Reviewing lunch time food and evening dining in Manchester's city centre
Food Shops
Baguette Express, Mosley Street
22 years ago
Meal: Jacket Potato with tuna mayo, Walkers Crisps and a can of Irn-Bru
There has been a lot of fuss in the office the last couple of days over this new found eatery, A big step up from the likes of Subway in terms of quality of food and customer service, with the bonus of a huge menu (not just baguettes!).
In the interests of comparison, I decided to go for the baked potato with tuna, as this is what I ordered recently at a similar style of eatery down the road. I wanted to see how it compared to another local dish as well as how it favoured my own palate.
So the fight is on…. Baguette Express, Mosley Street Vs Giovannis Deli, New York Street
The potato was cooked to perfection, crispy skin… fluffy potato innards with lashings of tuna and mayonnaise. the crisps and drink were from popular well known brands so not much to say on that front. The only problem I can think of was that the tuna mayo tasted like it was missing something… At Giovannis this was mixed with some chopped peppers and onion to add a little extra crunch but this was just plain tuna and mayo.
In terms of price, Baguette Express wins hands down, while I took advantage of a “2 dine for £4.99″ meal deal, the normal deal is a main, snack and drink for £3, so it fits in nicely with the standard £3 meal deal floating around town at the minute. At Giovannis it was £2.50, just for the meal but as I said it did add that little extra which I think is worth the extra price.
I didn’t eat in, but there is ample room if I did, there is the standard stool/table combination by the front window, with a comfortable looking sofa area between that and the counter area, and then a magical spiral stairway up to a mezzanine level which wonders I did not get to see, but the murmur of happy patrons above suggests it was a reasonable place to munch your manc lunch (see what I did there….).
All in all… I really enjoyed this meal and at a very reasonable price, I shall definitely be going again, will I buy the potato again? hmmm not sure, probably not with tuna as it didn’t do it for me, but with a wide range of other toppings available I will probably be getting it at least once more.
Tesco, Market Street, Manchester
02 years ago
by Mister Tum
in Food Shops
£2 Meal Deal – Ploughmans sandwich, Feet & Bunion Walkers crisps + fresh orange
Desperately opting for economy over excellence I found myself succumbing to the towering, evil, earth-dominating behemoth that is the monster named Testico for my daily bread. Looking merely to subsist for a few hours more until the day was done I beseeched the super-powered-market to deliver unto me worldly goods that could sate my ever-growing yearning for nutrition. Well, barely nutrition to be honest, just something, anything, to beat the hunger from my belly.
So approaching the dubiously priced £2 Tesco meal deal with the appropriate amount of trepidation I opened my horribly familiar plastic triangle packet. You might have already spotted my first error: cheese and onion crisps with cheese sandwiches? Trust me, this is as bad in execution as it is in theory.
The Tesco Mind-Wombles emerged upon my first mouthful to discreetly remove all my memories of palette and taste and replace them with a meaningless sliver of mushy, vague recollections of food ingestion that can only be equated in some distant and weird way to the insipidness of the colour grey.
Apparently every 10 pence you spend in the UK goes into Tesco’s pockets already, so whether you want to submit to the blue and red gigantic fiend because “every little helps <you to lose your soul>”, or whether you desperately rage against the abyssal black hordes by purchasing your nourishment elsewhere, either way you, me, everybody, we’re all still little Tesco bitches.
Boots, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
42 years ago
by The Hobbit
in Food Shops
Meal: Boots Meal Deal, Chicken Sandwiches, Walkers Max Chargrilled Steak Crisps and a Strawberry and Banana Innocent Smoothie
I have been putting off reviewing a Boots Meal Deal for some time now, because I find it very hard to force myself to have a boring meal, Boots meal deals are generally not bad, but they are not that good either, today I decided to take one for the team.
Having walked into the store with and air of disappointment already hanging over me like a cloud, my mood soon brightened when, to my surprise many of sandwiches were ‘Triples’, with different fillings in each, WAHOO.
Feeling clucky I went with the chicken triple. The bacon sandwich was edible but the bacon was a combination of over crispified in parts with a mild front of mayo sogginess in majority of other areas, disappointing overall. The salad and chicken sandwich was better, all the salad filling was fresh and tasty but it seems the lettuce was seasoned with a essence of soil, again letting down the sandwich.
