ALTHOUGH it looks more like downtown New York than Glasgow, this joint was a fixture on Sauchiehall Street in the late 1970s.

Billing itself as a "drugstore and cafe", the 51st State was a Big Apple-themed bar and diner, complete with roller-skating waitresses, who whizzed about the place wearing teeny-tiny denim shorts. Any local leches who lunged at the girls were liable to find their toes being rolled over - ouch!

Although Glaswegians had been munching on burgers and chips for years, the place billed itself as the city's first American-style eatery, serving up a lip-smacking selection of ribs, chilli, steaks and shakes.

As is normal in Glasgow, the novelty soon wore off and the cool kids soon found a new hang out. Today, the venue is the Budda Bar.