THE BARRAS GOES FOODIE!
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It seems to me that everywhere you go in Glasgow there’s a food festival on the go. I’m not complaining of course, in the past week I’ve been to Big Feed, Feast End and the Loch Lomond Food and Drink festivals and enjoyed them all.
Having announced itself as a monthly event on the first Saturday of each month I decided to get myself back down to BAaD and see what the Feast End Festival had to offer. The answer was food, beer and sun (this time at least) in the cool and relaxed The Backyard at BAaD.
The festival is on over the weekend so if you can’t make the Saturday you always have the Sunday to catch up on your foodie fix. There’s also a promise on the BAaD website for a Christmas themed event in December to rival the usual European markets in the city centre at Xmas that have become a bit stale in my opinion.
The first thing I’ll say about this festival is that it’s in a very cool location. On a nice day, like it was when I visited, it was great to look around the food stalls then have a sit down with a nice cold beer in the sun. My only worry is that in the winter when the heavens will most likely open if it would be as enjoyable. That said I’ll still be paying the Christmas event a visit for sure.
The Backyard at BAaD is a great setting. The contemporary urban container park is unlike anywhere else I’ve been in Glasgow and certainly gives it a distinctive feel. The artwork around the place is also pretty cool and you can tell there’s an art vibe around the whole area these days.
The next thing I want to mention before we get to the food is the drinks. Having a full bar in BAaD means there’s a great selection of craft beers as well as the usual offerings including spirits and soft drinks. If you’ve read some of my other posts you’ll know I’m quite into my craft beers so this was a big plus for me!
OK so lets move on to the lineup and the food. We all know the drill with these festivals, there’s always more that we want to eat than we can actually eat so not everything was sampled. At Feast End This month were Seniors Street Food, Java Jess, Mimi’s Takoyaki, Ginger & Chilli, iZen Juice, Magnificent 7, Bowl Food and Rawnchy Desserts (some pictured below).
This time around I managed to sample Seniors Street Food and Java Jess. I also tried Mimi’s Takoyaki last weekend at Big Feed so will also give a little mention to them as I’m a fan of their dumplings. I really do need to try Ginger & Chilli at some point as their menu looks great but a man can only eat so much in one day. I also took a walk through Magnificent 7’s shop and it smelled truly delicious but again I just couldn’t manage to eat anymore!
So lets have a look at the food and see what we thought…
Seniors Street Food
Follow: @seniorsstreetfood
Now I’ll start by saying I’d spoken to Dave at Seniors Street Food prior to Feast End as they are new to the street food game and he was looking for people to come down and sample their menu and provide feedback on it. When I saw the menu I instantly said yes. One of my biggest gripes with Mexican food is that it’s always very samey (for lack of a better word) regardless of where it comes from. The menu here was different and included some things I’m particularly fond of, namely haggis and pulled beef.
The first thing I tried was the brisket and brie quesadilla. This was an excellent dish, everything in the dish worked well together right down to the sweet salsa. The portion was also pretty generous with 4 quarters stuffed full for only £5.50. Another thing to mention here is that everything on the menu at this van was also available as a taster portion for £2.50 which more places should really offer at these events.
Next up was the chilli cheese nachos. Now I’m a big fan of chilli but again it’s hard to make it different and standout from any other chilli you could buy or make yourself. I can honestly say I’ve never had haggis chill before but I’ll certainly have it again. I didn’t enjoy the nachos as much as the quesadilla but they were still very good even if it is a simple dish. Overall this was great Mexican food with a twist and a winner for me!
Rating: 4/5
JavaJess
Follow: @javajessindofood
Next up at Feast End was Java Jess and her Indonesian Street Food pop up. I’m a big fan of Asian food and when I saw the Facebook event go up for this event the first thing that caught my eye was the picture of the Laksa Ayam. I don’t usually go for soup dishes but the spiced coconut milk base intrigued me as I’m a big fan of Thai curries and chicken noodle is always good. This dish was delicious and filling, I can only imagine it being more enjoyable on a cold winters day.
By this point I was pretty full and certainly wouldn’t have been able to order another dish (this is where taster portions would have came in handy). As luck would have it this is when my friend arrived and decided he was keen to try the Beef Rendang. This beef curry was also pretty good, it didn’t quite reach the highs of the Laksa but it was still delicious. I’d definitely recommend checking JavaJess out if the opportunity arises.
Rating: 4/5
Mimi’s Takoyaki
Follow: @mimistakoyaki
Now as I said earlier I didn’t get round to visiting these guys at Feast End but that’s only because I had been the week before at Big Feed. Now if you’d said to me a few years ago I’d be writing about how much I enjoyed octopus dumplings I’d have said you were mad but that’s exactly what I’m doing.
I watched the guys cook these up as I waited which was interesting in itself and pretty impressive. More impressive than that though was the taste. They might be small but they were packed with flavour. I won’t pretend to know what all the toppings were but they complimented the little dumplings perfectly and this was a great snack and a good size when you’re trying to eat all the food as I usually am. If you’re feeling adventurous then give these a try.
Rating: 4/5
Overall I’m giving Feast End Festival a thumbs up from me. In the summer (if we ever get one) it’s a great venue and time will tell how it holds up in the winter months. They seem to have a good base to build on and I’m a fan of the changing line up, some may be hit and miss but the event won’t get stale and will keep the regulars coming back as long as the vendors are as good quality as the ones I tried this weekend.
If you live in the east end then be happy you’ll have this on your doorstop and get out and support it. If you don’t live in the east end then why not check it out anyway, it’s a short walk from the city centre and easily accessible. It’s also dog and family friendly so the whole family can enjoy the day out!
FEAST END FESTIVAL REVIEW
Food: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Value for Money: 4/5
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