Exchange Lounge, Manchester

Evening all. I've been gallivanting again. I found Exchange Lounge through Instagram last week, one minute I'm admiring their pies, then a few days later I was there! Funny one this. So it's part of the Novotel, and is accessible from their lobby, but if you access it through the Exchange front door, you may never even know it's part of a hotel.

I've stayed at some really swanky hotels where they haven't got this balance right. You know the type, bars that feel like an extension of reception, folk milling about with luggage and suit carriers, and fellas drinking a single malt on their own to numb the pain of another mundane night away with work. You can spot them a mile off.

Exchange is a bit different. Whilst it's still got the feel of a restaurant, there are also great people watching spots by the window on tall stools, a comfy zone to sit and chill with a drink, a well stocked bar with friendly staff, and large screens that show the news and sport.

We had a nice little mix of house cocktails and beers, with highlights being the spicy 'dark and stormy', and a rather unusual ABC breakfast stout, which had a little hit of coffee, without being treacle thick like a standard stout.

Croquette of the week - cheese and chorizo: When is deep fried cheese and chorizo ever bad? I'd advise letting them cool before shoving them in your mouth, but my own gluttony aside, these were really rather good. Quite a large portion for a starter, but you'll never hear me complain about too much food.

Fish Taco: Not what I expected, but a lovely spiced fish on a bed of fresh, crunchy salad.
'The Mill' burger - double patty with cheese, bacon and gherkins: I'm not keen on ordering burgers outside of 'proper burger joints' for fear of a soul-less, tasteless, overdone, dry patty served in a barm* (*bap/batch/roll/flour cake - delete as appropriate). Simplicity won the day here. No fuss, but the basics done well. Extra points for the big pickle.
10oz rib eye steak with skinny fries and garlic butter: The type that comes with little charred bits... I have to say, despite this being a sniff overcooked, this is one of the best steaks I've had in a pub style setting. The flavour on the outside from the grill was fantastic. Well worth £19.

Bread and butter putting with custard: I love a good pudding, especially with custard. Best bit about this dessert was the abundant demerara sugar baked onto the top of the pudding for a sweet crunch. It could have done with being a little warmer, but I was still a big fan of this.
Trio of crème brûlée - coffee, chocolate and vanilla with shortbread fingers: Although these little pots are only small, there's plenty of brûlée here. I struggle with this dessert as I find it a bit too smooth and samey, so three different flavours were a nice touch

As we sat and scoffed this lovely food, we chatted about when and why you might visit Exchange Lounge, as it's not immediately clear. It's near the end of Portland Street which is close to Oxford Road, so I'd say it's a good, slightly quieter venue for pre theatre/gig food and drinks. If you're not eating, that's fine as there's a comfortable bar area too. Similarly, it's a decent place to go and watch whatever sport is on too, owing to the large screens which had the cricket on whilst we're there, although this is not at an offensive volume.

I'm not sure what I was expecting of Exchange, I just know that the food was a pleasant surprise, the staff were friendly, they took time to talk to us despite clearly being rushed off their feet, and the atmosphere was nice and calm. Very enjoyable indeed!

Disclaimer: I was invited to the restaurant to complete an honest review. I was under no obligation to say nice things!

Filthy Cow, Manchester

I love burgers. They are one of the things that bring little pieces of joy to my life. Granted, I'm generally rubbish at finishing a full one and I usually end up wearing them. Little disappoints me more than a terrible burger. Luckily for me, Manchester is still in the swing of a full on burger takeover. Whilst some have been critical of the ever expanding scene, I am quite happy to celebrate it in all its beefy glory.

Burger feet

I'm not into the silly ones (I'm looking at you doughnut burger), and I can take or leave the witty names; but I do love a meaty, pink burger that oozes juice down my fingers. I even have burger trainers. Loser.

I love getting our friends' perspectives on new restaurants. I dread to think how many burgers I have eaten in different cities around the world... I home in on them like some sort of sniffer dog. I sometimes worry that my love for burgers makes me a little biased when sampling new ones, so it's always good to get fresh tastebuds in on the game. So to the newest calf on the block, Filthy Cow.

