New York Street, Manchester
January really isn’t a
particularly enjoyable month. We may still be munching our way through those
Christmas chocolates, but the dark nights, cold weather and depleting bank
balance make for a pretty bleak time.
Luckily, for fellow foodies,
it isn’t all bad, as many of Manchester’s restaurants offer discounts to entice
diners out of their bunkers and encourage them to put their hands in their
pockets at a more affordable price.
It’s certainly worth looking
out to see what deals are knocking around. The Grill on New York Street has
been on my ‘to dine’ list for quite a while. Ordinarily, it would be a
restaurant I’d save for a special occasion, as it’s not cheap, but with a
whopping 50% discount available every day for the whole month, it was the
perfect opportunity to give it a go.
It has a New York City vibe,
with the glamour of the Big Apple and a menu packed full of steaks and grilled
seafood. We were seated on the indoor terrace in a comfortable and spacious
booth. The staff were friendly, welcoming and very attentive. We weren’t
rushed, we ordered in our own time and our waitress was more than happy to
answer any questions we had. Oh, apart from the fact she forgot to tell me that
they had no Cauliflower Cheese Soufflé, which I wanted for starters.
Still, I forgave her, as my
second choice, the Lemon Peppered Squid, was delicious. There were both rings
of calamari and mini squid, all lightly dusted in crispy batter. It melted in
your mouth and was served with garlic aioli, which, in my opinion, is the
condiment of the Gods. It goes so well with everything. The portion size was
generous too.
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| Lemon Peppered Squid |
For main course, I had King
Prawn Fajitas. I wouldn’t normally order Fajitas, as I don’t like messy finger
food, nor do I appreciate loads of chunks of dry meat on a sizzler. Other
establishments are missing a trick by not offering a King Prawn alternative.
You only got five prawns, but they were massive and incredibly succulent and
juicy. They were accompanied on the sizzling hot plate by lots of onions and
peppers in a tomato sauce, so it was delicious tasty. There were all the
extras, including salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cheese and shredded lettuce.
The wraps, of which there were four, could have done with being a little
larger. As is always the case, it was difficult to cram all the filling in
without it getting messy.
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| King Prawn Fajitas |
My Grandma had a sirloin
steak, a generous 280g slice of prime beef, 28 days wet and dry aged and air
dried for 24 hours in an in-house Himalayan rock salt chamber to ensure the
meat is tender and flavoursome.
Cooked medium, as requested,
it was teetering on the right side of pink and was succulent and juicy, melting
in the mouth. Served with Blackhouse chunky chips, which were very well
seasoned, she opted for gravy as her sauce option. Again, why is this not a
more popular option? Forget your rich peppercorn, Bernaise, Diane or blue
cheese sauces; the humble gravy is definitely the way to go. I’m not a steak
person but I can appreciate how good the quality of this dish was.
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| Sirloin Steak with Chop Gravy and Blackhouse Chips |
Fish is much more my thing. It
feels much lighter and fresher. My Mum opted for Pan Fried Sea Bass, of which
there were two fillets, served on a bed of jewelled beetroot cous cous with
mint yoghurt and parsley oil. The beetroot cous cous was something different.
It had a strange texture that was almost a little bit rubbery, but that’s not
to say I didn’t like it.
 |
| Sea Bass |
Although not strictly
necessary, my Mum and I shared a portion of Blackhouse chips. They caught our
eye as we walked through the restaurant on the way to our table and we just
couldn’t resist them.
Despite it being 50% off, they
didn’t scrimp on the portions. Ordinarily, my Fajitas would have been £18.95,
the Sea Bass would have been £19 and the Steak £26, plus £2.50 for the gravy,
so it’s not exactly extortionate anyway and definitely worth the price.
Despite being determined to go
home after two courses, the lure of their extensive and enticing dessert menu
proved too much. When it’s half price, it would have been ludicrous for the
king of the cakes (myself) to go home without one final bit of indulgence.
I was torn between the Cookies
and Cream Cheesecake (as you know by now, cheesecake is my ultimate favourite)
and the Blackhouse Banoffee Pie. Luckily, our ever-so-friendly waitress was on
hand to help me make my decision.
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| Blackhouse Banoffe Pie |
The main question which was
going to help swing my decision one way or another was the base: was it biscuit
or was it pastry? It was a biscuit base, she informed me. Sold. However, she
then explained that the ‘Blackhouse Banoffee Pie’ was made unique by the fact
that it would be served to me at the table, allowing you a little say in how
much of it you wanted. An empty bowl was placed in front of me and the enormous
pie was scooped into it, before being covered in butterscotch sauce.
‘Keep going’, I chuckled as
the sticky, albeit lukewarm, butterscotch sauce was poured over my pie. To
think I was prepared to order something else or, worse still, skip dessert
completely.
I missed being able to cut
through all the layers, as you can with an individually crafted slice, and the
biscuit base could have been a little bit thicker and crunchier for me, but the
banana, toffee and cream ratios were perfect. Cream isn’t necessarily my
favourite, but it makes for a lighter dessert and compliments the sticky
sweetness of the caramel sauce.
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| Apple & Rhubarb Crumble |
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| Sticky Toffee Pudding |
I’m forever grateful to
Blackhouse for their January sale as, had it not been for their 50% discount, I
probably wouldn’t have tried The Grill on New York Street. Subsequently, I
would have missed a truly stunning dining experience. I can’t wait to return.
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