Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 27 March 2017

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." 

Luciano Pavarotti

Lunch at One Eighty Eight, Whitefield

Having previously fallen in love with my new local fine-dining restaurant, One 88 Kitchen & Bar, this weekend, I made a return visit, this time for lunch. Having perused the menu in its entirety during my first visit, I had already decided what I would eat if I was to ever return at lunchtime.

It’s a versatile place that works just as well for lunch with friends on a relaxing Sunday as it does for a slap up meal on a Friday night. The ground floor was packed, with every table occupied, with people enjoying everything from late breakfasts and brunches to roast dinners. The whole menu is available on a Sunday lunchtime, from the regular a la carte to the breakfast and brunch options, which are only available until midday during the week but extend to 2.00pm at the weekend.

Whilst my friends had poached eggs on toast from the brunch menu, I had a delicious fish goujon sandwich. Three generous goujons, lightly battered, were served between two door-stopper wedges of soft, fluffy, homemade bloomer loaf, with lettuce, tartar sauce and a sprinkle of cheese and onion pickle. The tartar sauce was chunky and packed with capers, laden thick on the top slice of bread, making for an incredibly tasty lunchtime bite. It was reminiscent of a fish finger sandwich, albeit a very posh one. What’s not to love about an upmarket version of one of the ultimate comfort foods?

Fish goujon sandwich served with hand cut chips and coleslaw

The sandwich was served with a bucket of perfectly cooked hand-cut chips and gorgeously-coloured ‘winter’ coleslaw, made with red cabbage. It makes a change to receive some proper chips, as opposed to the wafer thin ‘fries’ which are all batter and no potato and often fried to their death. I have to confirm that these were some of the finest British chips I have ever tasted. Doused in salt and lashings of vinegar, they were beautiful.

It was incredibly good value for money, with the filling sandwich meal costing me £7.50, especially in comparison to the much smaller poached eggs on toast, which was £5.50. The fact that there two large birthday parties in when we arrived didn’t hinder the service; the staff were attentive and we received our lunch within 15 minutes of ordering. 

Having dined at One Eighty Eight for both lunch and dinner, it seems the place can do no wrong. Chef David Gale has expertly managed to fill a gap in the market for good quality, locally sourced, traditional British food at a reasonable cost.

http://one88whitefield.co.uk/

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 20 March 2017

"The secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside."

Mark Twain 

San Carlo Fumo, Manchester

1 St Peter's Square, Manchester

Fumo is one of my favourite restaurants in Manchester. Part of the renowned San Carlo group, it’s Italian tapas as its finest and, for a food lover, the perfect opportunity to sample a little bit of everything at the highest quality.

Located at the top of Oxford Road, just off St Peter’s Square, it’s a stone’s throw away from the The Midland Hotel, the Palace Theatre and a whole host of bars, pubs and clubs, making it a real hub of the city centre. I previously walked past Fumo on my daily commute into the city, and by lunchtime it was always heaving with businessmen and women enjoying executive lunches, which isn’t surprising, given the stunning interior and top class food. 

As soon as you arrive, the attentive front of house staff take your coats and show you to your table, immediately making you feel at home. It’s the little touches that immediately make Fumo stand head and shoulders above the rest.

The tables are a little too close together for my liking. We were initially seated on top of a couple who were already eating, in such close proximity that I didn’t even want to discuss the menu for fear of being overheard; we may as well have been sharing a table. It was only 5.30 pm and the restaurant wasn’t full, so I don’t understand why we had to sit next door to a table that was already occupied. Thankfully, this issue was quickly resolved when we were moved somewhere more spacious. It’s a shame, as the intimate feel of the restaurant is ruined by having too many tables crammed in. 

When ordering ‘cichetti’, the Italian translation for tapas, or more literally ‘small side dishes’, the general recommendation is three or four dishes per person. The two of us may have got a little bit carried away, which is incredibly easy to do as you’ve never been so spoil for choice. We ended up with eight dishes between us, but every one of them was a winner.

There’s a welcome twist to Fumo when it comes to the way in which the food is served. Rather than everything arriving together, your dishes are brought out in stages, a couple at a time, which means that you’re not pressurised to rush through anything in order to avoid the food going cold.

We started with mushroom bruschetta and two pasta dishes: spaghetti carbonara and mushroom pappardelle.  The crispy bruschetta was gorgeous, stacked high with mushrooms, truffles and pecorino cheese. It was a case of mushroom overload, with the pappardelle being stacked with oyster mushrooms, coated in truffle oil and topped with parmesan cheese, whilst the carbonara was creamy and delicious, made in the authentic Italian way with raw egg. It is, understandably, one of the most popular dishes, and this was quite possibly the best I’ve ever tasted. The pasta is so delicious that I could order three or four dishes and eat it exclusively.

Mushroom bruschetta

Mushroom pappardelle (left) and spaghetti carbonara (right)

Next, we had two fish dishes, a pizza and a side of sweet potatoes. I told you we went overboard. We had fillet of sea bass, served with rocket and drizzled with lemon juice and seared tuna steak nestled on a bed of mixed lentils and tomatoes. The sea bass melted away in your mouth, whilst the tuna arrived looking positively raw, but was mouth-wateringly succulent and juicy. The flavoursome lentils with their smooth texture and sweet tomato flavour beautifully contrasted the crisp, salty tuna. The pizza I could have lived without. The dough was exactly right, neither too stodgy, nor crispy, and it was topped with tomato, mozzarella, ham and mushrooms. It was tasty enough, but it didn’t set my mouth alight. The little extra of sweet potato, whilst not necessary, was delightful. The sweet potatoes were perfectly cooked and served with onions and crispy pancetta.

