RESTAURANT REVIEW: PANCAKE CORNER

Yes - as the name suggests the Pancake corner mainly seves pancakes and is on a corner! This pancake house can be found on Gloucester Road in Urmston (Greater Manchester).

On a recent Saturday afternoon, we decided to stop off in here to make a change from afternoon tea and cake, and afterall who doesnt like pancakes (and I had heard about their marvellous milkshakes!)
It was empty when we arrived but we didnt let that put us off. It is located on a bit of a back street, so I imagine they might struggle for passing trade, but I would happily say if you happen to find yourself in Urmston - then its certainly worth heading down for a pancake. As you can see on the menu - the prices are all very reasonable and there are plenty of varieties of both savoury and sweet pancakes.

 

I went for a savoury pancake - the Breakfast - which was filled with Cheese, Mushroom, Tomatoes and a fried egg. The pancake was just the right thickness to contain the filling without falling apart and despite a measly token gesture of salad on the corner of the plate was simply presented. It was pretty damn tasty too! It didnt take long to wolf the whole thing down.

 

 

Sadly, my partner in crime and fellow Greedy Manc Alex wasnt present at this particular outing. But my friends (and stand-in Greedy Mancs for the day) both went for sweet pancakes - one opting for the classic Original (sugar and lemon) and the other going for 'the Good, the Bad & the Spicy' (apple, nutella and cinnamon) - both came presented with a lovely star in the icing sugar.

 

 

Needless to say I managed to sneak a taste from both! The original Lemon and Sugar one - I felt could have done with a little more lemon juice, but as a classic pancake it was absolutly fine. The Good the Bad and the Spicy one was very nice and I think with out the apple it would have been a bit sickly, but was spot on with all its 3 ingredients combined! All in all 3 lovely pancakes!

 

On to the aforementioned 'legendary' milkshakes - as you can see from the menu - you can have pretty much any of your favourite chocolate bars in milkshake form! I am a big fan of dark chocolate and decided to go for the Lindt Dark Chocolate milkshake - it really did not dissapoint - one of the nicest milkshakes I've had in a long time. It was rich and creamy with that lovely frothy icecreamyness of a good milkshake with the delicious bitter taste of quality dark chocolate! Mmmmmmmm! Even if you dont want a pancake, you should definateley stop by for a milkshake!

 

 

So all in all - it really was a nice alternative to afternoon tea & cake. The pancakes were very nice and very reasonably priced - and although I probably wouldnt trek across Manchester just to go here, I would fully recommend anyone who finds themselves in Urmston to seek out the pancake corner and stop off for a bite to eat..... and of course a milkshake!

 

2 GREEDY MANCS GO GUERRILLA!!!

Join the food revolution and take it Guerrilla!

Thats right there is a new collective of street food traders pooling their resources and delivering amazing food for a good price in Manchester. Two Greedy Mancunians were invited to sample the food and join the army to help spread the word - something we are more than happy to do as we think its a fantastic idea and it run by the right people - people who are genuinly passionate about food and the food they deliver! We were invited to the tasting an hour before the public opening time by the lovely Sarah from Northwest Nosh (http://northwestnosh.blogspot.co.uk) who is activly involved in helping run and promote Guerrilla Eats.

Mal from the Fire and Salt BBQ is also a key figure in organising the Guerrilla Eats movement and took some time to talk to us about it - so far they have 8 traders on board (7 were available this weekend) and are in talks with 4 more, so its growing, and the basic idea is to have a pop up market of good quality street food - no chains or low end (in tersm of quality) vendors allowed - only people who are gunuinely passionate about the food they serve are allowed. And to create a real buzz about street food in Manchester. There are good scenes in most other cities and they feel Manchester is crying out for something similar - so if you are reading this we fully urge you to "join the revolution" and support Guerrilla Eats. The plan is do bring the Guerrilla Eats market collective to Manchester once a month & you can follow on twitter (@Guerrilla_Eats) or go to their website (www.guerrillaeats.co.uk) to keep up to date about future events!

