3TwentyOne - Deansgate, Manchester

Oh my god; MEAT and BOOZE and MEAT and SMOKE and AMERICA and DID I MENTION MEAT - let's get excited and all love THE IN THING RIGHT NOW.

It seems a week doesn't go by without a burger bar/street food stall/festival/restaurant/supermarket/supper club/excuse for a PR agency in Manchester popping up or jumping on the dirty meaty bandwagon with their, giggle, slightly rude names for foods in plastic trays; so when ANOTHER 'smokehouse and liquor' place opened their doors and invited me along, you can imagine that I wasn't that keen (er...it was free food and you're telling me you weren't keen? - ed).

3TwentyOne has opened above The Deansgate pub and unfortunately my first impressions weren't great - opening night clashed with THAT FA Cup where Wigan gave Man City a proper beating - cue little me trying to cut through drunken, burly types in a dress that was unintentionally too low cut. Fun. Thank god first impressions can be changed, hey?

The restaurant isn't remotely faux dirty Americana - they may have jumped on the smoke/meat/bourbon train, but they've done it in their own comfortable, Farrow and Ball, restrained restaurant way. Maybe proper crockery is not for thems BBQ purists, but I was there for the food and if I can be comfortable/clean whilst eating, then all the better for this old fusspants.

3TwentyOne has their own smoker in-house and this certainly pays off; the chefs have also worked out a pretty good smoke for the food (they've been experimenting and it seems current winner is hickory wood chips) - rather than an acrid tasting crust, the smoke is sweet and subtle, but very definitely there. Deboned chicken wings were a massive hit and the ribs a smokey, tender trio that were incredibly meaty. Lip smacking/finger licking good - just could have done with a bit more....


It would be rude to go somewhere dedicated to meat without sampling the steaks - especially as they were given such prominence on the menu - RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. The hanger and the rib-eye were both cooked exactly as we demanded (well, asked for in a polite/humble/if it's not too much of a bother British way); both were soft and buttery, great tasting pieces of high quality meat - the rib-eye was better, but at £7 more, it should be.

Sides are worth mentioning because they were delicious and because this is a food blog and you like to know that kind of thing - corn from the griddle was charred, plump and juicy; thrice cooked chips fluffy, crisp and light; smoked garlic butter, DIVINE; chimmicurri, fresh and sharp to cut through the fat on our plate and the BBQ sauce is addictive, so only go there if you can handle having to use everything in reach as a means to getting it in to your mouth, no matter how ungainly (sucked clean rib bones, fingers, bits of celery, the end of a fork... yeah I went there).

Because I wasn't full enough already (that's a lie, by the way) I decided I definitely needed the most hip-hugging puddings on the menu - not like I should be worrying about my weight so I can bag a fella, in this overtly image dominated world we live in. Ah well, you only live once and all that shiz.

The oreo mud pie could have done with some obvious bits of oreo, mainly because I like them, but was  fully chocolaty enough without being super sweet - good thing for this dark chocolate fiend. And we couldn't help but order the sundae, as we were in a sort of American restaurant (and inside I'm actually five). Piled high with delicious Cheshire Farm ice-cream, 3Twentyone had dressed it with a proper chocolate sauce, which went all hard on the ice-cream (ace). One downside was that the cream that was piled on top, it was over-whipped and had vanilla added, which it definitely didn't need it as it made the whole thing a little too sweet. We just pulled the cream off and gobbled the ice-cream instead; then got brain freeze, but that was ok, because, without the cream, it was an ace pudding.

Service was a little first night shakey, the staff are sweet but some of them need to become a little more au fait with the menu/drinks list and they need to learn the table numbers - however, they're friendly enough and that's the important thing. Oh and some of the barmen are super sweet on the eye...

3TwentyOne has taken Americana, worked out that it's the quality of the food, not making a fast buck (refreshing!) that's important; then sat down and had a good, long, hard think about how to produce this type of food and how to make it exceptional. It's Americana for grown-ups, and seeing how I'm meant to be somewhere near grown-up, that appeals to me. There's no need to slather everything in sickly sauces, the food speaks for itself and it's refreshing to hear it speak.

Price for two starters, two mains, three sides, two sauces, two puddings, two large wines and a cocktail - £82.85

Food - 8/10
Atmosphere - 9/10
Service - 7/10 friendly, but needs to settle in
Value for money - 7/10 drinks and starters are a little expensive, but mains are great

Total - 31/40

Go again - Hell yeah! Need some more of that meat in my life; great place to take the carnivores in your family.

