TWO months into 2016 and Manchester's food and booze scene shows no hint of letting up, while the city continues to up its game, with emerging neighbourhoods such as Ancoats and First Street, so too do established out-of-town boroughs such as Chorlton, Ramsbottom and Prestwich.
Meanwhile, as celebrated chefs such as Michael O'Hare, Simon Shaw and Gary Usher make moves into the city, so the brands, such as Dishoom, Bundobust and Shoryu Ramen follow (or is it the other way round?).
So you thought it would slow down this year? Pah. Here's 35 reasons why that's a load of Billy Bollocks.
Still, no time to be wasted, the culinary explosion may rumble on, but there's plenty of fine eatin' to be had right now. This very minute. So here's fifteen dishes we've loved over the past month, we think you will too...
Oh, and if you've eaten something you think we must try, tweet us @mcrconfidential using the hashtag #WhatWeAteMCR
Baratxuri - PX Sherry-Glazed Egg and Wild Mushroom Tart
Not satisfied with one of the most diverse food scenes outside London, Ramsbottom has a new bar to its name, called Baratxuri. The ‘x’ hints at the provenance of the cooking at this tile-lined bar, a sister to Levanter, which serves small plates of hot and cold food (known as pintxos) inspired by the Basque region of Northern Spain.
The menu changes often. On this visit we tried smoky lamb stew with butter bean puree, slices of fresh, sliced white bread, with hunks of thickly marbled ham and pearlescent hake, puffing aromatic steam through an airy, saffron batter. This sweet PX sherry-glazed egg and wild mushroom tart was a treat. RA
Baratxuri, 1 Smithy St, Ramsbottom, Bury BL0 9AT
The Box Tree - Duck and Foie Gras
Gordo’s pal and pub botherer Shagger Sharrock took him to the Michelin-starred Box Tree in Ilkley (not in Manchester, we know, but great food is worth a journey - Ed)
Clearly, everything was dolly, but one dish was mega dolly: the squab and foie gras. This possessed a secret ingredient, salsify, cooked in red wine that acted as the blue touch paper to squab breast that was pink and woody with all sorts of stuff to make it play bass better than Hooky. Lush foie too. Gordo can still taste it now. Heavenly. MG
The Box Tree, 35-37 Church St, Ilkley LS29 9DR
Red Chilli - Soft Shell Crab
This looks enticing and is. There's heat in here, good heat, but balanced beautifully with the soft crunch and succulent yet sweet meat beneath. The portion size is generous and the spice from the garlic and pepper never too intrusive. You could almost get a bag of the crab and snaffle them as the world's finest popcorn replacement while watching a movie. JS
Red Chilli, 403-419 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9WL
Burrito - Changos
Burrito??! 'F**k ‘em' says Gordo, they’re taking the piss. But Gordo was out voted by the office one order-in lunch, he wanted another crispy belly pork Bao from Su at The Kitchens in Spinningfields. They insisted on burritos from Changos Burrito Bar on Oxford Road.
Gordo reluctantly unwrapped his chicken with all sorts of Mexican trickiness. Oh dearie Gordo. It was a sublime lump of loveliness. The whole office is now addicted. As is Gordo. MG
Changos, St James Bldg, 91-93 Oxford St, Manchester M1 6ET
Claire's of Smithfield Market - Rhubarb Crumble
More used to serving hairy-arsed market traders heavily buttered 'Warbie' toast during the wee hours at the Smithfield Wholesale Market Cafe, owner Claire Woodier's skill at the pans belies her humble surroundings.
Aiming to showcase the finest and freshest produce the market (now open to the public, by the way) has to offer, Woodier kicked off a series of after-hours supper clubs in the caf' last week with two stand-outs: a creamy yet sharp celeriac and apple soup, and a rhubarb crumble cheesecake that brought the room to its knees...
She's nifty with a fry-up too.