Right on to the important bit........ the food!!! Let us take you on a virtual tour of the 7 traders that were there:

SUGAR BUN SISTERS

Yes..... its true the Sugar Bun Sisters are actually sisters & their name was inspired by the Manchester band Stone Roses classic song 'Suger Spun Sister'. Their delicious cupcakes & brownies are all made using the finest ingrediants (and it shows in the tasting!) and they often have quirky, unusual and creative flavours - I can particularly recommend the apple & custard ones, the vodka ones were very unique too (you could really taste the vodka in them, but for me the baileys cupcakes stole the show!

www.sugarbunsisters.co.uk
@SugarBunSisters


THE BARNHOUSE BISTRO

 

Oh my god...... these are possibly the best burgers ever! They are made from 100% Rump Steak - these burgers are truely delicious - nicely seasoned, cooked to perfection and served up in two variations - one with roasted peppers & horseradish mayo, the other with chilli, cilantro & a lime an jalapeno mayo (the roasted pepper one selling the best on the night by 10 to 1 apparently). Both were amazing and everything about them was superb even the choice of bread was great - a nice soft floury bun but strong enough not to disintergrate in my fingers. Served up in the Barnhouse Bistro's corrugated iron clad trailer. So if you want to try a top notch burger and if you can track him down - then treat yourself to a Barnhouse Bistro 100% Rump Steak Burger! You won't be dissapointed!!! @BistroBarnHouse

 

 

CHAAT CART

 

The Chaat Cart (literally meaning streetfood cart) serves up lovingly made traditional fresh Indian streetfood - all made from local organic vegetables. We sampled some very tasty samosas that tasted so fresh and light - not heavy or greasy - just fresh! All the Chaat Cart food is vegitarian - mainly because (mainly due to the cost and logistics of refrigiration) a lot of traditional street food in India is actually veggie! We also tried some Masala Dosa - a type of indian crepe made with a fermented rice & lentil batter topped with vegetables and the Chaat Carts very on homemade spice mix. We also had some Chai a sweet & spiced tea with cloves and cardemons - really delicous (especially on a cold drizzly night in December), If you want some good Indian food that isn't just spicy greasy curries then seek out the Chaat Cart.

 

www.chaatcart.co.uk

@ChaatCart

 

 

LAS PAELLERAS

 

The award for biggest cooking dishes goes to...... Las Paelleras! Authentic Spanish dishes cooked up in those wonderfully big Spanish round cooking dishes - good for paellas and the Spainish dishes on offer from Las Paelleras. We got to try some of their chorizo and rocket sandwich - which was served in a crusty fresh bagguette bread that soaked up the flavour of that delicious chorizo oil. Also we had a taste of the classic Potato Bravas - always a tapas favourite - the potatoes cut up and being cooked with a nice slightly crispy outside. A taste of Spainish sunshine in Manchester!

 

www.laspaelleras.com

@Las_Paelleras

FIRE AND SALT BBQ

Next up on our tasting tour of the Guerrilla Eats traders was the Fire and Salt BBQ who serve up BBQ inspired by the true masters of the BBQ the Southern States of America who smoke whole pigs over hickory smoke to bring you divine pulled pork & sticky ribs all topped with very moreish homemade sauces. Having been to Texas and having some of the best BBQ pork I've ever tasted - I am very pleased to say I would gladly stand Mal at the Fire and Salt BBQ alongside those Texan masters! The meat that we tasted was soooooo good - tasty and succulent! A real treat for meat lovers! Also as a nice side (and as admitted by Mal) not a BBQ item, but they serve it by popular request - was a very nice home made Mac & Cheese. Get your chops round that lot if ever you come across the Fire and Salt BBQ.

www.fireandsaltbbq.co.uk
@FireandSaltBBQ


DIRTY DOGS

By the time we reached Dirty Dogs - we were filling up fast, but one of the unwritten rules of the Two Greedy Mancunians is "there's always room for sausage"!!! And it was worth it as Dirty Dogs do quality hot dogs - their aim is to bust the myth that hotdogs are poor quality, mechanically reclaimed meat in a cheap bun. Dirty Dogs use quality Polish Frankfuters and are served in a good quality soft hotdog bun - the flavour and size of the sausage bursting out of that bun. A treat for the fan of the humble hotdog & meat you can actually bite into rather than the mushy hotdogs that are far too common. As proclaimed by fellow Greedy Manc Alex "I like a good sausage in a dark carpark!"


