Brewski

Moseley Street, Manchester

Brewski is ‘the home of North American comfort food’. It’s a Canadian style lodge tucked away just off Moseley Street which serves a mouth-watering array of deliciously tasty and stodgy guilty pleasures. Breakfast, brunch, burgers and burritos, it’s very much veered towards daytime dining and the perfect place for city centre workers to drop in on their lunch break.

For brunch, there’s American and Canadian breakfast dishes, both savoury and sweet, including eggs benedict, pancakes and steak and eggs, with all appetites catered for.

Brewski’s USP is poutine, the national dish of Canada to which they dedicate an entire section of their main menu. Originating in Quebec in the 1950s, poutine is, quite simply, French fries topped with cheese curds and drowned in gravy. What started as a dish of national shame has become a dish of national pride. It’s gone from being dished up in greasy spoons and roadside chip waggons to having pride of place on restaurant menus and is now an important part of Canadian foodie culture.

It’s something that’s never particularly appealed to me. I’ve tried it once before from a takeaway market stall, and it certainly felt like a grubby takeaway you’d eat at the end of a night out, with more than a hint of the cheap and nasty about it.

Still, ‘when in Rome’, as they say. We decided the best bet would be to share one alongside our main courses. There’s an overwhelming eight different varieties of poutine on offer. As well as the original, there’s a host of flavoursome variations, with toppings including wild mushroom, cheeseburger, pulled pork, vegetable chilli con carne and fried chicken. We had the Salt and Pepper Poutine, which was topped with spring onions, red peppers, coriander and a sack full of seasoning.

Salt and Pepper Poutine

I have to say, my opinion on poutine has completely reversed. The chips were chunky, the cheese curds weren’t overly rubbery, there were tonnes of tasty topping and the beef gravy was delicious. It may have been quite an indulgent bowl of chips, but I’m not sure it qualifies as a main course in its own right.

Our main events were burritos. I opted for the BBQ pulled pork burrito, stuffed with chorizo, pico de gallo, smoked Applewood cheese, sun dried tomatoes and blue cheese sauce. It was generously stuffed with copious amounts of filling without being padded out with rice, all elements deliciously flavoursome. The wrap was toasted enough to hold it all together, allowing to be eaten by hand without it all falling apart. Normally, after the second mouthful, the contents are spread-eagled all over the table and your hands are covered in sauce, so extra points have to be awarded to the chefs for designing them so neatly.

BBQ Pulled Pork Burrito

My friend’s Fried Chicken Burrito with sundried tomatoes, peppers, spinach, smoked Applewood cheese and chipotle sour cream was intended to be stuffed with smashed avocado, but she’s not a fan of this 21^st century trendy food fad, so she requested it to be made without. After arriving with avocado on it, we sent it back, only to find that, when it returned, it was not only avocado-free but it appeared to have doubled in size – in my opinion, almost worth the 10 minute delay.

Fried Chicken Burrito

We couldn’t resist one more sneaky side in the form of halloumi fries. Halloumi is another trend which seems to have sky-rocketed in popularity over the last few years, with the ever-increasing popularity of vegetarian diets. Unlike with the avocado, I am totally onboard with the halloumi hype. These chunky fritter-style ‘fries’ arrived golden brown, like a crispy roast potato, drizzled in chipotle mayo and topped with pomegranate seeds. The halloumi was melt-in-the-mouth delicious, with the sweet chilli dip the perfect accompaniment.

Halloumi Fries

So, essentially, we had three dishes and a side between the two of us. Ooops. However, desserts were strictly off the menu, as I’ve just started a hike up the treacherous mountain that is Lent, so at least filling myself up on a feast of a main course meant I didn’t feel like I was missing out.

If you book your table online, you need to be careful. You’re allocated a 90 minute timeslot. It’s something I’ve seen before when booking elsewhere, but I’ve never really paid much attention to it, as it’s been proven to be for guidance only. However, Brewksi really do want you ordered, eaten and out within an hour and a half. So much so that we were asked if we’d finished eating whilst we still had food on our plates.

Our Brewski Feast

As soon as our plates were clean, the waiter was back to explain that we had to be out 3.00pm as they needed the tables back for afternoon tea. Given that there had been spare tables for the duration of the time we’d been eating, this slightly put my nose of joint. After all, if they’d made our order correctly the first time round, we’d have been finished at least 10 minutes earlier. Kudos to the staff, because they weren’t rude; in fact, our waiter was very apologetic, demonstratively awkward about having to rush us out.

