Food and Drink Round-up 02/10/2008

Graham S says..“ I love Mr Thymus. He is infinite in flavour but so very gentle too.He is sweetbread from heaven, a kiss in the tastbuds. Let me bathe in sweetbreads and yodel like a mad cow on an Alpine pasture. YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODELAAAAAAYAYAAAAAAAA. Can I have a ticket now?”

Karen H says..“ I say trotters. I would like to pave my floor like parquet with trotters but only after I've gobbled the gristle, sucked out the marrow and tongued free the meat. Surely those tickets are mine. PS I feel grubby now.”

Karen H says..“ I say trotters. I would like to pave my floor like parquet with trotters but only after I've gobbled the gristle, sucked out the marrow and tongued free the meat. Surely those tickets are mine. PS I feel grubby now.”

Anonymous says..“ Off the offal topic, but I hear Johnny Bramwell's doing a solo gig at the tipi tomorrow night...”

Christina says..“ Cos chitterlings n chips always cheers me up a treat!”

TLH says..“ Because everyone knows the tale that eating nose to tail makes for an offally good meal.”

Michele H says..“ Don't vent your spleen over the cost of meat these days. Why make a hash of expensive cuts? Use your brains and fill your belly for next to nothing. Knuckle down in the kitchen and stuff your cheeks,tantalise your tongue and gladden your heart with trotters, tripe and tail. God only nose your liver and kidneys will thank you for it and you can keep you shanks lean afterwards with a brisket walk around our fine city. Hare Hare!”

Stephanie says..“ I saw the thread about Gordo and Schofield's apology and assumed it must hav ebeen something to do with the Ithaca 'free meal' debacle. Apparently not. My other half and I attended Ithaca at 7.30pm on Monday evening with high expectations. We left at 9.00pm with empty stomachs, and headed in the direction of the Grill on the Alley, where we were given a warm welcome and a great meal at a reasonable price. To say we were disappointed by Ithaca is an understatement. We started the evening feeling lucky to have been invited to participate in the Man Con offer. We were undeterred by the news upon our arrival that we would have to wait an hour for our table. We each had an overpriced, flat G&T in the 2nd floor bar and set about the business of waiting. Yes, the décor is fabulous, but by 8.30 we had finished admiring the glitter and I went in search of the Maitre D'. I was given the brush-off and told that they were having a 'crazy night' because Manchester Confidential had overbooked. 180 diners had apparently turned up, whereas they have capacity for 68. I was told that she would come and find me after the manager had been consulted. 15 minutes later, still no news, and we were ready to eat the disco balls. A very helpful member of the bar staff went to investigate on our behalf. A further 15 minutes later and we had had enough. As we were leaving, we bumped into the bar tender, who seemed rather embarrassed to confirm that, whilst a table was now available, the gas had gone off half an hour beforehand and the kitchen were unable to produce any food. We told that our booking would be honoured on another occasion. So tell me, Manchester Confidential - is this really a taster of the benefits I could expect when your privilege card launches? I'm afraid you're not really selling it to me so far.”

QQ says..“ So, why i believe in offal power. Firstly offal unlike prime cuts of meats can be cooked with a dozen different ways, it can be steamed,boiled, used in a soup, stuffed or be part of a stuffing, pan fried or deep fried, roasted, stewed, stir fried, cured or processed. Secondly, offal can give you different tasting sensations, offal can be crispy, soft, creamy, textured, fatty or lean and most of all it can give you an umami taste. Thirdly, offal is never boring, you can choose from ears, trotters, kidneys, hearts, intestines, heads, sweetbreads, livers, intestines, cheeks and many more. Finally, i believe in the power of offal because as the Italians say it is the fifth quarter of the meat (quinto quattro), offal has helped many poor and working class families to survive and it has also showm the way into ethical and sustainable meat production and consumption. Meat is more than just prime cuts. ”

nanu says..“ Taking the beast's tongue in my mouth, I writhed in ecstasy. The Ox had kindly given its life so that I may enjoy his tastiest of parts, and I was going to enjoy it to its full capacity, only taking in a little at a time so as to roll the flesh over my own tongue, so as to savour its salty hit. This truely was a passion not shared by many people, but it was my passion.”

johnthebrief says..“ I ate at St John a couple of weeks ago and the experience was not to be forgotten! Roast marrow in particular was just awesome.”

johnthebrief says..“ I ate at St John a couple of weeks ago and the experience was not to be forgotten! Roast marrow in particular was just awesome.”

