Tagged “dining-out”

I’ve reached the halfway point of short summer working weeks and long weekends, and they’ve been great so far. I began this long weekend with lunch at the Broadcroft Hotel in Kirkintilloch for my parents’ emerald anniversary. My Uncle Liam was there too and we all really enjoyed it.

Lovely time catching up with my niece Amy for lunch at The Old Mill in Killearn on Friday. We chatted about her trips abroad, her ongoing love affair with Taylor Swift and about family.

I squeezed in more family time on Sunday when Dad visited while Mum was meeting cousins at Bellahouston Park. We had a good laugh watching Rudy and our neighbour’s dog Coco (who was visiting) roll around, while got ready to head off for a work trip to Wimbledon.

Today could be summarised as “a good walk followed by a good craic”.

Mark and I (along with Jura) made the short trip to The Whangie where we enjoyed a hike and a blether. On our return to Glasgow we met Clair and Gillian at the Rum Shack and gulped down some jerk fish and chips and other carribean-themed delights from their menu, plus a couple of pints. A good Saturday.

Today I made good use of a Friday off work. After spending the morning attending to a few bits and bobs while listening to some lovely music I then met Gillian for lunch at a mutual favourite The Old Fruit Shop. We had a great chat then enjoyed a stoat around nearby Linn Park. It was sunny enough that were folks swimming beside the waterfall. We had to watch our step to avoid a swarm of teeny-tiny baby frogs (thanks to the lady who pointed them out!).

Later that night Clair and I visited Pho in Glasgow which was pretty good! To start we shared summer rolls and a Vietnamese chicken and prawn pancake – both delicious – then I had king prawn pho which was also lovely. They had a nice line in non-alcoholic drinks too. Clair had a nojito and I had an alcohol-free negroni, then we followed up with coconut and pineapple water.

We ended the day back at home with Rudy watching the opening ceremony of the Paris olympics while eating an empire biscuit.

A good Friday.

For James’s 40th, Clair bought him the gift of some vouchers for the “wild cooking” and dining experience at Wild Kabn Kitchen, Ardkinglas Estate, Cairndow near Loch Fyne. The idea was that we two, James and Grant would go but with Grant looking after a recovering Toby, Toad stepped in.

I didn’t know much about Wild Kabn in advance and wasn’t prepared for how off the beaten track it was! From Glasgow you head out beyond the Rest and be Thankful and Arrochar toward Loch Fyne but toward the end of the journey you’re driving along the world’s narrowest wee track and beating your way through tree branches, which all adds to the excitement.

We were having the Sunday lunch by fire and, since it was a beautiful afternoon, we sat outside the greenhouse, right in the middle of the woodlands and with mountains in the background. We were at a trestle table beside two other couples and enjoyed chatting.

All three courses were fantastic but the venison was stunning.

Afterwards we had a lovely walk around the estate and onto the beach at the loch.

I had a brilliant time hanging out with old friends this evening. We went for a Sunday roast dinner at Maison Glaschu. I tried french onion soup for the first time (but not the last) before enjoying the roast beef and yorkshire pudding with veg.

It was sunny so we stopped for a quick alfresco beer at The Bier Halle before heading down to the Admiral Woods to watch Scotland in the hope of a historic first-time qualification from the group stage.

Sadly Scotland couldn’t manage it (too cautious with the substitutes for me) but that didn’t stop us having a good time.

Cheers to Craig, Debbie, Alan, Karen and Mark for all their good vibes.

The last week was challenging at work. A minor restructure is underway and with it the possibility of redundancies. My job isn’t at risk; it affects team and group managers rather than me directly. But it will impact upon people I know, like and respect. It may also lead to teams merging or disbanding altogether so there’s an air of unease.

To unwind after that week, Friday night consisted of watching Scotland play Finland at Hampden. A 2–2 draw to send Steve Clarke’s men off to the Euros.

On Saturday morning I headed to Cathkin Braes for a walk with Rudy. What a view you get up there! You can see pretty much the entire city, and even beyond as far as Ben Lomond.

Later that day I visited Davie at his mum’s place in Troon. He’s over visiting from the U.S. following George’s death. I spent a little time chatting with Marguerite. Her garden is really beautiful.

