Baked – Pizza al taglio

Baked is a pizza place that opened recently, less than one year ago. It’s a unique place in Glasgow since it’s the only one that makes “pizza al taglio alla romana” litteraly roman-style pizza sold by the slice. This pizza is different from the usual round pizza with crust, it’s way thicker and much easier to digest due to the really long proofing (Baked does it for 72 hours).

3 baked pizzas — From left to right: Salami and mozzarella, potatoes and rosemary and focaccia with mortadella, cherry tomatoes and rocket.

The pizza joint is situated in the East End, in Denniston. The location is not the best since is not a popular place in Glasgow, but the food is so good that customers are willing to get there even from Partick. This kind of pizza is crunchier than the normal pizza you can get from Paesano, for example. The pizzaiolo and owner of Baked is creative and open-minded. This can be seen on the pizza toppings that he puts together, my personal favourite is: grapes, goat cheese, sausage and rocket. You can find plenty of vegeterian and vegan options and also a Nutella pizza.

Close up pizzas baked — Left aubergine, tomato, mozzarella and basil. Right fennel and porchetta.

Besides the pizza there are Suppli and Cannoli which are both amazing. Everything is homemade with passion and sold at a resonable price. Some ingredients are imported from italy like the Porchetta, but when it’s possible they try to get local stuff. They also serve a terrific coffee, espresso of course.

As you read I’m really happy about this place and you’re right! When I’m there I feel like I’m really at home. The atmosphere and the quality of food of Baked is the most authentic Italian experience you can get in Glasgow in my opinion.

Five guys

I’m not a fast food kind of guy but sometimes I find myself in them for ease/convenience. I found out that Mcdonalds and Burgerkings hamburgers are better in Italy and fries are way better here, don’t ask me why. Today I went to Five Guys, there is a big hype around this palce and I wanted to investigate.

The place decor it’s kinda like an american 60s diner, with white and red tiles on the walls. The menu is really simple and versatile at the same time: There are hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fries and milkshakes.

fiveguyscheeseburgers — two “regular” cheeseburgers with one big portion of fries

Having lived in US for a while I know what a good hamburger tastes like.
After tasting the hamburger in depth.
I have to admit that this is the best I’ve had in a while. Second only to IN-N-OUT which is only availble in North America unfortunaly. The normal hamburger in Five Guys is considered a double in other places while small would be considered regular. The prices are not so high compared to other similar fast foods, for example BRGR which is not even close to the quality of Five Guys and it’s only 95p cheaper.

The main difference between Five Guys and any other fast food is the fries. The texture, taste and quantity is better than any other place in Glasgow for sure. If you know a fast food that makes better hamburgers or fries than Five Guys I’m happy to review it!

Falafel to go

When you are walking on busy Sauchiehall Street and feel like having a snack take a turn at Hope Street and go to Falafel to go which is a good alternative to junk food of McDonalds, KFC and BurgerKing.

This tiny place, that can fit only one person, makes an amazing falafel wrap with hummus, pickels, lettuce and chilli. Everything is homemade. They also sell homemade hummus. The price is only £2.50 for basically a whole meal

photo_2019-02-26_19-27-17 — Falafel to go shop front view

The opening hours are 6pm until 3am making it the best place to go for some night food. The chef/waiter/manager and only person that works at Falafel To Go it’s really nice and quick.

Due to the growing popularity of this fantastic spot the wait for a wrap has increased, unfortunately they can’t hire more staff since there wouldn’t be enough space for them. Also I’m not so sure about the hygiene of this small capacity. But everything it’s worth the beautiful taste of the vegetarian wrap which is the perfect combination of taste. At the same time soft and crunchy, warm but also cold and spicy and mild too.

In conclusion if you are coming home after some drinks in a cold night and you are hungry stop at falafel to go you won’t regret it!

Mozza vs Paesano

Only 5 years ago for an Italian, eating pizza in foreign country was a nightmare. But thanks to globalization now it’s possible to have a pizza basically the same quality of Italy with also an honest price.

Paesano is the most popular pizza place in Glasgow and I in my opinion due to its excessive popularity the quality has decreased and queue has increased. Moreover I think they don’t proof enough the dough which it makes difficult to digest.

photo_2019-02-27_10-17-56 — Mozza pizza with ricotta, onions, nduja, pancetta and basil.

Now there is a new king of pizza in Glasgow: Mozza! The pizza restaurant in Renfield Street has 12 different pizzas with a good variety of authentic toppings. And the best thing is that any pizza is £5 before 5pm. They make the pizza well done, crunchy and with a moderate amount of tomato just as I like it! My favourite pizza is the one with nduja and pancetta. They also have a mysterious pizza which the chef decides what are you getting! For dessert they make birramisu which is a tiramisu made with beer. Also the coffees are nice and strong.

Besides the food I think that also the service is better that in Paesano where I feel too much like in a fast food. In conclusion I strongly recommend mozza which is a cheap and good pizza, perfect for students!

Viet or non viet that is the question

One of the things I find that the UK does better compared to motherland — is the abundance of restaurants from different parts of the world. Italians are so patriotic about food that they don’t consider as much food coming from different places. On the other hand British people are not so proud of their food, I would say they are rather embarrassed, therefore they are more open.

I decided to expand my horizons, I went to non viet . An authentic vietnamese restaurant. I went there with my sister and my girlfriend both Italians.

WhatsApp Image 2018-12-14 at 12.14.42 — Tofu noodles

The place wasn’t really busy even tho it was around christmas. I would say it was rather empty. There was more staff than customers. The menu is really broad compared to other modern restaurants around and there is a great vegetarian and vegan options.. The disadvantage of having a varied menu is that customesrs may take long to decide – that’s exactly what happened – even more if many of the dishes are unknown. Anyway we managed. We ordered the mixed platter to start and then we shared Tofu pho (tofu and veggies noodle soup) , Pho Xao Ga (Stir fried flat rice noodles with vegetables and chicken) and Ca Kho To (Caramelized Mekong Catfish).

The starter was impressive, it had everything “Crispy spriing roll, pork & prawn summer roll, pork wrapped in betel leaf with rice vermicelli noodle, BBQ squid with salads & fried fishcakes. ” each little dish had its own sauce and the waiter was happy to explain them one by one. Luckly we shared a platter for 2 in 3 because it was a lot.

Non Viet has 4.5/5 on tripadvisor and I think it’s deserved.

Also Yelp gives the same score to the vietnamese restaurant.