We were greeted by a delightful blonde lady who suggested that we may want to make ourselves at home in the nice booth upstairs (complete with neon pink S&M cow) and quickly ran through the ordering process. The rest of the decor can only be described as bovine themed cheekiness, and we did wonder how long it's going to take for someone to get stuck in those handcuffs... I'm just glad it wasn't one of my lot... My money's on two weeks, max.

It's kind of a fast food vibe similar to Five Guys. You place your order downstairs at the counter, but are given a little buzzer which informs you when your food is ready. It was fairly quiet when we went so they brought ours up for us. They serve half decent booze too. Although the choice is limited, what they do have is not bad at all. The boys had the Pale Ale from Runaway Brewery, and us ladies had a few Pinot Grigios. The only odd thing? They came served in a tumbler - we weren't sure how we felt about this, but drank them all the same!

Although the food arrives wrapped in waxed paper on a tray, the service is attentive and they do provide decent disposable cutlery for folk who fear picking up a burger like my homie Lee...

We ordered a Filthy Cheese, which is a standard burger rammed with beef, salad, 'filthy' sauce and cheese, two Filthy Beasts (one plain for my salad hating husband) which is basically the same as the cheese burger but with bacon, and one of the specials, which was a pork and chorizo version of the Beast. We also sampled the fries, onion rings and coleslaw.

The burgers needed that reassuring squeeze to flatten them into an edible state, but were not so tall that this became mission impossible. At £7.50 the Beast is an absolute bargain. Remember when Burger King's Bacon Double Cheeseburgers were actually good (or you were at least too young to know better)? It took me back to my days of pink hair and piercings when these were my staple diet because my boyfriend worked there. Either way, these burgers are a little piece of happiness in my humble opinion.

The sides are no afterthought either. The chips were crispy and deliciously salty, the onion rings were firm on the outside and soft on the inside (armadillo) and the coleslaw was crunchy without so much onion that you would knock your friends over with the potency. For the first time in ages I ate everything in front of me. Gone. I was pretty proud and disgusted with myself, all in one go.

Desserts are simple yet effective. Our options were a brownie or a choice of Ginger's Comfort Emporium ice creams (go and check her out in Affleck's Palace). I'm a big fan of that Ginger one, so opted for the ice cream. Poor Phil was dying to try the salted caramel and peanut butter milkshake, but they didn't have enough of the ice cream left - bad times. Who ate all the ice cream dammit?

I tried all three that we ordered - research. I think my own was my favourite though; the simple golden syrup. There's no milk powder, fillers or muck in these pots of delight.

I'd had a little Twitter chat with these guys prior to our visit, so had already warmed to them. However, I didn't expect to love it quite so much. They might be a bit cheeky, but in reality the staff were very sweet, and the food was cracking. Less than a tenner for a proper burger and fries in the city centre is not half bad. We weren't mad keen on having to order downstairs at first, and there were lots of suggestions around tweeting orders to the kitchen etc, but you know what? It just works for them. Plus, we sent the boys down to order so it didn't affect us...

Yes it's another burger gaff. Owner Jordan's done her homework and is keeping it simple. If you want some fancy shmancy, mile high, cleverly concocted recipe, stick with the likes of Almost Famous and Solita as they have their own place in the Manchester burger scene. Fancy a quick bite without breaking the bank? Head to Filthy Cow.


Like burgers as much as I do? Check out my other burger posts...

 

The Aspinall Arms, Clitheroe

Apparently the Queen wants to retire to the Ribble Valley - who can blame her? It's a beautiful area of the country, with rolling hills, babbling brooks, Roman ruins and some of the best pubs and restaurants in the country. I'm convinced that a pretty view makes the food taste better too. 

