Langside Cafe, Glasgow

Says it all about me that i absolutely love this wee place nearby to my home in Glasgow.   It’s kid of hard to describe it really.  Greasy spoon, while stirring memories of tasty comforting food for me, doesn’t mean the same to everyone.  And old fashioned style cafe just doesn’t sum it up.  You kind of have to see it to understand.  A window full of sweetie jars, tasty ice cream cones and wafers, cramped formica tables  with salt, vinegar and sauce tucked behind the menu, and service with a smile and some good Glasgow chat thrown in for good measure.  The food is far from gourmet, but if you’re like me that’s not the be all and end all.  It’s cheap, it’s tasty and it’s a bit of a Glasgow southside institution.  Sometimes on a Sunday lunchtime after a heavy night before there’s nothing better than a full Scottish breakfast with tattie scone and beans, or the venerable scotch pie and chips. Mmmmm.  Plus the tables outside are in some sort of sun trap, so on the rare occasions that the sun does shine in winter, it can be pretty nice sitting out there. 

All About Me and My Blog

Hey.  My name is Susie Heywood and i'm a thirty something girl living and working in Glasgow.  See rather drunken photo below taken on my 30th birthday - and note empty box of pakora on the side.

I guess i’m starting this blog for myself really.  As a log of all the yummy food that i’ve eaten, and cooked, and hope to cook.  I’m a food obsessive!   I like to cook it, eat it, and read about it, so maybe writing about it will provide some sort of vent so that i stop boring my long suffering friends and relatives with my crap food chat (as they say!).  My partner may laugh, but the notebook upon notebook of food and recipe clippings and notes, and the ever expanding recipe book collection that seems to be taking over our small Glasgow flat, guarantee that out bellies are always full and never bored.

I’m maybe not the perfect person to write a food blog.  For a start – i don’t eat fish.  It’s one of these unexplainable and annoying throwbacks from childhood.  My whole family is the same. Believe me, i have tried, but if it’s not in batter and served with a generous helping of salty chips i can’t eat it!  Progression has been made though.  Fish sauce now sits in my cupboard and i have been known to eat the odd dish with shrimp paste involved.  Just as well as my other half has recently become Asian food obsessed so i am regularly treated to an interesting dish with unknown ingredients.  I can’t watch him cook – i interfere too much apparently! 

I’m also not that adventurous when it comes to meat.  Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey and duck – yes.  Anything else is a i’ll try it, and if my weird “oh crap i’m eating an ‘x’ and now i feel sick” brain mechanism doesn’t kick in, then great!  Had had ample opportunities to try exotic meats of all kinds on my travels, but i think my brain only allowed me some barbequed kangaroo and a few piece of Oryx steak!  My other half on the other hand.... Kadu, Crocodile, Snake, Springbok.... eugh!!

Pretty much anything else though is good as far as i’m concerned. Though one big problem is my budget – as we Glaswegians would say – i’m pure skint!!   So i have to be a bit more creative with my budget that most.

Types of food?  I’m not a fancy gourmet kind of a foodie.  My food is all about the eating, not the presentation.  Who can be bothered spending an age making steak and chips look grandiose when i know fine well that at the speed that i eat it’ll be gone in ten minutes!  I’m also of the opinion that you don’t need to spend a fortune to eat well.   I like rich flavoured comfort food – stuff that leaves you feeling good (if a little guilty) and wanting more.  I grew up eating soups, and stews with dumplings, corn-beef hash, macaroni cheese, that sort of thing, and my love for these kinds of food remains.  I love Italian food.  Pasta, risotto, rich stews and pizzas are a regular feature in my house.  As a true Scot i love a curry – of any variety, but especially Indian.  Asian food is a large part of my diet, largely due to my other half’s continuing and very welcome obsession.  I’ve kind of been edged out of the kitchen when it comes to Asian food though – but i don’t mind.  It’s nice to be cooked for sometime too!  Hopefully i can share some of his wonderful recipe discoveries on here.

Anyway that’s enough for now i guess.