Davie and I went to River Garden Cafe, Auchincruive for a lovely lunch and walk. We chatted about family and life in general. From there we had a drive around some of his old haunts in Ayr including a stop at Renaldo’s for ice cream before a walk on Ayr Beach.

While I was in Ayrshire I got the bad news that Linda, a dear friend of Clair’s family, had passed away. It must have been a real shock for poor Mel.

On Saturday evening Clair and I had a lovely dinner at Maison by Glaschu.

On Sunday we dropped Rudy at “his gran’s” (he’s a dog but anyway, it’s his gran!) then we headed for Bridge of Allan for Alexander’s first communion with the charismatic Father Louis at the controls. Mick and Laura had us back at theirs afterwards and it was nice to chat to a few of the other guests.

A busy one, but a good’un.

Nice to see and chat with Liam, there.

Things continue to go pretty smoothly for both of us since we sought new adventures back in 2019 after running a business together.

We talked a bit of work stuff, a bit of family and a bit of music.

We had dinner at Sugo which was tasty if a tad hurried, then a beer at The Horseshoe Bar. Liam tells me he’s holding out for an invite to listen to some records at mine, so we’ll need to make that happen sometime!

An amazing time was had by all yesterday as Gillian, Clair and I, Tom and Nessa had lunch at Cail Bruich on Great Western Road. Annoyingly on arrival I had a slightly dodgy stomach so went with a non-alcoholic cocktail to start. Fortunately I didn’t need too long to get up to speed, as by the starter I was happily eating raw fish.

As usual the food was fantastic. Among a range of delights we had langoustine, monkfish and that killer mushroom dish. The wines were pretty special too, although the accompanying origin stories are getting pretty long.

In our excitement Clair and I invited everyone back to ours. There, Nessa gave us a great laugh telling us about seeing her current favourite band Tool umpteen times, and we all shared our musical guilty pleasures – Seal’s Kiss from a Rose from Tom C was an unexpected and memorable inclusion! Mark M was at a loose end and joined us, bringing Jura to give Rudy a playmate, and the merriment went on into the wee hours. Ach well, I’ve been pretty good most of the year so I’m allowing myself this blow-out without the need for a post-mortem!

It’s been great to have a change of scenery, a wee bit of sun and some downtime.

I caught up on some listening: Cillian Murphy on Desert Island Discs, Jon Ronson’s Things Fall Apart, Adam Buxton interviewing George Monbiot (I’ve since resolved to buy Monbiot’s book Regenesis) and some excellent Gilles Petersen shows, firstly in interview with Michael Franks and secondly an amazing feature on J Dilla with Pete from BBE. The latter includes a lovely old mixtape from Dilla. I love how he just roughly chopped in the main hooks of tunes in a way that’s low on polish and high on fun.

Also on the headphones were The Smile – both their 6 Music Artists in residence sessions and their new album Wall of Eyes which is great.

My book of choice during the trip was The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey.

As always, every day I took a long walk along the Paseo Maritimo (the promenade that looks right onto the sea, Gibraltar and Morocco in the distance). With its scenery and mix of walkers, cyclists, dogs and restaurants this walk always makes me feel relaxed and happy. A couple of the days I took a detour to Buena Vida for a tasty breakfast wrap and coffee. There’s a Scottish guy working there – he’s from Shetland if memory serves me rightly.

After my daily walk I enjoyed chilling on the balcony and occasionally even snuck in a wee afternoon glass of vino while listening to some music. Ain’t gonna lie – that is a nice way to relax on your holiday.

When hanging out in the apartment on my own at night I watched The Creator which was fun, a bit of Curb your enthusiasm (final season) and some Shogun.

Food-wise, when on my own I kept it simple with dinners at Venta las Pacos – they do stuff like Supa de Mariano and pepper steak with chips. It’s cheap as chips and full of locals arriving post-work. Cibo is also decent, the Hamberguesa Casera at Asador Nagüeles is banging and there’s a wee joint (name escapes me) near the harbour where I had a cheap but perfect morning coffee and croissant and could just enjoy watching people pass by going about their business.