The Aspinall Arms in Mitton near Clitheroe used to be a pub we drove past on our way to The Three Fishes. When it was suggested we take a trip, I remembered it being in Mitton, but that was about it. About seven years ago we had just discovered Nigel Haworth's Ribble Valley Inns, and thought no-one would ever come close to their amazing home cooked pub food. Then folk started to considerably up their game. We no longer had to drive for an hour to get food worthy of the Good Food Guide; the Hearth of the Ram and Eagle and Child opened in Ramsbottom, and Manchester got the belly warming Beef and Pudding. The new breed of gastropub have been popping up everywhere ever since. This is great news for greedy folk like me, because there are more places to sample. 

The modern 'pub grub' establishment is a far cry from the wildly patterned carpeted, smoky kind of gaff serving up scampi and chicken in a basket, whilst the the football on the telly talks to itself in the background. These days it's all about roaring fires in the winter, al fresco dining in the summer, and more often than not, chalk paint in duck egg blue.

After extensive renovation in 2014, The Aspinall Arms is a real contender in the area. Some of our family live nearby, and were excited to take us there to try it for ourselves. We went on a Saturday evening (post cake club might I add...), when it was just starting to get busy. I needed something savoury more than I needed oxygen (slight exaggeration - granted). 

We had a good look at the cask selection whilst we waited for the rest of our party to arrive, which included a healthy selection of local breweries such as Hawkshead, and hometown favourite, Bank Top. By the time we sat down, I was absolutely ravenous, but luckily our order was taken pretty sharpish and I avoided nibbling on a beermat.

8oz steak burger topped with grilled bacon and Cheddar, served with coleslaw and chips: I'm always a bit dubious about ordering burgers from places like this. It generally goes one of two ways with little in between. It was truly scrumptious. Just the right ratio of toppings to burger, crisp home made chips and a dollop of coleslaw. The perfect savoury antidote to an afternoon laced with sugar.

Braised shoulder of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes, green beans and lamb jus: A little more refined than my oozing burger. This rich slow cooked lamb fell off the bone. I'm presuming my husband would have preferred it with chips though, as he kindly liberated some of mine...

Other members of the party had the humongous fish and chips, the venison and the crispy beef salad. Turns out the haddock was the winner amongst the group.

Crème brûlée with shortbread biscuit: I was way too full for a dessert (clearly sabotaged by cake club gluttony), but I had to get a snap of this impressive dessert.

A quick cuppa was required to revive several flagging diners, who were already rather wriggly indeed. The shortbread biscuit definitely helped...

We all really enjoyed our trip to The Aspinall Arms. The service was attentive, the food was warming and the ambience was restorative. The Three Fishes have some serious competition from their new glam neighbours.

Iron Maiden Trooper Beer Bundt Cake

So my good friends Sass and Mark are getting hitched. This is wonderful news for two reasons, the first being that they are blissfully happy, the second that their wedding is going to be amazing... They share our love of metal which means there will be no Agadoo, a veto on sugar coated pop and a plethora of storming tunes throughout the day.

There was only one option when making a cake for our wedding planning party; a beer bundt using Robinson's Iron Maiden beer, Trooper. Beer works wonderfully in bundts. You get a nice close crumb that is moist despite the fact it's reassuringly heavy. You'll get a pretty special sugar crust too. As with any beer cake, it's worth reading a little bit about the hops that go into them when choosing complimentary flavours. This one uses Bobec, Goldings and Cascade, so has a slightly lemony taste to it.

Ingredients

• 225g unsalted butter
• 100g of vegetable fat 
• 650g golden caster sugar
• 6 medium eggs
• 450g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 2 tsp lemon extract
• 250ml Trooper beer
• 500g icing sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon

Method

1. Grease and flour a regular sized bundt tin (2.4l, 10 cup, 10 inch).
2. Soften the butter and vegetable fat and then cream in the sugar in stages.
3. Add the eggs one at a time on a slow setting.
4. Add all the remaining dry ingredients to a large bowl.
5. Add the lemon extract to the beer.
6. Sift in 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by 1/2 of the liquid. Repeat until all the flour and liquid is used up. Fold it in gently...
7. Tip: at this stage it will look a right cock up. Breathe... it will all magically work when whizzed up.
8. Give the whole thing a quick mix for about 10 seconds or until well combined. It will no longer look rank.
9. Spoon the mix into the prepared tin and give it a good whack on the worktop. Because the cake has fizzy stuff in, it will hold a lot of air bubbles. Too many may mean the tin design is lost.
10. Bake at gas 3/160 C for about 2 hours. Just turn it after about an hour and a half.
11. It should be shrinking from the sides and a skewer should come out clean.
12. Let it cool in the tin for ten minutes then turn it out. 
13. Allow to cool fully before icing. 
14. To make the topping, add the lemon juice to the icing sugar, and enough water to make a runny icing. Tip it over like you're due down the aisle in five minutes.

