A friend from out of town suggested dinner in a venerable old Glasgow Italian restaurant.
She does not know the city at all, or might have thought twice about summoning me into town on a Friday night.
I countered with Bar Vini on Victoria Road. It's the opposite of the padded menu and big pepper grinder establishments - short menu, shorter wine list, staff with exuberant facial hair.
As we drove south across the Clyde and I struggled with Govanhill's forbidding roadworks and one-way streets, I could see her doubting my judgement. Why had I brought her through the industrial hinterland to what looked like a row of closed shops? But she is used to reporting from war zones and negotiating with terrorists so is made of stern stuff. In we went.
At barely 6pm the place was jumping. We were offered seats at the bar or a miniscule table that would not look out of place beside a bed. Maneuvering into the banquette was not easy - this place is designed for scrawny hipsters, not wellupholstered newspaper veterans. Bar Vini is one of a thriving community of independent bars and restaurants in Glasgow's southside, offering groovy young and youngish residents interesting, affordable food and drink. These change and mutate faster than my spreadsheet can keep up with them. But Vini feels fairly well established.
The menu is blissfully short - six assembly job starters, five pastas (available in child's portion for £5), three sweets plus a special. Give me this over prawns out the freezer any day of the week.
The focaccia, made on the premises, is not the over-aerated, under-flavoured loaf that used to be a thing in supermarkets but seems to have fallen from favour. This was well-fired to the point of crunchy, despite being soaked with garlic butter.
It would have sat happily with the meat or cheese platter and was a splendid fit with the Lazio plate.
This inspired combination - gorgonzola, taleggio, pear poached in red wine - did come with some home-style breadsticks. But it was so wildly flavourful and rich that it needed a good dod of dough too.
Out Of Towner had never encountered a poached pear at the start of a meal before. Being a cookery book anorak, I could tell her about the spicy pear dessert in Peter Gordon's 1997 Sugar Club Cookbook that can, with the addition of some blue cheese and salad, become a starter.
This version had none of the chilli and bay that Gordon uses but the idea stands the test of time and reminded me to get the Sugar Club book out to make the original again soon.
My only slight issue was the addition of pickled carrots and red pepper shards. Not a good fit with the rest of the dish. Green leaves would have been much better.
When I spotted salsiccia lasagna on the menu, I started making Homer Simpson noises in my head. Veal, pork, beef, mozzarella, bechamel, mmmmmmmm. When it arrived, it looked dauntingly tall, layers and layers of bendy pasta in a lofty wedge. Would it be a leaning tower of sausage-filled hefty? total 21/ Foolish me to have so little faith. It was astoundingly light. I was distracted from enjoying it - and it was very enjoyable indeed, with shifting mouthfuls of different meats - by wondering how they got so much air into a solid structure.
Out Of Towner's pumpkin ravioli was, visually, flatter. In terms of taste it also delivered - and then some. The pumpkin filling was astoundingly smooth. Combined with the outer layer of silky pasta and decadent sauce of melted taleggio, it was a study in how many different foodstuffs can be transformed into a state of advanced unctuousness. All that was missing was a fresh salad to give green relief from the onslaught of carbohydrate and dairy.
Desserts - tiramisu, zabaglione, panna cotta - were joined by a special of lemon tart. We shared generous slice, garnished with couple of maraschino cherries seen in a glass of babycham in The pastry was exemplary but filling was still soft and unset. Could not fault the citrus content, would just have preferred it firmer.
We passed on coffee as the queue for tables was encroaching towards the bar. Otherwise I have carried on drinking the house red (organic Tempranillo, smashing value at £3.50 per 125ml glass) until chucking out time.
Out Of Towner was delighted with the whole experience. Urban Padded Menus - 0, Glasgow foodies - 1.
| Bar Vini, 80 Victoria Rd, Glasgow G42 7AA |
| www.barvini.com |
| Disabled access: Yes |
| Opening hours: Wed, Thurs, Fri, 5pm-9.30pm; Sat, 2pm-9.30pm; Sun, 12pm-4pm |
| Bill for two: £48.50 |
| Marks 21/30 |
| Food: 7/10 - Strong but need salads |
| Decor: 3/5 - Cool but cramped |
| Toilets: 3/5 - Could be tidier |
| Service: 4/5 - Jolly |
| Value for money: 4/5 - Wine particularly well priced |
