Annie's Burger Shack - Nottingham

It got to the stage in the new year whereby I was getting sick of hearing about Annie's. I'd seen friends burger photos on twitter and instagram, read about it on forums, had people mention them to me out of the blue on a couple of occasions during conversation - any discussion about Nottingham seemed to lead back to Annie's. Having a date planned to visit friends in the city I decided to make a reservation and see what the fuss was all about.

I initially e-mailed Annie’s to make a reservation only to receive an automatic e-mail response stating they’d get back to me in 10 (TEN!) days to confirm whether a space was available or not (it wasn’t). I then tried to call on several occasions at different times of the day but still never managed to agree a date for a table on a weekend that would be convenient for me. I appreciate that if you’re this busy then bookings probably aren’t your priority but this was driving me mad – who waits 10 days to hear whether they have a table free at a burger restaurant in the midlands and doesn’t just immediately look for an alternative? Surely if your restaurant is this popular it’s the most basic thing to just pay someone to respond to e-mails and write names in a diary or just adopt one of the many booking systems available that just does the work for you, or take bookings by phone only (and actually have someone to answer) or just say ‘no bookings’. 

So anyway, mid way through a pub crawl in the city (Nottingham is highly recommended in this regard), we wandered down expecting to see a queue of thousands of people filling the streets fighting to get in only for the main dining room to be half empty - they said they had a few bookings due to show up but the wait for a table was only 30 minutes. My attention had already been drawn to the bar which had a fantastic range of beers on – they had pretty much the full Buxton range in bottles, Blue Monkey, Tiny Rebel and Blue Monkey on cask, plus various American imports – a pretty decent mix. The deal was sealed by the bar prices which were extremely cheap for a restaurant, spirits with mixers £4-5, the Buxton bottles started at £2.50 and a pint of Adnams Broadside for £3 which is outrageous value for a pub let alone a restaurant. As with any bar or pub with a good selection of drinks at good prices Annie's even had a token old man lining up beers and chuntering away to himself (as well unsuccessfully attempting to engage everyone around him). 

Anyway, we were seated and ordered food, only to be told that the kitchen was facing a delay of around an hour for food. The place wasn't even full at this point and waiting an hour for a burger seemed a little ridiculous and resulted in them selling a few more rounds of drinks in the meantime.

The choice was 30 burgers which seemed extreme and as you'd expect they cover all bases from your standard cheese burger all the way through pizza burgers, burgers with pancakes, roast dinner burgers, reuben, surf and turf and on and on and on. If you have a favourite type of burger topping it'll almost certainly be on this list somewhere - I've included a copy of the menu at the bottom here for you to nose through.

At this point I abandoned all common sense and decided to order a pizza burger. The first sign things were about to go wrong was that they wouldn't even let me order the burger rare, how am I supposed to take a burger restaurant that won't do rare seriously? As the burgers were dished out the cogs started to slowly turn in my tiny brain and it dawned on me that the core of all of the options was exactly the same and they were obviously just churning burgers off the grill, dunking them in whatever toppings were relevant and dishing them up so no wonder they wouldn't cook to order. My pizza came lathered with mozarella and pepperoni as expected which was but fine but so much cheap parmesan was involved on the topping that I couldn’t really taste anything else, it completely numbed my taste buds it was so over the top. I ended up having to try a chunk of burger from my friends meal to fully experience the dry meat (see photo below for lack of evidence of even a hint of pink) which didn't impress me with the flavour at all. 

Photos above from the top left clockwise are of Reuben (Standard), the Broadway (Scottish sausage and grilled chicken breast), a dry burger, the Caribbean (Jerk spiced chicken burger), the Delta (probably my favourite visually, due to the fact it looked like a prehistoric lizard vomiting burger sauce all over the tray) and the Peppino Pizza (details above)

I suspect a hyped burger place is popping up in every city across the UK at the moment and with lack of many alternatives in Nottingham I can understand why it's done so well, it just wasn't for me and wouldn't get near a top 10 of burgers i've had in the UK. I could excuse my mistake of ordering the pizza burger but the dry meat was an absolute no-no and killed the whole meal for me. Underwhelming.
 

Manchester House - Manchester

Since I originally made the booking for this meal, the Restaurant Wars show was announced and shown on the BBC and partially spoiled my enthusiasm as let's be honest Manchester House didn't come across particularly impressively. I did take this partially with a pinch of salt as the program makers seemed to have been trying their best to portray Manchester as some sort of backwards small town that didn't deserve fine dining. I appreciate that most TV shows will be carefully cut to try and keep things interesting as possible but Aiden came across as trying too hard to please his new Living Ventures overlords, who in turn had pissed millions up the wall on what appeared on TV to be a monstrosity of a restaurant.