Tickets for the next one here - New Smithfield Wholesale Market, Ashton Old Road, M11 2WJ
Hawksmoor - Bone Marrow
It's the whole-heartedly carnivorous nature of this dish that appeals so much to vegetarians. Er... I mean meat-eaters. The lubricious, rich, slightly wrong goo of the bone marrow carries beefiness but also the delight of the downright weird. Hawksmoor covers the bone marrow with caramelised onions which are damn fine in their own right. I wish more restaurants offered us similar choices of back-to-caveman-basics food. Tear and rend and all that. JS
Hawksmoor, 184 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3WB
Namaste - Chilli Paneer
Big enough for four to share, the giant, scampi-style nuggets are served in batter so fresh and so crispy that you could crack it with a spoon. Battered paneer could be unique to Namaste Nepal; I’ve had ‘halloumi fish and chips’ before but never paneer. However, it’s not the style of cooking that nudges this dish into the curry hall of fame, but the sauce. An intense tomato, onion and green chilli relish is draped across the top of the paneer, and it is dangerously moreish. RA
Namaste Nepal, 164-166 Burton Road, Didsbury M20 1LH
Cicchetti - Ravioli Casunziei
This is a Mother's Day dish from chef Filippo Pagani, whose mother cooked in his native town of Cortini D'Ampezzo in the Italian Alps. It's a bizarre looking dish, visceral and bloody in appearance but hiding shells of gloriously sweet beetroot under an exquisite butter sauce. Cicchetti should make this a feature on their menus, because it's unusual but delicious. JS
San Carlo Cicchetti - House of Fraser, 98-116 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2GQ
Koffee Pot - Salt Beef Bagel
Whilst no-one this side of the pond can beat those Jewish old-timers on Shoreditch's Brick Lane for a salt beef bagel, Northern Quarter's Koffee Pot are taking a fair crack. House-cured salt beef on a homemade bagel with a dollop of Colman's mustard is thick, beautifully fatty and will have your jaw graftin' - just as it should. DB
Koffee Pot, 84-86 Oldham St, Manchester M4 1LE
El Gato Negro - Morcilla Scotch Eggs
There's many things to love about chef Simon Shaw's new El Gato Negro tapas on King Street. The fit-out for one is peachy, the booth seating opposite the open kitchen (the happiest your buns will have been in years), and of course the grub. Shaw's signature Morcilla Scotch Eggs are a stand-out: a runny-yolked quail's egg wrapped in a surprisingly delicate Spanish Morcilla black pud. Ace. DB
El Gato Negro, 52 King St, Manchester M2 4LY
Dim Sum Su - Pelly Bork Bao
Taking into account the UK's second largest Chinese population resides in Manchester, we've always been a touch light on bao - those fluffy, milky-white steamed Chinese buns rammed full of sweet, juicy meat. They're a joy and no-one in this fair city is doing them better than the wonderfully jolly Su of Dim Sum Su - a new and much welcome addition to The Kitchens in Spinningfields. DB
Dim Sum Su, The Kitchens, Leftbank, Manchester M3 3AG
Indian Tiffin Room - Vada Pav
This quirky little Indian veggie burger from Manchester's newest (and best) Indian street tuck merchants, Indian Tiffin Room, is a delight: spicy deep-fried potato accompanied by dunkable mint and tamarind chutneys. Simple. Class. DB
Indian Tiffin Room, First St, Manchester M15 4FN
The French - Flaked Cornish Crab
Arguably the best food in the city. Michelin-starred Simon Rogan of L’Enclume fame is the boss, but Front of House Kamilla and the chef ‘on the tools’, Adam Reid, are at the top of their game and have been rewarded with a mini refurb, giving a better atmosphere and posher bogs. They've also just added a new a la carte menu (from midday to 1.30pm) which recently bowled Gordo over.
The above flaked Cornish crab with chicken skin, apple discs, kohlrabi and dill juices was a 10/10, no question. MG
The French, The Midland Hotel, Peter St, Manchester M60 2DS
900 Degrees - Pizza
We visited the new(ish) 900°Degrees pizza place in Wilmslow, named after the temperature of their oven in fahrenheit. The assembly line formula means that you choose your sauce, cheese and toppings and by the time you have finished paying for it at the till, it’s cooked and ready. We got a bit giddy with their ‘unlimited toppings’ so our pizzas ended up almost as tall as they were wide. DT
900 Degrees, 46 Parsonage Green, Wilmslow SK9 1HT
Fried spud - Red Chilli (again)
Spuds? Fried? One of Gordo’s dishes of the month? Well, dear reader, every now and again genius is sprinkled onto an ingredient, either by technique or in the form of another ingredient. Here, it's both. Firstly, shred your spuds (probably a waxy variety) then float them into very clean, very hot fat. Take them out with great care, season well, and cut them through with fresh chopped coriander leaves and bird's eye chili.
Now you have absolute Szechuan genius. Gordo thinks they’re called 'crispy fried shredded potato with coriander and chili'. Take the picture along just in case.
Red Chilli, 70-72 Portland St, Manchester M1 4GU