Clockwise from top left: Pan-seared tuna steak with mixed lentils, fillet of sea bass, ham and mushroom pizza, sweet potato with onions and pancetta.

Fumo is a culinary delight which allows you to dabble in all the delights of a fine Italian restaurant in one sitting. It’s expensive, with the fish dishes costing £8.95 each, so it’s not the place to eat if you’re on a budget. However, for a special occasion it’s more than worth it, with the quality of the food and the size of the dishes accurately reflecting the cost. Whereas the more traditional Spanish tapas is made up of nibbles and starter dishes, the dishes at Fumo are miniature meals, meaning the portions are significantly larger, so there’s plenty to go round.  

Unsurprisingly, I was too stuffed to even think about dessert, which was perhaps just as well given that we’re in the middle of Lent. I do know from previous experiences that the desserts as equally as stunning as the tapas, and I would, most certainly, recommend the sampler, which continues the mix-and-match mood with small bites of a selection of desserts from the menu. 

San Carlo Fumo is pure luxury, with an extensive menu full of taste sensations, each individual dish a sensation. You can eat as much or as little as you like, pasta, pizza, meat, fish, salads and antipasti. It’s earned its rightful place as one of my favourite restaurants in Manchester, and I’m genuinely excited each time I return. You feel like you’re in the middle of the city centre, with quality of the food and the ambience easily able to rival the likes of Rosso and the haunts of the affluent Spinningfields. I would urge you to treat yourself to a dining experience that will leave a lasting impression. 

Website: http://www.sancarlofumo.co.uk/fumo-manchester/

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 13 March 2017

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."

George Bernard Shaw 

Banyan Bar & Kitchen

The Corn Exchange, Manchester

Banyan Bar & Kitchen is one of the several modern restaurants making up the fusion of world cuisine that is the Corn Exchange in Manchester city centre. Formerly The Triangle Shopping Centre, when the Corn Exchange opened back in 2015, I made it my mission to eat at every restaurant in there. Slowly but surely, I’m working my way round. On Friday night, I popped into Banyan for a bite to eat before heading to the nearby arena to see the Kaiser Chiefs in concert.

It has a casual pub-come-bar feel, with a variety of seating areas, from high, breakfast-bar style seating, to spacious booths and more formal tables at the rear, backing out onto the ‘al fresco’ dining area on the inside of the Corn Exchange. We were seated in the bar section at the front, where many people were enjoying drinks and cocktails after work, or, like us, pre-gig. 

I’m not entirely sure how to describe the cuisine, as it’s a real mixture. There’s the traditional English pub grub in the form of pies and steaks, alongside burgers and lots of pan-Asian choices, including salads, skewers, sandwiches and deli-boards.

To start, I had Cajun spiced crab croquettes with lime sour cream. The texture was just about right, perfectly succulent on the inside, covered in crispy, golden breadcrumbs. They were very flavoursome, and the lime sour cream contrasted the Cajun spice, a cracking combo for a mouth that can’t handle spice, such as mine. They were, however, only small; another couple of croquettes on the plate wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Cajun spiced crab croquettes with lime sour cream

My dining companion had crispy duck spring rolls, served with oriental dipping sauce. The spring rolls were tasty but I feel that, much like pasta in an Italian, spring rolls are never quite the same outside of a Chinese restaurant.

The main course brought with it much deliberation. I wanted to try something different, so after mulling over the fish pie and a chicken skewer, I was as boring as ever and opted for a burger. Pathetically predictable, I know. 

It does, however, give me the opportunity to make direct comparisons, as burgers are something I’ve eaten a fair few of. The Banyan Burger was stacked with bacon, Monterrey Jack cheese, wholegrain mustard mayonnaise and barbecue sauce (I refuse to write it as BBQ, despite what the menu said), with an onion ring on the top. When it arrived, it looked small and dry, not the most appetising. It tasted much nicer than it looked; the beef was deliciously juicy, the cheese oozed out from underneath the meat, making for greasy fingers and rather messy handling. The truth is, I’ve simply been spoilt with out-of-this world burgers, piled high with decadent combinations of flavours, so a bog-standard one that looks like something out of a pub kitchen sadly doesn’t excite me anymore.

Banyan Burger, with crispy bacon, Monterrey Jack cheese, wholegrain mustard mayonnaise, barbecue sauce and onion rings, served with sweet potato fries

My dining companion’s spicy chicken burger looked much more impressive: a huge chicken breast covered in buttermilk batter, marinated with Cajun spices, served with Caesar mayonnaise and a pot of chicken gravy, introducing a taste of home alongside the exotic spice.

This was my first meal out since Lent began, and not being able to indulge in dessert was akin to torture. It almost feels like the experience is incomplete when I can’t end on something sweet. It didn’t help that the desserts were listed on the main menu, so I scanned over them, salivated, before deciding what I would have if I return at a later date.

As we reached seven o’clock, the volume of the music was cranked up and Banyan appeared to become more of a bar by night. It was lively without being too noisy, with swanky surroundings and it boasts an extensive cocktail menu.

The food was tasty and satisfying, albeit a little overpriced for what it was, my burger certainly not worth the £12.95 I paid for it. As we were grabbing a bite to eat before a concert, it served its purpose, as the service was attentive and the food arrived quickly. However, given its casual nature, I think it’s more of a lunchtime place, more suited to the middle of the day or a business lunch rather than a Friday night.

For more information and to take a look at the menu, visit:
https://arcinspirations.com/banyan-manchester

Quote of the Week - Week commencing Monday 6 March 2017

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie."

Jim Davis