John Gibson: Salvatore will keep to his word The new reekie

WE'RE on a promise. You, me and your auntie. Free grub, free beer if Italy win the World Cup. Just make sure you're around in Hangover Street. I've had this assurance, man to man, from Salvatore Trano, who seems a straight-up sort.

His is the latest addition to a street that has hundreds of restaurants. It seems like hundreds. Some good. Some iffy. Some downright grotty.

In March, above Hendersons the veggie folk, he opened "Salvatore", a sandwiches, pasta and hot and cold takeaway, soon to become a licensed 35-seater restaurant.

Fond of pasta himself, Trano, 46, has a chef's paunch to prove it.

"But I'm dieting drastically, from 16 to 13 stones. I'm six feet and I've carried too much weight, the result of lunch and dinner every day for years as exec chef at the Rusticana in Cockburn Street where Mel Jameson and Brian Leishman, both top men in the Tattoo, were among our favourite customers."

Trano had trouble picking up English when he arrived in Edinburgh in 1985 from Naples. "For five years I kept moving . . . Bar Roma, the Trattoria, a couple of hotels . . . to learn the language ."

He has mastered it now and he was perfectly clear on this point: "I'm a big Juventus fan and if Italy win the cup – we're in with a good chance – Hanover Street will become Salvatore Street for a day, our food and beer free."

If he doesn't deliver we'll make him eat his words. Oh, and don't be surprised to find him introducing his mellifluous menu at the top of the stairs. He plays guitar and saxophone.

Smells niffy to me. I've not forgotten Peter Allis at the Open, referring in passing to Tiger Woods' under-arm stains, and advising "make your armpits your charm pits".

Which brings me to the 12-city league table published this week after a UK-wide survey by shower company Mira. Edinburgh was placed ninth, Liverpool the dirtiest and, you'll be astounded to learn, Glasgow was branded smelliest in Scotland.

More than half the Weegies go three days or more without showering or taking a bath. Can we expect to see them competing in A Pong for Europe? Pass me a clothes peg.