THE beef long was naughty. Not naughty in that usual way of Red's True Barbecue, in other words, smothered in thick 'dirty' sauces laden with sugars featuring oceans of hickory smoked rubs and basins of mac'n'cheese. No this beef long was just wrong.
The food equivalent of one of those bloated gym-worshippers muscled-up on steroids
The thick beef ribs (£16.95 for 600g) which previously have been tender, moist, succulently fatty, sticky with Reds 'Unholy' BBQ sauce, glorious one might say, were terrible.
The meat was dry and tired, utterly overcooked, singed and tough and deeply unpleasant. The flavour-filled lush fat so in evidence when I last munched on a beef long several months ago was impossible to spot, dried to nothing. It was a fight in the mouth to break the food down.
Beef WrongFortunately the accompanying corn cobs included in the beef long price were perfect; toothsome, charred to add flavour without damaging the corn. I could have eaten five or six more of these.
The recovery was maintained with Red's classic bacon cheeseburger (£8.95). The steak 140g patties were yielding yet full-on, well-textured, joining forces to fine effect with the exceptional home-smoked streaky bacon and an array of tomato, lettuce, pickles and onions on a brioche bun.
Red's Classic Cheese BeefburgerThe weirdness of southern USA food, its dependence on stacking the calories so high in every dish it becomes the food equivalent of one of those bloated gym-worshippers muscled-up on steroids, was apparent with the pudd choices. I went for the most ridiculous sounding one because it seemed the right thing to do on a menu of crazed combinations.
I expected to dislike intensely the toasted marshmallow, sweet potato pie for £4.95. Instead I loved it. The sweet potato filling seemed almost healthy, escaping cloying sweetness to produce good robust depth, while the frivolous topping of marshmallows added a light-hearted element to the whole.
Toasted Marshmallow PieIt's eighteen months since Reds first leapt from Leeds into Manchester and spent big. Apparently the fit-out and kitchen kit, the huge industrial smokers, spicers and so forth cost well over £1m. It worked then and does still. The slightly bewildering interior provides cluttered fun with entertaining neon signs and enough kitchen activity to catch the eye.
Red's True BBQYet Reds' owners, James Douglas and Scott Munro, need to keep their eye on the ball. Their missionary trips to the southern USA shows their commitment to their beloved food genre as does their foray into publishing with a Red's cookbook. The industry clearly adores Red's with £5m of investment announced recently to fund the expansion of the empire.
All good, but at the same time Douglas and Munro should remember the devil is in the detail.
Service in Manchester can be wayward on weekends and even on the quietish afternoon of this review visit was inconsistent. The individual staff members were friendly but they didn't scan the room enough. I had to take the bill to the till to get it sorted after waiting far too long. Before we settled on a very acceptable Zinfandel our first two choices from a short wine list were out of stock. The beef long was shockingly overcooked and shouldn't have been let out of the kitchen.
Red's True Barbecue must remain true to the humble verities of running successful restaurants as well as smoking the daylights out of any meat that moves. A dip in the Confidential score from 15.5 to 12 in eighteen months is too much.
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All scored reviews are unannounced, impartial, paid for by Confidential and completely independent of any commerical relationship.
Red's True Barbecue, 22 Lloyd Street, Albert Square, City centre, M2 5WA. 0161 820 9140 (take out available)
Food: 5.5/10 (Beef long 3, burger 7, pie 7.5)
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
