All posts by thecooktwit

A bloke from a little town called Newton-le-Willows in the North West of England. Works and plays in Manchester. He is of a certain age who likes his food and beer. This blog has foodie reviews. Personal opinions of the food and places I've been. Fully understands that preparing food is a tough gig. If I enjoy, it goes on here to let others know. Likes cooking as well. Likes trying the dishes we all see on telly and in celeb chef recipe books. You may notice 'the flame' gets a mention. She is my lovely wife who happens to have red hair! It's a nod to the musings of AA Gill whose wife he calls 'the blonde'. Enjoy
Eating Out Reviews

Luck Lust Liquor and Burn – Manchester

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It’s a blustery, cold, November, Sunday morn. The Cook Twit has succumbed to a virulent bout of ‘manflu’. Such is its ferocity that full blown ebola has taken hold. I doubt this blog will get finished. The flame, unable to accompany me on this trip, calls me a wimp and tells me to get on with it. I venture aimlessly into Manchester. A protracted visit to ‘The Hungry Gecko’ in Chorlton is curtailed as the local trolley buses are off due to ‘engineering works’. 

The Cook Twit is nothing if not a resourceful soul. When faced with such adversity, he brushes himself down, he doesn’t quibble, he quickly gets himself into a hostelry for an alcoholic restorative to ponder his next move. A pint of ‘The Governor’ quickly puts the old fish oil into gear. Never one to shirk new technology, google maps reckons I am a mere 170 yards away from ‘Luck, Lust, Liquor and Burn’. Handsome words have been scribed regarding the qualities of this Northern Quarter stalwart. Not least for its kind rescue act of the burger joint ‘Almost Famous’ whose burgers Liquor and Burn now feature.
Liquor and Burn (for short!) is housed in a quaint, corner plot close to the former market gates in the High Street in Manchester’s trendy Northern Quarter. 
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In order to keep in trend it is not posh. Decor is strictly hip, up cycled, mis matched wooden furniture. The soundtrack is Marvin Gayeish and at a pleasant volume. The vibe therefore is very relaxed and the flashing young blades behind the bar made the cook twit very welcome. No real ale of course but a dark, Brooklyn lager kept the pipes moistened. The menu is printed in black on white A4. Courses have flash titles with hip tag lines, letting you know what you’re in for. Chicken Lickin, Beef Smackdown and Triple Nom just some of the names.

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Tucked away high on the left was my corking starter. A pint of shrimp and squid for £7.50. These exquisite pieces of succulent seafood came hot and deep fried in a light salted and BBQ batter. They came with two dips, one a hot sauce, and one a sundried tomato sauce with pieces of fresh lime to squeeze over. I have to say this was one of the best starters I’ve had in a long while. The effects of the death ridden strain of Ebola was subsiding fast.
For the main I had ‘Fire Alarm Chilli’ for £8.50. Again well presented in its own cast iron skillet set in a terracotta dish with tacos on the side. It came smothered in various sauces and creams (cheese and sour cream) which I may have preferred on the side. The chilli itself was delicious though. Very tasty with a nice heat. It had pulled beef, bacon and chorizo in there which all conspired to give a wonderful smoky flavour. I resisted the salted caramel brownie for afters.
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All in all a very pleasant hour and a half for the cook twit. Perched on my high stool by the window I had a great view of the bar in action. Obviously being a Sunday afternoon it was probably a little quieter than say a Friday night. I’m sure the action revs up a bit then, along with the volume of the music, but it had a great atmosphere and the service was fine. 
 
Manflu? What manflu!
 
Luck Lust Liquor and Burn
100-102 High Street, Northern Quarter
Manchester
0161 832 8644
 

 

  

 

 

 

Eating Out Reviews

The Scarlet Hotel – Mawgan Porth, Cornwall

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I stumbled on The Scarlet Hotel a couple of years ago whilst staying in a local caravan! I noticed it up on the hill whilst on the beach at Mawgan Porth in North Cornwall. Intrigued I ventured up, and despite the flame being slightly embarrassed at the intrusion I sampled the special views and atmosphere that this hotel exudes. I vowed there and then that I will be back, and so it came to pass. Having slavishly endured a fabulous twenty four years of marriage to the flame we set about some sort of celebration. The Scarlet Hotel provided the celebration with aplomb.

