Comforting ‘hgliday’ food and no hype
HOLIDAY STYLE FOOD BRUTTI MA BUONI Brunswick Hotel, 106 Brunswick Street, Glasgow, 0141 552 0001
I didn't think it possible to invent a new tag for cuisine but perhaps the brains behind Brutti Ma Buoni. the new cafe/bar coming to the fashionable Brunswick Hotel in Glasgow's Merchant City. have done so.
'Holiday style food.‘ says Brunswick partner Stephen Flannery. Holiday style food? 'Fresh, comforting, healthy — and [sometimes] not healthy.‘ Flannery explains. That means chicken noodle soup with mint. hearty ‘Brutti Bread' (pizza-style flat bread with various toppings from tomatoes and cheese to barlotti beans). a corned beef and organic beetroot sandwich or pollo picante — spicy deep-fried chicken. Prices vary from $22.50 to £8.
Flannery says he's 'tired of the hype' that often surrounds eating out these days: ‘So many places have gone so big.‘
Brutti Ma Buoni (which means ugly but good) favours the small-is-beautiful approach. with an emphasis on socialising and the introduction of perhaps a bit of cheek. The completely renovated space. designed in-house with some nice touches such as wedge tiles by Dene Happell and a bar topped with rich lmbuia timber. features an open kitchen with chef Joanne Munro in charge.
In addition to the concise menu with Brutti‘s typical fare. daily specials are planned. They‘ll come from whatever is best in the local markets. using fresh produce and trying to avoid factory-farmed goods as much as possible. There may even be one-offs on the specials board. ‘Some dishes might never be on again,‘ Munro says.
Ultimately, the holiday style of Brutti Ma Buoni may be more evocative of the experience than anything else. While the name is Italian. the fare is not. But service is intended to be natural and personable. putting punters at ease and perhaps maybe even make them feel as if they're on a foreign travelling (rather than lunch) break. (Barry Shelby)
I Food is served from noon until 8pm, while the bar is open until midnight.
Food & Drink
REVIEW VEGETABLE HEAVEN Catherine Mason iPauntlei,’ Press 5‘90 0...
Okra caught my eye the other day on the reduced racks at a city centre supermarket. \‘htii little regard for my ability to prepare them but with fond memories of diced bits llttt‘th‘ battered and tried. I brought the lady fingers hoine ‘.'.‘|it‘i me. They're still mouldering in the fridge.
Alas. even the expertise of Catherine Mason. author of vegetarian cookbook l/ij, cannct help me with this bit of green. I'm only surprised because her new book. Vegetable Heaven. covers so much territory
Mason has rare editorial freedom: a company she started Wlttl her husband nou‘x publishes hei work. The (:oi'resi)onding lack of higl‘ pox‘xeied publitnty or big distribution deals means that
Mason WI” probably keep a low profile ‘.‘.’.’l|()tl is _ g a shame. Ne\.'ertheless. she has iiianzigeil to " . I land a Nigel Slater quote -- ' sophisticated cooking' on the cover of Vegetab/e Ht )avei i.
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readily available t‘i.'.’tll(2tl might explain okra's absence) or that you can gross at tl()'l‘.-i}. Mani. have a Mediterranean or Middle taster: flaunt». Take garlic spiked aubergines ‘.'.'lttl (:“si; crotistade or romaho pepper stuffed feta. pine kernels. mint and lemon. for exar“;>‘e. Others are clearly comfort food: slox'. <:i_>oke<i potatoes ‘~.‘/lttl leeks. lemon tliyiiue {il‘.(i inox/arella. Yum. «Barry Shelly»
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