Spotting the cloud of disappointment reappearing on the horizon I started on the final chicken and stuffing sandwich and I have to say the cloud quickly dispersed. The chicken was perfectly cooked and the stuffing was as near perfection as you will get on a sandwich from a shop, only getting better if you raid the fridge on a boxing day morning for a leftover breakfast (don’t shake your head, we have all done it).
Overall the sandwiches were respectable, the chicken was excellent, only some of the ingredients of the meal let it down, with the size innocent smoothie working against the overall rating, luckily the crisps counter acted this.
Go, Arndale Centre, Manchester
02 years ago
by The Hobbit
in Food Shops
Meal: Large Beef Baguette, with Cheese and Salad.
Having become fed up with the so called “quality baguette’s” from other unnamed establishments (you know who you are), I decided to give “Go” a go (wake me up before you go go). They offer a large option for their baguette’s which is right up my street; combined with the “build your own” ethos I was anticipating a high standard of sandwich.
I decided to give the beef a try. In my opinion choosing a beef based meal at these types of places sorts the men out from the boys (or cow’s from the calves). It was surprisingly tender and easy to chew for a cold piece of beef, but lacked a bit of taste for my palette, a pinch of salt could have worked wonders. The baguette itself was excellent, crusty but not too much to give you jaw ache and tasted like proper bread (instead of drying wall paper paste like other places), the salad was also nice and fresh.
The decor was quite funky and the place seemed to be kept very clean and tidy, it could have been a cool little place to eat lunch. Sadly it is situated on one of the main walk ways of the Arndale Centre, with some of the tables very exposed. With all the troglodytes that amble through dragging their knuckles, this could certainly put you off the quality food on offer; I recommend the take out option.
I would definitely recommend Go for the quality and cost compared to other places, sadly the location isn’t ideal, I will be going back to try one of their pizza’s.
Marks & Spencer, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
32 years ago
by Mister Tum
in Food Shops
Ploughmans triangle sandwich £2.15
Continuing my senseless pursuit of high class grub-joints in Manchester, I found myself inexplicably browsing the banal triangle sandwich section of Marks & Sparks with the masochistic listlessness of the lost, lovelorn, local working schlep. Still full from a home-made breakfast fry-up I opted for something sacrilegiously meatless and got in on the Ploughmans action. And boy was I whelmed. Neither underwhelmed, nor overwhelmed, just well and truly, utterly whelmed. And the whelming didn’t stop from first mouthful to the last. So uninteresting and lacklustre was the flavour that my mind dropped through some long, dark abysses, far from the light of flavour and zest down into cavernous realms of downright palpable ennui.
What unknown mystical strength brought me through to the end of this arduously monotonous chewing exercise I may never learn, suffice to say that the soul-sapping mediocrity of the experience could only truly by whelmed further (either underwhelmed or overwhelmed) by a stint of self-abusive shelf-gawking down at Aldi. In summary then, as they say on the internet: meh.
This isn’t just food – food it just isn’t.
Bagel Nash, Arndale Centre, Manchester city centre
32 years ago
by Mister Tum
in Food Shops
Chicken bacon cheese tomato club Panini £3.50
Overcoming my predilection for shunning fooderies with pretentious and/or irksome monikers I staggered into Bagel bloody Nash for a baked buggering potato, only to discover that they were off the menu. Settling on the Chicken bacon cheese tomato club Panini thing I sat and waited the thirty or so seconds to be served and was pleased to see they grilled it right there and then. Essentially comfort food with ingredients you wouldn’t turn away on a windy Manchester day this Panini ticked a bunch of hot food boxes and provided much-needed sustenance to a more than acceptable level. Sliced in twain twixt centre line, this cocksure little bagel-usurper proved doubly reassuring as one half alone would simply be criminally unfulfilling. Two halves made whole however equals wholesome and hearty fare which sates that unappeasable monster called hunger for at least another hour or two. Pricey but nicey.
Bagel Nosh Panini – way tastier than the sticker albums.