 

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The estate agents harp on about ‘location, location’. Would The Scarlet Hotel be just as enchanting  based on a roundabout just outside Slough? Probably not. There is no doubt the fact that this hotel is huned into the rock of a Cornish hillside overlooking a wild, sea lashed stretch of golden sand clearly gives the hotel an edge. The views from any room are totally captivating. The views change almost by the minute. Particularly on a wild October day with the clouds rolling in from the west and the sun moving slowly round the corner. 

 

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You notice things are different as soon as you arrive. A lithesome, broad shouldered surfing dude or ‘dudess’, ghosts from the side to invite you in. Whilst looking for the reception counter you realise that there isn’t one, and as you are being shown round the hotel by a suitably tanned hostess you then further realise that all your needs as being noted and settled. By the time you get to the room you notice you’re luggage is already in situ. The only complaint was that my best shirt wasn’t unpacked and hung up!

 

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Apart from the luxury, the views, the food, the spa, the outdoor hot tubs, the pools, the location, the architecture, the wonderful furniture, the artwork by local artists, the hotel boasts it’s Eco credentials. I’m not a lover of the term ‘ecofriendly’ feeling it is rather over used, but the effort The Scarlet goes to is impressive. Not just a warning about how much detergent it takes to wash your towel like most hotels, it then uses recycled water, biomass boilers, no air con, self purifying pools, organic soaps, and these are just a few of the extraordinary measures the hotel undertakes to avoid waste.

 

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As this is a foodie blog I suppose I should get on about that! Sadly my camera failed me in my hour of need and so I have had to use a few library shots. The hotel boasts an ever changing menu using local produce. The flame and I managed to wolf a good deal of mackerel, monkfish and ‘Bre Pen’ lamb. The food is beautifully presented as you would expect. Flavoursome and cooked well. I hesitate to suggest however that at £42.50 for three courses casual visitors might find the whole event a little underwhelming for the money. For us this was all included in our three day spa break.

 

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The dining area at night was a little disappointing if I’m honest. Given it was dark, and that there was no view and our table was facing the window, I felt there was a lack of atmosphere. The room was very quiet and dark. A stark contrast to a meal we had at Fifteen Cornwall down the road. 

 

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That said the same table was transformed in the morning for breakfast into arguably the finest view you can possibly have anywhere. The breakfast in particular was spectacular anyway. Again using local produce the homemade granola, Cornish yoghurt, Cornish sausages, bacon, eggs all cooked and taken formally as part of a three course, served at your table meal. The breakfasts were a major highlight of the weekend for me.

 

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In all the whole experience of spending three nights at The Scarlet Hotel was a truly memorable one. It was without doubt the best hotel we have stayed at, certainly in the UK. It is easy to see why the Sunday Times named it their No 1 hotel in their top 100 places to stay. To most the cost of staying here means that this is the sort of place you stay at for a special occasion. I can’t imagine how it would falter in providing a suitable backdrop to savour that time.

 

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The Scarlet
Tredragon Rd, Mawgan Porth, Cornwall
01637 861800

 

 

 

 

 
Eating Out Reviews

Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall – Watergate Bay

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Fifteen Cornwall is the second ‘Fifteen’ restaurant, the first was set up in London by Jamie Oliver and started a pretty smart idea to train often troubled youngsters how to work in a kitchen and hopefully become professional chefs. It has been a great success. Many of the trainees have gone on to work and run their own restaurant or work in Fifteen.
The one in Cornwall kicked off in earnest in 2006, it’s housed in what is basically a big surfing hut, spectacularly overhanging the beach at Watergate Bay near Newquay. Miles of golden sand sprawls beneath, whilst surf height waves crash in the distance.