3TwentyOne, Upstairs 321 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4LQ - Twitter - Facebook - 0161 839 5215

Please note - I was invited to review 3TwentyOne and my meal was free, but I'm not required to say anything complimentary and you know I'm so vile I wouldn't be nice unless I actually enjoyed myself.

Grill on the Alley - Manchester

Sometimes you just need meat - a statement that will antagonise environmentalists and vegetarians alike - however a statement that sometimes rings true. With this sentiment burning in our bellies, myself and my companions choose Manchester's Gill on the Alley, part of the the Blackhouse Restaurant Bar chain to satisfy our recent carnivorous cravings.

Grill on the Alley could no more be an homage to the steak than Shaun of the Dead is to zombie movies, the menu sporting all the old favourites - sirloins, fillets et al, plus a few treats such as the £55 Wagyu 'Kobe' fillet and exotics such as ostrich. To add to the foodie credentials and appease the environmentalists all the steaks are hormone free, from farms with good husbandry and allowed to hang for 28 days, plus there is a monthly guest steak; this month's being British Blue.

The restaurant also claims to have a 'healthy obsession with the freshest produce from our seas' and has many usual fashionable fish menu items including rope grown mussels, sashimi tuna loin, baby scallops and lobster - for somewhere claiming to have a 'healthy obsession' you could comment that these aren't very sustainable items, but then I was about to just stuff myself with a fat piece of red meat I couldn't really comment.

The restaurant itself is all wood, exposed bricks, low lighting, leather booths and close tables; a comfortable and lively experience when the restaurant is full. We were seated by the open kitchen and had a good view of the unflustered chefs as they prepared the vast quantity of meat trotting out of the kitchen (excuse the pun).

To start I had the Morcombe Bay Shrimps on Toast, which did what it said on the tin. The toast was crisp and the shrimps nicely spiced. My companions shared the Blackhouse Platter which was a mix of fishcakes, calamari, skewered satay chicken and duck spring rolls.

The calamari came battered, however it was a little greasy. Some of the calamari was brilliantly cooked, light and soft - although some must have been left in the fryer as it was quite chewy. The chicken satay was ok, the duck spring roll crisp but not that exciting. However the fish cakes were moist and zesty - I have to admit to stealing more of my companions' fishcakes than I was permitted and earned a rightful fork in the hand!

Predictably we all chose steak - I'd like to say we managed the wagyu, but as I'm not paid to write a blog we settled on the fillet. As steaks are only served with potatoes (chips, jacket or new) we also ordered a side of broccoli and another of green beans with shallots, plus one of my companions ordered the peppercorn sauce.

The steaks arrived cooked perfectly, though I wished I had heeded the advice of our waiter (brilliant by the way, a mix of Mancunian chat, attentiveness and delight - we tipped well in return) as those that had chosen medium rare were much more tender than my slightly chewy rare.  The steaks were nicely chargrilled, adding a crunchy, smoky element to the deep succulence. The chips were crisp yet unctuous and not greasy or tasting of the fat they were fried in at all.

Unfortunately we were less impressed with the sides which were very small. The green beans and shallots were at least sweetly smoky after coming off the griddle pan, but there were only seven of them for the £3 paid! The broccoli was awful, there was one middle size floret (yes, just one), it had been simply boiled or steamed, was plain and soggy and was more than a punch in the face for £3. The peppercorn sauce wasn't exciting, but at least wasn't congealed or cold; at least this was less of an insult at only £2.

To accompany the meal we had a bottle of prosecco, expertly chosen by the aforementioned waiter. It was refreshing to be recommended a wine that was not the most expensive on the list (and for it to be good). The night was also kept lubricated by the jug of tap water that was constantly refilled without us having to ask.

We had no room for pudding and finished the meal of with a couple of glasses of port, a just end to a meaty meal - all I needed was a smoking jacket and a pipe.

In all the meal satisfied our meat cravings and was a pleasant experience. The majesty of the steak was dampened by the lack lustre, expensive side orders; but the whole experience was greatly levitated by the kindly attentiveness from our waiter. In all I think we'd go back to the Grill on the Alley if we needed some meat as it's a perfectly alright way to spend the night.

Cost for three including two starters, three mains, one sauce, two sides, a bottle of wine and two glasses of port: £99.95

Value for money: 6/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Service: 10/10
Food: 7/10

Total: 31/40

Grill on the Alley, 5 Ridgefield, Manchester M2 6EG - 0161 833 3465
www.blackhouse.uk.com