What does The Mark Addy’s rugged Radcliffe-born
chef, Robert Owen Brown have in common with Red Magazine, the ‘must have’
monthly for ‘real women who lead real lives’?
Give up? Perhaps the
only think you could think of was Robert’s distinctive curly red mop? Like me,
I’m sure the only time Owen-Brown would consider picking up the ‘luxury women's
lifestyle magazine’ Red would be if there was a pile of them in a dentist’s
waiting room (or some such place) and only then, if there was a mention of food
on the cover.
The reason I mention Red
then, is because I was recently asked to contribute a one-line restaurant
recommendation for the ‘Ask a local’ feature of an article one of their writers
is putting together about Manchester.
My first thought was to
recommend somewhere in Manchester’s famous Chinatown, such as Red Chilli or the excellent, little
Japanese place, Yuzu. Then I
considered somewhere in the urbanite Northern Quarter - perhaps its eponymous TNQ restaurant, Teacup on Thomas Street or even the soon to be opened SoLita (South of Little Italy). I
thought too about representing Manchester’s gay and lesbian community with an endorsement
for the charming Richmond Tearooms.
Then again; what about
the one time preeminent French at the Midland? What is it the
readership of Red would want? Surely the slick, Second Floor at Harvey Nicks and San Carlo Cicchetti at House of Fraser, with their quality food and
convenient shopping locations would be popular choices with Red readers? (The
city’s historical Italian connection with the latter also adding a bit of ‘Ask
a local’ flavour.)
No, instead I decided to
give my one line recommendation to The
Mark Addy.
Granted, it may not be the
most idyllic of food venues for the ‘ladies that lunch’ as it is perhaps more fitting
with ‘people who crunch’ (on pork scratchings, pan fried sweetbreads, devilled
whitebait and, of course, Mr. Holden’s panko breadcrumb encrusted, Manchester
Eggs) but, I believe The Mark Addy
represents the city well.
Manchester stalwart Robert
Owen Brown is a long time champion of local and regional produce. There are
historical connections too that make the Addy popular with visitors and locals
alike. The location on the banks of the River Irwell is reminiscent of
Manchester’s industrial past.
Admittedly, some do see
the venue and its location as a little grotty and grim but its better to think of
it as Northern, gritty and gutsy; much like the nineteenth century publican
from whom The Mark Addy takes its
name - a champion oarsman, honoured with an Albert Medal for rescuing upwards
of 50 people from the river.
The pub is certainly a
‘no frills’ establishment – if you want glitz and glamour, there are plenty of
other places in the city (some mentioned above) but if you want hearty, ‘home-style’
fayre served up in generous portions, then the riverside location is perfect
(even more so on a rare, warm Manchester day.)
To start, we (three of
us) shared Buttered Asparagus with
Poached Egg, Manx Kipper on a Muffin
with Blue Cheese & Runny Egg and Roasted
Bone Marrow with Parsley & Caper Salad.
Each and every component
was well cooked and flavoursome - the marrow with the caper salad, my personal
favourite.
To accompany our
starters, we selected a couple of ‘Bar Snacks’ – the Homemade Pork Scratchings were good and the Blacksticks Blue Cheese Bhajis, excellent – although a little more
of the tangy Lancashire blue cheese would have been most welcome.
For her main, my
stepdaughter selected the ½ Pound Burger
with Cheese, Pickle & Salsa – the pickle and salsa were delicious and
the salad well dressed with a generous portion of good chips. I found the burger
and bun themselves to be no better than average – burgers are seemingly all the
rage at the moment and the Mark Addy should be striving to serve one of the
best in town.
My wife’s Pan Fried Scottish Turbot with Baby Spinach
& Lobster Cream was another excellent dish - the fish was well cooked
and the rich lobster sauce was to die for.
My Roast Strip Loin with Dripping Pudding was divine. I typically try
and avoid saying how ‘tender’ the meat was when I write a blog post as it’s a
bit of a cop out, but this meat was deliciously tender; there are no other
words for it!
Re: ‘Dripping Pudding’ –
dripping puds have been cooked in Britain for centuries, predating the more
famous offering from over the border. Google tells me, that in 1737 a recipe
for 'A dripping pudding' was published in "The Whole Duty of a Woman"
and predates, by ten years, the first written recipe for the similar 'Yorkshire pudding' – of course,
due to the Wars of the Roses and the ‘friendly’ Lancashire / Yorkshire rivalry
that still exists today, no self-respecting Red-rosed chef or restaurant should
dream of serving a ‘Yorkie’ Pud!
My sides of Hand Cut Chips with Tangy Tarragon Butter
Sauce and Seasonal Veg were
delicious too - although the huge meat portion (and extra bar snacks) meant
that I couldn’t finish them. The butter sauce was exceptional.
I had been eyeing up the
cheese selection, including a Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire, Mrs. Appleby’s Cheshire
and Ribblesdale Goat and, disproving the anti-York
stance, a Hawes Smoked Wensleydale but was just too stuffed. My stepdaughter
however found room for the Vimto trifle
with Bobbies Foot (biscuit) and was suitably impressed.
So there we have it, Red
Magazine may be for ‘real women who lead real lives’ but my belief is that Robert
Owen Brown’s The Mark Addy is perfect
for ‘real Northern* folk who love real food’.
*Plus, of course, any
visitors (including Yorkshiremen and even Southerners) who want a true taste
of the region’s finest.
Follow @HungryHoss
I hope they're also real women who eat real food! Loved Mark Addy every time I've been - though have never heard good things about their bar "classics" (burgers, fish & chips etc.) - perhaps the poor quality is a punishment for those who don't dare to eat half their body weight in meat or offal (I know, I know - their fish is bloody lovely too).
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