Whilst it is a big hut on the outside, it has been transformed inside into a 120 cover, high end, Italian restaurant. Unlike many High Street versions, you cant nip in here for a take away ham and pineapple pizza. Whilst many ingredients are sourced from Italy, the restaurant does use lots of local produce as well. The room is dominated by dozens of teardrop pendant lights and an open pass decorated by a gaudy/tasteful*, hip/uncool* mural (delete as applicable). The mural features imagery of Jamie Oliver and the recruits alongside managerial speak slogans. It seemed to create a talking point among many, so that can’t be a bad thing.

The flame and I ventured down there for a special weekend break (get you – Ed), we booked for the Saturday evening. We were placed onto a table that would ordinarily look out to sea, however, given it was late October and 8pm at night we gazed into a black abyss. We have been before a couple of years ago for breakfast and sat on the same table with the patio windows open, gazing out to a sun kissed waterline. Then it was arguably the best table anywhere. It was slightly less so tonight.

The restaurant was absolutely rammed, the atmosphere electric, buzzing with the chatter and clatter of hungry punters and teams of staff keeping it all in check. We were served throughout by the wonderful Clare Louise, who helped us through the trendy, five course taster menu (£60 each) with clarity, passion and a big smile. It looked like everyone was getting the same treatment.

By opting for the taster menu I was aware that the courses would be smaller. Having watched head chef Andy Appleton cook a huge, longhorn, ribeye steak at a demo earlier in the day I was tempted to go for that, but just about resisted.
After bread, olives and dips our Antipasto course was a stuffed, deep fried courgette flower. The flame grew some of these this summer so I’ve done these myself. This was as good as mine (you’re showing off – Ed). Piping hot ricotta, deep fried within the flower in a light batter.

Next we had our ‘Insalata’ course, the flame had a buffalo mozzarella salad with heritage tomatoes, whilst I hoovered up a delicate lobster tail salad with the trimmings. It was all becoming rather agreeable. We sampled a couple of decent wines along the way.

Primi course, I had a sensational pulled lamb ragout with fancy pasta strips. This course in particular was sublime. The ragout rich and flavoursome, the lamb stranded in a deep, luscious sauce. Across the table sweet potato tortellini was being washed down with roasted peppers and an appropriate jus.

Secondi I had slithers of soft, pink duck breast on a base of soft polenta whilst the flame had a beautifully cooked fillet of brill layered on a pepperonata. This arguably the dish of the night. The flame granted half a fork full for me to taste.

For our Dolci I had a seriously chocolatey, chocolate tart with raspberry washed down with a snifter of Sauternes. The flame tucked into the cheese board with a coffee and petit fours.

It was a memorable occasion and will remain one of our favourite haunts. The heady combination of location, atmosphere, drama and sheer quality of food and service make Fifteen Cornwall a trick not to be missed. If you are down this neck of the woods you will discover that you are only ten miles down the coast from Padstow and Rock, home of some of the Rick Stein and Nathan Outlaw outlets. I have tried these on a previous trip and would easily put a night at Fifteen Cornwall up against these. None can match Fifteen for the atmosphere and view. As Michael Winner once said “I don’t reserve a restaurant I reserve a table”. There’s some very nice tables at Fifteen Cornwall.

Fifteen Cornwall
On The Beach
Watergate Bay
Cornwall
TR8 4AA

01637 861000
www.Fifteencornwall.co.uk

Eating Out Reviews

The Church Green – Lymm, Cheshire

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I know most Foodies are clamouring to get stuck into Aiden Byrne’s new Manchester Resteraunt ‘Manchester House’. Whilst I’m hearing great things it does appear that you need either a special wallet or know someone that likes you very much to take you there. I will get there one day, but in the meantime you can do no worse that get down to Aiden’s rather more humble abode ‘The Church Green’. It is beautifully positioned, close to the pretty Cheshire village of Lymm and even closer to the equally beautiful Lymm dam.

