58 Friday, November 14, 2014 1SM

Something for the WeekendSomething 2

TamCow

an’s IN my recent review of the

excellent Nakodar Grill inGlasgow’s East End, I saidDennistoun is now regarded bymany as the new West End.

Well, I think that was confirmedthe minute I clocked the menu atCoia’s Cafe on Duke Street.

A prawn cocktail was £7.95, it was£10.45 for a starter of bang bangshrimp . . . and what about £15.95 for aseafood pasta?

Sixteen quid? Not so long ago, youcould have bought a house in Dennis-toun for that sort of dosh.

Surely the prices are a bit naughty for(a) the location and (b) the fact it’s acafe?

To be honest, established in 1928 andnow looked after by Alfredo and Anto-nia (the third generation of the familyto run the business), Coia’s is a lot morethan just a local cafe.

It’s now a full-blown Italian restaurantand deli — not to mention a Glasgowinstitution — and the fact it was abso-lutely mobbed on the dreich Wednesdaynight we visited suggests the food isworth every penny.

Yep, I reckon there was less of acrowd down the road at Parkhead thatnight for the Celtic v Partick ThistleLeague Cup tie. And I’m convincedthere was a better atmosphere at Coia’s.

Full selection of‘chippy’ favourites

As Celtic legend Paul McStay wouldhave put it: There’s a buzz about theplace. It actually reminded me of anItalian restaurant in Brooklyn the lasttime I visited New York and the warmgreeting from the enthusiastic staff waslike being welcomed into the Coia fam-ily home.

Our spacious booth was very nice.Even nicer a good 30 minutes laterwhen they cleared away the cleaningmaterials stacked up right behind mypal Lesley’s head (skooshy sprays for thetables and one of those industrial-sizedkitchen rolls that looks like Kim Karda-shian’s toilet paper).

I don’t imagine Lesley felt comfortablewith all those chemicals so close to herlovely, ahem, natural blonde hair . . .

She did, however, enjoy some otherchemicals in the shape of a large glass— or three — of Pinot Grigio (one quick,well-rehearsed glower in the directionof hubby Graham confirmed he was thedesignated driver for the trip home).

The wine and a three-course feast forfour of us cost £150 — and, despite thefact my initial glance at the menu waslike reading a Stephen King novel, justunder 40 quid a head for this standardof food and drink is pretty decent value.

And it seemed even better, I suppose,as we were cashing in a £100 Coia’sCafe voucher my wife won at a fund-raising event for the Beatson CancerCharity in Glasgow.

Anyway, we all won a watch at Coia’s.The packed menu — allow a good 15

minutes for a proper study — includesclassic Scottish dishes like homemadesteak pie and mince ’n’ tatties, plus afull selection of “chippy” favouritescourtesy of the takeaway next door.

And, for the loyal OAP customerswho’ve been visiting Coia’s for years, Ihear they even do alphabetti spaghettiin large print.

After sharing a light, fluffy focaccia, Istarted with a half portion of penne sal-siccia which, according to my scribbled

IN my recent review of the

NewMusic By JIMGELLATLY

HELLO FUTUREWHO: Liam McGowan (vocals/guitar), Ross Findlay (guitar/vocals),Stuart ‘Harry’ Harrison (bass),Hamish Ferguson (drums).WHERE: Dundee.FOR FANS OF: Weezer, Jimmy EatWorld, Biffy Clyro.JIM SAYS: I’ve been followingthese guys for a while, having intro-duced them on stage at an event inDundee last year.They were then known as

Phantom Brake Pedal. After aline-up reshuffle they re-emerged acouple of months ago asHello Future.They know there is a

lot of graft ahead. Liamsaid: “We are all in ourtwenties so rememberbands like Biffy Clyroplaying to like 100 peoplein the Reading Rooms inDundee, and seeingFrank Turner when he wasin Million Dead.“Seeing what these guys have

achieved is a massive inspiration tous. Hard work is a common denom-inator. With hard work, a solid fanbase and incredible songs you canreally achieve so much.”Hello Future released

their debut single DoYou Feel Alive at theend of October. Agloriously catchy sliceof indie rock, it’s aperfect introduction tothe band. Liam said:“We are finally happywith the sound we

The single is out through Sar-aseto Records, who’ve previously

put out releases from Cop-per Lungs, Miniature Dino-

saurs and We CameFrom Wolves.Liam said: “We got in

touch with Andrew Dycefrom Saraseto on Face-book and sent him thetrack. He’s worked withsome cool bands, sowe were keen to see if

“We were delighted he wanted tohelp us.“We have also just completed

our first Scottish tour, which wasreally cool and a great laugh. Weorganised the tour ourselves withhelp from Saraseto.“It was cool to see it all come

together and we got a greatresponse from the crowds.”Hello Future play Hootananny in

Inverness on November 28 andY-Not Bar in Thurso the next night.MORE: facebook.com/hellofutureuk

Jim presents Drive-

time on XFM Scot-

land, Monday to

Friday 4-7pm.www.xfm.co.uk

www.jimgellatly.com

They were then known asPhantom Brake Pedal. After aline-up reshuffle they re-emerged acouple of months ago as

They know there is alot of graft ahead. Liamsaid: “We are all in ourtwenties so rememberbands like Biffy Clyroplaying to like 100 peoplein the Reading Rooms inDundee, and seeingFrank Turner when he was

“Seeing what these guys haveachieved is a massive inspiration tous. Hard work is a common denom-inator. With hard work, a solid fan

have and Do You Feel Alive is agreat representation of that.“The song’s about reaching a

crossroad, letting go of the pastand moving forward.”The single is out through Sar-

he liked our song and he loved it.We met up in Dundee for a fewbeers and he was just such a gen-uine guy.“We were delighted he wanted to

BRIGHT FUTURE FORLIAM AND THE GANG

mee

tsHELLO

FUTU

RE