Wha's like us... The Gorbals
IN SCOTLAND and beyond, this Glasgow district's reputation is legendary. Trading on a heritage of poverty, slums and streets gangs, the Gorbals has become synonymous with violence, alcoholism and, occasionally, depravity.
But for residents of downtown Los Angeles, the Gorbals may soon have an altogether different connotation. Thanks to the opening of an eponymous restaurant there, The Gorbals is now the home of haute cuisine.
Chef Ilan Hall – winner of the US TV's Masterchef – has chosen to name his restaurant as a homage to his parents who were brought up there. It's a fitting tribute to one of Scotland's most famous former slums, which, lest we forget, is also home to the Citizens' Theatre, economist Ralph Glasser, Baroness Helena Kennedy and good humoured, generous hospitality which is second to none.