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
SQUID INK
Sleuth sees the resurgence of Ancoats shows no signs of abating as another new food and drink business moves into the effervescent neighbourhood. Sleuth has wind of a new restaurant called Squid Ink which plans to move into the noisy side of the Nuovo building on Great Ancoats Street, just round the corner from the new general store by the bloke behind the brilliant Superstore on Tib Street who sold to the guys from the equally brilliant Mughli who've created the even more brilliant Evelyn's - which aside from the increasingly impressive 63 Degrees is Sleuth's favourite restaurant in the Northern Quarter.
Where was Sleuth? Ah yes, Squid Ink comes from brothers-in-law Anthony and Mark, who Sleuth knows next to nothing about except that Anthony was born in Ancoats, has worked in hospitality for a number of years and seems to be a perfectly likeable bloke. He told Sleuth: "We're not really talking food yet, what I can say is that a single type of cuisine or theme won't define us and we hope the menu will keep us interesting even to regulars - should we be lucky enough to have them."
But Squid Ink... must be seafood? Or pasta? "We'd love to replicate some of what Sugo are doing in Altrincham. But we're definitely not a seafood restaurant, though there will be some seafood. I can say the idea was inspired by a recent trip to Japan."
And before Sleuth could ask Anthony any more questions he expelled a dark pigment in Sleuth's face and made for the reef.
Nuovo, Great Ancoats StreetHISPI MYSTERY CRACKED
Some proper Sleuthing now as Sleuth reckons he's cracked the mystery that's been troubling the city's foodie types for months now; where the 'eck is Hispi going? Yes the exact location of Sticky Walnut and Burnt Truffle chef owner Gary Usher's third neighbourhood bistro has been much disputed since the chef, who bagged the AA Guide's 'Restaurant of the Year' in 2014 with Sticky, announced his designs on Chorlton earlier this year. This week Usher tweeted the below photo of some vintage tiling...
That's staying ❤️ pic.twitter.com/jFURawOm2j
— HISPI (@HispiBistro) February 10, 2016
Now Sleuth being Sleuth recognised the calligraphy from previous Chorlton wanderings, on the signage of an old hardware store next door to SunSun chinese takeaway, just down from Oddest bar on Wilbraham Road. What's more, on the tweet above you can just about make out the numbers ..06. Well, SunSun is 408 Wilbraham Road. So there you have it, you heard it first. Now Usher just needs to raise £150k to get the bugger going...
It might not look much now...
THE M&S LOCKER SHOCK
It's coming up to the 20th anniversary of the IRA bomb in June 1996. Sleuth was talking to a person who was working in M&S at the time and they remembered being allowed in by the police some time after the blast to retrieve personal effects from staff who'd had to leave in a hurry when the alarm had been raised. "We found some odd things in the staff lockers. There was a vibrator in one and several porn magazines. Strange what people had put in there. We notified staff that they could get their stuff and guess what some of those more lurid items were never claimed." Sleuth isn't surprised by that, nor very much about the rude mags but taking a vibrator to work... Seems like some people were looking for a proper climax to their working day.
This yours?LEWIS'S JOLLY ALARMS
Sleuth was speaking to another ex-M&S staff member about the 1996 bomb and they recalled the store being relocated to Lewis's while M&S was rebuilt. "The way the alarm signals had been delivered in our old store had been very professional," said woman. "There were codes and this that and the other. At Lewis's we had to abide by their rules and it was different. If there was an alert Blue Danube was played over the speaker system. When the all-clear was given it was a loud piece of brass music, the theme from Dallas I think. I broke down in laughter every time."
Manchester city centre following the IRA bombSOMETHING FOR NOTHING ON CITY STREETS
A tour guide's lot on city streets can be a strange one. One of the registered, fully qualified, professional tours guides was starting the regular Discover Manchester walk recently when she received a curious request. The Discover Manchester walks take place every day at 11am from Central Library and cost £8 per person. One man hung around at the start of the tour and got the introduction for free. When he was asked to pay he said didn't want to do that, instead, he wondered, if he could just "follow the group around for a bit."
'Can we just follow you round a bit?'SLEUTH & THE CASE OF THE MYSTERIOUS WANDERING SIGN
July 2015...
Blackfriars Road
Portland Street (credit: URINAL, SIR?
Sleuth returned from Havana recently, deftly avoiding one of Castro’s infamous six hour addresses in Plaza de la Revolución, which are only marginally longer than one of Gordo’s dreaded ‘flash meetings’ in Castle Confidential, Sleuth made his way for lunch in the beautifully named Esto no es un Café.
Sleuth was amused by a dish on the menu called La Fuente de Duchamp (or 'Duchamp’s Fountain') described grandly on the menu as “The union of the mustard, the raisins, the aniseed aroma of the tarragon and their strong presentation in an urinal, do of these loins of roast pork a peculiar approach to the ready-made style of the French artist Marcel Duchamp.”
Imagine Sleuth's surprise when 'Duchamp's Fountain', arrived, as described, in an (sic) urinal. "Should I send it back?" asked Sleuth's companion. "I wouldn't," said Sleuth, "just imagine what might come back..."
Erm can you taste pi...Meanwhile...
...a hotel?