Bloggers: Please respect the fact I am sharing my own ideas and recipe. Blood, sweat and many tears have gone into getting this right, so you may enjoy a perfect bundt. If you wish to re-blog a recipe from these variations, please credit my blog and link to this original post rather than pasting the recipe on your own page. 

Please see my Creative Commons Copyright information for more details. Thank you.

El Capo, Manchester

I've been to El Capo three times in four weeks. You would think that I'd have lots of photos... Wrong. I had two incidents. 

1. I upgraded my phone on a whim and lost loads of bloody photos. Foolish.
2. I went on the night of the Slipknot and Korn gig. Photos - minimal, excitement - off the scale. Kiboshed.

Which brings me to visit number three. I got a grip, most of my act together and more importantly, some half decent photos. It is quite dark in there, so you may have to forgive me for not taking the clearest of pics!

El Capo is at the Piccadilly end of the Northern Quarter, up near Port Street Beer House. There's a cosy bar area on the ground floor, and the cantina downstairs, which feels a bit more restauranty. We've always opted for the bar. The walls are covered in Day of the Dead style art, which impressively even stretched to our server's tattoos! Dedication.

Needless to say we have sampled a number of their cocktails, tequilas and beers over the course of the visits, all of which have been amazing, however there were some little belters.

Underneath your Cloves - clove vodka, gomme, egg white and raspberries: Nice little nod to the stunner that is Shakira. Come on, clove vodka and egg whites? It's practically a cake. This is sweet and fruity but as pretty as its namesake. Who doesn't love a cocktail served with flowers?

Clockwise from top left...

• Melancholy Holiday -  No.3 gin, melon briotett, lemon juice, honey and sage, peach bitters
• Alahambra beer
• Vodka Long and fruity - Stoli citros, triple sec briottet, strawberry purée, lemon juice, vanilla prosecco
• Pistonhead beer
• Tommy on Top - Sauza tequila, agave foam, lime sherbet
• Many types of tequila...

There were others. However, I'll be honest with you. I have no idea what they were. Could have been anything. All I do know is that they induced a good time before the gig.

Although the drinks are pretty special, the food is equally brilliant. El Capo has a relaxed feel about the place. I'd generally recommend ordering some nachos whilst you peruse the menu, because it's going to take you at least twenty minutes to get through them!

Macho Nachos - shredded tender pork Colombian chicken: We've also had these with the pulled pork. Twice. I think they have to be my favourite nachos in Manchester. Also, they are the home made type rather than something that resembles a bag of Doritos from Tesco. There is one thing that could make them better... nacho cheese. I'm a total sucker for that yellow stuff.

Clockwise...
Chilli fries - topped with chilli con carne: Decent skin on fries with enough salt to make you consider whether they have been sprinkled with crack. Needless to say, quite moreish.
Cartel pollo - Baked chicken, garlic, onion puree, coconut milk and coriander: Packed full of marinaded flavour and smelled utterly divine.
Almojabanas - Puerto rican cheese and chilli fritters: I'm just angry that I didn't eat more of these. I'd forgotten how good they were until I saw this picture. Oh well, I'll have to go back.

Big cahones - sweet spiced meat balls, habanero chilli tomato sauce: I didn't even rearrange that chilli... Cheeky. These are the most wonderfully dense, cinnamon laced balls of meat ever. Big fans of big cahones.