GINGER'S COMFORT EMPORIUM

Last but not least was Ginger's Comfort Emporium - although a cold and rainy night - people were still happy to be queuing up for ice cream, and who could blame them with the marvellous flavours on offer from Gingers (who recently won 'Best of the Best' and 'Best Dessert' at the British Street Food Awards 2012). With such delights as Marmalade & Whisky. Quince, Rose & Honey, or their "Chorlon Crack" which is Salted Caramel & Peanut Butter flavour - this is truely luxury ice cream at its finest.

www.gingerscomfortemporium.com
@GingersComfort

So there you have it! A Splendid time was enjoyed by all - and with a stuffed belly we headed off to the pub! With potentially more traders getting involved - we hope it grows and goes from strength to strength and we'll be sure to make it along to the next Guerrilla Eats - hopefully if you have been reading this then we have also inspired you to come along and support the local streetfood revolution!

RESTAURANT OPENING: NEIGHBOURHOOD

Myself and my fellow Greedy Mancucian , had the pleasure of atteneding the grand opening of a new, New York vibe restaurant in the Spinningfields area of Manchester called Neighbourhood, at Avenue North. I always love events like this as it gives a chance to but my best fragrance and clothes on for the evening (as you can see from the above photos I came dressed as Inspector Cluzo & John came dressed as Compo from Last of the Summer Wine).

 

Myself and John met at a very cold Picadilly train station and made the short walk accross to the venue. Upon our arival into the venue we were greeted at the door by two pleasent bouncers (which can be rare these days), as we went in the place was all ready busy, with the young business types that tend to frequent Spinningfields, the sound of of modern tech house music was playing, this didnt spoil the atmosphere at all and I think it probably added to the vibe and the style i think the venue is looking for. At the desk we were greeted by two very attractive young ladies, infact the whole team were young and good looking (including the men) with a set uniform of braces, bow ties and coverse trainers for most of the staff - again this fitted in with the vibe of the place.

 

The decor & layout of the venue to me fitted in with what the owners were looking for - it did look like a lower east side bar in Manhattan, and it gave me the feeling that the great Andy Worhol was just about to enter followed by David Bowie - it just gave me that feeling. The bar was well stocked with good quality spirits which is always good to see behind any bar, and all the bar staff were pleasent and new what they were doing. Myself and John were given two free vouchers for drinks with which you could have a bottle of beer or the house cocktail, which was a passion fruit flavoured cocktail, but they always go down a bit to quick! We were also told that a selection of the menu would soon be comming round. We were hopeing to sample a good selection of the menu, but due to it being busy and it being opening night, we only got to try 2 of the canopees. This is the only bit of the night i was slightly dissapointed by, I say only a little, because we were fully enjoying the vibe of the place and the good time i was having with John took the edge of it. But the two selections we did get to try were both very good, the first was chicken on the bone (the only problem with serving chicken on the bone nibbles was that nobody knew what to do with their bones afterwards, so we quickly polished off our cocktails and popped the bones in the empties!) The chicken however was nice and had a lovely sauce in it, but there was a bit to much skin on for my liking, the second was a mini burger which was delicious, the taste of the burger was spot on, cooked well and well seasoned.

 

And that is all i can tell you about the food, because thats all we had, but while you are reading this, dont let that bit but you off, it was a opening night of the venue afterall & I think it went very well for the owners as everyone was having a great time & we met some top people and had a really good laugh - although after Neighbourhood our evening ending in Mojos on copious Brandy Alexanders was great fun at the time, but not good for the head the next morning (you know who you are!!!). Would I go back to Neighbourhood? The answer is yes, I would definately go back in the evening for drinks before moving on, & would i go back to eat? The answer is also yes, but personally i would like to go back to eat one leisurely afternoon, because i would love to have a proper taste of the menu, and try all the different foods they have availble (the full menu looked fantastic). And finally would i recommend to friends? Yes i would - i really enjoyed the atmosphere ,the music and the people that were there. So if you're reading this make sure you swing by Neighbourhood next time you're in the.......... neighbourhood! 