It’s become a bit of a staple, fall back place to eat for the flame and I. Whenever, we wonder where to go, more often than not, The Church Green pops into our thoughts. It’s a twelve mile scoot for us. We’ve been several times for lunch and a couple of times for a Sunday breakfast. It’s always been excellent. A bit pricier than your average pub, but it is quality.
Following a chance tweet to ‘come and join us for lunch’, we took them up on the offer and ventured down the M6 for another taster.
The fare here is classic British, using local produce where possible. As ever, we enjoyed a warm welcome and was shown to our table in the conservatory. There was no one else in at the time but it quickly filled up.

The flame won the starters, a wonderful pea and ham soup (£7.00) with some more ham hock on a warm Welsh rarebit. It tasted fresh and velvety. A great start.

I ventured into slightly unknown territory for me, Goats Curd and Rigatoni (£7.00), pleasant enough and you got a fair portion, something The Church Green never shy away from, portions are rarely an issue here.

Take the flame’s next course, fish pie (£13.00). You get a whopping dish of creamy mash, layered with tons of fish, oh and you get an egg in there as well! A cracking dish.

I went a bit safe, 5 oz burger (£8.00) but with a smoked, pulled pork topping (extra £4.50), crikey it was good, I could have had a 10 oz, but I think I chose right. The accompanying hand cut chips were fantastic, hot, salty and soft. The flame couldn’t keep her hands off them, so they must have been good!

I once again had a dessert for research purposes. Treacle tart with candied walnut and salted caramel ice cream. A lovely sticky end, though a bit pricey at £7.80.

All in all the bill came to £52 for two. I dare say you could nip round to your local and spend £30, but would every bit of it be as good as this? I doubt it. Never has the old adage you get what you pay for been more appropriate. Once the coffee had settled you cant beat a quick circuit of the dam hand in hand with your beloved (or even the wife!). It’s even worth a nip into the village, there’s a cracking deli (Sextons) and a top butcher (Hopkinson’s) in there if you need to stock up on some goodies.

The Church Green
Higher Lane,
Lymm, WA13 0AP
Phone: 01925 752068

www.aidenbyrne.co.uk

Eating Out Reviews

Hearth of the Ram – Ramsbottom

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Somehow The Flame had bagged herself a week with the girls in Tenerife. This left yours truly all alone, cast adrift like a ‘Pop Idol’ winner. What should I do? The Cook Twit is a resourceful soul, off I went, armed with an iPhone and a natty man bag! The weather and public transport was kind and within the hour I found myself teleported into the gritty market town of Bury, home of the black pudding and the original Katsouris delicatessen. I grabbed a brace of said puddings (after several tasters) from Chadwick’s. My only gripe was not being able to stock up on the cracking seafood and fish on offer in the rather splendid food hall.

Next up a steam train ride up the Irwell Valley to Ramsbottom. Not before a well earned restorative at the The Trackside Pub on Bury Station. A light, pint of ‘Piston Broke’ oiled the pipes. As luck would have it The East Lancashire Railway was having a Thomas the Tank Engine weekend! This meant my short weave up the line was shared by several thousand screaming little people all painted up as lions!

Still, my ultimate quest was in sight. A short skip right from the station in Ramsbottom found me worshipping at the altar, hitherto known as the ‘Hearth of the Ram’. First impressions leading up were somewhat tainted as the former pub is adjoined to a highly branded dental surgery, still I managed to get a decent shot showing that the Ram itself also sports a modern logo which traces through the menus and website. I thought it looked quite smart and gave the impression that this was a serious set up looking to trade with up to date techniques whilst revitalising and maintaining a building from the past.

A veritable, phalanx of friendly and attentive staff sat me down and presented the rather smart menus. Oh yes and a pint of Timothy Taylor! One menu was entitled ‘Simple Things Done Well’, the other was the ‘a la carte’. As this was a Saturday afternoon I thought I’d give the a la carte a side swipe until another time. It did look good though, how about ‘poached smoked haddock, truffle cream, soft poached duck egg and black truffle’ to start (£8.95), or as a main ‘seared Goosnargh duck breast, potato fondant, beet root gel, kale with a ginger and orange sauce’ for £18.95?