Desserts change regularly and there was a fine selection on the board, including Malteser brownie, New York Cheesecake and Sticky Toffee Pudding, so if you’re not stuffed and have still got room for something sweet, there’s plenty to choose from.

Brewski also offer a very unique take on afternoon tea. There’s not a finger sandwich, a clotted cream scone or a cake in sight. Instead, it’s three tiers of burgers, steak, fried chicken, mac and cheese and poutine (£25 per person). There’s also a sensational cheeseboard, loaded high with fantastic fromage creations, including deep fried baby bell, halloumi fries, goats cheese mousse and mixed grilled cheese sandwiches.

There’s just too much choice at Brewski. Make a date and sample the delights, just make sure you eat fast enough!

https://brewskibar.co.uk/mosley.html#

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 25 March 2019

"My weak spot is laziness. Oh, I have a lot of weak spots: cookies, croissants."

Anthony Hopkins

Actor, director and producer

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 18 March 2019

"Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, sugar, caffeine and fat." 

Alex Levine

Writer and film producer

Moose Coffee

York Street, Manchester

Brunch: ‘a meal combining breakfast and lunch, usually eaten in the late morning’.

It’s become rather trendy in recent years, thanks to an increase in the number of American breakfast diners. Personally, I don’t really understand the hype surrounding this mid-morning feast. Firstly, I fail to understand why you’d choose to combine two meals into one, but then I am an incredibly greedy person who eats by the clock. Secondly, as an early riser, waiting for up to five hours before eating isn’t ideal and leaves your body clock out of sync for the rest of the day.

It seems the majority of the population don’t agree me with me, given the popularity of Moose Coffee, which has established a legacy in Manchester City Centre. Founded in 2006, Moose Coffee aimed to tap into New York City, where a hearty brunch is the highlight of the culinary day. Think towering pancake stacks, waffles and all day breakfasts.

So trendy is Moose Coffee that there’s a never-ending waiting list. Annoyingly, they don’t take bookings, it’s strictly walk-ins only. This annoys me, as many of us simply don’t have time in our busy lives to wait around for as long as an hour (and trust me, at this place, that’s good going) for a table. You need to set aside a timeslot for eating and then you can plan your day around it. Alas, it seems the majority of Mancunions believe it’s worth the wait, as there were queues out onto the pavement. We had to leave our name and number, returning 45 minutes later.

Once seated, the service was rather slow, which was frustrating given that we’d already had a lengthy wait. You’d think they’d be after a quick turnaround to keep the conveyer belt moving.

We’d been perusing the menu whilst wandering around town, so we could get ordered straight away. I couldn’t decide whether to opt for savoury or sweet. Normally I’d just have both, but breakfast doesn’t exactly lend itself well to the main-and-dessert format.

As I’ve seen plenty of pictures of their pancake stacks, the scales swung towards the sweet. I had the caramelised apple and salted caramel pancakes. There were three thick, round, deliciously spongy, fluffy pancakes stacked one on top of the other, but the topping was a little sparse. A few pieces of caramelised apple were laid on the top and there was a mere drizzle of salted caramel. Plenty for the top pancake, but the two underneath were left plain.

Caramelised Apple and Salted Caramel Pancakes

All the pancake stacks are served with a jug of maple syrup and butter. Maple syrup I can understand – it’s the traditional American way – but the butter seemed rather bizarre. Why would you want to put butter on sweet pancakes? Out of curiosity, I melted a little bit into a dry patch on one of the plain pancakes, and I have to confess that it did actually work.

I was grateful for the maple syrup, as it allowed me to cover the bottom two pancakes, adding a little flavour. However, extra salted caramel would have been preferable. If there had been enough caramel in the first place, the maple syrup wouldn’t have been necessary.

I caught a glimpse of the chocolate and peanut butter stack across the room, and they looked much more satisfying, covered with generous helpings of chocolate spread.

The pancakes themselves, however, were perfect. Totally unlike any others I’ve tasted and incomparable to the feeble attempt you toss up in the kitchen on Shrove Tuesday. At £8.00, it was perfectly reasonable given the size of the portion; it was certainly a meal in its own right.

I washed it down with two cups of tea, the second of which didn’t arrive until I’d almost finished eating, and that was after I’d chased it up. The slow service coupled with the lengthy wait means I wouldn’t rush back, but if I was to return, I’d opt for something savoury next time. The Caboose in particular caught my eye – cheese pancakes topped with fried eggs and bacon – along with the Liberty Moose – scrambled eggs mixed with pesto and topped with cured ham.