Whilst I like to read about food and restaurants, I also had concerns that running through the courses in such detail on the show would result in a menu I was already over-familiar with leaving no surprises for me. The good news was it was an almost entirely refreshed menu which seemed somewhat toned down from most of the dishes i'd seen on the show that at times seemed to have lost focus on preparing good food and aiming for the spectacle of the whole thing.

The decor was fairly typically tasteless identikit Living Ventures warehouse chic (I hate myself for using that term), ie decoration that says nothing about anything throughout. A massive plus point is having to walk past the well-lit open kitchen and being able to see the chefs at work as you're seated - I love feeling like everything is on show like that, it creates a fantastic first impression.

The menu was presented and explained as being made up of a bread course, 3 snacks, 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts to finish. The wine list and cocktail menu itself was huge, frustratingly the index in the cocktail menu suggested page numbers for the details of the drinks but the book itself had no page numbers - a minor oversight but a tedious one all the same. Even the beer list had some thought gone into it with a couple of locals (Tickety Brew pale, Marble Manchester bitter) and a crisp fresh Camden Brewery lager to cover several bases and keep any beer fans relatively happy.

I tried several cocktails, which were all made to a high standard. The real highlight was the imperial tea which was served warm via the device shown in the photo which infused chamomile into the booze.

The bread course which opened the meal was a Parmesan and onion brioche which was lovely and light with the flakey pastry still warm from the oven.  It was accompanied by a small glass of onion consomme which was like a perfect chilled French onion soup with a thick luscious parmesan foam on top.

First of the snacks was "Tomato consommé, basil and mozzarella" which was the most disappointing course for me, a simple take on a Caprese salad made up of a small piece of tomato (described as the heart), a piece of mozzarella rolled in basil powder and then a liquid ball of basil that could either be popped into the basil consommé or in your mouth. I braced myself for an intense hit of flavour as I burst the basil ball in my mouth but it was really toned down and enjoyable.

Second snack was "Foie Gras and hazelnut mousse". Hidden in the mousse was a generous chunk of foie gras which had been cured in salt, sugar and lemon. It was just as rich as it sounds but the extra sweet and salty flavours took the edge off the richness of the foie gras making a for a very enjoyable treat. Hawthorne flowers were an added attractive decoration sprinkled over the top of the dish.

Final snack was "Sardine Rice Crisp" made up of Nori seaweed cracker, sprinkled with Sardine mayonnaise, pickled sardine, green and purple seaweed and sardine caviar. The Cracker was wonderful, each bite was like a mouthful of something fresh from the sea. The pickled sardine and sardine mayonnaise were fishy but not overwhelming and it all combined perfectly, the crunchy crisp, the pickle, the soft seaweed - just fantastic.

First of the starters was "Confit pigeon, gingerbread and spiced cherry". This was one of the most fun and imaginative courses presentation wise - especially the cherry which was made up of a Foie gras and palm sugar combination, and came served with a pistachio tweel which provided a satisfying crunch. The confit Pigeon was well cooked and flavoured. The elements of the dish arrived on a soft gingerbread base and the plate was further decorated with vinegar and cherry emulsion adding some needed sharpness to the whole course.

Second starter was "Charred smoked salmon, fresh goats cheese and leeks". Another course that was beautifully presented with the charred leek rings used as little pools, two filled with goats cheese emulsion and the third with salmon snow. The salmon itself was a generous chunk of perfectly tender fish and with salmon roe dotted around the plate again adding further consistencies and richness.

Final starter was "Aylesbury snails and wild garlic tartlet". This almost looked too good to eat and I admit to taking my time and admiring it for a short time before getting stuck in, the freeze dried garlic and flowers on the top disc looked stunning. Looks were slightly deceiving as the filo pastry discs appeared light but were quite dense - I expected it to snap with a tap of the fork but the pastry just crunched down squashing the ingredients below and spoiling the effect somewhat. It came served on a bone marrow emulsion which gave the snails a lovely meaty flavour (as you'd expect bone marrow to do).

First main was "Cured monkfish with blood orange puree and asparagus". The monkfish was cured in beetroot and was a sufficiently generous slice that it gave the flavours chance to shine as well as retaining the meatiness that makes monkfish so great in the first place.  It was accompanied by rosewater sherbet, a rosewater pickled shallot, blood Orange emulsion and French tip asparagus and the plate dotted with nurstergeon leaf. Quite a sweet dish overall but that set the scene for the quality of the mains to come well.

