Remedy

Taste, according to Edmund Burke, is a delicate and aerial faculty that we all have, even though this volatile quality varies from person to person. Yet again, taste can be stimulated and possibly educated by eating palate-teasing foods. This, in a way, is what Phil and Liz Callaghan, owners of the Remedy Delicatessen & Café, have set out to do.

A recent addition to the elegant Strathbungo area, Remedy has been welcomed by the local residents who were left disappointed when the Greek deli across the street closed many years ago, leaving them bereft. The shop counter - which has got a history since it previously belonged to the now-defunct Italian deli and restaurant Fazzi - offers an excellent selection of salumi (such as bresaola, ventricina, goose and wild boar salami), cheeses (Parmigiano Reggiano, taleggio and many more), and other delicacies such as grilled vegetables, marinated garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and French pates.

The shop shelves are well-stocked with a fine selection of French, Italian, Scottish and Spanish products. There's a bit of everything here: egg pasta, polenta, paella rice, aromatic olive oils, hot pepper or rucola sauces, pumpkin jam ideal to spread onto bruschetta, handmade chutneys, delicious honey and chocolates, and a good selection of flours to make pasta or cakes, such as chestnut flour, ideal to make bread, biscotti, cakes, or traditional Tuscan delicacy, Castagnaccio. If you still can't find what you're looking for in this little treasure trove, you can ask Liz who will source for you products from Scotland and abroad.

All the food from the café is made with fresh local products, authentic ingredients that will water your mouth: highly recommended are the Scottish baguette (haggis and bacon or vegetarian haggis and sweet potatoes, all for £4.95) and the Spanish stew with chicken, chorizo and crusty bread (£6.95). Snacks include waffles with winter berries and cr'me fraiche (£2.95), sticky pudding (£2.95) and stovies with Stornoway pudding (£6.95).
There's a good selection of hot and cold drinks and you can bring in your own wine, though if you really want to spoil your palate, you must try Remedy's hot chocolate. Made with real dense and perfumed cocoa powder and served in a tall glass, this is no lukewarm sugary chocolate-flavoured concoction, but it's the real stuff. Chocoholics should also go for Liz's luxury chocolate cake, remembering to order it a few days in advance to avoid dissapointment.

"We saw Remedy as a place to bring together all the nice things that you really need in your life, such as brilliant food, a friendly environment and a good atmosphere, that's where the name came from," Phil Callaghan explains.

Remember, your palate is for life, spoiling it with real food could be the right recipe to a longer life.