Once Mark arrived we took a walk into the old town and, during a downpour, decided to try Restaurante El Cortijo. They make it clear from their signage outside that they serve authentic Andalusian food and “no tapas, pizza or pasta!!!”. And it was great. We had monkfish clams with prawns in an almond (almost curry-like) sauce – the owner’s great grandma’s recipe, washed down with beautiful Tempranillo wine. With the weater atrocious we decided to also treat ourselves to dessert: Home made apple cake, and crème brûlée. I’ll be back!

Clair was next to arrive. The three of us paid a visit to the Trocadero for late lunch. We had delicious clams, chicken salad and even curry, with a glass of Marques de Riscal Verdejo which definitely hit the spot. It’s a great place.

On the Sunday three of us visited Kala Kuala Chiringuito in San Pedro for another seafood special – more clams, this time with paella. It was then the long-ish walk home along the Paseo Maratimo where we were merry enough to belt out a Pet Shop Boys medley, taking especial pleasure in saying “Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat” in the style of Neil Tennant. We stopped in at Victors beach bar where DJ Luis was playing Kerri Chandler (I could recognise those beats from half a mile off!) and we got talking to him and his Londoner friend (another Laurence). That was a great wee vibe. To finish the night we played pool at That’s Life and did Scotland proud by emerging victorious over our Spanish rivals.

After Mark had left, Clair wanted to scratch her itch for Chinese food and we had a lovely meal at Hong Kong restaurant.

Last thing to mention is that I am gradually learning more Spanish. I’m gonna keep going and see how far I can get. Vamos!

Clair and I just had paid a visit to a relatively new local eatery, The Old Fruit Shop. And it lived up to expectations. Given the date (it’s St Patrick’s Day tomorrow) they were offering The Irishman as a breakfast special so I plumped for that and it was delicious – especially the black pudding. They also do a nice line in coffees (their house coffee is Thomson’s TEAM) and cakes. With bridies, pies and lots of lovely wines and spirits on display too there’s definitely more to explore – maybe in the evening next time. I also loved the location near Linn Park at Snuffmill Bridge, the cosy interior and the friendly service. I’ll be back!

Had a lovely catch-up with Gayle over lunch while in Edinburgh for work today. We went to Maki and Ramen and I had tonkotsu (broth, egg and noodles) with some vegetable gyoza. It was all pretty tasty.

Gayle and I have been friends since university back in the nineties. Having only exchanged texts of late without seeing each other, a catch-up in person was long overdue.

It was great to hear that she is happy, her business ticking along nicely and that she’s keeping her mind occupied with wider side and societal interests as always. Gavin is recovering well from a recent health scare and mostly back to normal. Her mum, who I’ve met several times, is moving from Glasgow to close by in Edinburgh and that sounds like a sensible move all round, albeit it’ll require adjustment. The kids are doing great and still full of energy.

They now have a wee dog too, although I can’t remember its name or breed. I do however remember Gayle’s horror story about their previous pet guinea pigs and some foxes in the night. The only way they could console the kids is with the introduction of a wee dog!

Loved catching up and hopefully the next one will include Clair and Gavin and we’ll eat out somewhere nice.

Last weekend was pretty dull and rainy in Glasgow but Clair and I visited a bunch of great local places to keep the spirits up.

My generous nieces and nephews clubbed together to give us the Christmas present of a voucher for Ox and Finch. Keen to use it, we got together with James and Grant for a lovely Sunday dinner.

Clair and I just rounded off the year in style with lunch and drinks at Bar Brett on Great Western Road. We had a bird’s eye view too, sat overlooking the pass watching the chefs at work.

Between us we enjoyed a variety of small dishes including oysters, sourdough bread with chicken fat butter, cod toast, smoked beetroot with tahini, clams, lobster ravioli, mushroom XO linguine, Peterhead Coley with curried mussel sauce and a Basque cheesecake.

We tried a few glasses of wine: Veiled Vineyards Old Vine Semillon (white), a Delamotte Blanc de Blancs (champagne), and Le Grand A (Burgundy white) – all lovely.

Brett is fantastic and the staff made us feel very welcome.