Second main was "Sea bass, avocado and sesame puree, soft shell crab and chicken satay". A very packed plate made up a piece of sea bass, a boneless chicken wing which was coated with the satay flavour, avocado mouse, soft shell crab claw as the centre piece and a small ravioli made of a thin slice of avocado and filled with cured sea bass. 

Third main was "Rose veal fillet, english peas and lardo". A generous well flavoured perfectly cooked piece of veal with a fine layer of translucent lardo delicately sat on top. Served on a bed of shelled peas which had been chopped through with veal tongue. Another exceptional dish, veal and lardo isn't a combination i've experienced before and was clearly very well thought out, the peas tasted incredibly fresh.

First dessert was "Apple and eucalyptus sorbet, elderflower granite" which was a perfect palate cleanser that i'll measure all future palate cleansers against The ice cold granita had apple freshly grated over it by the waiter, this mixed with the eucalyptus and elderflower flavours was incredibly refreshing.

Second dessert was "Strawberries, ewe's milk ice cream and panna cotta". The strawberries were presented in several ways - fresh, freeze dried, as meringue, as a small panna cotta and dotted with marshmallows and pieces of crunchy buttery biscuit. Another dish that a huge amount of thought and balance had gone into, the various strawberries could easily have made this incredibly sweet but it had been impressively reigned in. 

Final dessert was "Macaroons". A lovely end to a meal, each macaron had it's own very distinct flavour and they were perfectly light. Flavours were chocolate and orange, pineapple cheesecake, pistachio, lemon, blackcurrant and strawberry and basil. I had a double espresso to accompany this and had no complaints, a solid dark and rich coffee.

Our waiter Ross was extremely attentive, chatty and totally on point throughout. You expect quality service at a place like this but it was of such a high standard I took the time to compliment the maitre'd on how well everything had gone.

Overall this was easily one of my favourite meals in Manchester and on reflection i'd say that it probably just shaded the French for me. The atmosphere was a lot less sterile than the French making for an overall more enjoyable evening on this occasion, I need to re-visit the French to see whether that side of the experience has improved. Aside from the early blip with the tomato salad here the food was all to an exceptionally high standard and quality, I hate to mention Michelin stars but I will be extremely surprised if they aren't awarded one next year if this level of quality and imagination is maintained.

Volta - West Didsbury, Manchester

Don't let my blog header deceive you, i'm a real sucker for a good typeface and logo and as soon as I saw the Volta window I felt pleasantly reassured that this was a place that clearly had good taste - the restaurant looks really (I hate to say it) cool from the outside and a place you wouldn't hesitate to drop into to check out. The website states that they keep some tables free every night for drop-ins but i'd been sensible and booked so was seated pretty quickly. The mirrored back wall combined with my awful eye-site worked like an optical illusion giving the impression I’d wandered into an enormous dining room. In fact it’s about 40-50 covers tops with further seating outside and which gives the whole place a lovely cosy vibe. I sat with my back to the mirror so I didn't send myself mad constantly catching my own eye.

I'm a big fan of the tapas style serving which has become massively popular post-Polpo over the past couple of years, not just restricted to typical Spanish fare anymore. This worked really well at Volta, the menu was broken up into a majority of small plates and with a few meaty mains - the whole process was very laid back with food coming when it’s ready and side plates provided from the start so everyone gets to dig in.

A few of the dishes that appealed such as the lamb chops and crispy squid were unfortunately off for the evening which was a shame as i'd definitely have also tried them.

Sourdough with butter – I can't not order bread, especially when I saw the loaves come from Trove who are baking the best bread in Manchester in my opinion.

Grilled Padron peppers - a generous portion of plump juicy peppers that had been very generously seasoned ahead of grilling. The tiny red peppers were extremely sweet and fruity and were a real hit, as a combination this was a delight.

Smoked feta with beetroot, hazelnuts and dill – this came chilled, the ground beetroot was extremely refreshing, hazelnuts provided a crunch to break the dish up slightly and the smoked feta was a real treat to finish the dish off.

Mushrooms on toast – not something i'd normally have gone for, this was sent out from the kitchen as it’d been marked down on our order incorrectly and therefore wasn't charged for. It was one of the specials and featured mushrooms that had been foraged locally. 

Negroni cured salmon on a bed of fennel with orange and pumpkin seed – the salmon itself was perfectly cooked with the negroni cure extremely subtle, but as it often does the fennel just overpowered the whole dish. The juice from the orange made the whole dish very wet meaning the salmon got part soaked and everything ended up overly sweet. An interesting idea that just didn’t work for me.

