MY oh my we've wrapped our gums around some mighty fine morsels this past month.
There was that warm and lovely loose Spanish tortilla at San Juan in Chorlton, the best-in-town kimchi at Umezushi, oh and who could forget the solitary egg in a paper cup at the (possibly doomed) Salisbury pub.
What else? El Gato Negro's oysters had us swooning, as did Home Sweet Home's Rancho Cucamonga and the Three Way Lamb at Hotel Football... of all places.
Anyway, here's 14 dishes that we've loved and shoved down our gullets this month. We think you should too.
Oh and if you've you eaten something you think we should wrap our gums around, then tweet us @mcrconfidential using the hashtag #WhatWeAteMCR.
Umezushi – Hamachi Collar
Yellowfin or amberjack is a fish that figures regularly on the specials board of this extremely fine Japanese restaurant in the arches near Victoria Station. Its fillets fit the bill as sashimi or sushi, but the real deal is the part that Japanese chefs covet for their own lunch. This bony section just behind the head and gills is the fattest juiciest part of the fish, so perfect for grilling or roasting on the bone. At Umezushi it comes out blackened from the grill devoted to Kushiyaki and you have to scrape out the smoky, swordfish-like flesh. At just £8, it’s definitely worth the effort. NS
Umezushi, 4 Mirabel Street, Manchester, M3 1PJ
Indian Tiffin Room - Dhaba Chicken
This barbecue-style, sticky half a ‘Dhaba-style' chicken from Indian Tiffin Room is a belter. Loads of my mates have been trying to get in here and failing - it’s that popular. My advice is to keep trying. ITR is not only extraordinary value, but refreshingly accomplished in the taste department. RA
Indian Tiffin Room, 2 Isabella Banks Street, First Street, Manchester, M15 4RL
Sugo - Insalata di Mozzarella di Bufala e Melanzane Grigliate... or something like that
This tiny 25-cover Puglian-inspired pasta kitchen hugging Altrincham's thriving food hall on Shaws Road is currently serving the best pasta in the North West. Actually, at the risk of gushing, it's better than 95% of the stuff you'll find down on The Boot. Still, the star of the show wasn't the little ear-shaped orecchiette or Hula Hoop-like calamarata, but a perfect primi of grilled aubergine, piercingly fresh tomatoes and Buffalo Mozzarella so fresh, plump, light and rich you'll want to adopt a little old Italian momma just to fetch her some home. DB
Sugo, 22 Shaw’s Road, Altrincham, WA14 1QU
El Gato Negro - Gillardeau Oysters, Yuzu Juice & Pickled Cucumber
Oysters should not be shucked about with. They are perfect as they are, or with a dash of Tabasco sauce, maybe a few chopped shallots in vinegar. All this buggering about is utter stupidity. Gordo thought he'd come across more stupidity in El Gato Negro with their 'Gillardeau oysters, yuzu juice and pickled cucumber', so was looking forward to giving these a good kicking. But downing the first one, which slid into the mouth as if on a bed of Vaseline, travelling at speed across Fat Boy's tongue, these were beautifully plump and creamily lush, seasoned in a tart yuzu sauce with tiny diced pickled cucumbers blowing everything along like green-cloaked trumpeters.
Just. Fucking. Brilliant. MG
El Gato Negro, 52 King St, Manchester M2 4LY
Hotel Football - Three Ways Lamb
Cracking Sunday lunch variant this one. Clearly with my other choice this month (see Sam's Corned Beef Hash below) I'm all about British comfort food, but pre-match at Old Trafford and the prospect of a draughty stadium this hearty rendition of lamb with a rich gravy and superb veg was just what the doctor ordered. David Lythall and his team at Hotel Football excelled themselves catering to around eighty people with a dish that felt as if it had been cooked for one. JS
Hotel Football, 99 Sir Matt Busby Way, Stretford, Manchester M16 0SZ
La Bandera - Carrilleras de cerdo
This month I greedily wolfed a dish called Carrilleras de cerdo from city centre Spanish restaurant La Bandera. Here pig’s cheeks are seethed for eight hours in a vegetable bouillon then braised in a Pedro Ximenez sauce, so it’s permeated with the treacle/prune flavours of this sweetest of sherries. It’s a luscious savoury treat for just £8.50. NS
La Bandera, 2 Ridgefield, Manchester, M2 6EQ.