I surveyed the decor whilst I waited for the first course. It seemed a little sparse if I’m honest, perhaps Euan and Dena are waiting to for a few more nick knacks from the past to build it up? But hey minor quibble, the wooden tables, stone floor, red leather banquettes made for a charming space. The room is dominated from my eye by the steely stairway which spirals it’s way from down below to way up high. Maybe in its industrial past it housed some sort of winch to haul wrought iron from the Irwell?

Anyway to the food! From the ‘Simple’ menu I started with Quail, Scotch Egg (£1.95). Heathens might suggest this was presented in an egg carton with some straw on a plank, but I would beg to differ. It was delivered on a batten of driftwood, nestling in a pocket of the softest raffia. I thought it was a delight. The egg itself was encased in soft, moist, peppery goodness. I ate it with my hands, it was gorgeous.

Next I plumbed in from the sea, I went for the Hearty Fish Pie (£8.95). Piped in its own ceramic cauldron, armed with a separate cup of samphire, green beans and buttery carrots, it once again kept well up with expectation. I could have chosen from other pub favourites such as the 28 day aged beef burger, or the steak and ale pie.

I then thought I would test the chef out. I had an awful Apple Tarte Tatin a few weeks back, but the ‘Hearth of the Ram’ turned up trumps this time. Theirs was just as the doctor ordered, ‘caramelly’ (is that a word? Ed), buttery and sweet (£5.95). I’m even sure there was some coriander in the garnish which added a twist. I wolfed it with a sweet wine.

I ventured out somewhat woozy from the wine and missed the train back to Bury. I managed to thumb a bus and was soon back in Manchester before heading off into the sticks. I had a thoroughly enjoyable day (even Utd won!) and can honestly say the ‘Hearth of the Ram’ is definitely a place I will go back to. I might even take ‘the flame’!

Hearth of the Ram
13 Peel Brow
Ramsbottom
Lancashire
BL0 0AA
01706 828861
www.hearthoftheram.com

Eating Out Reviews

Parkers Arms – Newton In Bowland

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Armed with the musings of the ‘Twitterati’ the flame and I set off North towards the beautiful Trough of Bowland. The idea was to take advantage of the Autumn sunshine, heft our way over the fells, run down the ‘The Hodder’ and grab a spot of lunch at the Parkers Arms in Newton In Bowland.

A trio of characters, Stosie, Kathy and AJ, have revamped this rural edifice. The combination is steeped to the gills in the art of converting great local produce into wonderful home cooked food in a warm, friendly atmosphere. If you get too taken in by the real ales and great wines on board you can hole yourself up in a room upstairs for a modest fee. When we turned up The Sunday Times had just listed it the sixth best budget place to stay. Pride and excitement positively gushed from AJ, our charismatic and genial host.

The place is surrounded by great undulations of greenery and the Parkers Arms made a fine and welcome sight as we slew down the hill from nearby Clitheroe. Inside the stone floors of old prevailed alongside the ‘antiquely’ furniture and fireside settings. Indeed I can imagine on a cold winters eve a roaring fire from one of the hearths would be a handsome sight. It is rustic with a capital ‘R’, though touched with elegance and charm.
Given the food here is cooked (and not brought in a bag from the distributors!) the menu is sparse in volume, but high on quality. You don’t get Chinese, Mexican, Indian and Italian all on the same menu here. Traditional British pub food is the order of the day and so it was no surprise that I chipped in with the Sunday roast beef. A cut from Burholme Farm in the nearby village of Whitewell no less. Fleetwood (the nearest coast) kindly donated some roasted haddock if you fancied something from the sea.