Battered Cod cheeks on potato hash and chorizo was another of the days specials. This consisted of lovely fat cod cheeks fried in a breadcrumb fish finger style coasting. The batter combined with the potato alone would've been a little too bland taste wise but the chorizo gave everything a good kick and this worked really well as a dish. Personally I prefer a tempura batter with fish and this would've made the cheeks lighter and lifted the whole dish.

The dexter rib on bone steak with béarnaise and chips was superb. Real care had been shown to the meat which was well flavoured, the sauce was pleasantly thick and the chips were wonderfully crispy – proper chips for once, none of this fries lark. The steak was ordered rare and the meat was served pink as requested. This was a very generous amount of food for just £19.50. In the absence of a proper steak house in Manchester this will definitely be my ‘go to’ place when I'm craving a steaky hit.

Brandy and raisin ice cream with coffee ‘affogato’. I can’t ever not order a coffee based dessert when I see one and I had no regrets from this one - it helped that the coffee was dark and strong as hell, gave it such a deep flavour. I also had a separate espresso which I didn't soil with ice cream and which was unbelievably potent, they certainly take coffee seriously here - a perfect end to the meal.

Drinks wise they had a packed cocktail menu covering all the classics and including some cocktail of the day options which sounded interesting enough that I would've tried them if they didn't have such a great beer menu. I went with a pint of Jaipur to start which was an obvious choice and as good as ever, after a brief chat about the options I ended up taking a recommendation from the waitress for my second (a bottle of Brew by Numbers Wai-Tai and Lemon Saison) and it was definitely well received. 

Overall it was genuine value for money at approximately £75 for the food above, two cocktails and two beers plus coffee and tip. I absolutely loved Volta and wouldn't hesitate to go back if I find myself in Didsbury in the future, it's definitely a restaurant that I will be making repeat visits to and I would certainly become a regular if I lived locally.

Aumbry - Prestwich, Manchester

I've had such a long list of places to check out in the city that i'd found myself getting a bit lazy and sticking to places I could stumble home from after a big meal and beers / cocktails / wine (delete as appropriate depending upon the dinner i've had that evening). Aumbry has been right near the top of my 'to eat' list even before I moved North so I decided to get it ticked off. 

I'd been hoping to use the trip as an excuse to explore Prestwich a little but it was an absolutely miserable night and none of the pubs on the main street looked particularly appealing. Fortunately turning up early didn't cause any issues at all and we were greeted extremely warmly and were offered a drink in the lounge where we could browse the menu and have a pre-dinner drink. 

From the outside, the restaurant has the appearance of an adorable little house tucked away on an unassuming side street and this homely feel continued upstairs, it all felt very informal and almost like having a gin in your nans front room. I managed to have a quick nose through some of the cookbooks on the window sill upstairs and was impressed that the first one I opened (Momofuku) was actually signed (presumably by David Chang but the signature was indecipherable).

We started sharing a couple of drinks, The first being a gin and sherry cocktail with rose petals and elderflower, fantastic deep warming flavour. The second was a Bellini, which is pretty difficult to make a mess of and was a solid rendition.

Cucumber infused water was served up as a palate cleanser shortly after the drinks. It dawned on me half way through that sipping this and then my cocktail was probably pretty much missing the whole point but it was a refreshing little drink all the same.

A few snacks were also served in the upstairs waiting room. Mini savoury profiteroles were first, extremely delicate pastry still very warm from the oven and filled with liquid consistency melted smoked cheese that immediately burst all over my fingers. 

A small bowl of deep fried peas with salt and vinegar quickly followed, very crunchy battered peas with black bean mousse hidden beneath. The crispy topping was so delicious that i'd scoffed most of it before noticing the dense pea mousse hidden below which had little flavour on it's own, a better explanation of the dish or how to eat would definitely have helped with this one.

(Clockwise from top left; gin and sherry cocktail, profiteroles, palate cleanser, deep fried peas with black bean mousse)

At this point we ordered the food (a choice of 6 or 9 courses) and wine which was a nice touch as it meant no menus were cluttering the table as we were seated downstairs.

The dining room continues the quaint cottage theme (not really a theme as such I suppose as it is a house after all), some of the photos such as giant Dennis Hopper overlooking the room didn't really make any sense to me but definitely gave the place a clear personality of it's own. I was really surprised by how small and cosy the dining room felt - there was only space for around 40 covers with a full view of the kitchen from any of the seats.

First up ahead of the food starting was another palate cleanser - this time it was a wonderful wild flower green tea with honey, served in a delicate china cup from a tiny teapot. A very twee start to proceedings which did it's job well - by this time i'd necked my cocktail so did genuinely need a cleanser before dinner proper began.

