Trove - Manchester

Having recently moved from the City out to South Manchester, I've been taking the time to explore and one of my new favourites is Levenshulme, which reminds me of a fair few of the trendier London suburbs: a thriving, culturally mixed community build around a train station with a Saturday morning food market. For me the jewel in this crown is Trove Café and Bakery. I've mentioned my love for their bread on many occasions; they’re head and shoulders my favourite ‘proper’ bakery in Manchester with a classic white sourdough that could scrap it out with the best of them.

Trove seems to be one of the few places in Manchester that I genuinely haven’t read a single negative word about. I’d built up a strong expectation of the place being entirely twee from the photos of their kids and cat on Instagram, an occasional mention of acoustic folk nights (*shudder*), the impressively curated range of homewares in their store and the photos of the interior. No insult meant by any of those observations, they just fit very well into a specific style of café that you can be sure most boroughs in London (sorry to mention the L word again) have tucked away somewhere but still seems to be a rarity being done ‘properly’ with taste this flawless in the North.

The menu was small but perfectly formed with brunch and sandwich options which covered all of the typical eggy and hot breakfast bases but with the addition of some genuinely interesting tweaks and flavours. Normally, I am fairly decisive when ordering, but this was a situation whereby I just ambled upto the tills and just chose at the last second being pretty confidant from the descriptions that whatever appeared would be tasty. The place smelt so good that my hunger levels had increased tenfold since we wandered in.

The eggs benedict Mrs HJ ordered came with with crispy bacon and capers served on two well buttered giant slices of their signature white sourdough. I can’t get enough of capers at the best of times (we can’t keep them in the house as it’s a matter of time before one of us tucks into the jar with a spoon) and they worked a treat here adding some acidity to the rich hollandaise. Bacon was just as crispy as I’d hoped and eggs were very well cooked, I could've done with a bit more sauce but the yolks ensured things were never dry.

I went for the crispy black pudding, poached egg, ginger and beetroot chutney on brown sourdough (my choice). Presentation was impressive with the pudding layered onto a spring onion and topped with an egg poached just to my taste, not a hint of sloppy white mess but with a yolk that was fit to burst. The chutney was tangy and warming and worked really well with the fried black pudding. 

We also had a flat white and black Americano (not pictured) both excellent and I’d say easily the best coffee we’d have found walking at least 45 minutes in any direction from here and arguably in the entire city.

Despite it being 3pm on a Sunday it was still pretty busy and as everything was just so damn good I can imagine it gets hellish on Saturday mornings or when they have events on. So my only minor quibble would be that due to the location and travel required I’d hate to rock up only for it to be heaving and have to leave disappointed as the alternatives nearby for a similar quality of food and drink are minimal to non-existent. I’ll test the waters again in a few weeks but for that to be the only slight negative I could add (if anything they should receive a massive pat on the back for offering something original down here) is about as petty as it comes and as a result Trove is massively recommended – top 10 in Manchester material for me.

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.