God, that May. So glad to see the back of it!
May has been, frankly, a shitty month.
It saw my Grandma having a stroke and spending 3 weeks in hospital, with a fall three days after she was let home.
It saw the arrival of my parents new puppy, Rory.
It saw my job thrown in serious jeopardy.
It saw me winning a competition for a trip for 2 to Glasgow.
Glasgow gave me something to look forward to, amongst applying for all the jobs - a brief relief from the anxiety of what the future might hold.
It started with a simple share of a picture on Instagram:
And so, thanks to the amazing team at Cote Brasserie, my best pal Jackie and I headed north of the wall, and put our hearts in the hands of Glasgow.
Friday night saw us sat in the window of a beautiful restaurant, with the weekend spread before us. And I was delighted to have a vast selection of Gluten Free items to chose from!
After a delicious starter of Crab Mayonnaise with avocado, cucumber, capers,
and tarragon with toasted gluten-free bread, I gave in to what my stomach wanted, which was chargrilled thinly beaten out minute steak
with frites and garlic butter, and it was just as good as my stomach had hoped it would be!!
Dessert was a no brainer - Crème Brûlée. Oh it was heaven.
It was a sign of the weekend to come, and with a full stomach, Jackie and I headed to our home for the weekend, the Radisson Park Inn hotel - a recently renovated hotel in an old Victorian building.
Breakfast was included in the package from Cote, so we trotted back to them for a chilled breakfast.
Feeding a gluten free and vegetarian table isn't easy - finding a combination restaurant that can please both parties is a bit of a challenge.
Cote stepped up to the challenge, and while I enjoyed a simple breakfast of fruit, yogurt and toast, Jackie had what she claimed was the best vegetarian breakfast ever! High praise indeed!
Next stop on our whistle stop tour, was Gordon Street Coffee, which offered the perfect respite after a morning shopping. We were meeting a few pals there, and so settled down with coffee and cake - and I can attest that their gluten free cake was both delicious and gluten free!
After the chilled catch up, we headed up the hill to the Glasgow Theatre Royal, to see Emily Atack in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
I knew nothing of the story, having not seen the film, or read the book, and was looking forward to an escapist couple of hours. It was not the chirpy story I'd misunderstood it to be. It spoke of the quest to rewrite your own past, take charge of your own story, and not to let others determine your path.
A quick stop back at the hotel to freshen up:
Another warm greeting from the team at Cote, we were sat in 'our' seat by the window, and we were again faced with the epic task of WHAT TO HAVE!!
My starter was my standard pate option. It was served in a mini Kilner style jar, assuring me it wasn't contaminated, serve with apple chutney on gluten free toast.
This Poulet Grillé, or chargrilled butterflied chicken breast with
wild mushroom, crème fraîche and thyme sauce,
served with gratin potato, was far better than I'd expected - I'd assumed it was going to be an up market Sunday dinner and it was so much more than that!!
Dessert was on a theme with Friday's - this time just plain Crème Caramel - oh but there was nothing plain about it!!
We rounded the night off, after a good old stomp around the streets of Glasgow to relive student days gone by (Jackie's, not mine), we ended up in Nice'n'Sleazy's for a famous £3 White Russian:
The following morning called for stronger stuff, so a full Gluten Free selection:
We waved goodbye to Glasgow, and vowed not to leave it so long the next time!
What really made this weekend the tonic I needed though, as well as the awesome Jackie, was the welcoming, attentive, and knowledgeable staff at Glasgow Cote. Being fans of people watching, we noticed the staff weren't just attentive of us, but all their customers received the same level of service. And if that's the case, then Cote is a great jewel in Glasgow's crown.
Much love my lovelies,
K xx
