IT'S been another typically busy month amongst Manchester's bubbling food and booze scene.
I’m not sure I’d trek 6,400km for it but it sure beats fermented yak’s milk
No less than three London-based restaurant brands (D&D, Randall & Aubin, Drake & Morgan) have announced intentions to open Manchester outposts, Raymond Blanc has announced his return to the North West, whilst Individual Restaurants have finally relaunched Piccolino on Albert Square with a multi-million pound makeover.
Still, amongst the clamour, one thing never changes – our commitment to seek out the city's very best grub. So below you’ll find 12 dishes that made us smile this month. We hope they make you smile too.
Oh and if you've seen or eaten something you think we should try this month, tweet us @mcrconfidential using the hashtag #WhatWeAteMCR.
Indian Tiffin Room | Paani Puri and the Goat Keema Pav
Two for one deal for me here. These trumpet-blowing starters are simply exceptional. The first was cunningly crafted from puff pastry hollowed out by some alchemy and containing cute potato balls. There's a tub of minty water amongst these dancing, dainty titbits which you pour inside the pastry and then chuck in your mouth. The result is a hugely refeshing explosion of flavour. The goat came with peas and spices with a consistency that resembled baby food - and I mean that as a compliment. There was a lavishly buttered bap which you layered with the goat to create a heavenly butty. Jonathan Schofield
First Street, 1 First St, Manchester M15 4FN.
Piccolino Caffé Grande | Bloody Great Big Rib-Eye
Now, the lovely OCD-riddled marketing team at Individual Restaurants want Gordo to stop using the term Piccolino on Albert Square and start using Piccolino on Clarence Street. Well, Gordo has been getting pissed in there since you lot were doing your eleven plus... it's Albert Square, mate. Though, Gordo does like the added Caffé Grande bit.
This new and much improved gaff now houses one Manchester’s top three steaks. It’s a bloody great big rib-eye for two, on the bone, called Tagliata di Manzo - 800 grams for £55 English. The group's equally obsessive gaffer, Steven Walker, became pissed off with their meat quality in the past so bought his own farm, herd and abatoir. Well you would, wouldn’t you? And it shows. This steak, cooked on a grill (designed in-house) gets better results than a Josper, whilst beating anything cooked on an Inka. Crunchy on the outside, red‘n’bloody on the inside, it’ll leave you fighting over the bone. Gordo
8 Clarence St, Manchester M2 4DW
Tariff & Dale | Sausage Rolls
The new menu at Tariff and Dale has a whole section devoted to sausage rolls. They are a million miles away from those flabby, beige opiate-filled offerings found in high street take out chains (I assume those contain opiates, because why else would so many people queue in the rain for them?). There are four in the range, all at £4; pork and pistachio, black pudding, lamb and rosemary, and my surprise favourite, mushroom and Lancashire blue cheese. They’ve also made a science out of the saucy side; choose from home made Curious Porter, or Burnt Onion and ‘Nduja Ketchups to dip into. The perfect Manchester snack/drink combo equivalent of those pintxos or tapas you get in Spanish bars. Deanna Thomas
2 Tariff St, Manchester M1 2FN
EastzEast | Cheese Seekh Kebab
Now, admittedly nothing about this dish looks right. But then, when has a Seekh Kebab ever not looked like something pulled from a U-bend? Anyway, aesthetics rarely dictate taste, have you ever actually seen a monkfish? Christ! This appetiser from stalwart Manchester curry palace EastzEast takes minced lamb, herbs and spices, and mixes it with melty Mozzarella (about as Punjab as Andre Pirlo’s Armani brogues, we know) alongside a smoky chargrilled flavour to create my favourite bite of the month. Just don’t stare at it… David Blake
Blackfriars St, Manchester M3 5BQ
Albert Square Chop House | Steak and Kidney Pudding
Gordo beat a bunch of national critics a couple of years ago in a pie making contest. Rob Owen Brown, chef and judge, said: “This is so good it proves the fat bastard couldn’t have cooked it himself”. Bit harsh. However, the steak and kidney pudding at the newly refurbished Albert Square Chop House comes a very close second. Great pastry, luscious beef and mouthy kidneys all cooked in a good gravy with proper mushy peas and chips that are on a par with Heston’s. Go try it, it's that good you'll want to slip Gordo a tenner next time you see him. Gordo
Memorial Hall, 14 Albert Square, Manchester M2 5PF
The Stomping Grounds | Griddled Halloumi and Turkish Pesto
I went for a stroll around Wilmslow Artisan market at lunchtime on the third Saturday of the month, but the usual burger, sausage and wood fired pizza offerings weren’t tickling my fancy. I was after something a bit different and found it at The Stomping Grounds converted food van, from which they serve Turkish style street food using seasonal local produce. As a committed carnivore, I’d usually go for spiced honey and sesame chicken shish or the lamb shish with tomato and chilli. Instead, I found exactly what I wanted in their griddled halloumi and Turkish pesto served in ethical packaging with beetroot hoummus, bread, sumac couscous and a fresh salad that included pickled heritage carrots. Deanna Thomas
