Food Drink
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Barry Shelby finds the new cafe/deli KEMBER AND JONES fitting in smoothly to the fabric of the West End’s ‘High Street’.
he name Kember and Jones has a bit of gravitas to
it and this new cafe/deli has settled in quickly on
Byres Road in Glasgow's West End. Opened only a few days before the ‘trials’ of the West End Festival's street party. when the boulevard is mobbed and the shops. bars and restaurants over-run. the self-described fine food emporium has had little choice but to hit the ground running. The day after the parade. there is no time to rest: tables all round are mostly full by 1 1.45am.
()wned by chef Claire Jones and her partner Phil Kembcr. K&J is not stacked to the rafters with goods: not yet at least. With the dining area mostly on the mezzanine to the rear. the main floor feels roomy. with plenty of light streaming in. notwithstanding the awning over the pavement. The shop is handsome. with original cornicing and capitals on the columns. as well as one fully exposed brick wall behind the deli counter.
Although Lenzie-born Jones studied singing at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. she took her creative talents in the direction of cooking after graduating and worked as a chef in London and. for the last two years. mainly in the south of France. She calls this
SPIRITS
BLACKWOOD’S SHETLAND NORDIC VODKA
Whisky, schmisky. That’s not all we drink, not by a long shot, and - neither is it all that's distilled in
. . K Scotland. Up on Shetland, h is). Blackwood Distillers makes
W H uh
I crystal-clear spirits and is M334. producing two boutique
" products: Nordic dry gin and .SL ‘4‘
premium Nordic vodka. While the former has local botanicals (such as sea pink and Angelica root), it is the latter that interests us. Sure, it has a label that changes colour like a mood ring to tell punters when the product has achieved its properly chilled drinking temperature. Save it for St Petersburg. Frozen vodka thickens and is only really good
operation a ‘dream come true‘. Kembcr. from Portsmouth. brings his business background to the enterprise.
The café‘s menu is succinct. changing a wee bit daily and reflecting the retail produce available in the shop. Recently the selection included an open pastrami sandwich on sourdough with dill pickles and Dijon mustard (£4.95). roast artichoke salad with sun-blush tomatoes and manchengo cheese (£4.25). and a platter of Scottish cheeses with Wooleys oatcakes and grainy mustards (£7.95).
Take-away sandwiches are a bargain: for example. tuna. red onion. bean and coriander or turkey and apple (both served on an organic petit pan) were £2.50. The espresso is llly brand and it is only a matter of weeks before the shop‘s licence comes through and a range of wines is added to the stock.
Kember and Jones Fine Food Emporium, 134 Byres Road, Glasgow, 0141 337 3851. Open Monday-Saturday 9am-7pm; Sunday 10am—6pm (these hours are subject to change when the licence to sell alcohol arrives).
for throwing back in shots.
This tonic is made with water from Shetland's remote Heglibister Spring. It is apparently the first to be triple distilled, both ice filtered and purified with birch charcoal. OK, who knows what that means except surely that it should be sipped and savoured not simply knocked back. (Barry Shelby)
Sidellislies News to nibble on. . .
I THE GOAT IN THE WEST End of Glasgow was taking the monkey about its scheduled 10 June launch date, but the new bar threw open the gates the following week. Under the management of former Brel Bar man Laurie Keith, the Goat (pictured) has promised ‘traditional pub house ideals about comfort and style combined with up-to-date quality and modern advances in technology . . . an old man’s pub for new people’. The draught beer selection includes Peroni, Stella, Belhaven Best, Deuchars IPA, Guinness and even a raspberry beer: Leitman’s Frambozen. Plus there are some ten wines sold by the bottle or glass - and a cocktail list, too. In the location of the old Murphy’s Pakora Bar (near Ashoka West End), the kitchen has traded the Punjabi fritter for filling, home-style cooking. Dishes such as steak pie, sausage and mash, burgers, Thai curries and all-day breakfasts are served from noon to about 8pm. Guest DJs on the Friday rotation include Andy Divine (Funk Rooms/ Art School), Paul Molloy and Mickey Collins (Afterglow) and Prince Boab (Rub Down) while Saturday nights will feature Goat jocks Robbie Rolex, Mortanovic and Spencer.
I EX-BAR 91 CHEF AND DJ Michael Kilkie now runs a restaurant down the Clyde coast in Ayr. Called Mezzaluna, the evening menu features dishes such as corn- fed supreme of chicken with pancetta mash. Tuscan bean and spiced Italian sausage stew or pan-fried halibut with potato and celeriac cake. it's open Monday to Saturday from 10.30am-late and Sunday from 4pm—late. 2 Dalblair Road. 01292 288598.
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