Prêt a Manger, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
02 years ago
by Mister Tum
in Food Shops
Meatball wrap £3.50
I always avoided Prêt a Manger, not just because of the poncy name or the umlaut . . . Well, yeah, actually it’s probably because of the poncy name and umlaut that I always avoided Prêt a Manger. Anyway, not one to conform to stereotypical ideas about places before trying them I decided . . . Well, actually, I often conform to stereotypical ideas about places before trying them. And Prêt a Manger is no exception. Actually, you know, Prêt a Manger IS the exception because at least this time I overcame my suspicions about the dubious price to quantity ratio of said eatery and forked out my hard-earned moolah for the hot meatball wrap. Rapt by the paltry mass of the diminutive wrap I gingerly unwrapped the paper wrap around the bread wrap (the bread and paper wraps being surprisingly hard to distinguish).
Finally gorging on the succulent meatballs I was happily taken aback by the fresh, herb-filled, tasty treat. Great for cold weather, but too trivial to count for an entire meal in itself, two of these bad boys would go some way towards filling a grown man. One alone would only be sufficient if you were undergoing the strenuous torture of one of these ‘diet’ things that people keep talking about. But if you’re ‘dieting’ you might as well kill yourself anyway, right?
Prêt a Manger? Prêt a Muncher morelike . . .
Philpotts, King Street, Manchester
02 years ago
Meal: Cumberland Sausage & Egg on Brown Toast
As a matter of principle I would normally avoid Philpotts, they rob you blind for the sandwiches, the till-tender should be wearing a mask pointing a gun at you whilst you are paying. On this occasion, with my cupboards bare and a case of the early morning munchies I decided to give Philpotts a try (it is in the same building I work in after all so convenience was key).
After three minutes of walking round in a daze trying to find the tiny breakfast menu I finally succeeded in locating it and was happy with the choices on offer. I decided to plump for the Cumberland sausage and egg on brown toast (Healthy option!). Impressed that they actually cooked everything apart from the sausages there and then.
The breakfast was excellent, the bread was nicely toasted, eggs cooked to perfection with plenty of brown sauce. The only thing let that the meal down was the Cumberland sausages (which I think were just regular sausages) that were over cooked and had been sat out under the heat lamps too long.
This particular Philpotts was a nice place to eat the meal, quiet and calm atmosphere and the staff were helpful enough.
Overall there are other places that do better breakfast meals for the price, but it has changed my opinion of Philpotts slightly. The meal was very satisfactory for the price.
Manchester Real Food Market, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
02 years ago
by Mister Tum
in Food Shops
Aberdeen Angus Burger £3.50.
Every 2nd & 4th weekend on Friday & Saturday from 10am – 5.30pm the magical market people appear in Piccadilly Gardens and bring wonderful, mystical, over-priced treats from their curious world on the other side of the wardrobe.
Finally succumbing to the wonderful aromas emanating from the smoky grills and driven by an insatiable desire to avoid the supermarkets, this reviewer caved in and opted for the aforementioned Angus burger. With cheese at an extra 50p. Don’t need the cheese. And onions for free. Actively avoid the onions I’d say, they became pigeon bait about three mouthfuls in.
Slippery, greasy, and so distinctly far in taste from the aromatic olfactory experience of the meaty market, this meal (/snack if you’re really hungry) was vaguely satisfying on a meat-meet-belly level but ultimately left me wanting. Wanting to have had something healthier instead. Burger King Whopperesque in value but sans the King’s laughable yet earnest hints at salad, the Market Angus Burger is a passing treat that had passed me by previously, and that in future I will continue to pass, and will thusly remain – after I have passed it – sadly, in the past.
In summary then: ‘Pass’. (As in ‘Mastermind’, rather than say ‘driving test’.)
Giovannis Deli, New York Street, Manchester
02 years ago
Meal: Hot Big Beef Panini (Beef, mushrooms and cheese)
I expectted a lot from this meal and ordered with anticipation and excitement, oh how wrong I was. Although the panini was hot and of a substantial size to quench your appetite for the afternoon, the beef was over cooked and had become rubbery making it hard to chew. The cheese and mushrooms were a nice touch which gave the meal added taste if a little greasy.
The service was good and the staff were pleasant enough. You can see the food being prepared which is always a thumbs up in my book and the surrounding are nice if you would like to eat in.
I would recommeded a hot panini from Giovannis, due to the size and variety, but stay clear of the beef!
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