Avo says..“ johnthebrief! Were you at NatWest drawing out cash on Spring Gardens at lunchtime today?”

Laura says..“ Following on from Stephanie's rant, I too had booked a table at Ithaca for Tuesday lunch (30 Sep) as part of the ManCon offer, only to receive a call from Ithaca on Monday night asking if I minded if they rearranged my booking for another time. I said ok and was told I would get a call back to confirm on Tuesday morning. I'm still waiting...”

chrissie says..“ I had booked through this offer for tomorrow ( 3rd Oct) I recieved an e-mail late on Wednesday apologising for the booking error and explaining that they( Man Con) would be in touch to arrange another date. A very nice girl contacted me last night to confirm my booking for tomorrow. So Laura and Stephanie worry not, your turn will come. I just hope the food is worth the wait !! ”

rick says..“ The Chop houses used to do good offal dishes”

mardyarse says..“ Sorry to butt in here. What's happened to the rant facility on the San Carlo recipe page? Someone touch a nerve? So much for impartiality”

Bertie says..“ Apparently The Modern/Arbutus gig is off. Though, to continue on the offally trail, they do have a recipe involving lambs' tongue.”

Billy Jordan says..“ when Sky tv first hit the air, there used to be a French chef who could cook ANYTHING! He had a very old receipe for pigs trotters. I bought the ingredients, followed the instructions to the letter and cooked with inspiration. Pigs trotters stuffed with wild mushrooms,marrow,onions,leeks and black truffle. This was wrapped in cling film, left in the fridge for three hours and then gently roasted in the oven on 180' in demi-sal butter. It was served with seasonal vegatables and tasted like ****.”

johnthebrief says..“ Avo - yes that was me!”

Anonymous says..“ cos its 'offally' good! Sorry that was terrible.....”

Anonymous says..“ chrissie you must be one of the lucky ones we were turned away on Monday and have heard nothing since! ”

Anonymous says..“ with regards to the Ithaca situation - does anyone know when we're likely to hear anything? I'm sure the email said they'd be in touch before the end of the week.”

The Bear says..“ Having met the nose to tail master himself at a dinner in Greenwich, I was persuaded by his Boltonian mother to partake in the many culinary pleasures afforded by his two restaurants. 'Tis in truth a sinful waste to strip fine ribs of their meat without harvesting their succulent marrow. Equally, what pleasure is there in a woodcock presented without its entrails and head, denying one of the full benefits of its last meal and the glutinous glory of its brains, revealed by the rending of the beak? I can imagine no greater pleasure than for the unexportable to be exported from Smithfield and Spitalfields in the person of a true master of gastronomy and sustainable dining.”

sunnyside says..“ In regards to Ithaca, I was called today to reschedule, so I'm really looking forward to the meal. They are going through everyone who entered so she mentioned everyone will be contacted to be rescheduled. I'm sure it's a big job! Have patience people, at the end of the day it's a free meal and no doubt worth the wait!”

offal poetry says..“ There’s nowt awful about offal, its good food full of taste. Forget unlawful waffle, about it being mere waste. Trotters and pigs feet, tripe and onions in milk. Fine cuts of meat cannot touch this pure silk. Then there’s cow heel, sheep brains are a must. Tongue in jelly congeal, oxtail stew with a crust. Black pudding for breakfast, not forgetting sweetbreads. A fine offal cast, starting to turn heads. Kidney, gizzard, liver, heart and there’s lamb fries. Now where should we start? Although the latter I despise!”

