Lunch of the month for April - the Lake District

Maybe it was the Bank Holidays, or the different pace of work, or the trip to the Lake District. 

But I went through my food pics for April and we had some magnificent dinners in the Lakes, then a really hearty pub lunch was served in the Britannia Inn in Elterwater. It wasn't even my lunch, but it so conquered one of my fellow Freshwalkers, I was able to sample enough of it to convince me it was a winner.

And it was just enough to give us a lift for the walk into Grasmere.

My Manchester quick and cheerful lunches, not so much.

I went to a new fast food place in the centre that was really poor. I assure you, normal service will be resumed in May.

Be More Stanley

I went away to Rome last month for a weekend city break.

Not only did we take in the Lazio v Roma derby match - or rather a firework display that was interrupted by a football match - but we did the full Roman experience. 

We went on a movie tour of the city, where our guide Bruno took us to the places where iconic films were shot in the glory days of Italian cinema in the 1950s and 1960s as the country and the city got its mojo back after the dark days of fascism and war.

It’s an important part of the whole Italian style, easy, elegant and graceful. Living the good life and appreciating quality.

Also central to any visit to the Eternal City is food. In fact any visit to anywhere in Italy has to be about food.

So when you through all of these elements together, there’s one cultural signposter and influencer who sticks out at my time of life: Stanley Tucci.

The Italian American actor and writer lives in London these days, but a recent television series Stanley Tucci’s Italy has reminded us where his soul really lies.

The episode in Rome was a perfect taster for my wife Rachel and I to properly prepare for a long weekend of flaneuring and feasting. Though we didn’t go to any of the specific restaurants Stanley did, we did adopt the same attitude and outlook. Walk around, take it in, and eat lots of pasta.

But my new mantra of BMS - Be More Stanley - is actually influenced by his whole look. Adopting the sartorial easy style of the coolest people on the planet, Italian pensioners.

SO many times I thought I’d seen Stanley on our meanderings. But it’s a look, a way of holding yourself, and as I’ve been reluctant to do, go with the dome and accept baldness.

A mate of ours, Anthony Teasdale, a fashion writer and DJ, did a brilliant Twitter story a few months ago that broke down Stanley’s style and look.

“His key item is the unstructured Italian jacket. Forget the traditional English shape, Stan goes for a "Neopolititan" soft shoulder that sits beautifully on the body. A silhouette that's both smarter and more casual: and which looks great with jeans (unlike regular suit jackets).

“Stan is a one-colour man – and that colour is blue. When it gets chilly, he layers a blue polo shirt under a blue jumper – and a blue padded gilet over the top. He'll then bring white, grey or beige in to add contrast. But not too much, obviously.

“His accessory game is off the scale. From his collection of scarves to those "I'm on personal terms with Tom Ford" specs, Stanley lifts his look with a series of understated gems. And the most effective accessory of all? His year-round tan.

“Stanley embraces his baldness. Forget comb-overs or Turkish hair transplants, Stan shaves what hair he has left – leaving a sleek, polished bonce that's ultra-chic and incredibly effective. He looks – the absolute business. And the ladies LOVE him. Especially yours.”

Lunch of the year - and the winner is ... Stockport

 

The life of this blog is hanging by a thread, but I refuse to give up. The one feature I've managed to keep going on it this year has been the lunch of the month. It must be working because people keep coming up to me and suggesting new places and thanking me for the recommendation.

It's time for the announcement of lunch of the year. It's not about fancy restaurants, or some kind of gastronomical Stanley Tucci tour of Manchester, I have friends far better qualified than me to do that.

When I started doing lunch of the month it was about picking up something high quality but affordable for lunch, and at the time I was working in Manchester in and around Oxford Road. I set the upper limit at a tenner, but was always pleased to spend less.

I've been working in Stockport for most of 2022 and in that time "The New Berlin" has been enjoying its place in the limelight through the course of the year (I would like to claim at least some credit for that, given I literally worked for the transformational leader of the Council).

I'm not going to list all the great places I've been this year. All the good ones had a mention along the way and I don't want to detract from this place, or diminish the standing of anywhere else. 

My go-to gaff for a decent lunchtime buttie has been Rack in St Peter's Square in Stockport. 

Stewart Reynolds first recommended it, the tech entrepreneur from Shopblocks had a proper twinkle in his eye and the next time I saw him he has keen to know if I'd tried it. I had, lots of times, and I'd taken some of Stockport's top politicians. Lots of places have steady service, great coffee, are good value and do a hearty lunch, whether you choose to take away, or perch on the side counter, or sit on the back porch. Any way you choose, it's superb. More than anything, Rack has real character. The specials have been routinely brilliant, especially the Lasandwich. But it also has a real style and positive attitude to food and its sense of place in the centre of Stockport. 

