The food took quite a long time to come, possibly because the staff were eating their own or possibly because we were the first customers the night and they had to heat up the ovens but when it did arrive, it was very nice. Indian/ Malay tapas is a good idea - whenever I go out to an Indian restaurant I end up wanting everyone else's dish.
This way, each of you order 3 or 4 dishes and the chance to try different things is greatly expanded. Ann's a veggie so I got to try her dishes but she couldn't try mine. Two of mine were delicious, one was ok. That's not a bad average and the home made chapatis that come with the meal, were buttery and garlicky and very, very tasty.
We chatted to the owner as he constantly kept trying to encourage us to eat more - "have another chapati", "I'll get you the deserts" "another rice? I think you should have more rice".
The tapas is their first step but they have plans to expand. Next they will start doing home deliveries from a second non-tapas menu and then they will dedicate a section of the restaurant to a third fine dining menu. All sounds a bit complicated to me - and I can imagine Gordon Ramsay would have a few things to say to them about their plans but I hope they do well as they seem nice people, the food is good and its only about two seconds from my flat.

http://www.chaiwhai.com/index.html

Up-date .....

Unfortunately Chai Whai has now closed

Shimla Pinks

Glasgow, and the Southside in particular, have a huge array of Indian Restaurants and over the last few weeks I've been to one of the most well known and one of the newest.

SHIMLA PINKS
Shimla Pinks (see photo above) is a bit of a southside institution, sitting on a prime corner spot at the main Pollokshaws Road entrance to Queens Park. Its bright pink signage will be a familiar sight to commuters crawling to work in the morning.

Shimlas had a bit of a face lift last year (jet black and neon pink) but the place ended up looking like a nightclub from the outside which put me off eating there and I'm glad they've decided to repaint back to white.

I was really looking forward to be going to Shimlas - I've lived nearby for three years but always seem to end up going elsewhere for grub so to try it for the first time was quite exciting.

First impression when walking in the door was a bit of a surprise the inside is still black and pink with very modern furniture. While I think when the place is full and busy that minimalism might work well - we had gone just before 6pm on a Tuesday night and the place was dead and the decor made it feel very empty. The inside is more like a bar and I think the new owners intention with their last face lift was to make it half bar/ half restaurant. This however gives it a bit of an identity crises. What exactly is it supposed to be?

I was worried my expectation build up over the three previous years would taint my opinion regarding the food and I think it may have done to a certain extent, as while I found the food and service were both reasonably good, I just wasn't blown away as friends recommendations had previously led me to believe I would be. Not terribly bad - but just OK tasting, reasonably priced food.

I think my alternative recomendation for a good Indian meal is still the Village in Tradeston.

Other external reviews:
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-reviews-2795611-prod-travelguide-action-read-ratings_and_reviews-i
http://www.glasgoweating.co.uk/9088.htm
http://www.myglasgow.org/glasgow/restaurants-review-glas-shimla-pinks.htm

Cherry and Heather - Cessnock

Cherry and Heather Fine Foods opened around a year a go on North Gower Street, in Cessnock. I've been in several times, but mostly to buy ingredients or cakes for my parents coming to visit. Today I went in and tried their vegetarian sushi box, now I love sushi.....But I can't face getting sushi from the supermarket and even M&S sushi is below par. But this was fantastic, fresh and tasty and only £1.95 for a box. Cherry and Heather is a fantastic little deli/cafe selling vegitarian sushi, noodles and freshly made sandwiches on ciabatta bread click here to view their menu. They also have a great selection of cakes, teas and coffees. There is limited seating but it can comfortable sit a few people and in the summer they have seating outside.
It's not only a great deli/cafe it also has shelves full of continental and East Asian dry foods. So if you're into cooking or just like the finer things in life, then this could be the place for you.
It's open Monday - Saturday 10am - 6pm

House for an Art Lover

This winter, if you are in the mood for some good food and some enjoyable music and you have a large wallet then you should give the "House for an Art Lover" in Bellahousten Park a visit.

When I first visited the house a few years ago, I found it a strange building - beautifully old in look and yet weirdly modern at the same time. This I guess is due to the fact that the building was created from old sketch designs left behind by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. This means that while some elements of the building are extremely carefully thought out and detailed by the big man himself, other areas have been put together by contemporary architect in a different style. While on the whole the two different parts meld together pretty well - it does unfortunately highlight the main glaring fact about the building - its a fake. While the main rooms are as delicately sculpted as those at the Hillhouse or the School of Art, the rooms here were never built to be lived in. When you open some doors, instead of another smart bedroom, you'll find a fire escape or a large modern meeting room.

The building has really been constructed as an exercise in style and as such lacked the lived in quality that the real Mackintosh buildings have. This is not necessarily a problem or a detracting feature, but it is something to be aware of when you visit as otherwise it can make for an uneasy experience.

Returning recently I was pleased to see that the building is beginning to grow into its surroundings and take on a more settled look. The inside is still a bit of a mix but it too has developed further, most noticeably as a very popular wedding venue. (If you decide to visit - phone ahead to check if a wedding is on. They are nice to see, but it does mean most of the building will be closed off to you.) With weddings, corporate events and the Houses programme of music performances, the building does now feel that it has a purpose and now has that little spark of life. Its just a shame the location is not that brilliantly served by public transport.

Anyway, the reason for this post, is to talk about the music concerts. There are a good few on over Christmas, most involving some posh grub and the wearing of a black tie. I think they could be ideal to get you into the Christmas spirit but at £55 a ticket they are a little expensive. The alternative is the Sunday Recitals which take place throughout the year - the next one is 9 December - Lauren MacColl/ Barry Reid - fiddle/ guitar and its only £3.50.

http://www.houseforanartlover.co.uk/