RESTAURANT REVIEW: THE RESTAURANT BAR & GRILL

Two Greedy Mancunians were recently invited to check out and have lunch at the new addition of The Terrace (opened in August) at Manchester Restaurant Bar & Grill. Upon our arrival the staff were very friendly and welcoming, took our coats & led us upstairs to the terrace to be seated. Kenny our waiter for the afternoon gave us our menus and took our drinks order - we ordered a delightful bottle of Fluerie (a French red that was lovely & light - perfect for lunch). We were also bought out some home made bread balls with chilli vinagarette dipping sauce as an appetiser. The vinagarette was fresh and zingy and it gave us something to nibble on whilst we made up our minds on what to order.


 For starters I had the Iberico Ham & my fellow honourary Greedy Manc for the day Yasmin (sadly Alex couldnt make it) ordered the Chicken Liver Parfait. The Iberico Ham came with toasted sourdough bread and was sereved with a simple heirloom tomato salad which had green, yellow & red tomatos. The ham was really light, thinly (freshly) sliced and was melt in your mouth. Nothing further was required or provided with the ham as a good quality Iberico Ham speaks for itself.... and it did!

The Chicken Liver Parfait was cased in clarified butter and also came with toasted sourdough bread, but was also served with a spiced apricot & pear compot. The parfait was rich, creamy and garlicy and was certainly not skimped on in quality terms. The addition of the spiced apricot and pear compot worked so well, the chef clearly knows how to balance flavours, and it gave this dish the feel of an adventurous take on a classic chicken liver parfait. All in all we thouroughly enjoyed our starters.

Next up was our main courses - I chose the 8oz Fillet Steak whilst Yasmin opted for the Tuna Au Poivre.

 

Our waiter Kenny, I should mention, was both friendly and seemed genuinley interested in the customers without being introusive. And it's to kenny I have to thank for suggesting the onion rings as a side to my main course - I'll come on to the steak shortly, but i do have to make a point of mentioning the onion rings - quite frankly they were bloody good! I will even go as far as saying they are the best onion rings I have ever tasted - lovely sweet onion in a light delicious batter (they were also arranged in a tower in size order - nice!). Anyway, back to the steak - I ordered the fillet steak (rare) with the Colton Bassett Stilton butter, and was served with a small bucket of chips. The steak was a little bit over cooked for rare coming more medium-rare, but due to the quality of the meat this did not make the slightest bit of difference as it was not at all tought and was just so tender and melted in the mouth. The blue cheese butter was also a nice addition to the steak as it didnt shy from the blue cheese flavour - a butter with intense Colton Bassett Stilton flavour to it.

 

Yasmin ordered the Tuna Au Poivre which was a sashimi grade tuna loin with a pepper crust and ordered "seared" - again it was the quality that spoke for itself - the quality of the fish was exeptional. It was perfectly cooked practically raw in the middle just nicely seared on the outside. In a moment of indecision between chips or salad as an accompaniment Kenny was happy to accomodate "a bit of both" - a nice fresh salad with vinagarette dressing went very well with the tuna. The tuna was also served with a light bearnaise sauce. Another nice touch was the lemon was served in a muslin bag so no stray pips ended up on your plate!

 

Anyway, by the time we had finished our main courses we were both feeling almost too greedy and needed five minutes before ordering desert. There was a good selection of cakes available and on display on the desert trolly that was wheeled over to our table, Yasmin ordered the fig and almond tarte with home made icecream - although tasty, there were not enough figs involved in the tarte and the icecream was superb, but having such a small serving of it only left you wanting a bit more. I, of course, ordered the cheeseboard (for those reading this who dont know of my fondness for cheese, you should check out the other blog I run www.themightycheeseboard.blogspot.com). It came with plenty of crackers, grapes, some of that lovely spiced apricot and pear compot, and a selection of 3 absolutly fantastic cheeses (a stilton, a goats cheese, and a mature cheddar).