I shall miss having you so conveniently nearby, now that I'm Manchester-based and WFH a bit more, but Rack, you've been amazing,

PS - I found this video by BramhallDoes, which shares my point of view.

Lunch of the month for August

Looking back August was another good month for lunches in Manchester and Stockport, but I probably need to experiment a bit more, given those featured include at least two previous winners, Bundobust and the Pack Horse at Hayfield.

Starting from the top left we have one of Stockport's absolute gems, Kambuja in the Produce Hall. I took my old MMU mucker Michael Stephenson for a good old catch up and he was suitably impressed. A few days later I returned for the Kambuja Fried Chicken experience with my son Matt who knows his chickens.

Top centre is the renamed burrito joint on Manchester's Oxford Street, Listo Burrito, which my eldest lad Joe and I enjoyed after we moved him into his new flat on Whitworth Street. The portion sizes for burritos seem to be smaller than they used to be, but the quality is still very high. 

Top right is a full English breakfast from Marple's Red Pepper. I get why people like top Marple cafe and deli All Things Nice, and it is the place to be seen for every local face, young or old. Still, Red Pepper is routinely, pretentiously and politely smashing it out of the park for those of us who can't be arsed to wait for an outside table and have a dog to entertain. 

Middle left is the Shrub Club in New Mills where Neil and I were entertained by the arch storyteller Dave Nolan. I thoroughly enjoyed my vegan (not) chicken burger and a pot of chips. We also spent generously in the cheese shop next door.

Dead centre is Stockport's best sandwich shop, Rack. This time a bit of Stockport political gossiping created the appetite for a Korean pork bun, tasty, innovative and very messy. Perfect.

The Manchester Egg at the Pack Horse and a tin of chips with their homemade ketchup, robbed off another table, was probably the most enjoyed and devoured meal of the month because it was at the end of a 42km walk and I was absolutely delirious. A previous winner and a triumph on the day. 

Then, the bottom row reveals two visits in short succession to Bundobust on Manchester's bustling Oxford Street. Also known as the GM Combined Authority canteen, it is a popular drop-in for local politicos working across the road. The best of the two was the Indo-Chinese sharing menu where the cauliflower 'prawn' toast I had on my first devolutionary dalliance was stunningly good, but again, I didn't hesitate to agree to being taken again there a few days later by another GM mover where a lentil dahl and the obligatory okra fries hit the spot.

But there can only be one winner in a very stong field this month and so it gives me the greatest of pleasure to declare that lunch of the month for August 2022 was ... Kambuja in the Stockport Produce Hall.

Lunch of the month for July - a well travelled month

This is one of the hardest picks yet. Having been on a bit of a gastro break in Porto, the playing field isn't exactly level, so I'm going to exclude the dinners and just show a few pictures from snack lunches in the city, or at the beach.

Clockwise from the top left we have octopus and potatoes, simple backstreet Porto food, a chicken sandwich from a market stall at the south side of the Ponte de Sao Joao bridge and a juicy burger from the beach bar at the oceanside lido at Leca de Palmeiras.

Next row, left to right is some astonishingly gorgeous Kampuchean Fried Chicken from Kambuja at Stockport Produce Hall, just enough to scratch the itch and not send me into a coma for the afternoon. Next was the spiciest of them all, a firey Sri Lankan fish kottu at the Blue Dot Festival, and a lamb shwarma from the Edgeley branch of the Levenshulme Bakery. Oh my. 

On the bottom row, left to right, starts with a mixed shwarma from the Antalya Shwarma in Hyde, which like Edgeley's finest kebab, is raising the bar for district kebab action. Next was a delightful roast lamb lunch I had at a country house in Sussex that I'm not really meant to talk about. 

And finally. Last and not least, but best. The Samosa Chaat from Ambala sweet centre on Euston's Drummond Street. I worried HS2 would knock it down, or damage trade, but it hasn't. Lovingly made, terribly photographed, but my lunch of the month for July. Sorry it's not a Manchester winner, all of these were all awesome in their own way, but this was the best.

Lunch of the month for February - the winner

The month was cut a little short for me due to having Covid. So these are slightly slimmer pickings than I hoped for. And not many trips into Manchester or Stockport. That will change. 

