A really great veggie burger is a hard thing to come by. Only one that I’ve ever eaten has made me not think about how I’d rather be eating a juicy cheeseburger instead – the $6 Superiority Burger in New York City. Even the much-hyped Impossible Burger was a huge let down. I’m always wary of trying any new veggie burgers because I’m doubtful that they’ll compare to Superiority in NYC and worry that I’ll be left wishing I’d ordered something else. I’d heard about Freddy & Hicks for some time now. They’ve popped up at several others bars and venues across Glasgow and now seemed to have found ..read more

Flat iron steak, otherwise commonly known as butler’s steak in the UK or oyster blade in Australia is a lean cut of meat from the shoulder that’s typically cheaper than the more traditional cuts that you’re likely to find in steakhouses. It can be fairly tough if not prepared correctly, so the fact that this fairly new west-end pop-up turned restaurant had focused their entire menu around it certainly caught my eye. The menu is simple. There’s flat iron steak and that’s pretty much it. You order your steak for £8 (£10 on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday) and then add sides. There’s fries, vegetab ..read more

The closure of the Arches back in 2015 hit a lot of Glaswegians pretty hard. Our city also lags behind so many others when it comes to street food. Platform has recently revived the much loved Arches space. It may not be a nightclub and it may not technically be street food since it’s located indoors, but it’s a phenomenal addition to the city’s food scene, with a huge variety of food to choose from and a super-stylish space to eat it in. Platform features everything from burgers and curries to vegan grub and coffee. There’s even an ice cream taco stall. Each vendor is also housed in stalls w ..read more

The first time I ever tasted côte de boeuf was in the Butchershop Bar and Grill in Glasgow many years ago. It was quite unlike anything I’d tasted before. It was near-perfect in appearance with beautiful charred grill lines and buttery-crisp edges. It was soft too, despite being as thick as a hardback novel. I decided back then that this was the cut for me. I loved the fat marbling throughout the cut and the intensely bold flavours and have always chosen it over any other cut on a menu since. For the first edition of ‘The Steak Diaries’, I felt that it was only right to return to where I had m ..read more

I instantly fell in love with Chelsea Market from the moment I walked in the door. It’s one of the best looking spots in Glasgow with its large floor to ceiling windows, dark wood and warmly-lit brick walls that feel so welcoming as soon as you set foot inside. Prior to this visit, I’d already been quite a number of times for brunch, with the steak and eggs being a firm favourite. It’s got that perfect mix of good food and a near-perfect setting that just heightens the overall experience. It’s the type of place that I’d happily visit for brunch, dinner, a pre-dinner drink (the bar area is love ..read more

I recently wrote about my experience of the much-hyped Impossible Burger. You can read the whole review and see the photos here, but in short, I thought it was pretty lousy. A disappointment of the highest order. For months, all I’d heard about was that the Impossible Burger was going to be the veggie burger to convert even the strictest of carnivores and about how it tasted just like a real burger. It didn’t. Just a few days later; however, I bit into a humble little veggie burger in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it-spot in New York City’s east village that completely blew me away. There’s a coupl ..read more

The first time I ate at a Smashburger was at Newark airport. Our flight was delayed and everyone was tired, cranky and hungry. At the time, I probably would have told you that the burger I was biting into was one of the best I’d ever eaten. That was many years ago. That airport Smashburger has since closed and looking back on it now, I’m not sure if the burger really was that good or if I had been so tired and hungry that anything would have made me weep with joy. I’ve actually been looking forward to Smashburger opening in Glasgow for some time. It’s an American chain that I have fond memorie ..read more

As I first set foot inside ‘Babs, my first impression was that it felt like I was on holiday. The bright, fresh tilled décor, the stripped back lighting, the winding staircases and bright colours are a breath of fresh air. I felt like I had been transported to somewhere in the Mediterranean – and as long as you don’t look out the huge windows on West Nile street, you probably will too. There’s lots to choose from, including the ‘Babs doner, a superb chicken souvlaki dish, salads, skewers of seafood and plenty of veggie and vegan options too. But I was here for a different menu. We’d arrived f ..read more

A vegan burger that looks, smells and tastes just like beef? A meatless burger that will fool even the most hardcore meat eaters? That’s what the Bill Gates-backed, San Francisco-developed Impossible Burger has been touted as by many. I’d seen many Instagram photos and blog posts by people who had eaten the burger. Photos of bloody, medium rare patties that contained no beef followed by comments like ‘tastes just like the real thing’ and ‘my other half hates veggie burgers and he loved it’. The hype surrounding the Impossible Burger is quite unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed before and I cou ..read more

Don’t let the outside of Drury Street Bar fool you. Go inside the small doorway and down the stairs and you’ll find one of the most spacious, chilled out bars in the city. This is a perfect after-work spot. It’s huge, there’s plenty of tables and booths, pool tables, great beer and good music. It looks like a rather shady old-time gentlemen’s club – the kind of place you’d expect to find the cast of Mad Men – but there’s rock music blasting from the speakers and craft beer-a-plenty. Whenever I go to a new burger place, I like to start off with a classic cheeseburger. I find that it’s always a ..read more