 

To sum up the Restaurant Bar & Grill - we would say its food is a combination of simplicity and pure quality. Their menu has a main focus on the grill and the dishes are not over complicated or covered with heavy sauces. And yes it may be a bit more pricey than your average restaurant, but you certainly get what you pay for - an absolutly fantastic & well cooked meal! The service and staff are very friendly and unpretentious. Two Greedy Mancunians are more than happy to reccomend going to the Manchester Restaurant Bar & Grill.

To round up our lunch we had a couple of drinks to send us on our merry way - I had a cocktail from the selection of award winning cocktail menu - a "Bramble" - tasted like an alcoholic ribeana and had a blackberry and mint leaves on the top and was delicious - Yasmin ordered a sambucca which came with a couple of coffee beans floating in the top - very nice!

 

 

 

RESTAURANT REVIEW: BEM BRASIL (NORTHERN QUARTER)

Baically if you like meat then look no further than Bem Brasil. It quite literaly is a meat eaters heaven! On Friday night we arrived at Bem Brasil to find it busy, but they managed to find a table available for us. And seated us, the waitress gave us the rundown on how the restaurant works and took our drinks order - we went for a Brahma (Brasillian beer). Basically each table has cards that are red on one side and green on the other, when on green the servers come over with a big skewer of meat and carve directly at your table and just keep coming until you switch it back to red. Seemed silly not to have it permanently on green (and at times it did fee like a Man vs Food challenge to keep up with the meat arriving). Now its not just meat I should say. You get a plate and there is a salad bar with lots of tasty items to have as an accompanyment to your meat feast - I particularly enjoyed a good ladel of the bean and pulled pork sauce alongside my salad bits - but the star attraction is the meats - all are rotisary grilled over a flaming barbeque, and are cooked to perfection (the beef for example chargrilled nicely on the outside, and beautifully rare on the inside). We had various types of pork, chicken (both spicy & wrapped in bacon), lamb, spicey choritzo style sausages & lots of different beef cuts. You can also tell instantly that the meat is not only all cooked to perfection, but of the highest quality. A mighty feast and for £25 - you feel like you have had 3 or 4 main courses worth of food - Two Greedy Mancunians say keep your cards on green!!! & highly reccomend Bem Brasil to all meat eaters out there.

http://www.bembrasilrestaurants.com/conteudo.php?caminho=bar_restaurants/12/northern-quarter.html

RECIPE: NIGELLA'S CHOCOLATE & OLIVE OIL CAKE

We always enjoy a bit of the lovely Nigella Lawson and on her new show Nigellissima she made a Chocolate & Olive Oil cake. It looked relatively straight forward to make so I thought I'd give it a go.

Ingrediants needed were:

• 150ml of Olive Oil
• 50g of Cocoa Powder
• 125ml of Boiling Water
• 2tsp of Vanilla Extract
• 125g of Plain Flour
• 1/2tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
• Pinch of Salt
• 200g Caster Sugar
• 3 Eggs

Thoroughly combine the cocoa powder, boiling water & vanilla extract in one bowl. Then the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda in another. And the eggs, caster sugar and olive oil in a third bowl.

Fully mix all three bowls into one big bowl and then pour into a greased cake tin or oven proof dish. Bake for about 40 mins in a preheated oven to 170C. For a bit more of a detailed write-up, make sure you check out the original recipe: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chocolate_olive_oil_cake_44817

My version didnt turn out quite as good looking as Nigella's (as you can see from the photo above), it rose and cracked a lot more, but still tasted great! We love a bit of Nigella. In a word its Nigellissima!!!

SRI LANKAN LUNCH: GODUMBA ROTIMEAL & DEVILLED POTATOS

 

Upon arrival, straight off the megabus (I can assure you there is nothing "mega" about it) to London Victoria I decided to grab myself some lunch.