San Carlo Gran Café - Pistachio Cake
Made by hand for San Carlo’s Gran Café in Selfridges - which was recently named Café of the Year 2016 in the prestigious Les Routiers Awards - this is the cake that launched a thousand sighs. Go have afternoon tea but pre-book a crane to winch you out of the place. This is one that Exec Chef Filippo Pagani cooked up. Felipo has cooked across Europe for Gordo, including in Alba. This one cake blew everything else over the years out of the water. Magnificent. MG
San Carlo Gran Cafe, Selfridges, Lower Ground Floor, Exchange Square, Manchester M3 1BD
Sam's Chop House - Corned Beef Hash
It's fibrous, filling, juicy, rugged and a classic. Corn beef hash might be food from when Britain had rationing but even in 2016, when you can just about buy any ingredient from across the world, this big boy keeps his head held high. Corn beef hash exactly matches the character of restaurants such as the Chop Houses. It's a reassuringly familiar dish in an industry constantly buffeted by trends and concepts. JS
Sam's Chop House, Back Pool Fold, Manchester M2 1HN
Mary & Archie - Full English Brekkie
Poncey as this place sounds, and it does, this newly opened Chorlton brunch spot recently served me one of the most robust and satisfying full English brekkies I've had for yonks. The properly thick porky frontman is backed up by lightly garlicked mushrooms, a silky sunny-side-up egg, a wild and crispy hash brown, a grilled tommie, beefy beans and two bits of buttery white to snatch it all up. Ace. And none the bit poncey, as it happens. DB
Mary and Archie, 111 Manchester Road, Chorlton, M21 9PG
Home Sweet Home - Rancho Cucamonga
Though it may sound like a Tijuanan knockin' shop, the Rancho Cucamonga - named after the city situated at the foothills of Cali's San Gabriel Mountains - is a hefty salad featuring (grab a pen): avocado, seared peppers, red onion, artichoke, sun-dried tomato, fried tortilla chips, feta, mixed leaves, pomegranate seeds, other seeds and creamy chipotle sauce. A happy and healthy melange of colour, texture and flavour. DB
Home Sweet Home, 51 Edge St, Manchester M4 1HW
Albert's Shed - Roast Lamb
Our waitress asked if it was OK that the roast lamb was served pink, which is usual of course, though I find when asked by staff often the meat turns up with the merest hint of rose colour. This was a fabulously cooked piece of flesh, with plenty of pink on show and accompanied by flavoursome green beans with good bite and potato dauphinoise which came in a nice big creamy chunk. LT
Albert's Shed, 18-20 Castle St, Castlefield, Manchester M3 4LZ
San Carlo Cicchetti - Cod from Sapore
San Carlo Cicchetti’s Spring special, Cod from Sapore, sees fish marinated in lemon and herbs for 24 hours, and served on a flavour-soaked wafer-thin crisp bread, with a pile of pickled pink onion rashers on top. This is elegant, aromatic food to lift the soul. RA
San Carlo Cicchetti, House of Fraser, 98-116 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2GQ
Lupo - Chocolate Muffins
Lupo is a blink-n-miss job, located in a curious half moon-shaped building on Salford's Chapel Street, next to a faded chapel and over the road from a dark viaduct. A quaint yellow bench and potted pavement plants the only hint of life inside. But oh there's life inside. The Roman owner, Nico, casually whips together a cappuccino in the time it takes most 'barsitas' to drip you a wanky tulip in the top of your mug. But the real flair goes on in the back, where cooky knocks together daily homemade Italian specials of surprising skill and verve. This time it was the diddy choco muffins; moist, light, tender and sweet, which had us swooning. DB
Lupo, 142 Chapel Street, Salford, M3 6AF
Teacup: Café at the Museum - Three Salads
The star of a recent trip to the Northern Quarter favourite's foray into the 'Knowledge Corridor' *shudder* was a humble plate of 'three salads'. I had the puy lentil, sun-blushed tomato and blue cheese dressing, the roast Moroccan spice harlequin squash and chickpea, plus the saffron-roasted cauliflower, red onion, sultana and almond. I also chose to give my salad a ‘protein boost’ with some roast chicken, which slightly oddly came on a small plate beside it, like a lonely, meaty moon. I left satisfied but light, how I imagine all those serene clean-eating bloggers with their shiny hair feel... something easily fixed with cake. LT
Teacup, Manchester Museum, Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9RN
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