Full marks to the steak and ale pie at the Wheatsheaf in Old Glossop, it took me back to the very first Freshwalks when this was the final destination. Superb piece of work.

No complaints about Nandos in Stockport either. But it's just a Nando's, right?

Antonios in Ashton was a real surprise. No disrespect to Ashton town centre, but this was a quality Italian and a cut above what I expected. I anticipated Pellicci and got a neighbourhood Piccolino. My canneloni was rich in tomato flavour, the garlic bread of similarly high quality to Rudi's Pizza, and it was a lovely friendly atmosphere. It stood up nicely next to actual Piccolino, where I was delighted to be asked back and I hope we can do some business with my host after our excellent calamari, followed by chicken and gnocci. It's slightly busting the budget rules though.

Also in the foody hot spot of Ashton was the absolute beast of a Morroccan / Lebanese mezze platter from Mozaic.  On any other month it would absolutely smash this competition out of the park. But it was a cold draughty day and though the food warmed us up, it wasn't as transformational as this month's close run winner.

The lunch of the month was actually an all day full Derbyshire breakfast from the Old Hall Hotel in Hope at the end of a glorious Freshwalks sunrise walk. 20 of us arrived and were served promptly, efficiently and with great humour. The bacon was thick and cured, just as I like it, the eggs done to perfection with deep pools of warm yoke to dip the sausage and black pudding into. The oatcake was a curve ball, if I'm honest, but gave it that point of difference for the local twist.

Maybe I'm also slightly biased, because I've had breakfast on my mind this week as Dave Angel reminds us all that pancakes are on Shrove Tuesday, with lemon, and sugar. And that a full English is the one thing at which we rule the world.

Well done everyone.  

The FA Cup Odyssey takes me to the best stadium in the land

Watching the scores roll in on the Saturday afternoon of FA Cup third round weekend captured every single bit of magic and that clear hope (and dread) of a footballing upset. Every fan of any team cheered the efforts of Cambridge, Kidderminster, Huddersfield and Wigan, except of course if your team, like mine, was one of the vanquished.

And so to the progress on our FA Cup odyssey, picking up on the trail that started at Radcliffe and had most recently found itself most romantically in Buxton. I said I would persist as long as I could. And though there was no room at the inn for the second round tie between the Bucks and Morecambe, it was on telly, and I had bagged the bonus of Buxton’s replay win over Kettering. That was, as I said at the time, as hardcore as it gets for a hardy groundhopper.

And taking in new sights, new grounds, is what this is all about. Today I took in the fourth new hallowed domain of this trip, the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, for the visit of the Shrimps. I think it’s probably the best of all the new builds, and marks my 75th of the current 92 and the 165th stadium I've watched football in. The thought and planning that’s gone into the whole concept is highly impressive, especially when you consider the card Spurs have been dealt. Even when I lived in London I never found the access to White Hart Lane particularly enjoyable, or without difficulty. Choosing therefore to build on roughly the same site, and embracing the gritty urban setting, and still pushing public transport and pedestrian options is a brave move. 

Partly as a result of an old habit failing to die as hard as my perceptions of the old ground and its environs, we opted for lunch at Yildiz, the best Turkish grill in London, and deep in Arsenal territory.

But though the Seven Sisters Road might not have anything to compete with pre-match scoff like that, in every other way this was a superlative match day experience. The facilities are better, the food options more diverse, the atmosphere improved, and every lesson in flawed stadium design has been eagerly learned from every mistake made by everyone else, but mainly Arsenal. 

On the pitch though, we were in for a treat, served up with pluck and grit by a Morecambe side prepared to embrace the occasion and give it a go. Spurs might have had all the possession, but the blocks of empty seats and a place in the team for what were effectively Conte's triallists showed an institutional lack of respect that gave the Shrimps every motivation to run their bloody noses in it. 

Though there was a roar for Morecambe's opener on 33 minutes from their 3000 fans, some 150 of whom may have been at Christie Park for the 8-1 crushing of Esh Winning in 1986 in an early FA Cup memory we will share. But the loudest cheer of the day came for the Harry Kane led cavalry to replace Ali, Ndombele and Gil, and raucous boos as they didn’t leave the pitch, and possibly their Spurs careers, quickly enough. The eventual 3-1 win had a feeling of inevitability about it once the first one rattled in. An ungracious taunting of the visiting fans from parents and children around us, that they weren’t singing anymore, won’t be enough to properly extinguish the embarrassment that a struggling League One side with scant resources took the game this far. Premier League, having a laugh, for sure, but they weren’t laughing in Newcastle last night.

