Squid and Whale - Taco Time

Potentially named after the indie movie of the same title this bar/ restaurant on Glasgows Great Western Road is pretty awesome. It's got a lovely menu perfect for a hot summer day (which it was) and its got lovely, fresh food with menus for vegetarians and vegans too, which for being Mexican is a good idea!

So we tried prawn tacos, pulled pork (or chicken...can't remember) and vegan seitan asada ones. They were all delicious however the vegan ones for me won. Which was a surprise. We also discovered that getting three small dishes works out at 3 tacos between twos and is a perfect amount for a balanced, tasty lunch. Yummy.

250 - Patatas Bravas! FINISHED!!

I joked from day 1 that I would leave Patatas Bravas for the last. And I did.

Also this won't be the end of the blog after an adventure in Vietnam this blog will expand to random dishes what I have eaten!
But not now.
Now I will take a break, go on a diet, recuperate my food vocabulary and get on to preparing for a new job. Huzzah!

The Verdict

It's Patatas Bravas. What's not to love. Also I'm done!
Woohoo!


Taste: 3/5 Potatoes and Spicy Sauce
Time: 2/5 50 mins
Visual: 3/5 Standard
Magic: 3/5 Whoop

249 - Spicy Chicken [Pollo Picante]

Moved back to Glasgow! And between locking myself out of a living room, ordering a new bank card, moving haphazardly with a crazy Glaswegian in a van and trying to wrap up all my last loose freelancing ends before a new full-time awesome job (at last) I googled Spanish food shops and found a great one which sold awesome scotch bonnet and mango sauce and spicy Glasgow Death Nuts. Tonights affair was a spicy concoction.

Also my parents now have a small studio apartment in Italy and when they were last there they bought me these awesome chocolates which taste like heaven and go perfect with a good cup of coffee!


The Verdict
Not was it just spicy chicken, it was awesome chipotle chilli marinaded spicy chicken. Super yummy. It was the kind of meal where the dry spice enters your nose and endures a dry cough. Excellent.

Taste: 3/5 SPICY
Time: 3.5/5 16 mins
Visual: 3/5  Hot Blobs
Magic: 2.5/5 Needs Balance

248 - Meatballs in Saffron [Albóndigas en Saffron]

Something fun and meaty today. I had some time so decided to make something that takes some time. Also I got some cheap but nice mince. Excellent.

The Verdict
The sauce was nice but a bit lacking. The saffron apart from the colour was a bit unnecessary however this was fun to make and tasted if not to an Ikea standard, better than canned meatballs for sure!

Taste: 3/5 Subtle but fine
Time: 2/5 45 mins
Visual: 3/5  Orange Balls
Magic: 2.5/5 Needs Work

247 - Scallops [Vieiras]

Tasty scallops and more news. Time for a new job and yet another move. Time to return to Glasgow. Huzzah.

The Verdict

I do love Scallops and these were pretty awesome. Pretty as a picture too.

Taste: 4/5 tasty
Cost: 2/5 Not that cheap
Visual: 4/5 Oh yum
Magic: 2.5/5 Sure

246 - Fish Tacos! [Tacos de Pescado]

Less than elegant and yes I used pre-cooked flaked fish from M+S because it was selling cheap and it wasn't cerviched fish that I was reaming of but it was tasty, despite uneven weird taco shells (baked tortilla).

The Verdict

As small bites these were totally fine. The tortillas should of been crispier and the flaked salmon was fine but I've had better, still it was fun, interesting and cheap to make.

Taste: 3.5/5 Fish Spice
Time: 3/5 25mins
Visual: 4/5 Fresh
Magic: 3/5 Needs Work

245 - Brushetta and Cheese Balls [Bruschetta y Bloas del Queso]

Please something small and light and less rich. Hello Brushetta!

The Verdict

Hallelujah. Something light and fresh. Yummy. And then there was an awesome desert.

Taste: 4/5 Fresh!
Cost: 2/5 Reasonable
Visual: 4/5 Fresh
Magic: 2.5/5 Standard

243 - Gleaneagles Day 3

Dying from too much. However the Spa is great rejuvenator. a human used to ten years of weird stale bread and variations of 39p noodles I'm dying slightly. I'm also hoping my body doesn't acclimatise because I can't afford this life style.

