'Phylum Feast' @ Stravaigin

Stravaigin's vast these days. The space upstairs doubled when familiarity, along with walls and the hairdressers next door, was swept away a year or so ago. In truth, I probably preferred the smaller place. The new and lengthy bar's too inviting to the rolling mauls of bland clothed men who haunt west end nights but pack the bars and fill the tills. The old place put them off. It's heaving, cluttered, tiny bar forced them to press up close to flamboyant types and question whether urges that they hoped had gone away, still lay, beneath their tightly fastened hose.

The downstairs restaurant was refurbished too, but it's so darkly lit you'd need a torch to see what's changed. We went on Thursday for 'The Phylum Feast'- a celebration of Darwin's birthday- and had a cracking night. I'll list everything:

First up was an aperitif, Monkey Gland Martini. Very tasty and fortunately no sign of the glands. Maybe some cheeky bar monkey dipped them in and out again before serving. Next came Primordial Soup and a glass of cava. Lovely. Nice cava too. Being pernickety I'd say the chicken stock was a bit intense for balance, but hey, best named dish of the year so far.

After that came mollusc salad- clams, scallop, squid, baby octopus, prawn, mussel- with a glass of Muscadet. Perfect combination.

Main was mutton with panko crusted langoustine. The flash didn't do this dish any favours, illuminated it wasn't the most visually appetising of dishes, but it tasted great. Flavourful, perfectly cooked mutton, again making me wonder why anyone bothers eating lamb and the panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) crusted Scottish langoustines were immense.

Biting through a gentle crunch to a just cooked, sweet, sea fresh prawn, is about as good a eating gets for me. This dish came with a glass of a Bordeaux good enough to make us order a bottle.

By the time desert arrived I was so high on life I can't even remember eating it. Coffee followed.

All of this, everything that is, except the extra bottle of red, came to £32. We sat down at 7.30 and left the table after 11. I think, frankly it was all getting a little hazy by then. All the drinks were proper sized glasses. That's truly remarkable value for money. This night came out from the jaded sea of Glasgow's eateries and will hopefully spawn a host of offspring. If it does, be sure to book your place aboard the evolution revolution.

CLICK HERE FOR STRAVAIGIN'S HOMEPAGE

Virtual Prose

Cripes, wasn't expecting that. Actually meeting up with a proper blogger. Strewth.

All sorts of nonsense started running through my head, after all, où exactly est Wine Splodge? After the initial shock I warmed to the idea and was actually very flattered.

We arrived 10 minutes early and, by sheer fluke, bagged the best table in Stravaigin, for 4, because a journalist pal was accompanying him. The Bloody Marys were top drawer. The menu was on form too. Perfect... too perfect.. because then this chirped up.

Awe, bums. Anyway by now, rather fuelled up with adrenalin and vodka, we decided to go ahead regardless. So, this is for Douglas, his virtual three hour visit to a bit of the West End of Glasgow....

First of all what to drink? I am after all 'Wine Splodge', the wines read all so, err, conventional. Quickly squinting around, my eyes spotted and like my camera, nearly focussed, on this.

What I read was: " Mekong Sparkling Pinot Noir, fertilised by an Austrian and his brother Angus from Aberdeen, to create a bionic wine for his wedding"... now that's definitely not run of the mill!

Gorgeous, light, effervescent loveliness. Like cavorting with an alpine maid in a flower strewn meadow.

The Nasi Goreng was also excellent. Lightly spiced and with a poached egg that had been cooked to look like a testicle, how clever.

Squid with OK sauce, or was it KO sauce? Anyway, just what I was after. Spot on. Didn't go with the wine at all though.

A stroll up Great Western Road past Mellis where, of course...

...the best, ripest, runniest Gorgonzola I know, was on special offer. Next, popped into Heart Buchanan for some espresso sustenance.

A quick look for cravats and interesting shirts...

Then next stop, Ashton Lane.

Avoiding horrendous blots like 'Nude' we headed for the Ubiquitous Chip, also part of the Stravaigin family. Founded in 1971, possibly the world's first gastropub?

Alasdair Gray recently touched up his own mural, making the route to the toilet rather decorative.

Before heading off to the airport, just time for a glass of South African viognier on the new roof terrace. Thank God for the smoking ban, so many nice new spaces outdoors these days.

Cheerio Douglas, hope you enjoyed it!

Click here for Douglas in Arran on 'Intoxicating Prose'.

Click here for Heart Buchanan

Click here for Alasdair Gray

Click here for the Stravaigin website

And click here for the Ubiquitous Chip website

Dublin and Guinness

Just back from Dublin. My first time. You still see signs of the confidence born from what was, until very recently, one of the world's fastest growing economies. This is the Dublin Spire, 390 ft high, locals call it the 'Stiffy on the Liffey'.

But visually Dublin is most like a miniature London. Lots of Georgian and Regency architecture. There's even a mini Thames, House of Lords and..... 

Another thing about Dublin was the sense of being watched... and it didn't take long to finger the culprit..... 

You're never more than an arms length from a pint of Guinness. Look in any direction and you'll see a sign for it. 

Now I've never got the Guinness thing. It's not as strong as hating it, I just wouldn't choose something that thick when it's a drink I'm after. But so many people insist it's nicer in Dublin, and, the bombardment from such an intense advertising campaign makes it impossible to ignore. Could a drink really taste that different?

Well, this one slipped down a treat. Mmmm. Made a bit of an effort to think about the taste of the next one. It was creamy, complex, fresh and incredibly, actually thirst quenching. Surely though, I'd been intoxicated by the charm of the place and it's people.... I wanted to like their drink, be part of them, join in. Could this taste so good back in dank old Glasgow? Had I been missing out all these years? I would have to find out. Before that though, a visit to the Guinness Storehouse.

Claimed as the most popular tourist attraction in Ireland. It's where they used to brew the stuff. It's still brewed on site.... a site the size of a suburb. Three million pints a day. 

It's impressive. Apparently this year they've been getting loads of Italian tourists for the first time, no-one knows why. I wonder if they've asked them?

Seven floors up visitors enjoy a complimentary pint of the black stuff. No mean treat, this is a place where the price regularly tops 5 euros a pint. Ouch. They get to look out over a city dominated, and as far as most tourists are concerned, defined by it's brewery.

Dublin's a lovely place, but expensive, may have to wait till we join the euro before returning. 

A late flight back to Glasgow had me pelting to Stravaigin to try a Guinness here while the taste of the Dublin one was still fresh in my mind. The barman was Irish, so was the waitress speaking to him.... weird, am I still being watched? As he poured I explained what I was up to. He looked at me like I was speaking gibberish then said, "I never drink it over here", and added, "Next time, forget about Dublin, go to Ireland".

The Guinness tasted neither as fresh nor as complex. Far more of a bitter flavour and not very thirst quenching. But I'd have been disappointed if it was any other way!

The Guinness Storehouse

St James's Gate

Dublin 8

+353 1 408 4800

Stravaigin

Gibson Street

0141 334 2665

Glasgow