To start, before the real starters. the flame and I tucked into some crunchy, salted potato skins and some soft cheesy puffs. Utterly delightful. For the real start I had a cheese scone made with three Lancashire cheeses no less. It was beautifully soft and mopped up the dressed salad like a favourite sponge. The flame went for the roasted tomato soup. I believe some sort of witchcraft had been involved in the making of this brew. How else could so much flavour be extracted from the humble tomato? It was so good that I was only allowed one spoonful to cast my opinion. It was thick, creamy and had a wonderful kick at the end. The flame went 1-0 up.

As stated earlier I had the roast beef, having ruefully spurned the offer of the rabbit and mustard pie that had just come out of the oven and been added to the specials! Nonetheless my roast was superb, cooked medium rare as chef Stosie dictated. You had to have special permission to have it well done! The flame opted for a lemon and garlic infused chargrilled chicken with roasted sweet potato and salad.

Sufficiently satiated at this point we debated over the dessert menu. We asked our fresh faced young waitress what the ‘Wet Nellie’ was? The uttered narrative prescribed it to be a ‘sort of biscuit base with Christmas pudding, dried fruits, nuts, mincemeat and sticky toffee pudding all rolled into one’. The winter version being hot with custard, the summer version room temperature with Chantilly cream. I am prone towards a sweet tooth, trifle being my top ticket, but ye Gods this sounded too good to be true. Boy oh boy this was a top sweet, oozing with moist fruits, spice and kick all at once. If you come to the Parkers Arms for nothing else, get down to taste Kathy’s Wet Nellie.

We then took coffee on the lawn outside overlooking the wonderful countryside. It was all rather agreeable. £50 for two on a Sunday, not bad really. It all took around two and quarter hours which was a bit too long and meant we didn’t quite get as far down the nearby River Hodder as we would have liked, but hey, let’s not quibble, if you want to escape from the old metrop, be welcomed into a time gone by with a cuddly smile and enjoy wonderful, home cooked food, the Parkers Arms is definitely one for your list.

Parkers Arms
Newton-in-Bowland
Nr Clitheroe
Lancashire
BB7 3DY
01200 446236
www.parkersarms.co.uk

Eating Out Reviews

Almost Famous – Liverpool

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Working in Manchester as I do, the word had spread that something special was happening up in the Northern Quarter. Proper burgers with strange accoutrements were being sold from a small, unbranded, backstreet block. The problem appeared to be that you could never tell when it was going to be open. You only knew once you turned up and saw the queues stretching round the corner to get in!
Mind you a bigger problem came to the fore, the place got seriously torched. This meant two things, 1) I never got to try and 2) it meant ‘Almost Famous’ was no more.
Thankfully it managed to limp forward by opening a shed off Deansgate in Manchester, but also, in a slightly more sure footed guise, it has opened up along the M62 in Liverpool. Given that two of my young, hip relatives have just started Uni in the town it was here that I ventured along with said youngsters and the flame.
It took some finding though! Branding is not one of ‘Almost Famous’s’ priorities it would seem. It is housed in an old warehouse in the centre of a derelict part of town, but it is close to the ‘studenty’ action.

I tentatively entered first to see if the coast was clear and that this indeed was ‘Almost Famous’. A flashing, young, spouse blade confirmed it was. I waved the posse in. We were met immediately with a blast of loud music, bold graphics and a life sized plastic cow. I was particularly taken with the strap line ‘Burgers Get You Ripped’. Given that my level of ‘rippedness’ was down slightly, I was greatly encouraged to realise the calorific onslaught I was about to consume was going to improve my physique!

We attempted to get to grips with the menu, which were fanned out under the up cycled candle holder. A very friendly waitress explained the terms in order to select the correct strength of sauce to wash over our fries and burgers. Choices included ‘suicide’ (very hot). ‘Redneck’ (BBQ type) and ‘naked’.

The burgers all have names. I’m not too sure of the relevance of each name but basically you get a real, cheshire beef, beautifully, pink in the middle, burger (or two, or three!!) with a combination of cheese, pulled pork, chilli beef, slaw, onions, bacon, salad, gherkins along with a choice of sauce. You can actually get a ‘Not Burger’, which the flame went for, which in her case was breadcrumbed chicken.
I went for a ‘Sloppy Juan’ which meant I got two burgers, chilli beef, onion, pickle, lettuce, ‘animal’ and famous sauce all set on a ‘frisbee’! I had it with a side of ‘true romance’ fries.

