Stravaigin 2

now i'd heard great things about the stravaigin revolution sweepin glasgow and their ruthven lane branch, a bistro syle little brother to the foodies haven stravaigin which is situated in the heady heights of gibson street.

Both share the same motto 'think global, eat local' and after being pleasantly greated and shown to our table during a half busy monday lunch service a quick skim of the menu confirms that someone up those stairs knows the lingo. With a set menu of £13.95 for two courses and £15.95 for three(both including coffee) me and my food amigo smelled a deal.

Dukkah platter a middle Eastern nut & spice blend with olive oil & balsamic puddle, marinated olives & bread sat confidently atop the menu along side its starter comrades of Stravaigin’s haggis, mashed neeps & champit tatties which apparently (so the menu tells us) was voted Scotland’s best haggis. Impressively a veggie haggis was also noted as a starter instead of being pushed to the side lines like in so many restaurants.

mains were the usuall monday mix of things left over from the weekend leaning heavily on the large burger menu (we'll get to that later) and the 'look at the crazy combinations' stuff that one would expect to find in an establishment with such an all encompassing motto.

I plummed for the squid on julienned vegetables with lemon oil to start and that world famous haggis was expected by my food adventure amigo across the table. service seemed a tad slow for such a quiet west end lunch hower the butifully chilled peroni was helping me to pass the time.

When the food arrived the squid was presented in the ubiquitous centered pile, squid atop the veggies and a drizzle round the outside. The haggis neeps and tatties were quinelled in a uniformed line with a beef reduction shining atop. As a rule normally i dont eat fish or crustations on a monday due basically to the fact that its the fishermans day off and the product in the chefs reach in fridge is not as fresh as as it maybe could be. This however was very fresh and without the tough and 'fishy' taste usually atributed to older 'left over' produce. The julliened veggies were a mix of carrot and other root veg cooked very well and hightened by the inclusion of fennel, the only let down was the pointless oil dressing that tasted of cheap nasty veg oil and was lacking in a real kick of lemon that i (the expectant customer) was antisipating. this dish really needed that to cut through the rest of the ingredients. By the time i had the chance to check out progresson the other side of the table the amigo had inhaled the haggis . When asked 'how was that' the simple reply was best neeps ever!' a huge compliment from the amigo who thinks of haggis neeps and tatties as its own food group.

for mains i had taken a scottish ribeye with raked shallot and potato daupinoise special, the other main was one of stravaigins 'best burgers in glasgow' a 12oz double with bacon and a peppercorn sauce to go with it. again service was the minimum of what i expect and still a little slow but certainly up to the job, oh well another peroni!

The main really impressed me, it wasn't overgarnished with pointless nonsense it was simple tasty and above all honest. I had asked for my rib to be cooked medium rare and maybee if im being picky it was slightly overcooked and over trimmed of the central eye of fat that gives rib eye its distict creamy flavour. But still a very acomplished dish. The doupinoise was however the star of the show, wafer thin but still retaining its integrity and bite. I was overwhelemed by the degree of skill shown in it (and thats alot coming from a fussy bugger like me). THe burger was said to be well executed however the salad did it no justice and was presented as an afterthought. I really liked the 'real chips' idea listed on the menu and my amigo wasnt disappointed, the chip that i stole was crisy on the outside and remnisant of mash potato on the inside, so many places i go to use scottish maris pipers and they just dont crisp like the english counterparts that these clearly were.

straviagin 2 is a great place to grab a bite during a busy west end jaunt, however dont expect to be blown away in this cafeteria syle dining room. the brand stravaigin makes bold statements but in order to fulfill their intentions they must in my humble opinion stick to the simple regional syles and tecniques instead of using that new world food banner as a way to showcase the chefs crazy combinations meets lazy stuff and loadsa burgers repatoir.
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Tuesday, June 03, 2008