The first food course was Bury black pudding scotch egg with tomato sauce and set the scene well for the standard of cooking to come. The scotch egg was stunning, the still tender quails egg finished with a perfect fine crisp outer crust. I bit into the egg expecting the lining to be dense but it was lighter than I thought pudding could possibly be. A whole bowl of these still wouldn't have been enough - a really clever first course to start the meal.

Next up was cured goat ham, accompanied by goats cheese, a sprinkling of fresh sorrel and with a tiny piece of crackling sat on top. I haven't eaten a lot of goat previously and it's a flavour i'm still getting accustomed to, it tasted great here and the mix of the textures was very impressive - the cheese worked so well with the sorrel.

(L-R; Bury black pudding scotch egg, bread, dipping and butters)

A bread course followed, the bread itself was fine but the show here was entirely stolen by a small dish of beef dripping which was just incredible, so dark and rich. Two butter options also appeared with the bread - Bolton salted butter and brown nut butter. I'm a real fan of salted fresh butter and these were both fantastic, like the dripping they both had a really deep flavour but with their own subtle differences.

No extra bread was offered and the butter dishes themselves were left on the table until the first dessert course - we heard other tables offered more bread but not us, this sort of poor service that starts to take the shine off a meal like this.

Smoked mackerel with roast celeriac and rye crisps up next. The mackerel tasted almost raw and was very fresh on the palate, the accompanying taste of mustard obvious but not overpowering with crunchy celeriac and rye crisps adding a rich savoury element to balance everything. Another very impressive dish - flavours, textures and presentation all perfect.

(Clockwise from top left; cured goat, smocked mackerel, hare, scallop ceviche)

At this point things really slowed down and we had to wait approximately 25 minutes for the next course to show up, these things happen when enjoying taster menus and i'd hoped this was down to delays in the kitchen that they would catch up on as things progressed.

Scallop ceviche was an odd one, i'm a huge fan of scallops but here the tender, melt in the mouth scallop together with the bitter crispy vegetable was too different and just didn't work together for me. The small pieces of bread placed around the outside were unusually soft and the consistency made them quite interesting in themselves but just another addition to a dish that further confused it all.

It's quite unusual to see hare on a menu so was really looking forward to this course. The meat was very dark and chewy as you'd expect, almost verging on the taste of kidney with the slightly odd scent it often has. The meat with the tart crisp turnip cubes absolutely wowed me, a much better combination than the previous scallop course.

(Left - cheeses. Top right; suet pudding. Bottom right; goat two ways)

Next up was suet pudding, accompanied by a piece of plaice. I'd had a few glasses of wine by this stage and my notes go slightly askew but i'm sure the waitress mentioned oyster to some regard. The suet pudding itself was extremely rich and heavy, exactly as you'd want but was essentially hollow with what resembled a mussel hidden away in the bottom. This was one of the densest courses I remember on a taster menu and worked well at this stage of the meal. 

Next up was goat two ways with kale and charlotte potatoes, this time the animal appeared to have been slow cooked resulting in an extremely succulent meat which was complimented nicely with the vegetables. 

Cheese – 6 various selections with oatcakes and three chutneys including apple and a traditional onion. The cheese portions were not exactly generous but a thought out mix, all having very different flavours - I was particularly impressed by one of the offerings and had to get the waitress to remind me of the name so I could stock up in the future. 

Grapefruit posset with celery granita and a spoonful of sherbet was the first dessert course. Extremely enjoyable, the first spoonful of the granita with the sherbet and posset was just fantastic - the rich custard base went on to mix with the granita as I continued to eat and it just got better and better. 

There was a further dessert course of rhubarb and broken meringue, again very good.

Sweet black pudding then followed, this time the "black pudding" was made up with black forest gateau - a clever play play on the first course of the menu and took the meal full circle. 

(Clockwise from top left; dessert black pudding, rhubarb meringue, petit fours, grapefruit posset)

By this point the long wait between courses was starting to get unbearable and we were tired of waiting so just asked for the bill without teas or coffees, this seemed to immediately send the staff into meltdown and a couple of petit fours came very quickly.

The petit fours were olive oil biscuits with orange cream, then rhubab and custard jellies with popping candy, which were very cold and finally a hazelnut caramel milk ice lolly, which I was advised to eat quickly before it melted but wasn't very cold.

Final mini dessert snack was a apple kickshaw, a bite sized apple fritter. Very sweet and doughy like a fresh doughnut. 