The reason this odyssey is back on is down to our 21 year old soldier son Max, a Spurs supporter. On Sunday 9 January 2011 I took him by trains, buses and tubes across all points of London, via an Ottolenghi cake shop, also close to Arsenal, to an FA Cup third round sweeping aside of Charlton Athletic. It was a special day, and the write up is here. For my Christmas present he made today happen. The circle of life, and the magic of the cup. Pick whichever cliche you want, but it works for me.

Lunch of the month for December - The Pack Horse at Hayfield

Alright, so this is a slight bending of the rules. Lunch of the month was invented to give due credit to indie joints in Manchester when I worked there everyday. I revived it, post-lockdown, when I started popping into town again.

December has been a weird one. I didn't get out much, bizarrely because I had a lot of actual work to do from home and from Lancashire, Tameside, and the Peak District.

The winner then, by a mile, is the Pack Horse at Hayfield. I know the full experience rather busts the budget of a tenner, but the Manchester Egg doesn't. £7 of pure love.

Happy New Year. I promise a fuller foodie range in January. 

Lunch of the month for November

I had some really good lunches in November, even better than the month before. 

I won't count the limp chicken salad (middle, right) at a hotel in Manchester that should know better, especially as the kitchen utterly redeemed themselves with a high quality set dinner for the guests at a business get together I was working at.

I probably shouldn't count the pie, mash and veg at York City v Buxton (top left). We booked in for some hospitality and although it was a total bargain it wasn't quite in the spirit of popping out for a quick lunch for under or around a tenner.

Bundobust brewery on Oxford Street, last month's winner, hit all the right notes again and me and my friend Katie properly delved into the menu this time (top, centre). Someone I know who works across the street from there has been for a ludicrous number of lunches. I dare say I'd be the same if still worked around that part of town.

The lunch special at Istanbul Grill in Denton was really good (top, right). It had a fairly neutral feel for a Turkish restaurant, like one of the neighbourhood Italians we go to locally, but the food was obviously from further east. No complaints about the food at all though, from me who had kofte meatballs, or from Kid4 who had the grilled chicken.

Rachel and I really enjoyed a katsu curry and dumplings from Manzuko (centre left) in the new food hall opposite the Bridgewater Hall. It was a good spot to dive into between sessions at the Louder Than Words festival nearby. It was also presented very, very well. 

One particularly delightful surprise was a vegan kebab joint in the Northern Quarter called What the Pitta (bottom row). It was packed with crunchy salad, spicy as you like and the meat substitute was sufficiently juicy and tasty that I probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been told. 

My latest swoop on Kabana (centre), virtually next door, was in the company of a true believer, Kevin Gopal, editor of the Big Issue in the North. We also planned our visit properly and whoever arrived first had to pre-order the grilled lamb chops, which take a few minutes, obviously. Honestly, they are the best lamb chops I've ever had. The bread was tip top too, the side of chicken curry just right and therefore I have great pleasure in announcing that at the head of a very strong field this month is Kabana. 

Lunch of the month for October

It's a very strong shortlist for lunch of the month for October.

I'll take you round, clockwise from the top left.

It was a flying visit for a few snacking pots at the new Oxford Street branch of the exceptional Bundobust, brightened by the company of Professor Andy Westwood who had just been on a panel at Tory conference and probably needed to come back down to earth. The okra fries I've had before, and are a must. The dahl was smooth and full of flavour. We probably could have tried a Dhosa and a rice dish, but this was really high quality.

Next up was another trip to an old dependable, the Ashton branch of Five Guys. I know it's expensive for a burger, but I think they are the best burgers you can get, bar none. I love the way they offer a customised burger. Me and Matt share a massive portion of fries, again, as good as any you can get elsewhere. Sadly, for the first time ever they got my order wrong, no mushrooms and onions. Still good, but one to keep an eye on, Five Guys.

Up to the Lakes next and these next two were just the job on walking days. One is a perfect egg on toast from the Black Bull in Coniston, the other is a thick juicy steak pie from the Old Cobbler's Cafe in Hawkshead. Both were sensational. Genuinely amazing food and just right for the day.

After last month's swoop by Cafe Marhaba with their twist on the rice and three (curries), my good friend Neil pointed out that the best ethnic cafe in that part of town was Kabana. His love is not misplaced. I have enjoyed many a delve into their menu, not least with Kevin Gopal, the editor of Big Issue in the North. I popped into Kabana after a meeting and was delighted to run into Jim from Planks Clothing, which is part of what makes Kabana so cool. I like the new interiors as well. The keema with salad on nan bread was exceptionally good, but I'm not being drawn on whether it's better than Maharba just yet because it's not really comparing like with like.

