Lunches

I had a bit of an experiment going this week. I was working at Salford Uni from Monday to Friday, and with a tenner in my pocket to burn on lunch, decided to see if I could get good quality and tasty lunches for under £2 per day.  Salford's also a bit of a blank slate to me - I worked there for a few weeks about five years ago, but I haven't crossed the Irwell since.


Day 1: Adelphi Cafe.
17 Oldfield Road
Salford M5 4NE
Bacon on Toast: £1.50  (on a barm: £1.70)


Almost total unfamiliarity with the area around Salford Uni meant that some hungry striding ended up at the Adelphi Cafe (also a newsagents) for want of a better choice.  I was the only person there. I'd been drawn in by the possibility of "bacon toast £1.50" on the sandwich board outside, but was slightly put off by the packaged offerings in their counter. Luckily, the bacon sandwich was tasty, and they didn't skimp on the bacon. Thick slices of white bread, plenty of butter and four rashers = perfection.  The Daily Mail was gathering ketchup stains on the table  (I'll only read the Mail when it's a) free, and b) there is nothing else to read, not even a menu or the back of a fag packet) so I got to get myself all lathered up into a faux-frenzy over asylum seekers, Muslims, gays, women, the youth of today etc.


Day 2: Caribbean Flavas
New Bailey St
Salford M3 5FP
Jerk Chicken and Flat Dumpling: £1.80


Venturing further afield (0.8 miles, according to GoogleMaps), I went to a small Caribbean take-away that's slap-bang-next-to Salford Central Station.  It wasn't line-out-the-door busy, but is obviously a favourite amongst local office workers and the local population.  Caribbean Flavas offers a lot of food: jerk and curried chicken, two different kinds of wings, mac and cheese, roti and various fillings, and a lot more besides.  As my lunch choice was listed under the Sides section, I was preparing to have to splash some cash on something more substantial (or 50p on a Wispa).  When a man slapped down something wrapped in plastic that weighed only slightly less than a brick, I was intrigued.  In case I didn't like this hefty wodge, I went to eat outside in the freezing cold down by the canal so that I wouldn't embarrass myself in the shop.  I shouldn't have feared: my lunch was a dense flat-bread about the size of a personal pizza (the "dumpling") slit in half and stuffed with jerk chicken and generous lashings of sauce.  It was so good.  The chicken was recognisable as chicken (no reconstituted spongey stuff here), the sauce was peppery and sweet, and the bread was firm enough to not disintegrate but had enough give and a slight sweetness to make it interesting even in the parts the sauce hadn't reached.  I ended up only being able to eat £1's worth, but I didn't start feeling hungry again for about nine hours.  Bargain.


Day 3: The Farm
Corner of Church St and Birchin Lane,
Manchester
Spicy Tomato, Pepper and Chilli Soup: £2


I wanted to check out the student protest so I trekked up into Manchester.  I've waxed lyrical about The Farm before, so I won't take you through the litany of incredible things about it again.  I wanted one of the roast pork sandwiches, but as I was still a bit full from yesterday's lunch and it was a bit parky outside, I decided on soup.  The soup wasn't as good as I had been expecting.  It was tasty, with a nice tingle from the spices, and the tomatoes and peppers definitely taste-able, and the huge hunk of baguette was fresh and went well with the soup, but there was something missing.  Maybe it was because I deep-down wanted that roast pork sandwich.  Maybe it was that the portion size was a little too small.  I don't know.  I had a nice chat with the owner, though.  He's a nice bloke and will tell you the provenance of anything he sells.  I should have had that sandwich. 


Day 4: Adelphi Cafe (again)
Same as before.


I was curious about the community-run Creation Cafe diagonal to the Church of St. Stephen and St. Peter on Chapel St.  I went in, opened the door to the cafe, and was greeted by what looked like a hundred pensioners playing bingo with the enthusiasm of someone who's stuck in a home.  I couldn't face it.  So I made my excuses ("Oh, this isn't Salford Uni," and the woman at the desk was good enough to say, "No, love, that's a bit further on") and went for a bacon sandwich and a read of the MEN.


Day 5: Shlurp
Brazennose House East
Brazennose St, 
Manchester M2 5BP
Large Lentil and Winter Vegetable Soup: £1.95


Shlurp's an on-and-off fave of mine.  Sometimes all I want is one of their thick and piping hot soups, other times I can't stand the smugness of their signs.  Today, all I wanted was something I could wrap my cold cold hands around, and maybe hold up to my cheeks when no one was looking.  The soup was delicious.  It smelled a bit gross in the bag, a bit like a stale fart, but once the lid was open the smell was the mingling of stock, lentils, root vegetables and heat.  I shlurped it down, and it wasn't too thin or thick, it actually tasted of the veg in it (potato and carrot, I reckon), and although there were no chunks of unidentifiable vegetables, it did its job of warming me up, brightening my day, and putting a hearty spring in my step.


So, at the end of the week, I'd spent £8.75 on five lunches at four different good-quality establishments.  Quite the bargain when you look at the signs a lot of places have offering fancy sandwiches for a fiver or salads with too many bizarre ingredients for three quid.  All of the places I visited are simple, friendly, and offer food that you want to eat at lunch.  Put down that portabello mushroom, tallegio and sundried tomato panini with aioli dressing, and get a heart-warming soup or bacon sarnie down you instead, you big jessie.

I want...

Lanzhou-style noodles. These are rice noodles that are hand-shaved (for the thick ones) or hand-pulled (for the thin ones). Typically they come in a beef broth with lots of vegetables and slices of beef or meatballs. Yum.

Sindhoor

198 Mauldeth Rd
Manchester M19 1AJ
0161 432 5246
Dishes fall between £5-10.


South Indian food is not your bog-standard, Saturday night take-away Indian. Sindhoor is only the second South Indian restaurant in Manchester (as far as I know, anyway, the only other one is Lily's Vegetarian in Ashton), and it doesn't shy away from plunging the diner into unfamiliar territory.


There are no chicken tikka masalas here, and the korma (or Kuruma as they style it) tastes better than any korma you've had previously.  There is a whole page devoted to dosas (huge rice flour pancakes with fillings) and uttapams (a thick rice flour omlette-like pancake containing vegetables), which the vast majority of non-Indians will never have heard of or tasted.  There are also other oddities that celebrate the Indian obsession with Chinese food (Indian-style, of course) in dishes such as the deliciously sticky Chilli Chicken.  


The chefs at Sindhoor aren't afraid of packing a punch either.  Their dishes are jam-packed with spices and chillies, and the flavours are multi-layered, expanding in your mouth.  The portions are large, but don't leave you with that heavy and bloated feeling as so many of Manchester's curry houses do.  For such deceptively large portions, the prices are reasonable, clocking in at between £5.50-£8 for almost all dishes. 


For an unusual and satisfying menu (albeit slightly tardy service), head to Sindhoor and stuff yourself on dishes you'll have to explain to your friends when you tell them about it.

I want...

Chaat but I don't know where to find it.