All the fries are 50/50 sweet potatoes and normal potatoes. The ‘true romance’ bit meant they came with bacon bits, cheese, onion, chilli and pickle. They were very moorish.

The burgers were properly tasty. Cooked pink in the middle, they we beautifully moist. A burger made from real, quality beef is a very good thing and should not be confused with the shrunken, flabby efforts you may have come across. My hard to please southern relatives were completely taken with their ‘Triple Noms’, complete with BBQ pulled pork.

Again, purely for research purposes I tested out a desert. I had a sensational ‘teen dream’ sundae. Layers of apple, crumble, cherries, crumble, ice cream, cream, salted caramel popcorn and a smoked pretzel. It was absolutely gorgeous, but finished me off!

So if you are middle aged and want to get down with the kids, (or impress the kids), then get down to Almost Famous and try one of these beauties. It will set you back a bit, we spent £55 for four of us with fries, but it is real quality.

Parr Street, Liverpool
www.almostfamousburgers.com
@AlmostFamousLIV

Eating Out Reviews

Greens – West Didsbury

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‘Greens’ as the name suggests, is the place to go for a big fat juicy steak! Only kidding, Greens is a vegetarian resteraunt occupying two shop fronts in the Cheshire village of West Didsbury in south Manchester. It is just one of the many foodie joints that keep the well heeled, Cheshire set fed and watered.

Greens is the brainchild of two Simons, one called Connolly and one called Rimmer. Simon Rimmer is probably better known as the shaven headed TV chef who currently fronts Channel 4’s ‘Sunday Brunch’. Despite being a staunch Liverpool FC fan he seems to be an all round good egg who can knock up some decent scran.
The flame and I rocked up on a Friday lunchtime, we were aiming for a 1pm start but the 20 minute scour round for a parking space meant we were running late and feeling peckish. It might be a good idea to venture in on the tram which has just started to skirt the village. Nonetheless once we’d stepped in we were quickly welcomed and settled in by our young, wiry, bespeckled, waiter Anthony. He explained the menu, lunchtime three courses for £19 or a reduced a la carte. We chose from the a la carte.

The room is plainly decorated with the odd flock feature wall. Plain, dark wood chairs and tables complete the retro, bistro look. Blackboards pick out the special ales available along with future gourmet nights with ‘The Rimster’ (well that’s what I call him anyway!).
To start we shared a platter (£10.50) of smoked cheese sausages, veggie black pudding on lemon mayonnaise, potatas bravas, olives, bread and a lovely mint based salsa. A cracking start.

For mains the flame undertook a huge filo pastry pie (£13.50) filled with nuts, spinach and ricotta all settled on a slew of chick pea stew with some vine tomatoes on the side. She heartily approved.

I chowed through a rather agreeable kedgeree (£13.50) which featured the veggie black pudding again. It had lentils along with the rice, all mildly curried with a soft poached egg on top. It was big, hearty stuff, we could have had sides for more money but thankfully we didn’t as we were well stuffed.

Purely for research purposes I managed to wolf down the ‘Orange blossom, polenta cake with lemon curd and raspberry eaton mess’ (£5.95). The research revealed that this was excellent and that you should keep a bit back for a sweet!

All in all this was a stunning meal, perhaps a bit pricey for a lunch (£48 for the two of us) but I can imagine Greens would be a great night out. To think that normally we would chose a slab of meat or fish and get some veg and spuds spread round the side. It really is a refreshing change to have the pulse, the grain, the legume and the fruit take centre stage in a meal. So even if you consider yourself ‘a meat and two veg man’ I would fully recommend a trip out to Greens, you will not be disappointed.