The Verdict
It was back to Deseo for Tapas. Happy days. This was Ox cheek on bulgar wheat and some for of quinoa base. It was beautiful. So tender and tasty and looked amazing!

Taste: 5/5 Tender Magic
Cost: 0/5 Gleneagles
Visual: 4/5 Bit Weird
Magic: 5/5 Yup

 

243 - Gleneagles Day 2

After an onslaught of fancy food and amazing cocktails and wine,  we went to the golf clubhouse for a more rugged pub-food style meal. Cue some great grilled chicken skewers and a moorish style flatbread.

The Verdict 
Awesome. Great. Yum. All fooded out.

Taste: 4/5 Yummmm
Cost: 0/5 Gleneagles
Visual: 5/5 Yassss
Magic: 5/5 MMmm

242 - Gleneagles

It was Andrews mum and dad's Ruby wedding anniversary and Andrew mum's birthday so we were all taken for a weekend at Gleneagles. Which remains a weird but tasty place. For a lunch there was an interesting started using perfectly presented white asparagus spears and a whole heap of other wonderful things. Amongst other things there is also a pond of swans where one can play with life saving equipment. Idiot.

The Verdict:

Despite awful, awful service which put a dampener on the meal, the food was nothing short of awesome.

Taste: 5/5 Mmmm
Cost: 0/5 Gleneagles
Visual: 5/5 OOooooh
Magic: 5/5 Super

241 - Grilled, Shredded Aubergine [A la Parrilla, Triturar Berenjena]

Technically an asian dish but there wasn't anything particularly Asian about the flavours. It was however super, super yummy.

The Verdict
Tasty. Creamy, Well cooked, melt in the mouth grilled Aubergine. Simple, oily and very, very tasty.

Taste: 4/5 Creamy
Cost: 2/5 Excellent
Visual: 2.5/5 Weird
Magic: 4/5 Super

240 - Moorish Chicken Sticks [Palillos de Pollo Moriscos]

TEN TO GO! As much as it's been fun, it's going to be a relief when it is all written up. I feel like I'm on a constant repeat and that I have used up all the words I have ever know. Even listening to strange podcasts while writing is not giving me literate inspiration.

The Verdict

Charcoaly, tasty and cooked to perfection. Slight flavour of cinnamon and apricots and a nice dipping yoghurt to accompany it! Excellent


Taste: 4/5 Moorish Medley
Cost: 2.5/5 Reasonable
Visual: 4/5 Yes Please
Magic: 4/5 Super

239 - Prawns and Beans [Gambas y Frijoles]

Minimal beans and a strange vinegrette of oil and pesto. An adequate starter at an adequate restaurant for lunch with Andrew. The wine and conversation were much more memorable.


The Verdict
The prawns were huge and cooked nicely. The rest was a bit insipid and boring. Perfectly suitable for lunch but not going to send a memo home or get the recipe.



Taste: 2.5/5 Decent
Cost: 2.5/5 Reasonable
Visual: 2.5/5 Green
Magic: 2.5/5 Nah

238 - Spinach Rice Balls [Espinacas Bolas de Arroz]

These may look a bit strange but you should of seen the mess of the kitchen. Besides looking strange these tasted great. Again using left-over rice which cut down on time these were transportable to the studio and tasted much better than they looked. 

The Verdict

Pretty tasty, depute looking like seaweed hairballs. Texture was nice, flavours were great and the pine-nuts added a creamy bite. Not bad. they probably would be more appealing if covered in bread-crumbs and fried until golden brown but these were decent. Messy to make though. 

Taste: 4/5 Flavourful
Time: 3/5 22 mins (pre-cooked rice)
Visual: 2.5/5 Rustic
Magic: 3.5/5 Surprisingly

237 - Tuna Crudo [Credo del Atún]

I had this at a birthday meal at an Italian in Edinburgh. It had cucumber but I didn't eat it.

The Verdict

It was tasty. Bit boring but fairly light in comparison to some of the other options and in total wash't bad. Wasn't great either.

Taste: 2.5/5 Sure
Cost: 2/5 ...
Visual: 2.5/5 Not That Delicate
Magic: 2.5/5 ....