Overall the food very extremely impressive and very highly recommended. Unfortunately the meal was almost ruined by the pacing which was very poor and not at the level you’d expect for somewhere of this standard. I appreciate that some of the dishes require a lot of preparation but to have the initial 3-4 courses appear very quickly to whet your appetite and then see delays from the kitchen stretched to over 30 minutes between the courses at times. The best example of this is that the cheese course took 20 minutes to appear which for something that takes little to no preparation is staggering and made the choice to add it in completely regrettable however good the cheeses ended up being. 

The 9 courses, plus extras took approximately 4 hours and for such a small restaurant and number of covers it's bizarre that things could be so poorly paced. The only choices on the menu were 6 or 9 so they had on a la carte to deal with. I did spot on the website that they can prepare a 12 course taster with prior notice, presumably this prior notice is needed so they can contact the council and extend their late licence for the extra couple of hours needed to serve the additional courses.

I’m glad to have been and on the whole the food was of a high standard and I would definitely go back at some point in the future and prepare myself for the service. If everything had been smoother it’d take the experience from a 7/10 to a solid 8 or 9.

Mr Cooper's House - Manchester (second visit)

I had family visiting a few weeks ago and after such a positive experience last time I didn't hesitate to book Mr Cooper's House - the perfect mix of interesting venue, great atmosphere, broad menu and imaginative cocktail list to wow them. It went down a storm.

I went heavy on the superlatives last time and did have slight concerns that I'd gone over the top with my praise but if anything the overall quality and experience was even higher on this second visit.

First major brownie point was that the menu had been updated since the last visit, this really shouldn't have been a surprise due to the Simon Rogan influence but it's still great to see use of seasonal ingredients and this gives me even more incentive to head back again. At first I was slightly disappointed to see that the lamb with curried lentils had been removed as O'd been so impressed with it last time but given a choice of 9 further dishes I soon got over that.

As a slight aside, after the lamb dish disappeared from the menu here Simon Rogan kindly shared it in a column in the Guardian, link included below. I find it pretty hilarious this is filed under 'quick' midweek recipes and I'm certainly planning to have a go but I'm thinking of setting a Sunday aside rather than trying to steam through it one night after work:
http://www.theguardian.com/global/2014/feb/14/simon-rogan-quick-midweek-recipes

Onto the food - on this visit, I tried the following:

Started with fresh bread which came accompanied with wonderful creamy butter and salt flakes to add as much flavour as you prefer, a nice touch. It dawned on me that I hadn't been offered bread on the last visit so I'm not clear if this is a new addition to the meal or it was just overlooked last time.

My starter was anise crusted sweetbreads, saffron risotto and fried leeks - as luxurious as you'd imagine, the sweetbreads were melt in the mouth. Risotto is usually so stodgy but this was light enough to work well as a starter.

I also tried the mussel chowder with leeks and bone marrow croutons - the chowder was lovely and thick, the bone marrow croutons adding a wonderful fatty flavour.

For my main course I had the confit duck fritter, spiced red cabbage and roasted duck breast - the highlight for me, just thinking back to this now makes me want to head straight down there and order another one. The textures, flavours and presentation were all spot on - a completely flawless dish.

I also had a quick go on the grilled sole, ginger butternut, shrimps and bok choi - a very delicately cooked piece fish which was complimented very well by the accompanying ingredients and the bok choi which can often be over-powering but it tied everything together well here.

I couldn't resist ordering the spiced madeleines, lemon curd, apricot and orange for my dessert. The madelines were one of the highlights of the meal, fantastic fresh tasting and as you'd imagine from the mix of flavours - the entire course had deep fruit flavours which reminded me more of the type of dessert you'd expect in autumn time. The great mix of warming flavours made it very enjoyable.

The other dessert I sampled was the white chocolate cake with pineapple - a luscious piece of cake hidden away under the thick rich white chocolate sauce.

Another fantastic meal. The only slight issue was that we were charged for a glass of champagne that had been sent to another table but the maître d' was exceptionally apologetic and did go on to take the time to give us a mini history lesson of the restaurant including the delivery of that incredible marble table in the bar.

Instead of moving on, we lingered in the bar and got stuck further into into the cocktail menu - the bartenders were really attentive and happy to go 'off menu' to meet any requests. Mr Cooper's House just impresses me more and more.

Brewdog Manchester and Honest Burger 'Brew Burger'

As a major fan of both Brewdog beers and Honest burgers, I was pretty excited to read that they'd been working together on developing a burger for the launch of the Bourbon Baby beer that would be available in Manchester for ONE NIGHT ONLY and so drew a big burger on the calendar at home to make sure I wouldn't forget when the date rolled around.