Moose Coffee is worth trying once, but you’ll need the patience.  

Full menu at: https://www.moosecoffee.co/.  

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 11 March 2019

"It takes four men to dress a salad: a wise man for the salt, a mad man for the pepper, a miser for the vinegar, and a spendthrift for the oil."

Anon

 

 



 

 

Baci

Bury New Road, Whitefield, Manchester

Baci is the latest addition to Whitefield’s restaurant scene. I was somewhat underwhelmed at the thought of gaining another Italian eatery, as we’ve already got them in abundance: Porada, Amore, Mezzaluna, Roma and Ivanos are all located within walking distance of each other.

Baci is the third restaurant in an already established group. There’s a sister venue in Harwood, with the same name, and another in Egerton called Ciao Baby. The group have brought one of their chefs to Whitefield with them to serve up wood fired pizzas and modern Italian dishes. It may be in a prime location, opposite Slattery’s on Bury New Road - but it seems a strange choice for an existing brand to open another restaurant in an area with so much local competition.

  

After visiting for the first time in their opening week, I’ve already concluded that they won’t have much to worry about. With an extensive menu, a cosy interior, friendly staff and superb quality food, it’s a welcome addition to Whitefield. It’s sure to give Porada a run for its money, especially as it’s noticeably cheaper but still delivers the same top-quality Italian fayre.  

It’s a vast a la carte menu, with an overwhelming selection of starters, pizza and pasta dishes alongside meat and fish-based main courses.

To start, I had Involtini Di Pepper: a yellow bell pepper stuffed with rice and vegetables, topped with melted Mozzarella cheese, oven-baked in a tomato sauce. It was a deliciously tasty and satisfying starter and a generous-sized portion too.

Invvoltini Di Pepper

For my main course, I had Fusilli Al Pesto Baci, one of my all-time favourite pasta dishes. I absolutely adore pesto, so any dish cooked with this magic ingredient leaps off the page and begs me to try it. It has to be the green variety though, which luckily this menu specifies. I’ve previously ordered pesto pasta dishes in restaurants, only to be disappointed to find it was the red alternative.

So, what’s the difference?

Green pesto is traditionally a blend of basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese. The red alternative uses less basil, instead mixing in tomatoes with garlic and olive oil, whilst the pine nuts are substituted for almonds. The tomatoes tend to overpower the other flavours, so it’s less exciting.

Here, the pesto-infused pasta was tossed with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts and topped with parmesan shavings. Sun-dried tomatoes add depths of flavour and texture to any dish, complementing the pesto beautifully. Refreshingly, it was a generous bowl of pasta which left me feeling full afterwards. I love pasta and, in the comfort of my own home, I can hoover up mountains of the stuff, so I’m often left feeling disappointed by the somewhat measly portions in restaurants. I’m happy to report that wasn’t the case here.

Fusili Al Pesto Baci

After two deliciously satisfying courses, I could have skipped dessert. However, there were not one but two specials of the week and their pulling power proved too great. The first of the specials was honeycomb cheesecake. Cheesecake is my ultimate favourite dessert and I’ve eaten enough of it to be a little bit picky. This was the perfect texture: creamy but well set and not stodgy. It was loaded with chocolate chips and piled high with the likes of Malteasers and other similar honeycomb malted balls, delicately drizzled in chocolate sauce and accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which is surplus to requirement with a cheesecake, but enjoyable all the same.

Honeycomb Cheesecake

Talking of ice cream, they have a fine selection on the dessert menu, allowing you to build your own sundae-style dessert by selecting a range of flavours.

The other special of the week was Sticky Toffee Pudding. The old British staple which you don’t see very often these days. It looked a little dry when it came out; I don’t know about you, but I like my pudding drowning in toffee sauce. However, the light, airy sponge had been soaked plentifully and was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which melted away on the top.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

The majority of the desserts were only £4.95, so doubly hard to resist. It was a lovely way to round off a gorgeous meal.

Baci hit the ground running in its opening week. Despite tough competition, it’s already established itself on a level playing field with the likes of Porada and has become a firm local favourite. Top quality food at a reasonable price, friendly staff and faultless service is all you can ask for.

The extensive menu can be viewed online: https://www.baci-whitefield.com/.

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 4 March 2019

"Note to self: eat lots of chocolate when times get rough and even more when times are great."

Anon