Food Drink

Eat out, drink up

The morning after

Time to sober up and fly straight - well at least try, with the help of Fressh, Glasgow’s newest juice bar and cafe. Words: Barry Shelby

eeling queer? As if you‘ve come out of a dream

in which you ate two weeks” worth of food in

fewer than three days. and drank enough alcohol to make George Best blush'.’ It‘s possible that you have.

But the body. given half the chance. is a remarkable healer. And Fressh. Glasgow‘s recently opened City centre cafe. has the tonics to remedy the situation: a range of nearly 15 fresh fruit juices and smoothies to help your system flush. rectify and restore.

Perhaps begin with the ‘Daily Detox‘ a combination of apple. melon and cranberry plus a shot of wheatgrass on the side. Fressh is a particularly big believer in wheatgrass. whose chlorophyll content ensures the extract is a pure vivid green. It provides anti-oxidants to mend your ravaged system and some 9()-odd minerals as well. And while some bemoan the flavour. it isn‘t half as bad as you might imagine. especially for fans of the countryside and the aroma of freshly cut hay. Just throw it back and enjoy the sweet, grassy aftertaste at the back of the tongue.

If it’s a hangover that needs concentrated attention. Fressh recommends the ‘Morning After‘. which has

98 THE LIST 8—22 Jan 2004

THE ‘MORNING AFTER' HAS BEEN KNOWN TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL BETTER WITHIN HALF AND HOUR

been known to have people feeling better within a half hour (although if you‘re really rough. at top-up might be required later in the day). Its mix of carrot. orange and apple is given a little extra zing thanks to fresh ginger. which tingles the palate. And to supplement its affects. have them throw in a milk thistle booster. which apparently works to improve liver function.

One of the cafe‘s best bets is the ‘Big Buster‘. a rich. sunny-looking smoothie designed to place a juju on any lingering cold viruses. Thick enough to stand a straw in. it combines orange. lime. mango. pineapple and dollop of low-fat frozen yoghurt to excellent effect. No one fruit dominates: they harmonise like the Beach Boys on ‘Good Vibrations‘.

Juice alone. however. is not enough. A sensible diet might be required. lircssh plays its part with a changing daily selection of soups. such as tomato and basil (rich in cancer-resistant chopene. they say) or minestrone. as well as sandwiches and salads.

Fressh, 51-53 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, 0141 552 5532.

eat@list.co.uk

THIS

Food editor Barry Shelby looks forward to the best of 2004

In Glasgow's Merchant City. the people behind the Dhabba lndian restaurant - our Eating & Drinking Guide newcomer of the year in 2003 plan to launch another restaurant just up Candleriggs above Bar 91. Dakhin (which means 'south' in Punjabi) will be dedicated to southern specialities. Owner Nav Basi says he is expecting four Chefs from Kerala and Bangalore to create the city's first authentic south lndian restaurant. The food from there tends to be lighter, with more emphasis on rice than breads, and often highlights coconut in its sauces. Basi says they will also do 'a proper dosa using rice flour. If we can replicate with southern cooking with what we've done at the Dhabba, I'll be happy.‘

Expect exciting things at Rhubarb. James Thomson‘s restaurant in Prestonfield House. Edinburgh. The opulent dining space has set tongues wagging but we anticipate that head chef Kenny Coltman's cooking may get now the attention in the capital that slightly eluded him when he worked at Farfelu and Southbank in Glasgow. Coltman prefers excellent produce and likes to innovate: so Lindisfarne oysters might be pan-fried with leeks and sweetbreads. A signature pudding is warm Macintosh apple soup with crisp apple dumplings.

'Even when the cooking revisits classics, our interpretations will be lighter and more flavoursome.‘ Coltman says. 'l'm excited about the challenge of creating a new dining experience and my team is determined that the food at Rhubarb should prove every bit as memorable as the décor.‘ Which judging from all accounts is setting the bar high.