after the long train journey and a full afternoon of sight seeing, we were knackered by late afternoon. we headed back to the hotel room, cinnamon donuts and cans of irn bru in hand, and we rested. well, we rested, and we prepared for dinner. with less than 20 daylight hours in glasgow, we had a list of things to see and do, and one of those things included dinner with lynsay and gary, and i was so excited to finally be able to catch up with them - and in their hometown no less.
we had planned to meet at bloc + in central glasgow, which was a really short walk from our hotel. we checked their website out before we headed over, to see what to expect in the way of food and entertainment; the menu boasted that it was curated by furious food - a well known street food brand, and so we knew we were going to be in good hands. plus, the website advised that there was to be "no bams, or winching at the bar", and we were mighty keen to suss out exactly what that meant.
we met lynsay and gary, who'd safely secured a great table by arriving a wee bit earlier than us, and we got in a round of drinks. although it would have made sense to hit the irn bru, i opted for something a bit less soft, but just as scottish - a thistly cross cider. deeelish. i first discovered these in edinburgh with kirsty and the girls a few years ago, and now they're a firm favourite, and a no brainer when i see them on a menu.
for the food, it was all about brisket. i opted for the jerk brisket burger, while bex went for the brisket tacos. it was a tough call, for sure, you guys know how much i love a taco. but, with the unavoidable onion component in the tacos, the burger was safely the way to go, and came with a side of seasoned chips, which... well, potatoes are my favourite of all the carbs. could not have been happier.
except... well, i'm not a very clean eater at the best of times, but there was just no avoiding the mess that this meal made. the meat was so tender and saucy that the bun just fell apart from underneath the weight of it all. i'm not even entirely sure there was even a bottom bun. i certainly never came across it in my travels. never the less, the burger (well, meat) was absolutely incredible. served with coleslaw and pickles, it was a taste sensation all up in my grill.
rebekah informs me her tacos we just as delicious, if not, a tad spicier than she would have liked (my burger was daaaamn spicy too, but... i liked it), and both meals were devoured in some kind of record time. can't give much love for the chips though, as mine came out separately from my burger (they're supposed to be served under the burger), and were still a tad cold-ish and crunchy. i didn't try any of the others' as i was pretty full anyway. and, we were told on the night that one of the dishes was completely sold out, as it had been featured on buzzfeed that week, and they had just been inundated with people wanting to try the vegan 'not dog' with the lot. fair, it sounds incredible!
once we were done eating, we moved to a table in the back and kept chatting for hours. you know you have a real friend in someone when it can literally be years between drinks, but you just pick up where you left off. sadly for bex and gary, it was a lot of 'blogger chat', but i'm sure they didn't mind! with tired eyes from the others, and a keen interest in checking out glasgow's west end, we took off. but not without first checking out the incredible view from the top if the odeon building. no pictures, i'm afraid, you'll have to take my word for just how pretty and spectacular that town looks by night. so twinkly and bright, and colourful as far as the eye could see. it was a real treat.
after that, bex and i jumped in a cab and headed for ashton lane in the west end, to hit up a couple of bars we had been
the more we sat and drank, the more it seemed obvious to bex that this was not the place she'd been to before. with a couple of other options on the lane, we grabbed our coats and headed next door... to vodka wodka, where all of the marketing told us the cocktails for £3.50 and it was happy hour! well, they weren't, and it wasn't, but they were still delicious, and at least rebekah remembered this bar. at this point it was circa 11pm and we were old, old wooden ships who had been on the go since 7am, so we... decided to call it a day. with the barely-legal girls in the club teetering on their ridiculous shoes and constantly pulling at their barely-there clothing, it was about that time where you decide that pringles in bed and a jeremy kyle marathon is far more desirable than the alternative.
we had a mad first day in glasgow, and had had the best time. we were happy to call it a night.
been to any of the above? tell me more, tell me more!
