Curry....a real british institution....and for a lunch time snack with the lads you can't beat it. especially in Manchester's northern quarter, which, in the early 60's was awash with imigrants brought over from Pakistan and Bangladesh to work and run in the numourous cotton mills and textile houses.
one of the things which sprang up from this new cultural influx was the curry cafe. these are small and basic sit down cafe's which serve REAL "indian" food....like the stuff you would get if you went round to my mate Naz's house and his mam made you stay for tea.
Manchester most famous is This N' That (http://www.thisandthatcafe.co.uk) which has been knocking around for 20 odd years now and is still run by the same family after all these years. in my opinion it is still the king ofthe curry cafe world. tucked out of the way down a dingy victorian cobbled side street its definetly one of those places where the first time you see it you first thoughts are "what....we are eating in there??"
you walk in and the first thing you see is the school cafiteria style seating for about 30 people and a shelf running around one wall with enough high chairs for another 10 or so. the next thing is the amount of people packed into the place. sometimes they are queing out of the door if you happen to catch that mad lunch time rush.
this family run place is full of all kinds.....suits, shop workers, school kids, asain chaps, builders,bin men.....everyone. its famous for its "rice and three"....there are no menus on the table just a list on the wall with each day of the week on it. every day has 9
curries. 6 meat and 3 veg. you can choose a combination of
these an the main man puts two laddles full of each of them on top of a big plate full of rice. throw in a chapati and you've got a feast fit for a king for well under a fiver.
I went on a monday and had chicken curry, lamb spinach and keema (minced lamb) with a chapati on the side. all three have a great flavour and have been stewing since that morning, giving a real melt in the mouth feel to the meat.
The lamb spinach was full on and tickled the tastebuds with its earthy flavour. I am a big lover of Keema and it defo packs a spice hit as well as having the ever present and amazing green pea hanging around in it for an added yum factor. while chicken curry sounds like a really boring option I will stand by the fact that you can't really fuck with a well made chicken curry and this one is a winner. great chunks of real halaal chicken....not that pressed chicken shit you get in some "proper"more expensive resteraunts sometimes....with a great garlic and chilli taste. seriously its so simple that it blows your mind.
one thing that is cool about this n that is the vibe. It feels like your part of a little secret club that not everyboy knows about. you fin yourself saying "alright" to strangers as you walk past each otheron the way down the alley. beause of the lack of space nobody thinks twice about sitting down at a table with a spare seat and getting their nosh on. Its a bit like a curry version of hardcore really.
this place is highly recomended for our more ethically minded brothers as all the veg curries are vegan as are the chapatis. the cabbage curry is in my mind the curry equivalant to "Age of Quarrell" in its absoulute perfection.
seriously if you ever get the chance to make it to this side of the pond drop me an email cause me and the lads would love to take you.
breadman
