Lancashire Black Bomb Samosa
Vermilion
There has been a monumental shift over at Vermilion this week as they’ve unveiled a brand-new menu concept called ‘Vermilion: Awakened’ with 20 dishes designed by Masterchef hero Bobby Geetha. We went down to check it out and it was VERY impressive – most of all were his brilliant Lancashire Black Bomb Samosas – samosas like you’ve never seen or tasted before. Looking a little bit like charcoal briquettes for your BBQ – bite into them and you’re treated to an explosion of melted Shorrocks Lancashire Black Bomb cheese, edamame beans and a spicy sweetcorn filling. Mega.
Deep Fried Cheese & Prosciutto ‘Toastie’
The Pen & Pencil
The reason the word toastie is in little speech bubble thingy’s above is because basically it’s really hard to categorise and describe this dish at The Pen & Pencil – a dish I scoffed in almost Olympic record-beating time this week on my lunch break. I’d drunk one-too-many shandies the night before and the combination of bread, cheese, meat and deep frying was perfect – and the dip on the side – perfect for, well, dipping. Dip, dip, eat, eat, dip, dip, eat, drink. Oh yeah I had a beer with it too.
Bacon & Chorizo Torta
Southside Tequila Joint
A couple of us took a trip down to Withington this week to sample the brand-new Brunch dishes at the rather excellent Southside Tequila Joint. They’ve introduced what is best described as a daytime menu, available from 12pm until 5pm and it’s a winner. Stand out was certainly the Bacon & Chorizo Torta – a Mexican take on the classic bacon butty. There’s crispy bacon, chorizo, refried beans, omelette, mozzarella and cheddar cheese. And there’s even a spicy, smoky dip on the side in which to drench it all in. Make sure you have a Bloody Mary on the side too!
Beef Wellington Burger
Honest Burger
This delightful creation has been made with the help of the brilliant Crafty Cheese Man who has supplied the fantastic Owd Yonner Lancashire cheese to top the whole thing off. What a legend. Now if you’ve got Beef Wellington on the mind (don’t we all?) but you don’t fancy forking out about £60 you’re in luck. Spend £12.50 and get this instead! classic Honest medium rare beef burger, smoked bacon, cheese, béarnaise butter, crispy pastry, bacon gravy, mushroom duxelles, baby spinach and pickles.
Chicken Hanging Kebab
The Oast House Teepee
That’s right, The Oast House Teepee has returned and they’re serving up plenty of these babies. The perfect ‘substantial meal’ if you ask me. Served with seasoned fries, chunky chips or sweet chilli chips, these juicy hanging kebabs are MASSIVE and juicy as. They’re offering 50% off ALL food until the end of October, so I’d be quick with your booking if I was you.
Duck Fried Rice
NAM
A couple of us had a wander over to Cutting Room Square in Ancoats this week after hearing some mega reviews about the new ‘small’ plates at NAM. The incredible Vietnamese Street Food bar and restaurant has been serving up some truly wonderful delights for a couple of years now but has just introduced some brand new dishes. Here’s a very nice picture of the very delicious and VERY SPICY Duck Fried Rice. You neeeeeeed to try it here. You can get 3 plates for £12 – or even better – 5 plates for £18.
Green Pepper Lobster
Tattu
Part of the brand-new winter menu at Tattu, this lobster dish comes with smoked sea salt, jalapeños and crispy shallots and it’s as delicious as it looks. I did let out a little sigh of relief when it arrived pre-chopped and ready to eat (it didn’t last long before it was in my belly). The brand new winter menu from Tattu is everything you’d expect from the guys – artistic, indulgent, colourful and just bloody delicious.
Arancino Spinach
Sicilian NQ
Served with gooey cheese on a bed of sweet pepper puree, The Arancino Spinach comes part of Sicilian NQ’s new lunch deal. It’s cheesy, gooey, melty and rich – plus the spinach makes you feel like you’re getting one of your five a day. If you’re in the mood for some delicious authentic Sicilian food – I mean who isn’t – get yourself over to the Northern Quarter for some proper good Italian goodness and give their new lunch deal a whirl, you won’t be disappointed.
Veggie Elnecot Burger
Elnecot
It’s no secret that we absolutely LOVE the food at Elnecot at Finest, and this absolutely massive Veggie burger from our Ancoats’ favourite means everything and more to me. A huge sloppy Joseph soybean burger takes centre stage topped with braised fable. The burger also has the option to be vegan, swapping out the Brioche bun and removing the cheese.