Finally, there will be worse places than Vertigo to spend an hour in the wind tunnel that is MediaCity, Salford Quays, especially listening to Rishi Sunak's budget as I did so. Lovely service, excellent wifi and a very good mushroom soup and cheese with piccalilli sandwich. 

The winner, by an okra fry, is Bundobust. 

September blog challenge

I need to get my mojo fired up and my writing head on. I've created a whole load of deadlines and expectations for the month, that will keep me motivated. However, I've also set myself the blog a day target as well. 

I've done this before in July 2019 and November 2020. I may even get around to covering some of the topics I promised to cover last time, but didn't. Like on our radio show, I do requests, but reserve the right to not do ones I don't like.

In short order, and on the list are:

• Academic writing v journalism
• Refugees
• Magazines
• Debate and disagreement
• Networks, why we need them, and why we don't
• 24 Hour News vs Slow news
• Family
• Friends
• All Those Things That Seemed So Important
• Aesthetics
• Devolution and Democracy
• Living with medical conditions
• Welsh Nationalism
• Some book reviews
• The 143 (not a bus route, a music list)
• Folk horror
• Kinder Scout, my complex relationship 
• Cumberland

Just to be clear, I don't often suffer from writer's block, but I am old enough to recognise that I work best under pressure. I should also at this point link to the Big Issue in the North, which published my feature on the BBC. I'd love you to buy a copy from their digital archive, here.

I also do a weekly column on music (mainly) for the Weekender section of the Tameside Reporter and Glossop Chronicle. One of the recent ones is here.

I was also involved in the Inset Day at Aquinas College yesterday, which prompted this piece on LinkedIn. 

So, which me luck and I hope this works.

Lunch of the month for July/August/November

Last year I came up with a new wheeze for this blog, a social media tally through a month of good lunches I'd had in Manchester, with a more expressive flourish at the end of the month to celebrate the best. 

Suffice to say I haven't updated it since March. At a push I could have done one in July, as we celebrated my birthday at Rudy's Neopolitan Pizza in Ancoats, with an absolutely phenomenal Calabrese, and then did another lunch at a Vietnamese place called Nam in the same square in Ancoats, and a Eat Out to Help Out stop off in August at Hanoi75 in Hatch. Me and Neil also celebrated the first recording of Music Therapy with a trip to Lily's in Ashton for a sizzler. That's four Manchester lunches out since, an Ashton lunch, and then on those rare days I went into work I got a takeout katsu curry from Nudo one day, and a Lahmacun (Turkish pizza) from Venus on another. All of these were absolutely brilliant. 

However, the best of them all was today when I nipped out of the office, where I'd been for an essential meeting, for lunch with our Joe at this absolute cracking little place in Hulme called Buzzrocks. Joe had chicken and I had saltfish. Typically for a Caribbean food outlet both came with rice and peas and an absolutely gorgeous gravy. I liked the friendly service and the smells and genuine love of the food from the staff as soon as I walked in. It's one of those places where I'd loved to have spent more time chatting to them about the food, and generally coming over all Phil Rosenthal, but we had to grab and go. 

So, this feature is back in business. Come what may, I will support our amazing food businesses, I will eat out and try new things. 

Somebody Feed Phil - a real gem

Are things feeling better already? I don't know. Trump's going, a vaccine for COVID might be nearing reality, maybe things *can* only get better. 

Given we're all staying in for a while longer, I had stacked up a boat load of folk horror films and some more post-apocalyptic mayhem in the ever growing Walking Dead universe to watch. 

But along came a delight I didn't see coming - Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix, recommended by partner in Music Therapy dispensation, Neil "long hot" Summers. I usually wait until I've finished a series before posting any kind of a review, but I've got the hang of the basic format after just five episodes and I'm calling it early.

I think it's the best thing I've seen all year. 

Here's how it works. Comedy actor Phil Rosenthal, from Everybody Loves Raymond, pitches up in a city and eats food. Oh, so it's a travel show? you say. No, not really, it's probably an anti-travel show travel show. There's no danger, or jeopardy, there's no real information, no travel tips, a teeny bit of historical context, but not much. The continuity is all over the place, so much so, it doesn't really try. At the end of each episode he call his parents in New York over Skype. And yet none of these are flaws, it's just a gloriously sensory experience. But I keep thinking I'm over thinking it. It's just fun, beautiful, warm, loving and funny.  

