AFTER the great chip pan fire of Manchester last year, you would think “Burns Night" would be the last thing Almost Famous Burgers would want to celebrate.
But not a bit of it. Confidential parked up at the weekend just gone to discover plenty of poetry in motion at the packed-out Parr Street grill.
Every Thursday, AFB's chefs and bartenders will be cut loose from the confines of River Phoenix burgers and suicide wings to create something different.
The “long weekend” special is so special that it is limited to the first 25 orders a day. Once Sunday night comes these one-offs run into the sea, hand in hand, and are gone forever.
A salute to Rabbie Burns
Thus, to celebrate the Great Scot and poet last weekend, a wee nip: the Rabbie Burns boozy milkshake (£5), which was flying out. Comprising Chivas Regal 12, Monkey Shoulder Scotch and Jagermeister in Mars Bar milk, it was garnished with deep fried Mars Bar popsicle. Filthy, frothing and a fiver – and, after the fourth one, so were we.
To soak it up, the Waffle of Wall Street (£10), layers and layers of pink and juicy flatiron steak interrupted with mini potato waffles, cheesy gloop, lots of runny sparky peppercorn sauce and crunchy onion rings – which you don't see enough in AFB.
Quite what this has got to do with Robert Burns is anyone's guess, but here is some verse to peg on:
“Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit.”
Packing them in at Parr St
This week coming is Chinese New Year of the Horse, but you'll have to buy a supermarket lasagne for a bit of that. Almost Famous has already ordered in a Great Wall of BEEF and is planning to surprise you with what? A Dragon Dog? A Hard Wok Cafe?
But will there still be boozy shakes? Yes and, come the next day, you will have.
