Caffeine & Co Coffee Shop In Spinningfields Opens
Caffeine & Co's Spinningfields cafe opens next week. It will offer a fuller range of coffee and food products than the existing St James' Place shoebox. They will have two grinders with one, according to the press release, being the fabulous Mahlkonig EK43. Who doesn't love a Mahlkonig EK43 - so much better than a Mahlkonig EK42 eh?
Anyway, apparently the EK43 is not a type of broomstick in Harry Potter novels but a device which allows unlimited varieties of coffee to be ground on demand. So there will be decaf and guest espresso plus single and bulk filter choices from roasters such as Square Mile, Origin and local boy Coffee Circle. The 30 seat cafe will have a full menu including daily slow cooks, soup, home-baked cakes, sandwiches, home baked bread and breakfasts etc. 
Disturbing image found on cafesguides.com of the Mahlkonig Ek43 high-kicking it's shapely legs
Caffeine & Co Bar In Spinningfields To Open Shortly After
With the coffee there'll be booze - at least on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. First as a pop-up bar and then by Christmas as a permanent city addition. The intention of this expansionist company is to 'curate the finest in craft beers from the UK and beyond plus deliver the best value wine at three different price points as well as some classics such as G&T or whisky and ginger'. Caffeine & Co might have to change its name though. Booze's antithesis is caffeine. Square pegs and round holes. There'll be smalls plates, charcuterie, cheese plates and so on for the nibbling classes.
Beware the fishApe And Apple 'Appily 'Ale And 'Earty
I have a soft spot for Joseph Holt pubs. Now the venerable Manchester brewer - 164 years and going strong - has very wonderfully refurbished its John Dalton street boozer the Ape and Apple. It's all settees, plush and wooden fandangle. Very handsome. The ale is as wonderfully nineteenth century as ever and the food is good value but the place needs to be careful with its fish and chips (£7.95), the whatever-it-was battered fish was chewy. But as a drinking pub it's a cracker. There's a secret to the pub as well.
Nice down on John Dalton Street
The Secret That's Well-Known
One of the best beers in the Ape and Apple was the lovely and rich 'Chorlton' brewed in the Horse & Jockey pub in the self-same suburb by the Bootleg Brewing Co. The latter turns out to Joseph Holt's very own micro-brewery, supplying its pubs with on-trend craft ales. Crafty indeed. A clever way of providing those more robust micro flavours without losing on the margins.
Sausages And The Importance Of Pig
Gordo decided the bangers on the Albert Square Chop House breakfast menu weren't up to scratch so last week a group of Confidential people, diverse other food writers, members of the public, passers-by and others descended on Albert Square and did a taste test with multiple chopped sausages from five providers. The winner - although not mine, I favoured Frost's black pudding infused offering - was Pig & Co's textured lovely from Goostrey.
Interesting company this.
They say: 'At Pig & Co. we treat our pigs with the respect that any animal with such significance demands. We love them and care for them when they're alive, and respect them afterwards by creating the best possible pork products'.
Apparently the nearby Jodrell Bank enhances the flavour and tenderises the pork through its intergalactic radio waves mixed with Brian Cox gushiness. Apparently I made that up.
Pig & Co's Jodrell Bank affected pigs
Speaking Of Pigs....
The Blue Pig Bar on High Street in the Northern Quarter is a year old and has been refurbished with 'opulent new surroundings'. They're giving out gifts to celebrate and lift the profile of the bar as well. A 'giant blue pig' is going on tour around the city. If you see him/her/it then take a picture and tweet it on #BluePigBar and you might win one of these on Thursday evening: weekend for two in Paris, twenty cocktails/wine/beer, five sharing platters or four dinners for two.
Manchester Tapas Bars In Competition Final
Andalusian beer brand Alhambra is running a comp to find the UK’s Favourite Tapas Venue. In the Manchester area Evuna (city centre), Casa Tapas (Didsbury) and Ambiente (Worsley) are in with a shout. The winner along with regional winners will be announced on the 12 October 2013 - Spain’s National Day. To vote click here. Anyone lodging a vote will be entered into a monthly prize draw to win a £100 restaurant voucher and the winning restaurant will receive £2,000.
The Best Deli In All The UK Is Here
Roma Deli, Whitefield, has been awarded a Bertolli Spread Olive D’Oro Award. Interesting. Not heard of these awards before. Prestigious are they. I do like Roma Deli though and it did top a national poll in the Best Deli Cafe category with apparently 'thousands' of people voting across the country. It's certainly a little diamond of a North Manchester place serving lots of Italiana and providing cunning snacks and clever meals. As Bertolli states, Roma is an 'authentic' Italian family business. Unlike Bertolli, which is owned by Anglo-American company Unilever.
Roma
In Bloom to Hibernate
IT was good while it lasted, but the end of summer has meant drastic action needed to be taken to keep Spinningfield's summer pop-up bar In Bloom, in season.
Evolving in time for winter, In Bloom is set to become an al fresco garden bar with new name, Hibernate. Located in the same place as In Bloom, on the edge of The Lawns in Hardman Square Spinningfields, Hibernate will have a log cabin feel with reclaimed timber booths inside, a fire pit outside and a new wintery menu.
In Bloom, as was
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