Heading in the general direction of Buckingham Palace I passed several sandwich/deli style shops. My first thought was to stop in one of these for a grilled paninni - but with the average cost of around the £5 mark, I thought for just a few quid more I could stop for lunch in a nice looking Sri Lankan Restaurant I had passed on the coach just round the corner. About 5 minutes walk from victoria station I found it on Lower Grosvenor Place - the Sekara Sri Lankan Restaurant. A humble family run Sri Lankan and Indian cuisine curry house directly behind Buckingham Palace, with a reasonably priced lunch menu (average of £5 - £6 per dish).
I opted for the Godumba Rotimeal, which was 2 Sri Lankan flatbreads (one Plain and one egg) served with devilled potatoes.

The Roti were soft in the middle and crisper round the edges - the plain one was nice, but a bit bland. i much preferred the egg one (basically the same, but made with an egg inside), which was delicious. Both I had with the devilled potatos (potatos, onions, chili, curry leaves, and some spices) which provided a nice kick to accompany the flatbreads - all in all a very tasty and filling lunch. I had it in the restaurant with a nice pot of Sri Lankan tea - and ended up not costing much more than a quickly grilled paninni on the go. I ended up very stuffed and very happy with my lunch choice - most enjoyable!!!

please note the pictures of the food are not acually the food served as I didnt have my camera with me, but I took the time to find pretty identical looking photos of the food served to provide an idea of what it looked like.

GRAZE - THE NEW CRAZE!

At work - I work in an office environment during the day (need to pay for all the food I eat somehow!) - the latest craze is everyone signing up to Graze.com - basically it costs £3.89 a week and you get delivered (to your home or workplace) a box of treats. These are different each time but generally revolve around nuts, seeds, treats, olives, dried fruit, mini cakes & breads etc. Aslo if you dont like certain things then you can log on and select against their range (the website has the full list of over 100 selections - check it out at: www.graze.com) that you never want to recieve that item. In short its a tasty & generally healthy selection of 4 treats a week for £3.89 - and there is no long term subscriptions - you can cancel at any time.

As an idea of what you might get in a box here is what I received in my latest box:

Yaki Soba (soba peanuts, edamame beans, noodles & chilli broad beans)
Fig & Cherry Preserve (figs, cherries and plums)
Florentine (belgium dark chocolate, cranberries & pumpkin seeds)
Summer Berry Flapjack (rustic rolled oat flapjack with berry infused cranberries)

All were very tasty - so join the Graze revolution and get yourself signed up!
I'll leave you with their video advert:

THE BUDGET GOURMET: MUSSELS ON A BED OF SAMPHIRE WITH CHILI OIL

Our resident Budget Gourmet took a trip to Tescos reduced goods aisle. After a bit of a rummage through all things cheap and reduced, he spotted a bag of fresh Samphire - a very "in vogue" vegetable with fine dining restaurants - for the bargain marked down price of 75p. Then as if by magic a pack of shelled and cooked Mussels for 85p.
The Samphire was fried in butter for only a minute or 2 and the mussels heated through in a saucepan with a good squeeze of lemon juice. Arranged on the plate in a fancy way that would have scored points for presentation on masterchef, and drizzled with some chilli oil - anothe squeeze of lemon juice and a hearty grind of black pepper and........ voila! Fine dining on a shoestring! (very quick and simple to make too!!!)

RECIPE: LEMON PANNA COTTA

Today I decided to make some Lemon Panna Cotta's and here's how:

First thing to do is to put on a Black Keys CD on the Kitchen stereo - this step is not vital to the final taste of the Panna Cotta's, but none the less I feel it's very important.

You will need to rustle up the following ingrediants:

• Single Cream
• Milk
• 1 Lemon
• Sugar
• Leaf Gelatine

First off pour the cream into a saucepan, add the milk (about half of the amount of cream) then add the juice of half a lemon. This is best added bit by bit to the cream whilst stirring so not to split the cream. then add the zest of that hald of the lemon.