Greens
41-43 Lapwing Lane
West Didsbury
Manchester
M20 2NT
0161 434 4259
www.greensdidsbury.co.uk

Eating Out Reviews

Toulouse Lautrec – Kennington, South London

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Work commitments found me cooped up in a back street boozer in London’s Elephant and Castle, south of the river. Upon enquiry with my host as to the whereabouts of a decent nosh up, it was suggested the ‘eat as much as you can’ Chinese on the first floor of the local shopping precinct was as good as it gets! I was somewhat perturbed. Further pressure finally coaxed from the depths of his memory murky details of a little French place somewhere close. He even recalled that cockney regular Terry, had “took his a bird there but it cost him hundred nicker’. I pressed further and within minutes I had stumbled into Toulouse Lautrec situated on Newington Butts in Kennington.

It was a warm and welcoming entrance, particularly as I was dining without the flame. The dining room is long, narrow and on two levels. Dark wooden panelling and wooden steps gave the impression I was walking onto an old galleon. A very pleasant French waitress set up a single table on the upper deck right by the window looking out onto the busy street. Several tables were already burbling away nicely with business chaps. Jazz music, evidently a big feature of the place was plonking away in the background. Having forgotten my readers the exquisite font adorning the menu made me plump straight for the three courses for £27 special. And ye gods it was special.
Starters was a clam and mustard cassoulet, in basil cream and crispy toasts. It was absolutely sensational, one of the finest starter dishes I have had in many years. Great flavours and beautifully presented in a small cast iron pot.

Main course was guinea fowl, courgettes, garlic mushrooms and beautifully soft, barrel shaped fondant potatoes. Set in a large blue and yellow bowl it looked and tasted superb. The sommelier, clearly very talented brought me a glass of light, Spanish red to accompany. All rather grand. As good as this was I couldn’t help looking across with some envy as three chaps dove into a huge hearty bowl of cassoulet to share. The groans of delight seemed to suggest that this was also ‘hitting the spot’.

I finished off with my standard tarte au citron, complete with ‘kumquat’!

I have to say after what was looking like a night in my room with a KFC and pint of mild, Toulouse Lautrec came bounding to the rescue to produce arguably the best meal I’ve had in ages. So, even as a Northerner helpless in the great Metropolis, I would have no hesitation in wheedling out this gallic gem.

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Recipes

Nigel Slater’s Pork Rib Ragu with Papperdelle Pasta

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Pork seems to having a bit of a renaissance. Since the pulled pork explosion hit the trendy food scene it seems there are lots of cooks looking to add it tot he menu. I’ve always loved a bit of pork. Luckily I live close to Red Bank Farm in Newton le Willows (one of my food heroes! @RedBankFarmShop). They grow pork and sell it.
Nigel Slater, celebrated tv food writer and cook showed on his quick suppers show how to create an unctuous ragu using pork ribs and some good honest british veg. it takes a bit of cooking time but it is simple to construct and well worth doing. I made my own pasta but you can always buy your own if mixing flour and egg seems a bit of a chore!

To feed six you would need

2 sheets of ribs, cut down into three ribs wide
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
500g mushrooms, finely chopped
Olive oil
1 litre of stock

1) in a big pan with a lid brown the ribs in a bit of oil. Once all browned remove and put to one side
2) in the remaining oil sweat the onions, carrots and celery until starting to soften
3) add the mushrooms for a few minutes, then add the stock.
4) add the ribs and any juice, make sure they are covered.
5) bring the stock to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with the lid and leave for at least 3 hours.
6) after 3 hours you should find that you can reach in with a pair of tongs and grab the end of a rib bone and pull it out leaving the meat in the stew. If you can do that it is done.

If its a bit watery take the lid off for a bit to reduce. If your feeling really cheffy you can chop a big hand of parsley in now as well! You may need to add some freshly ground black pepper and season with a few pinches of salt.
I served it in a bowl on pappardelle pasta with some Parmesan grated over the top.
I’ve got to say it was flippin awesome. Great for an autumn supper!
Thanks to Nigel Slater for this. It is in his Kitchen Diaries 2 book. He’s a good follow on Twitter as well. @NigelSlater