Monday, January 26, 2009

1960s sci-fi Glasgow cityscape and a pretty good Byres Road restaurant experience



It's like Thunderbirds, or possibly something from a James Bond movie: the Science Centre, I-Max Cinema, Tower of Doom, Armadillo and the Beeb from/at Pacific Quay in Glasgow together make up a vision of the future as...well, resembling what I imagined as a child, from viewing the aforementioned, plus various Dr Who episodes way back when. And I bet the designers are roughly the same age as me...

Later, I took Magnus and Laura out for dinner to the new La Vita Spuntini 'Italian tapas' restaurant which has opened in Byres Road. Amid, it should be said, some critical approbation. My old acquaintance (and sometime barman at the Phoenix in Inverness) Ron McKenna had mixed feelings in the Herald (can't find it online), while Allan Brown absolutely flamed it in the Times. We took the Mckenna advice and stuck mostly to pizzas and pasta. The pasta was wonderful, the pizzas fine. There was a slightly odd tortilla but the chicken liver crostini was splendid. It's not dear, the service was good. I'd go for it, but avoid anything on the menu which mentions "trotters"...as, let's face it, is probably wise on any occasion.

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