Whilst trying to translate the list of ingredients, it became clear I was looking at a bbq bacon cheese burger which would incorporate the following:

Bacon that had been candied using 5am Saint (an existing Brewdog red ale)
Comte Cheese
Onions in beef dripping and Punk IPA (Brewdog's flagship IPA)
BBQ sauce made with one of their Paradox beers
Pickled Cucumber
All on top of the classic Honest 150g aged beef patty and sandwiched within their usual toasted bun

The sauces were supposedly so boozy that the burger actually had an ABV, unfortunately I forgot to take my kit to test this so i'll have to take the claim at face value.

I arrived a bit early meaning I was ready and waiting like a horrendous over-zealous fan (i'm ashamed) at 6pm to get an order in as soon as they went on sale.

I was overjoyed (really) to see the burger arrived accompanied by Honest's triple cooked hand cut chips with rosemary salt, none of this frozen fries nonsense. I'd been fiending for these for months and they absolutely didn't disappoint.

I dived head-first into the burger and it all held together admirably but while very enjoyable to my taste buds the sheer range of ingredients and flavours was very difficult to separate when mushed together inside my chops. The good news was that the signature Honest meat wasn't completely overwhelmed and shone through, helped by the meat being cooked perfectly pink in the middle.

I could've gone at it with a knife and fork in an attempt to give you a break down of how well thought out the list of ingredients was and how they all worked together perfectly to result in the burger to end all burgers (bringing on burgergeddon) but that's kind of missing the point.

The Bourbon Baby beer which came with the burger was a great accompaniment. Typically Brewdog beers aren't known for a subtle flavour and this was definitely a nice surprise with a mild and sweet taste of it's own. My taste buds were hammered by the burger so I won't even attempt to describe notes for you i'm afraid. I was interested to read in the the recent issue of Hop-Propaganda (kills me it's not just called HOPAGANDA), the in-house Brewdog magazine that it's been developed as an "experiment in how a lower ABV session ale will develop in cask" and understanding fully what they were aiming for they definitely nailed it.

In the spirit of experimentation and trying something a bit different it was a great little burger and I have a lot of respect for the ideas that went into it all. A collaboration that was certainly a lot of fun and something that i'm definitely pleased to have experienced.
 

Baltic Bakehouse - Liverpool

I arrived into Liverpool on a particularly miserable Saturday morning and headed towards the Baltic Triangle on the hunt for Baltic Bake. As the heavens opened I was starting to doubt whether the trudge was going to be worth it but i'd been drooling over their photos on Twitter and Instagram for weeks and I breathed a huge sigh of relief as soon as I opened the substantial wooden door into Baltic Bake;  it was love at first sight. Freshly baked loaves line the exposed brick walls, a counter jam packed full of various pastries, with the cafe pleasantly full, buzzing with chat and with a genuinely authentic rustic feel to the place. The smell of the baking coming from the ovens in the back was heavenly. One of the best first impressions I having in a new space like this for some time and somewhere I was immediately looking forward to spending time in.

I had to show real restraint when it came to the range of cakes as the buns, croissants, tarts and loaves all looked of a very high standard. I took a window seat, ordered at the counter and the food was bought over very quickly. I had a great view to watch people drive up, pop in and grab a few loaves for the weekend and then head off. I spotted more than one child accompanied by their parents holding onto loaves as if their lives (and not just their afternoon sandwiches) depended upon it. Given Baltic Bake isn't in the most convenient location (approximately 15-20 minutes from the city centre on foot), this speaks massive volumes about the high quality on display and good reputation they've cleared earned in the city.

Food wise I ordered the following:

Granola with yogurt and banana: this was perfect, the granola was crunchy and substantial but not too sweet - the yogurt and banana bought everything together so well. 

The bacon sandwich was spot on - two thick slabs of well-buttered fresh sourdough with a generous helping of bacon and sauce.

The salted caramel chocolate tart was a thing of incredible beauty. Pastry that was so delicate it crumbled at the lightest touch of a knife, lovely warming deep chocolate with a thick layer of salted caramel at the bottom. One of the finest cakes I can remember eating.

Everything had been so good that I went back for a croissant, a decision I definitely didn't regret. Pastry was the same high standard as all of the previous treats.

This was all washed down with a large french press coffee which provided enough for two cups.

The icing on the cake was the ridiculously good value for money, the price paid felt low for the quality and amount of food received. £15 for the baked goodies, the bacon sandwich, the granola and large coffee for two and I left absolutely stuffed. My only regret was not buying a loaf or two to take away but I knew it wouldn't have made it as far as the train based on the quality of everything else I tried. I'm already planning another weekend in Liverpool just so I can make a couple of visits to Baltic Bake, you can definitely count me as a major fan.