Lunch of the month for February - Refuge

Lunch of the month for February was from a fairly lean field as I was away for a week of a short month. But it is no less a mark of quality as it was the Worker’s Lunch at the Refuge. They rotate the menu depending on the week and on the day I went we were fortunate enough to have a choice which included a gorgeous chunky beef ragu in tomato with thick ribbons of pasta (which I had). My lunch pal Steve Kay had the vegetarian noodle soup. For £7 a head it’s really decent.

I was also treated to a lunch at Tast, which was long overdue - both for the company I was lucky enough to have - my mate Michael Finnigan - as well as the restaurant. However, really, honestly, this exercise is about something you grab and is under a tenner, ideally, rather than a culinary experience. Tast was a Catalan taste sensation, so I'm just putting that out there. 

Also impressive this month was Hanoi75 in the pop up paradise that is Hatch, under the Mancunian Way - and it was a very well blended box of veg, chicken and noodles. 

I also really enjoyed a gloriously dirty Katsu curry from Nudo. Sometimes when it’s cold and wet (and it was wasn't it, February really made me shiver) it is just what you need. Katsu like this has a taste and texture like the very best Chinese takeaway curry I remember from my youth, Woo Ping in Lancaster.

Keep the suggestions coming, and if I've not seen you for a while, let's grab lunch!

Lunch of the month for January - Grow Cafe

Manchester lunch of the month for January is our very own Grow Cafe in the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. Not only was it a wholesome home cooked soup and a slice of beetroot focaccia pizza, it felt healthy and fresh too. Lovingly served by staff who totally get the whole ethos behind Grow and its commitment to plant based eating and sustainable food, it is such a great addition to the choice I have. Not something you would always say about University catering. The whole idea behind Grow emerged from a  Project called Met Munch which promotes sustainable habits in food and drink. And all for just over £3.

Other honourable mentions to Philpotts, the Lasso Gowrie, Chimaek and Falafil. 

I was long overdue a trip to the ever excellent Philpotts branch on the corner of Portland and Oxford. I had a real craving for a hot sandwich on good quality bread on what was a cold day. The system in Philpotts does freak some people out, but I don’t mind queuing twice for something as good as the hand made beef, mushroom, onions and gravy in a seeded roll, not at all. It actually gave me time to think about which posh crisps to get as as a side - black pepper Kettle Chips as it goes. I did a story a few years ago about how Philpotts initially chased Pret out of town, and I'm really pleased they got out of the financial basket case that was Patisserie Valerie and seem to be thriving. The sandwich was just the job on a cold day, generous and well made, but a treat at just under a fiver. 

I was in two minds about whether to include Korean joint Chimaek and the traditional pub meal at Lasso Gowrie. For reasons of academic ethics compliance I can only refer to my lunch chum in the final report as “Professor A” but he did describe it as “KFC meets Wagamama” - and we devoured the potato twirl like a pack of hungry “wolves”. It was both an assault on the senses and a bit confusing as to what to order, which is why we emerged stuffed and spiced and probably a little lighter in the pocket than I planned. Here’s the other “but”. The Lancashire Hot Pot at the Lass doesn’t quite meet the criteria for popping out for a quick lunch AND it was part of a walking tour package with Freshwalks. However, we will be back at Chimaek now we’ve collectively completed a literature review of the menu and agreed on a future methodology.

First week back after Christmas the lunch of the week winner was a bit of a shoe-in. As I was in Nottingham one day and skipped lunch on two others, I had a great Friday treat in the shape of a fresh, tasty, and ridiculously good value of Falafil Express on Oxford Road. I go for a medium falafel wrap for £3, with hummus, tahini, chilli sauce, lettuce, chopped cucumber and tomatoes, potatoes and a dash of red cabbage. Astonishes me every time that I enjoy it without equivocation, know exactly what I’m getting and still manage to make such a mess! Yet I’m never tempted by a salad box, stuffed vine leaves or plain hummus. It is a triumph and never ever disappoints.

So, well done to Grow for standing out in a very strong field.

Lunch of the month for December - the Couch Potato in All Saints

The Manchester lunch of the month for December was this hearty and warming baked spud with tuna from the Couch Potato van on All Saints Park.