Alderley Road SK9 1PB
Albert’s Schloss | ‘Smashed’ Avocado Toast, Feta & Eggs
Ever since Gwyneth Paltrow invented avocados sometime in 2013, the Central American fruit (a berry, as it happens) has become the squelchy Sunday morning cornerstone of smug #eatclean Instagram feeds. In fact, so ubiquitous has this knobbly green fruit become that fashionistas have supposedly declared the avocado ‘overcado’. Zing. Regardless, this happy medley of flavour and texture with the mushy green stuff, creamy feta, runny egg and red chilli kicks was a much welcome antidote to a Saturday night thoroughly misspent. And my oh my that egg. You could drip that runny yolk over a marathon runner’s sock and I’d probably still eat it. David Blake
27 Peter St, Manchester M2 5QR
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Salvi's | Antipasti Platter
The weather this month has played havoc with me deciding what to eat. Do I need something warm, calorific and comforting while the hail pelts down outside, or am I ready for some cured meats, cheeses and salads washed down with a cool glass of something over 5% alcohol? I discovered you can have both at Salvis in The Corn Exchange. An excellent Negroni complimented an antipasti platter of salami, Parma ham, mozzarella, strongly smoked provolone, olives, bresaola with rocket and Taleggio cheese and grissini. If the weather turns bad while you’re in there, just ride out the storm with a big bowl of steaming pasta and more of that cheese. Deanna Thomas
Evelyn’s Cafe Bar | Crispy Tofu and Lentils
Tofu seldom does it for me. Perhaps its too subtle for British tastebuds, which are drawn to things like extra mature cheddar and Marmite. However, this version at Evelyn’s Cafe Bar in the NQ was a treat. Dressed in a spiced bread crumb, deep fried and served croquetas-style over a smooth lentil daal, it was packed with contrast, and totally vegan. My friend and I fought over it, even though her chickpea fritter (aka burger) with a mango, sesame and yoghurt relish was just as good. Perhaps its a coincidence that the owners also run Mughli in the Curry Mile, but the reverence for pulses and veg options across the menu brought to mind home-style Indian flavours - even if Evelyn’s is very much a place for fusion food. Ruth Allan
G18 Tib St, Manchester M4 1NB
Tattu | The Silk Road
Tune into BBC 4 at the moment and you’ll catch an enthusiastic telly historian called Sam Willis retracing the old Silk Road that brought world-changing discoveries from China to the West. Whether advances in body art counted among these I’m not sure, but this ancient practice is the inspiration for Tattu, which just happens to offer a dish called Silk Road on its dessert list. This is definitely the most ambitious section of a Hakkasan-inspired Chinese menu that has calmed down after a first year spent cocking a snook at the less-glamorous pasty shop across Gartside Street. Fellow dessert All The Tea in China, served astride a pot of belching dried ice, is a heroic failure, while gooey Chocolate Fondant with Satay Ice is definitely not, but the Silk Road surpasses both – a gorgeous procession of mango and lychee, jellies, petals, crumbs and squiggles of meringue. I’m not sure I’d trek 6,400km for it but it sure beats fermented yak’s milk. Neil Sowerby
3 Hardman Square, Gartside St M3 3EB
Lunya | Calamari
Lunya, the really Spanish Spanish restaurant on Deansgate, owned by Peter and Elaine Kinsella (the UK’s greatest Hispanophiles) serve great tapas at the bar, meaning it's usually riddled with Spaniards on their day off - a good sign. Their fried calamari in beer batter nearly made Gordo fall off his seat this month; crisp with the freshest squid bursting to get out once its in your mouth. Get in, order this, alongside a glass of Castelo de Medina and prepare to have yer socks knocked off. £7.25 for a portion so big they use coal shovels to get it on the plate. Gordo
7 Barton Square, Manchester M3 2BB
The Fenwick Arms | Crab Crostinis
Recently Gordo was served a 'crab salad' with meat clearly peeled from of a pasteurized packet from Cornwall (not a bad product, as it happens, but charging £9 was taking the piss). In the meantime, Seafood Pub Co. owner Jocelyn Neve has her father out in a trawler on the Irish sea catching crabs (oo'er missus) for her restaurants all week. Not only that, her chefs clearly know how to pick the meat. Over at The Fenwick Arms, just north of Lancaster, they recently served Gordo and his editor a stupendous crab on crostinis; fresh, seasoned beautifully and so bloody good that Gordo managed to take his eyes off Joce for eight minutes. Gordo
Lancaster Rd, Caton, Claughton, Lancashire LA2 9LA
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