 

NQ Superstore - Manchester (visit two)

It's been a few months since my last visit to Superstore and finding myself wandering round the NQ for inspiration it seemed a good opportunity to pop back in and see how they were getting on.

(L-R - Sharing Platter, Bone marrow on toast and prawns with Chorizo on toast)

The good news is that everything has changed for the better - all of the things that I felt they were doing well have improved and all of the minor niggles i'd complained about last time had gone - the TV was off, the cash machine upstairs has gone and the selection of beers has massively improved. The service was of the same high standard as the last visit and the food has all been refined in positive ways. It's also moved on from being fairly quiet to being absolutely heaving - we took the last available table at 7pm on a Saturday night so they're clearly doing extremely well customer wise.

(L-R Tempura veg, Tempura fish and chips and a portion of fries)

The five for £20 small plates menu had the same choices as last time but the portion sizes have been refined with everything now being served together on a sharing platter which completely removed the issues a lack of space on the smaller tables meaning no need for plate juggling. One slight point i'd note is that the starters don't actually lend themselves that well to sharing as they're mostly a large portion of a specific dish so i'd imagine the next evolution will be to get some proper sharing dishes on the menu. Having said that we made a great effort at hacking up and sharing out the black pudding and dishing out noodles and of course I made sure I grabbed the bone marrow as quickly as possible. The garlic accompanying the bone marrow had been somewhat tamed allowing the main flavour of the fatty bone marrow to shine through.

The mains I tried this time were the lamb burger and a large chunk of the tempura fish and chips. They also had a special on for the night of prawns and chorizo on toast which was very generous portion-size wise for £7.

There is such an impressive range of starters and mains that I always over order early on and still haven't tried the desserts unfortunately - I fully intend to put this right next time!

It's progressed from being a good to a great restaurant in just a few months and I can't wait to see how they continue to grow. Value for money is very high with four of us leaving well full for approx £100 including a couple of rounds of beers and cocktails.

Home Sweet Home - Manchester

Home Sweet Home fills a hole in the NQ for cheapish (£6-8) decent sized portions of US diner style treats. They cover all the usual junk food mainstays with a solid brunch menu incorporating ‘bennies' (eggs benedict), coffees, waffles, French toast and cooked breakfasts. The core menu goes on to tick off other staples such as burgers, hot dogs, wings, chicken in a basket, some of the cheaper steak cuts, milkshakes (soft and hard!), loads of soft drinks and a couple of decent beers on draft. The main attraction is the cake cabinet stuffed with some of the most over the top cakes you'll ever see.

We're not talking ace of cakes design nonsense but real cakes that you'd actually want to tuck into themed in the most imaginative ways. Any kind of calorie control is rightly thrown completely out of the window.

On this occasion I tried the following:

Double cheeseburger with fries - despite being from the same family as Almost Famous, HSH take their own slant on burgers. Think well flavored McDonalds patties, decent in their own way but i'm so used to these inch thick rare burgers that everyone serves these days that this type of thing doesn't do much for me anymore. It was served with a mountain of fries which were well salted.

Goats cheese, red onion and spinach brioche - this was the special of the day and came served on a huge bed of salad. Since I was having a giant ice cream shake I thought I'd make a token effort at ordering a healthy version and this was a nice alternative to a burger - the brioche had plenty of filling and the flavours sat together well.

Latte - their filter is usually pretty decent but the latte didn't hugely impress, the base coffee had that soil taste you often get if beans are past their best. Honestly, if I wanted a strong fresh coffee in the NQ i'd head over to TeaCup or North Tea Power every time.

Shake - incredibly rich and thick ice cream and blueberry shake with fresh cream and fruit loops as the topping. Completely over the top and definitely very enjoyable as a result.

I had been on a run of bad service which had taken the shine off slightly and put me off dropping in for a while but things are definitely improving - the two waitresses who dealt with me on this trip were fantastic, very chatty and helpful. There were noticeably more staff hanging around than there had been previously so hopefully they've noticed the problem and dealt with it.

Home Sweet Home did exactly what I was in the mood for - well done comfort food staples served quickly and for a reasonable price. Food wise if I compare it to similar options within the city it doesn't hit the heights of Moose coffee for me with regards to but the cakes are the real highlight and not to be missed. 

If you're heading in late in the day (ie after work) then have a nose through the window as they do often seem to sell out by late afternoon which is a real shame as dropping in late evening for a piece of cake and a cold beer or coffee would give them a great late-night café vibe that the NQ could really do with. Now summer is here and the tables outside can be put to good use it's one of the most fun spots in the NQ for a quick lunch.