SWEET visit this.
FYG deli - the title comes from the initials of the owners - takes up a single unit in Urban Splash's Smithfield Buildings.
There was a lovely splodge of homemade tzatziki while the halloumi grilled with chilli oil was a sharp yet flabbily good delight.
It's a handsome space with lounging seats up front, and then the dining area heading up to the counter, flanked on one side by tough looking shelves laden with deli delights which could also double up as gifts.
If there was a controlling thought process with the food offer then it was probably the word 'wholesome'. The menu zings with salads and olives and cheeses. It's exactly the sort of food choice you'd expect from a Northern Quarter on-trend eaterie.
Wine Racked
For breakfast you can get scrambled eggs on toast (£3.95) with extra bits such as herby mushrooms, balsamic tomatoes and smoked salmon for 55p, £1 or £2 extra respectively.
There's granola (£3.95) and porridge with banana and cinnamon for £2.95. The full breakfast at £8.50 comes with bacon, local sausages (maybe from the piggeries of Stevenson Square - wonder how local they actually are?), cannellini beans in homemade ketchup, baked eggs, malted or seeded bread and the aforementioned herby mushrooms and balsamic tomatoes.
The grub I put in my mouth (my friend and I conjectured whether FYG really meant 'For Your Gob') fitted the theme.
I had the excellent soup of the day - maple roasted carrot and goat's cheese. I was dubious about the maple but hey, there really was a tiny tang of Canadian national symbol.
A Damn Fine Soup
Then I had the 'Greek Gourmet' sandwich (£6.50 - pictured at the top of the page), a monster of a folded flatbread surrounded by a thick undergrowth of salad and olives in which I swear I saw small explorers discovering new species of lettuce. There was a lovely splodge of homemade tzatziki while the halloumi, grilled with chilli oil, was a sharp yet flabbily delicious treat.
The 'Spanish' sandwich was nearly as good and cost £5.50. The best combination here was the hot chorizo mingling to excellent effect with the red onion marmalade.
Fyg, Chorizo, Red Onion Marmalade, And Wholesomeness
We glugged a couple of wines; my red, a Pacifico Sur Merlot from Chile, (£6.90 a large glass) being a decent afternoon pacifier. The sparkling Breckland Orchard pear and elderflower concoction (£2.75) was a good quencher too.
The staff were as sweet as the venue. The young waiter was looking up recipes as I approached the counter. He was cooking for his girlfriend that evening. "I wooed and won her through cooking," he said. The lad knew the name of every olive in the house, its properties, flavours, provenance and characteristics. He was Dr Olive.
Olives All With Their Own Names
The cakes and fancies weren't for us that day but are all homemade. We were recommended the serving platters by the two lady proprietors.
We, in turn, recommended they provide some big fat chips - fatty comfort food amidst all the greens. Apparently the kitchen can't do that, there's a ban on deep fat fryers, but they might do potato wedges instead. By the way all the deli counter stuff, hams, wines, biscuits, is for sale as take home fodder. There's also a tutored wine tasting on 2 February at 7pm.
Cheese Delights
And you never know what you may find in that lounging area?
"We were tidying up the other day," said one of the owners, "and we found a magazine had been left. Turned out to be full of pictures of very extreme S&M sex acts. We quickly got rid of it."
Amusing to think of the man - you've got to assume it's a fella - having a dirty peek in his mag while maybe waiting for a cake with, no doubt, whipped cream.
Then afterwards he's ten metres down the street and thinks, 'where's my mag?', then turns to return before catching himself as the thought process kicks in. There's no way he'll be going back asking those women for that.
He should go back for the food though.
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter here @JonathSchofield
FYG Deli, 42 Tib Street, Smithfield Buildings, Northern Quarter, City. 0161 478 7100.
Rating 14/20
Food: 7/10
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5
More Inside Bits
Sweet Tasties
Fyg Exterior
Inside Fyg