Burrito grande - Soft our tortillas filled with black beans, Mexican spiced rice, guacamole, shredded carne asada: This is one of my favourite things on the El Capo menu. I love a good burrito. I know something's good when I get that rage that can only come with reminiscing about how good it was, and then remembering that I don't have it in front of me now. That rage is very much present today.

Los pollos El Capo buena vista - lime, mango puree, coriander: God these make a mess. It's because there is so much sauce on them though! Please don't think this is a negative, I'm an advocate of wearing your food. In the right setting. It seemed commonplace here. We were also told a story about 'wing night', where the floor ends up covered in sauce. Sounds a bit like a foam party, but without the scallies and pounding dance music. Not that I'd know. Honestly...

But what if I want wings?!

Slow low and slow - slow fried chorizo and habanero chillies: Do not - I repeat, do not think you're hard and bite a chunk of scotch bonnet before your chorizo. Unless of course you don't mind the end of your tongue being numb for about ten minutes. My pal Kev would be all over that red fella. You have to get this. I think we've had them every time!

With so much on offer in Manchester, I think it speaks volumes that we've been here so many times in such a short period. There's nothing fancy about the food, but it's well executed, the flavours are big, and the staff are friendly. I can see El Capo being a regular haunt.

The Botanist, Manchester

So Living Ventures are taking over the world. Their empire building regime is going great guns, throwing millions of pounds at Manchester's unloved buildings and pulling in crowds of the beautiful people. They already own half of Spinningfields, with The Oast House, Australasia, Grand Pacific, Manchester House, Artisan and the Alchemist all coming under Tim Bacon's kingdom. 

The Botanist is already an established brand in footballers' playground Alderley Edge, so I was interested to see how this would work in the already saturated 'über-cool' Manchester bar scene. We had a quick peep at the menu before we went, which looked very similar to its sister, The Oast House. The hanging kebabs are there, as are those amazing fries. 

We walked through the packed bar and were shown to a much calmer dining room which had a bit of 'established greenhouse' feel about it. Whilst my sister-in-law was busy coveting the chairs, I was already complaining about the lack of natural light. Don't get me wrong, it was very cosy, just a nightmare for a snap happy food blogger. Therefore I apologise for the quality of the snaps, but I did not want to come over all 'food-twitcher' and ruin the experience for every bugger else.

My husband was initially disappointed by the absence of an online beer menu (concerns for lack of decent beer were raised...), only for us to find this beautifully illustrated booklet on the table.

Starters are a 'picky finger food' type of affair.  We sampled the hot wings, houmous and Welsh rarebit fondue. The wings came in a cute little picnic basket, and both the houmous and fondue arrived with a mixture of home baked breads and raw vegetables. My only complaint was that I ran out of cheese before I finished the mountain of dip-able items.

Steak and ale pie with gravy, mushy peas, and chips: No messing about. Decent pastry, tender beef inside in a thick, ale rich gravy.

Chicken and mushroom pie with mushy peas, gravy and mash: Another pie, another way. Again, three cheers for the crisp pastry, and a creamy chicken filling.

Lamb burger with salsa, lettuce, gherkin, tomato, and seasoned fries: We actually sampled both the beef and lamb burgers, a bit by accident. My brother and I both ordered the beef one with cheese, but we got one of each. Our waitress apologised profusely but I really wasn't too worried and offered to keep the one that came. I am so glad I did! The beef version is good, but I think I preferred the lamb. As a goodwill gesture the manager gave us a round of free drinks. Major brownie points for good service.

We probably should not have entertained the idea of dessert. I've lost my eating mojo a bit recently, yet still thought it wise to attempt to conquer a sticky toffee pudding. Foolish. Paddy and Chris both had the hot chocolate fudge cake, whilst Jenny decided on a lighter option of peach melba sundae. Yeah, right. Look at that mother!

We really enjoyed our first trip to The Botanist. It does feel very much like an Oast House experience, only it isn't as crowded, or as hot. The market may be saturated with 'down with the kids' restaurant bars, but there are a hell of a lot of punters in Manchester, and whilst there is demand Tim Bacon will add to his fortune. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see a few more Living Ventures venues popping up in the city centre in the next twelve months.

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