Toots and I had been on our health kick for what seemed like a lifetime.

She had kept up with the good stuff but quinoa and some chunks of chicken is not going to keep me going during a hard slog at the office.

So I had been topping up with carbs to tide me over. The Moll would never know and hungry Tec is not a good sight for anyone.

I’d started a bit of a game with myself to try out something new from the vending machine every day. If I had learned anything, it was that chocolate bars ain’t what they used to be.

After a long day at the office, I shoved a bunch of files to the side and headed home to see what sad looking veg the Moll had turned into a meal for me.

She was bent over double at the kitchen table upon my arrival.

“I can’t do it anymore”, she said with a dramatic hand slap on the table.

“Do what?”, I replied, more bemused than normal.

The hunger pains had gotten too much and had driven her to the superfood edge.

After doing some damage control and insisting that I too couldn’t take it anymore, we jumped in the car and sped off into the bright lights of Glasgow city centre.

I parked up and we took a brisk walk up Buchanan Street to find the nearest food joint.

We settled on Vapiano, a new addition to the shopping street with a, dare I say it, ‘hip’ feel to it.

As we headed up to stairs, Toots was left lapped up the impressive greenery and sheer size of the place.

The layout is less of a cosy Italian and more of a ‘trendy’ open space, with benches and shared tables.

We popped ourselves on a chair and ordered within a glance at the menu.

My big (pretend) reunion with cheese and pasta was one for the ages.

“Let’s go all out and get a pizza AND pasta each - we deserve it”, Toots said with an excited look in her eye.

“If you insist”, I replied, feigning reluctance.

For pasta, I went for the old classic bolognese which didn’t disappoint. The sauce was rich in flavour with the perfect tomato sauce which is always so difficult to pin down at home.

The barbecue chicken pizza was a bit out of my comfort zone but I thought I would try something new for 2018.

The sauce, smoked cheese, tomato sauce and mozzarella, went together surprisingly well. Not quite good enough to turn me off my pepperoni addiction.

Toots looked on in disgust as I scoffed the lot without stopping to ask how her meal was.

The Moll went for carbonara with a not-too-heavy sauce and pieces of succulent bacon throughout. Between slices of pizza, I think she mentioned that it wasn't 'too heavy' much like a lot of carbonara dishes she'd tried on our previous adventures.

The margarita was exactly what you want - authentic Italian - not too doughy and just the right amount of sauce.

After wolfing down a sharing plate of antipasti before the meal, I’m surprised we had any room left but we opted for a small panna cotta which was just what we needed to top off the meal.

“That’s my treat for the month”, Toots said with a telling look in her eye. Little does she know, I had a ready made mac and cheese cooling in the office fridge ready for my next fix.

FOOD

Piatto antipasti £12.75

Bolognese £9.85

Carbonara £9.85

Barbecue chicken pizza £10.85

Margherita pizza £7.95

Panna cotta £2.85

DRINKS

Coke £2.65

Diet Coke £2.65

TOTAL

£59.40

Atmosphere - 3

Food - 4

Service - 4

Vapiano

235 Buchanan Street

G1 2NG

Tel: 0141 370 9290