Sleuth is a sideways glance at the city every week, it's the truth, but Sleuth's truth. He's several people all at once. Sleuth sometimes even gets serious @mcrsleuth
MCR GETS ITS MICHELIN MAN
Some breaking Sleuth now as Michelin (rock) star chef, Michael O’Hare of Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds, is announced as the replacement for Michael Wignall as Creative Director of GG Hospitality – the hotel and restaurant arm of Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville’s expanding empire. Neville told Sleuth:
“I met Michael in October last year and instantly knew that he was the man for us. I’ve dined at The Man Behind the Curtain and can honestly say that I’ve never experienced anything like it.”
Rumours have been rife about Neville and O’Hare’s relationship after the Great British Menu chef was spotted coming out of GG’s recently acquired former Stock Restaurant building on Norfolk Street. More recently O’Hare was spotted in Spain attending a Valencia match, where Neville has just been appointed head coach.
Sleuth for one is looking forward to seeing what O'Hare, with his flair and sheer preposterousness, can do with Stock, and would love to see O'Hare serve pink duck liver doughnuts in Hotel Football's United Supporters Club at half-time on derby day.
O'Hare's duck liver doughnut - ace
FAVELA
Looks like we've finally got some action beneath Hawksmoor on Deansgate. The future of the hefty unit in the basement of Oddfellows House has been speculative for years after Steve Pilling, the man behind Damson, Dockyard and Guilty By Association, acquired the lease in 2011. There were murmurs of a ‘roast and oyster’ bar in 2012/13, but a multitude of contractual and administrative bollocks put pay to that. Now Sleuth spots a new licence application in for the site at 184-186 Deansgate, by Favela Deansgate Limited, a company owned by Pilling and accomplished Damson chef Simon Stanley (see Sleuth's dish of the week below). Take what you will from ‘Favela’, but Sleuth hears whispers of rotisserie, Cachaça and dancing.
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184-186 Deansgate
FIRSWOOD, HEATON PARK, OLD TRAFFORD, BROADWAY TOO
Sleuth wants to applaud, give medals, bouquets, plaudits, write poems, short stories and novels to thank from the bottom of his heart the efforts of songwriter Dave Bintley and singer Simeon Truby for making him laugh heartily over this prodigious act of rhyme and memory. In the Oldham Coliseum’s panto production of Mother Goose this winter, Truby name checks every one of the Metrolink stations on the network in Bintley’s Tram Song and he seems to do this without an autocue. Well done sir.
THOSE FLOODS AGAIN
A Manchester City Council spokesperson said today: "Yes we've been flooded. Flooded by complaints from residents about the sorry state of Piccadilly Gardens and how it's an embarrassment to the city. We've been surprised by the level of complaints flooding in, certainly far more than our complaint flood defences can deal with. But we assure Mancunians we will respond quickly to the emergency situation in the Gardens and do nothing whatsover starting right now. Please expect Piccadilly Gardens to not be cleared up and restored to anything to be proud of any time soon."
Piccadilly Gardens: don't worry nothing will happen very soon
MORE FLOOD NEWS
The Royal Institute of Architects (RIBA) has today confirmed that Manchester over the last fifteen years has been flooded with huge waves of buildings from very few architects. "Unexpectedly high levels of structures from Ian Simpson, Stephen Hodder, Roger Stephenson and latterly Denton Corker Marshall and Mecannoo have submerged the city centre and surrounding areas. We don't expect the flood to recede anytime soon," said Archie Tuct, spokesperson for RIBA. "It appears the planning department in the city had their contact list for other architects eaten by a dog and now only stick to allowing schemes from their best friends."
Manchester: who stole the architectural competition?
SLEUTH’S BEEN SACKED
Sleuth’s sad to report he’s been sacked by Jeremy Corbyn as the Shadow Minister for Absurdity in the recent Shadow Cabinet re-shuffle. Chairman Mao Tse Corbyn said, “The Labour Party is now so absurd Sleuth is not nearly absurd enough to be in the Shadow Cabinet. Instead we’ve appointed a little teapot, short and stout, to do the job. My feet have turned into crocodiles. Forks not tridents. Bulbous buttercups. How’s that for policy? It’s not insanity, it’s the new politics.”
Sleuth sacked by Corbyn
BUNCH OF WHOPPERS
Over to Piccadilly Station now where some bright spark from Burger King has applied for a booze licence. Proposed trading hours for the supply of alcohol at the Piccadilly Burger King run from 8am to midnight, seven days a week. 8am? Sleuth can’t see any problem with this, none at all…
SLEUTH’S DISH OF THE WEEK
This is the slow cooked lamb at Damson in Heaton Moor and MediaCityUK. Loads of tender, juicy flesh, bags of rich flavour combined with exquisite Dauphinois potatoes, all creamy and spuddy, plus good greens. And all for a straight £10. Value, punch and taste. Yum.
Beautiful lamb for a tenner
SLEUTH'S SOUVENIR OF THE WEEK
Sleuth has continued his search for Manchester’s finest, most representative souvenir after finding these two crackers in November. And Sleuth thinks he’s found the winner over in the convenience store/Post Office at the Piccadilly Gardens end of Portland Street. All the Manchester icons are present: the entirely yellow tram, the Manchester Wheel (dismantled last summer), Manchester’s famous red phone and post boxes, and who could forget, Manchester’s renowned sheep dog. Though Sleuth’s a little disappointed they didn’t have room for a bus-stop or Olly the Manchester Orca.
Who is making these? More to the point, who's buying them?
