American

If there’s one thing that Manchester’s missing, it’s good barbeque food. Sure there’s Red’s; I was a fan from the start but they seem more concerned with getting sauces into supermarkets and brewing their own (mediocre) beer these days. Then came ‘Smokehouse’ or ‘Manchester Smokehouse’ as it’s officially known. Headed up by Jason Latham, a chef who not only knows his way around ... Read More »

There’s a new addition to Manchester’s fine-dining scene. ‘Grafene’ on King Street is named after revolutionary 2D material ‘graphene’, albeit spelt incorrectly. Run by Paul and Kathryn Roden, owners of highly regarded Losehill House Hotel & Spa in the Peak District. And headed up by their executive chef over there, Darren Goodwin. Although I’ve never been to Losehill House I know several ... Read More »

There are a few places I go to eat that are guaranteed to cheer me up. Splendid Kitchen is one of them. Since opening as Splendid Sausage Co around 18 months ago, their menu has evolved from gourmet hot dogs to fantastic American style comfort food and probably the best fried chicken in town. Choosing what to order is always ... Read More »

It’s no secret that I’m a big Solita fan, I have been right from the start when they had just one burger on the menu (it’s true, honestly!) Back then they were just a small Northern Quarter grill restaurant but over the last couple of years they’ve gone from strength to strength. And restaurant to restaurant. Last year saw the ... Read More »

There are some places that epitomise their location; Common in the Northern Quarter used to be a prime example. The NQ institution was one of my favourite places in Manchester to drink. Its quirky and artistic – if a little scruffy – decor was all part of the charm. To celebrate their 10-year anniversary they closed their doors for several ... Read More »

It’s beginning to look a lot like.. okay, it already looks a LOT like Christmas because apparently it’s happening in two days time. Whether I’m ready or not. At the start of December I hatched grand plans to visit the restaurants of Manchester sampling the very best festive food on offer. As it happened, I had no time for such fun. Just ... Read More »

It’s well known that Solita is one of my favourite restaurants; besides the great food it’s the fact that they never stop changing and improving that I love most. Blink and you might miss an amazing special, don’t return for a few months and you’re likely to find a completely refreshed menu next time. It wasn’t even six months ago ... Read More »

If you’d told me in the late 90’s that I’d be making regular trips to bowling alleys in 15 years time, I wouldn’t have believed you for a second. I wasn’t very good at bowling admittedly but mainly because of the types of places we had available back then. You know those bright, garish mainstream chains – usually on retail parks – full ... Read More »

I’ve always loved BrewDog; their beer and their bars. I used to love their food too; the BBQ menu was fantastic, featuring: tender ribs, brilliant burnt beans and a simply stunning smoked mac ‘n’ cheese. And I’m not ashamed to say I’ve made several visits purely to get my fix of their awesome fried pickles. So you can imagine my disappointment ... Read More »

Long time readers will know I’m a huge fan of Northern Quarter restaurant Solita, having visited many, many times in the two years since they opened, including around 25 times in 2013 alone! For the good of my health I’ve cut back significantly this year but was still incredibly excited to hear about their plans to open a second restaurant ... Read More »

Perhaps surprisingly, I’d only been to Almost Famous once until recently. This for various reasons including; being a bit of a SoLita fan boy, not liking to queue and finding their early marketing more than a little tedious. On that single visit in early 2013 the food didn’t blow me away as I’d expected but equally, I wasn’t annoyed by ... Read More »

Before the World Cup started I had what at the time seemed like a great idea; to cook a dish from every country competing before the end of the tournament. 32 dishes from 32 countries in 32 days. Sounds easy right? It turned out to be more of a challenge than I’d anticipated, I didn’t take into account how often ... Read More »

It’s ever so slightly awkward turning up to an event to find it’s hosted by a man who threatened and upset your friends just days earlier, simply for asking a question. It happened when I was invited to a ‘Suckling Pig Banquet’ at Red’s True Barbecue by Manchester Confidential and arrived to find ManCon’s infamous founder ‘Gordo’, aka Mark Garner at ... Read More »

Just over a year ago I hadn’t bowled for at least 10 years, but since my first visit to Dog Bowl last May it’s become a bit of a regular occurrence. The latest a couple of weeks ago after being invited to preview the new menu. Not that the extra practice has improved my game much. In fact, on this ... Read More »

It seems hot dogs are the new burgers in Manchester with several new places offering ‘dirty’ or ‘gourmet’ versions of the humble street food. The latest being ‘The Splendid Sausage Company’ who recently took over the Jack Spratt site on John Dalton Street. They invited me down to have a look around and sample their sausages. I never made it ... Read More »