236 - Tuna with Egg and Sherry [Atún con Huevo y Sherry]

A weird dish made at Andrew's parents house. I have a feeling this started as an omelette that went a bit squiff...Ahem..


The Verdict

Er..Fine. No more, no less.





Taste: 2.5/5 Sure
Time: 4/5 10 mins
Visual: 2.5/5 Almost
Magic: 2.5/5 ....

235 - Mango Salsa [Salsa de Mango]

It's cold, miserable and stressful. So clearly time for some bright, fun-filled mango salsa.

The Verdict
Looks like weird yellow moosh. Tastes awesome. Limey, spicy, sweet and very fresh. Not quite sure if it counts as 1/5 a day but certainly punches back with enough citrus to bust any cold and brighten up a dark day.

Taste: 4/5 Citrusy Zing
Time: 3/5 18 mins
Visual: 2.5/5 Yellow Mash
Magic: 4/5 Sure

234 - Ginger Liqueur and The Sticky Wings [El Jengibre Licor y las Alas Pegajosas]

 Another trip up to Aberdeen and Andrew and I went out for a few drinks and some food. Andrew settled on BBQ wings which came in a takeaway style box meanwhile I discovered that Ginger Liqueur exists and had to tear myself away. Yes, Ginger Liqueur. I asked the bar tender for a cocktail, he asked what else I liked..liberal quantities of lime, chilli and tequila later I had an awesome cocktail.

The Verdict
Ginger Liqueur. I man chicken wings. Not my favourite but Andrew loves them. I tried one and these were good, less gristly more sticky which is a good thing and well cooked though lacking slightly in sauce. The fake take-away box was actually kind of cute.

Taste:  3/5 Sticky Spicy Sweet
Cost: 3/5 Acceptable
Visual: 3/5 Cute Box
Magic: 3/5 OK!

233 - Moroccan Chicken Cous Cous [Pollo Marroquí Cous Cous]

Another one to use up ingredients and make two meals out of one chicken. Resourceful, and hopefully tasty.

The Verdict

Not too shabby. Far too much cows-cous though and the salad was a bit token but the marinated chicken in harrissa and honey was pretty damn tasty, sticky on the outside and juicy in the middle. Great flavour requiring much more of a balance.

Taste:  3.5/5 Good Flavours
Time: 3/5 20 mins
Visual: 3/5 Cous-Cous Heavy
Magic: 3.5/5 Sure

232 - Battered Squid [Maltratadas Calamari]

Trip to a local bar which I don't work in, resulted in deep fried dip your own squid in yoghurt, salt and crushed chillis. Plus it was nice to get out of the studio/ home-office/bar/ flat. Deadlines and creating a psychedelic music video for a band has left me exhausted. 

The Verdict

 Yummy. Crispy, salty and brilliantly cooked. Tasty batter with a hint of spice. Really god and definitely required after such a hectic day. I really like the dipping in salt and chilli, its fun, messy and you can stop when you want (if you want).

Taste:  4/5 Crispy and Flavourful
Cost: 2.5/5 Reasonable
Visual: 3/5 Bit Silly
Magic: 4/5 Absolutely

231 - Hot Chicken Salad [Ensalada de Pollo Caliente]

Something healthy, daily quick that allowed me to cover everything in chilli and lime.

The Verdict

Quick enough to make eat on a 30 minute break from a looong shift in the bar and spicy and tasty. All in all a happy dish.

Taste:  3.5/5 Spicy
Time: 3/5 17 mins 
Visual: 3/5 Fresh
Magic: 3/5 Hot

230 - Spicy Lamb Bites [Picante Cordero Bloas]

Technically this is Indian and was made by Dillip, the Indian in the house but I am not complaining and did get the recipe from him. His cooking is pretty awesome. He also is part of a modern christian church and turned from Hinduism to Christianity after he was semi-paralysed in an accident and in addition to studying for an international masters, now helps run a charity which gets slum children educated. This house is nothing short of interesting.

The Verdict
Super-yum. Potato and lamb filled balls, lovely crispy, flavoursome coating and enough yoghurt to cool a ghost chilli. Great.


Taste:  5/5 Awesome
Time: 2/5 45 mins (not that I cooked)
Visual: 4/5 Crispy Coating
Magic: 4/5 Oh Yes