Add 2 or 3 heaped teaspoons of sugar (depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have). Heat the saucepan on a low heat to keep the cream from curdleing and add 2 leafs of gelatine. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon until the gelatine has dissolved and as soon as it has remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool. Once it has cooled a little (but dont let it set) pour into glasses or ramakins and place in the fridge to set for a few hours. When ready to serve add some more lemon zest to the top from the other half of the lemon and provide a big spoon to gobble it down with!!!

GREGG'S FAVOURITE PUDDING

 

We all know that Gregg Wallace (from Masterchef) loves a good pudding - he even has a book out on his favourite puddings (see pic above). We thought it was time to get the definitive answer of what Mr Wallace considers to be his actual favourite pudding of all time, so 2 Greedy Mancunians took to twitter to ask the great man himself........ with no hessitation came the one worded reply "Crumble" - so there you have it another mystery solved!

If you enjoy a good pudding, or just love Gregg then go out and buy his book - or if you really really love Gregg then you can get one of these (temporary) tattoos we came across on the internet in this article! (see photo & link below) Enjoy!

Right think we might go and rustle up a nice Crumble - the question is Apple or Rhubarb???

http://www.blogandbuysale.com/2011/03/greg-wallace-tattoos/

CHURCH STREET CHIPPY

I have lived in Dukinfield, Tameside for about 7 years, and I am sad to say I have only recently discovered this delight ,the Church Chippy is a cock stride from my abode, which is handy.

The Church Chippy is a little gem of a place, I sampled its delights on a Friday evening, when I couldnt be arsed to cook. When i got there the place was rammed, it took me a good half hour to be served but it was well worth the wait.

The menu was a delight to study while I was waiting, I noticed the fish is cooked to order, so its not left warming under a light bulb, so it was mine turn next, I decided on a traditional rag pudding, chips peas and gravy (you also get a choice of gravy, I went for the mince and onion one), I also had a can of vimto and a buttered muffin (yes I know some people dont call them muffins, but where I live you do)

I ran home home with my bag of delights like a little child, I couldnt wait to get back and eat this feast on my lap whilst watching the oneshow, the taste of the rag pudding was out of this world, moist with plent of gravy inside, the chips were just right not soaked in to much oil, and the gravy, well I could of just eaten  that on its own, all mopped up with a nice muffin and washed down with can of Vimto.......BEAUTIFUL!!

So if you are ever passing Dukinfield, make sure you stop at the Church Chippy, Church Street, you will regret it if you dont!

WESTFEST

Saturday the 1st September - the first day of the West Didsbury festival "Westfest" - a local celebration of the businesses and eateries of Burton Road & the surrounding area. Most of the restaurants had set up outside stalls and were offering some tasty treats (with many free tasters).

We started outside the "A taste of Honey" deli where we had a small free taster pot of potato curry. After a stroll in the glorious sunshine we noticed a bit of a queue outside Frankies Fish bar - yes they were giving out free cones of fish & chips & rum punch - having eaten there previously I knew it was worth the queue for their delicious fish & chips - a good start to our foodie day!

 

Next up, after a wander up and down the road perousing the stalls, i noticed that the Wok & Flame Chinese had some free & rather tasty spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce on offer.

 

 

After all these appetisers we though it might be time to get some lunch! So we headed down to the Thyme Out Deli on Nell Lane - who were having a BBQ along with some live music

 a chap with a guitar singing songs for everyone as they munched on their juicy burgers! Oh and how good the burgers were too!!!

 

£4 for a proper thick juicy burger with fried onion & proper chunks of freshy cut cheese straight from the block. Whilst waiting for the burger to be cooked we nibbled at the free tasters - some pieces of pork pie & some of the most delicious chicken liver pate ever! Might have to nip back there at some point to purchase a tub of their amazing pate! The burger was divine.

  

 

We then had a quick stop off at home (round the corner) to digest our food & a cup of tea. On the way back out we stopped at the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon who were out selling cakes - I indulged in an Eton Mess cup cake that was pretty damn tasty.

