Around the world in 30 dishes – Engine’s operating at full throttle

Blog post “The Engineers is as unpretentious as lard and as solid as a bag of bricks” tickled me, even if this particular unsung chronicler of derelict boozers was not quite accurate about a four-square stone edifice in the middle of Sowerby Bridge. Yet another local, its name referencing the industry which provided its customer […]

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A love letter to re-born Sam’s Chop House (#hashtag corned beef#)

Mothballed for nearly two years by the pandemic, Manchester’s legendary Sam’s Chop House re-opens on Valentine’s Day 2022. If corned beef hash be the food of love? 150,000 thousand dishes sold in the last five trading years, that may be the signature dish at the Pool Fold comfort zone, but my favourite has always been […]

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My memories of melancholy old Youghal? Like Raleigh & Co we had a whale of a time

The great short story writer William Trevor knew all about exile. His was self-imposed. For the last half century of his life (he died in 2016) he lived in Devon, but his fictional focus stayed firmly on his native Ireland. In 1969 he published a story called Memories of Youghal. It is set in the […]

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Great Brazilian Menu – Caroline is an amazing addition to Manchester scene

This website isn’t given to spoiler alerts. So let’s call it an informed guess that on Caroline Martins’ trio of canapés, pictured above, may feature tonight (Tuesday, February 8) in Great British Menu 2022 as the weeklong North West Heat kicks off. They’ve refreshed (ie purged) the old judges in favour of telegenic Tom Kerridge […]

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Anardana, Asafoetida, Ajwain and Amchoor – which gets the A plus?

I was impressed by the Manchester deli just opened by Lily’s, long time champions of Indian vegetarian food in Ashton-under-Lyne. When I first ate at the original mothership, named after the Sachdev family matriarch, it was very much a case of teeming thalis on formica top tables. Very much a cafe. The new generation have […]

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