I nipped across the road to the Eighth Day deli for a Longley Farm cottage cheese with chives to go on the side. I used to go here at least once a week when I worked in All Saints and I have heard people being a bit snooty about it. Personally I love it, I always have a good crack with the team there and with the punters in the queue, especially builders from the sites nearby. They often have choice things to say about protesters who use the square. All life is here. Once the bloke gave me a baked potato that was so big, and with such a massive filling, he almost couldn’t close the lid. “There you go lad, a big one there for you. You’ll sleep well this afternoon.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Special mentions for Dishoom, where we had our team Christmas lunch, and which was spectacular, but rather extravagant to qualify for this competition; but also for Barbakan deli in Chorlton, where I frequently visit for work. Their custom built Polish meatloaf, tomato, mushroom, onion and mustard beauty was made with real enthusiasm.

I'll be back to picking a winner once a week from now on, with a monthly winner announced at the end of the month.

New blog feature - Manchester lunches - and the first winner is... R&V

I've started a new feature on this blog and on Instagram. Manchester lunches.

It's not a fine dining extravaganza, but where I might go in the middle of the day, either with someone I'm externally engaging with (it's my job, afterall), or catching up with one of the sons.

I picked my best one each week through November, which included Tampopo (quality but pricey and in a poor location), Cafe Istanbul (solid and filling) and VietShack in Ancoats, which did a spectacularly spicy and dirty plate of Viet fries.

But the best all round lunch of this month was a new discovery, R and V on Oxford Street opposite Churchgate House, HQ of the Greater Manchester Mayor and other 'family' institutions. I went with a politician from one of the Boroughs who highly recommended it. He wasn't wrong. The ciabatta was a decent base for a Brasilien chicken salad sandwich with pineapple, cashews and salad. Really fresh and tasty. Another major plus was the space downstairs with a really chilled ambience.

The comments on the post also suggested that the owner really knows what he's doing and has the respect of some decent foodie types.

I’m getting quite militant about this now, there really is no excuse for eating crap at lunchtime in the city centre.

Have an awayday, Glasgow Rangers away

I’m often reminded on a football related trip to a city that I barely touch the surface, but that those you do tend to be a bit sticky.

We were early for our agreed rendezvous in a location near the station, so ate first. Given we were meeting my mate’s son, wife and baby grandson, it wasn’t going to be a ‘Spoons or a spit and sawdust bar. But we ended up spending only the briefest of time in Platform under the arches, with its artisan craft stalls and interesting ethnic street food.

I like Glasgow, I’ve been for work a few times, and was best man at John and Rachel’s wedding 21 glorious years ago, all full of happy memories. The grand and imposing industrial centre, and the embrace of the Clyde is redolent of Newcastle, and the people have an easy charm.

The experience of taking the miniature Subway to Ibrox and the stroll around the ground before the game were probably bereft of the everyday edge you’d get from a Rangers fixture in the season. Certainly I couldn’t imagine getting away with unfurling a flag outside the Louden Tavern would be acceptable to fans of Aberdeen or Hibs.

Then again, much as it fed the occasion to be amongst 1600 travelling Rovers fans, most of whom seemed to have been on our four carriage Trans Pennine Express train that morning, it really wasn’t much more than a glorified training session. Rangers were the better team in the first half and Defoe showed class in how he put his goal away. All my frustrations with several of our regulars picked up where they left off last season. Happily too so did my ever so slightly irrational love of Lewis Travis. The second half featured more of our exciting crop of young players and I saw more to like about the skilful and industrious John Buckley. Ben Brereton and Richie Smallwood have wilder hairstyles, the latter I hope because he’s on a journey to becoming the Redcar Pirlo, effortless style, a “brio”, “sprezzatura”, a different sort of axeman.

By the way, I’m over the horrid away kit. It is what it is.

We couldn’t not go today. We also couldn’t not go into the heart of darkness that is the Louden Tavern for a quick drink after the game. It was everything I suspected and worse, I hadn’t realised that this scene in T2 was a documentary. But we were greeted as friends and comrades, a secret handshake away from joining in the loud renditions of battle songs. When the early chimes of Matchstalk Men piped up I thought it was a nice touch to embrace their Lancastrian visitors. Nah! Old tune, different lyrics and papist bashing.

Fulham away is next, and I do love a London trip. There won’t be time for a stop over at the Design Museum for the Kubrick exhibition, but it won’t detract from a pleasant pre-match refreshments around Putney Bridge, nor will it feel like a missed opportunity. That said, to keep things consistent, we squeezed in a personal Glasgow tradition; a curry.

And of course one of the reasons for these trips is it’s a taster for a return. You couldn’t say that about Scunthorpe or Northampton.