 

 

We then wandered up to the Drawing room - a small drinking establishment with an excellent jukebox & fantastic cocktails. After 3 or 4 cocktails and a vote on where to go for dinner we decided on Piccalinos - however they were full til 9.30pm, so we went for a curry at the Dhoop Shack. I'm very glad we ended up there as the curries were great - the fish curry and "mum's chicken" in particular were truly delicious. A splendid end to our day/evening at Westfest.

 

www.westfest.org.uk

TEA & CAKE: DIDSBURY KITCHEN

The Didsbury Kitchen lies in the parade of shops on Lapwing Lane. We stopped off here for some tea & cake on Monday afternoon. The choice of cakes were quite limited, but cant fault the carrot cake I had - it was tasty and moist and they weren't shy with the icing. My fellow afternoon tea diner opted for a cupcake which he seemed to enjoy! And we had a nice big teapot for our "pot of tea for two". Wouldn't go miles out the way to go to the Didsbury Kitchen, but if you are passing its a good place to stop for a nice cuppa & a piece of cake.
They also did a rather good looking (and very reasonably priced) English Breakfast - but we didnt try that - just saw some other diners eating it - might be worth considering for then next time I need a hangover breakfast!
www.didsburykitchen.co.uk

~ Greedy Manc John.

OLLY LOVES US TOO!

Olly Smith the rather marvellous wine critic is one of our heros so we tweeted him "Hi @JollyOlly you are ace, and we love you". Mr Smith seemed genuinly touched and replied "Wow, what a lovely message to receive. Thank you :)" - Olly Smith we salute you and will be raising a glass to you soon!
If you dont know how brilliant Olly Smith is, then check out this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBQ8VY90DMk&feature=share&list=UUUc_u9sb4oIWtzldN6wgaXA (and check out the painting on the wall behind him - brilliant!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBQ8VY90DMk&feature=share&list=UUUc_u9sb4oIWtzldN6wgaXA

RESTAURANT REVIEW: THE WHIM WHAM CAFE

For our first restaurant review, we decided to go to the Spanish restaurant El Rincon - just off Deansgate - which is why we are bringing you a review of the Whim Wham Cafe (long story, but it involved walking in the rain and a 2 hour wait for a table - so went here instead).
The Whim Wham Cafe is a delight - sat on one of the railway arches on Whitworth Street - it is an old fashioned Gin Saloon/cafe/restaurant/entertainment venue.
Upon entering we were approached by a friendly young lady who seated us & bought us beers! Alex had a Brooklyn Larger (actually brewed in Brooklyn) and John had a Beartown Bearskinfull Bitter (brewed in the more glamourous town of Congleton!)

After a ponder over the menu - we ordered our food. For Starters: Alex opted for the Pan fried chicken Livers with wild mushroom, spinach and cream sauce served on a date & rye bread. The sauce was spicey but delicious and the livers were not overcooked and lovely and pink inside. John (being a cheese addict) went for the deep fried Cheshire Cheese with beetroot chutney, the cheese was warm and creamy and the beetroot chutney gave a pleasant zing to the dish & was served with rocket & balsamic vinegar - 2 splendid starters!

For mains we both opted for pie & horseradish mash - Alex having Cheese & Onion, and John having the Steak & Ale pie - both served with some lovely minted peas & a small pot of gravy! The pies were pietastic! A light pastry with a moist tasty filling - a very tasty pair of pies!

A very reasonably priced meal with starters, mains and 2 beers each totalling just pennies over £40 (thats only £20 each) - for the price the food was outstanding. The ambiance and the service was a real treat - with even the owner Alix having a jolly chinwag with us and checking everything was ok.
After eating we stayed in there for a few of the gin themed cocktails (both were fresh and extreemly good!) and at 10pm the offensive magician provided some top entertainment to finish off the evening.
We highly reccomend this eatery for a good meal,service and entertainmet! GO TO THE WHIM WHAM!!!
https://www.facebook.com/TheWhimWhamCafe?rf=313354372075899#!/TheWhimWhamCafe