Anonymous says..“ went to the food and drink festival this weekend. thought it was crap. trafford one was far better. spinningfields has no soul and is too isolated for visitors to manchester. ”

Chick says..“ The worst possible location for the MFDF in my opinion. If you can battle your way through the dust, debris and noise from the building work going on, you will be sorely disappointed at what you find. Mainly chain and fast-food restaurants showing an nowhere to actually sit down to eat or drink. Spinning Fields is one of the main sponsors of the event so I assume that one of the criteria for sponsorship was holding the festival there. Either that or MCR City Council, another main sponsor, came up with the idea in order to encourage more people in to Spinning Fields - if so, it appears to have been as successful as the tacky 'sticky note' campaign. Dreadful. ”

Anonymous says..“ went sunday afternoon-pretty nice day for October. Was only about 50 people milling about at 3pm. Glad we said no to a stall now-big expense with no return!! ”

mark m says..“ Take a look at the glorious things, that have fallen from grace from a butcher's board. Juicy kidneys just hanker for the succulent surprise of cream and spice, liver urges you to coat it in pepper and sear it hot. Sweetbreads and brain fried crisp in flour are sheer decadence, whilst the dainty explosion of spice in Moroccan lambs' fries defy description. Whilst we think we are eating fine food by eating 'prime cuts', the modern western way of eating misses so much enjoyment to be had from an animal. Slurping the dripping unctiousness from a trotter is one of lifes true pleasures. Taking the time to cook the unpopular cuts make for the best dishes. Brisket is only found in old school butchers these days. pork belly, cheapest of the roasts, is by far the best if cooked with care. I challenge any meat eater to not love chitterlings ( but only if they do not know what they are eating )! Bring it all on. Or, leave it all for thoise of us who know our food. We love it”

Hold the pepper... says..“ Brought up in a Lancashire village in the austere 1950s, I saw my fair share of offal in the local markets. Mum was a bit of a snob so some of these wonders remained a mystery to me: haslet, pigs’ trotters, pressed cows’ udders and especially bits of bulls’’you-know-whats’. Others I was permitted: slices of velvety smooth lambs’ heart, quivering purple liver, plump kidneys. One of Mum’s favourite winter dishes is ‘Cow Heel and Shin Beef’. A whole cow’s foot (all the bones encased in translucent thick congealed jelly) is chopped up with the beef, a little onion added then it’s braised and the gravy thickened. This, she promised me when I was a child, would ‘stick to my ribs’. Long after eating, the only sticky things were my lips which had to be forcibly parted. I can still hear dad, sucking the bones appreciatively! By the time I was 18 and ready to leave home, mum finally realised that I didn’t like the wobbly bits so I was awarded more of the beef and ‘stick to your ribs’ gravy…… Uncle Teddy, who lived opposite, savoured all the offal I wasn’t permitted: the aforesaid pigs’ trotters, shiny swollen black puddings, black tripe. Which leads me to the day he offered me a tempting mouthful of seam tripe….slathered in malt vinegar, scatterings of salt, just a hint of white pepper. I bit in, salivating at the prospect and hit at least a cupful of thick, cold lard. It covered every tooth surface, filled every crevice, coated tongue (top and underneath) and even, I swear, tonsils. I smiled, nodded my thanks, went home and vomited…copiously. It took three scrubbings with the toothbrush (no mean feat for a nine year old) before I recovered. Still eat my tripe though. Bit of a snob myself now…has to be pure white, well boiled honeycomb, dash of malt, freshly ground sea salt but hold the pepper! ”

Independent Restaurant & Ex MFDF Fan says..“ We pulled out of the Dine Tent when we looked at the set up and realised how bad it would be. What a terrible location and set up! Putting people outside in this weather with no cover. I understand a few others have pulled out too and they still intend to charge us (I thought the organisers were supposed to be promoting restaurants, not charging them). The festival has been heading this way for years, it is supposed to be Manchester yet it is more Greater Manchester. I guess it all comes down to finance. They want more participants to make it a bigger event & bigger budget so they cast their net wider and snag the chain restaurants who have a few restaurants in the whole area. Speaking as an independent it is probably time that we distance ourselves from the event and the self gratifying awards ceremony at the end of it. Damn shame really because for a time the MFDF had the right idea.”

Anonymous says..“ Speaking as another independent restaurateur, I have nothing to add to the above suffice to say, I agree with every word.”

mark m says..“ Do you know which beautifully crafted diatribe about offal has won the tickets yet ed?”

Independent Restaurant & Ex MFDF Fan says..“ Mr. Schofield - Is this rant maybe worth extending with regards to MFDF? How do you feel it is going?”