All we are saying, is give Stockport a chance

Eric Jackson, Statement Artworks 

I spend more time than is healthy thinking about how northern towns can become better places. I try and do my bit by using them. One of the traits of a failing place is that it will have lost a clear purpose and people don't go there.  There's only so long you can keep going somewhere out of civic pride and loyalty.

My nearest town is Stockport, and significantly, a framework was released today for a large part of the centre of the town that planners have called Stockport Town Centre West, from the area around the station, down to the river Mersey and along towards the bottom of Hollywood Park. It's significantly the first Mayoral Development Corporation that Andy Burnham is backing to use powers of land assembly and planning.

This is unquestionably a good thing.

Let's get a few home truths on the table first. In its present form Stockport Market is dead. Turning it into a food hall, like Altrincham, in one swoop wouldn't have worked; but it has to change. The sale and development of the Produce Hall could have been handled better. It got the whole project off to a bad start. The external aesthetics of the Red Rock leisure complex, with a great new cinema, are pretty grim. Any plan to reinvent a shopping precinct where the largest retailer is Primark is on a hiding to nothing.

Right I've said it. Can everyone move on now?

I'm on record as saying the Light Cinema is the best I've been to. I really love it. I've now been to the Produce Hall a few times and the reshaped Market Place and I think it's great too. I had a good chat to the gaffer, Steve Pilling, and he talked me through the scale of the project, and the thinking behind the different "stalls" and the need to prove the concept, create footfall, then to support other decent quality operators to come once it had been established. I was delighted that our wonderful neighbourhood Cambodian is expanding from Marple and into the Produce Hall. I'm sure others will follow.

I'm really pleased that Foodie Friday is still thriving on the last Friday of every month.

The area around the Underbanks, all around the brewery is an absolute treasure trove, every bit as potentially charming and fascinating as historical cities like Chester and York. The key word there is potentially. It also has the commitment from some really sassy and innovative retailers. I'm not sold on the identity of the area as "Stockport's Soho", but as this piece from the Manchester Evening News captured recently, the will to improve the area is palpable, but also tainted by frustration. Parts of it are crumbling before our very eyes.

Here's the thing though. Without footfall, without people coming to a place, day in, day out, then specialist retail and leisure dies. It can't support a business, let alone a town. Stockport, like many northern towns, has a big challenge to attract the people with money to spend, to sustain the businesses and to provide a range of things for people from all different incomes to come and enjoy.

You can get part of the way by encouraging existing locals, by swishing things up to tempt the Bramall set to stop by (and Marple, Davenport and Woodford types), but the re-population of town centres is what will surely be key. Town planning takes time, and everything has to be patiently and carefully consulted on.

The latest plans for Town Centre West look uncontroversial and rather urgent. The consultation period is open until the 6th of September. I know what I'll be submitting: just get on with it.

PS
This piece of news passed me by at the time, but Chaat Cart, another local Marple favourite, is also setting up in the Produce Hall alongside Angkor Soul.

Abduls - a lament

Intellectual capital with Professor Westwood

When Abduls re-opened in 2017 with comfortable furniture, a sharp new brand and the logo - "same passion, new generation", I could barely contain my glee.

Professor Andy Westwood and I were practically rattling at the door for the grand opening demanding our chicken tikka on a naan with extra chillis and chutney. When we emerged for air, barely four minutes later, we shared our own particularly fond memories from our student days three full decades ago. I think his even involved a date with a woman he was particularly keen on. It was a story with a happy ending - a marriage and two kids. I can't trump that with my recollection of ordering 8 kebabs to take home, with Dave Knights eating the first one at the counter before we transported the others home for the rest.

Last year, when we were entertaining a group of big hitters from King's College London there was only one place we were going to take them. I think we even discussed the title of Dr Jon Davis' new book over an Abduls - in that kind of fiery environment it was always going to be Heroes or Villains, the Blair Government Reconsidered, frankly.

Dr Jon Davis, big hitter from King's

When my pal Jonathan Reynolds MP (pictured, below) comes to this part of town on important parliamentary and party business, the work can be demanding and requiring of refuelling. The solution is often Abduls. It was in this very place that he and Chuka Umunna plotted their futures in politics, I believe.

Transacting important MP business

When our University hired visiting professor Ashwin Kumar, one of the benefits of joining us, I explained, was a Tuesday evening trip to Abduls with Andy Westwood. To discuss political dynamics, obviously.

I can't face the disappointment that the branch at All Saints has closed and has no plans to re-open. It is the cradle of our modern civilisation, the wellspring for co-operation and new ideas.

We are in need of a new location. These are times of genuine crisis.