I know this great little place in... Shettleston!

Amid the discount booze outlets and fast food emporiums that litter Shettleston's edgy streets nestles a foodophile's gem. A while back I'd read about Eusebi Deli... grilled fish with lemon and garlic, beef in Barolo and all good things Italian... and thought 'I've really got to go there'. Then I saw the address and, somewhat unfairly, Eusebi slipped down my list of things to do.

Then about a week ago a friend posted on Facebook that he'd just had the 'cannoli moment' in Eusebi. Anyone whose had it will know what that means. The profound, life changing experience that comes from your first taste of great cannoli. After years of trying mediocre ones and wondering what all the fuss was about, my moment came some years ago in Valvona & Crolla. Sweetened ricotta dotted with candied fruits and wrapped in pastry transcended its earthly components becoming manna from heaven. I've been chasing that high ever since.

Despite almost knocking the door off it's hinges I tried to play it cool by looking about and pretending I was browsing. It lasted all of fifteen seconds. "Hello, do you have any cannoli?"..."Oh, I'm not sure there's any left. Giovanna, do we have any cannoli left?" she shouted through a door to the back. "No, it's all gone" came the reply. Crushing. Now I really would have to browse. I'm glad I did.

The lady behind the counter was called Gina. She told me the family used to have an ice cream factory in Partick and a cafe where Billy Connolly came to play the juke box. Photographic evidence adorned the walls.

A man stood around eating and chatting told me he comes in every day for his lunch... and he lives in Troon. They just heat it up for him and he eats it there. As he spoke I found my eyes fixing on some individual 'fondues'...

Gina's daughter Giovanna came out from the kitchen. It was her voice that had delivered the cannoli coup de grace minutes before. She was clutching a piece of freshly made pasta and explained that if I telephoned ahead they'd be happy to prepare not just cannoli but anything else that might take my fancy. Now that's what I call a service.

I was treated to a very nice espresso and while I stood around more dishes kept appearing. Gina explained that they keep cooking new dishes throughout the day so it's all super fresh. As she spoke Giovanna appeared with a cod dish that looked so good I almost dribbled...

This is a wonderful place, it even smells great, well worth the effort getting there. Aside from the great food and warm welcome, there's the sheer oddity of finding yourself in one of the best deli's in Scotland in an area that's always being reported as having one of the worst diets in the western world.

Infuriatingly I'd already bought my dinner, this after all had been a cannoli mission, so I picked up some deserts and a couple of bottles of wine. I'll definitely be back, not just for the cannoli, the Valentines Menu's worth the trip alone... even if you are alone... just pretend you're not and that way you get to eat 'their' share too.

The Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake and Torta della Nonna, just £2 each, were first rate. The wines too were excellent at £15 for 2.

The Gavi's really good. Taught and surprisingly minerally.

I'm a big fan of Dolcetto and this was a good example with that lovely sour prickle which makes it very moreish.

So that's Eusebi Deli. Go go go. But call ahead if there's something you really fancy, they're only too happy to make it. Oh, and if you get the last cannoli let me know, I'll make you an offer you can't refuse.

CLICK HERE FOR A MAP AND DIRECTIONS

Lupe Pintos - The Half Canned Cooks

Recently I started introducing myself in all the places I've been going to for years in relative, or at least nominative, anonymity. One of my first 'outings' was in Lupe Pintos. Now, I've been using this brilliant deli for years but somehow never got around to saying hello.

Aside from an incredible array of hot sauces, chillies and tortillas, their cooking chorizo and morcilla from Asturias are as good as you'll get, and, where else in Scotland will you find the Spanish air dried tuna 'mojama' or a bottle of the thirst quenching Basque wine Txacoli?

I accept not everyone finds themselves suddenly short of cave aged Manchego of an evening, but it happens to me and the fact this place has been here a decade suggests I'm not entirely alone.

So, not long after introducing myself, as Keith Floyd might say, '"my latest chum Ian" tells me Lupe Pintos have just launched a wine list of purely Spanish wines and are having a free tasting on Friday. Result. Then on the Monday he tells me there's the shop's cookery book launch where, for the price of the book you get to sample some of the recipes, a talk by the author and a signed copy of the book. I decide that introducing myself to people is a very good thing indeed and resolve to do much more of it.

Two decades back Doug Bell started a wholesale business distributing tortilla chips, refried beans and Monterey Jack cheese in Edinburgh. He sold the wholesale business in 2007 but kept the delis in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The book launch was in Mancini, a restaurant next door to Lupe Pintos, a place with an admirable selection of wines by the glass. While waiting for the author to say a few words everyone flicked through the book and nibbled nice nibbles. While he seems rather shy and withdrawn initially, I'd seen at the wine tasting a few days earlier that once Doug gets going he's quite a captivating speaker.

Utilising props from a suitcase, Doug had a dig at the homogeneous nature of supermarkets and the absurdity of celebrity chefs. As he poked fun at people trying to make restaurant food at home I stared awkwardly into my wine glass recalling times spent stuffing quail legs.

The admirable ethos of this book is that food should be good, fun and not a faff to prepare. No need to soak black beans for 24 hours and boil them for 2 when you can open a tin. The book's intention is to help people make the best rendition of a dish possible with the least amount of fuss. Fortunately for Doug's deli businesses you'll not find a lot of this stuff anywhere else!

My first foray into cooking from the book came tonight. Pollos Asados De Dos Hermanos With Salsa Boracha. The book explains the name's a tribute to one of US televisions best ever series 'Breaking Bad' in which a roast chicken business is used as a front for mass distribution of meth amphetamine produced by a terminally ill chemistry teacher.

Oh, and you shove a half finished can of beer up the chickens jacksey. Keeps the breast moist apparently. The little white container holds the deli's own achiote seasoning.

Well this was pretty damn tasty. Lovely unusual flavours combining deliciously together. An impressive start. Only one thing to drink with this really...

Very pleased with my first foray into The Half Canned Cooks. But next up a real challenge. One of the recipes is for a seafood paella made entirely from tinned fish. It goes against the grain for me... but I have to try it. Will post the results soon along with a few of the very tasty wines they're now selling there.

Click here for Lupe Pintos website

Click here for Ian's record label El Rancho Records

Ian also sings in the band Schnapps click here for details

Click here for the Mancini restaurant website