Solita - Didsbury

Solita (or South of Little Italy) has become a cornerstone of Manchester's food scene, becoming famous for their use of expensive Inka charcoal grills, and their tactic of frying most foods, some you wouldn't think of frying. Their popularity is boosted by the heavy use of social media, word of mouth and not to mention some famous customers. 

Bright lights of Didsbury

The original restaurant is based in the Northern Quarter, just south of Ancoats (or little Italy), thus providing the name. The Northern Quarter restaurant isn't a huge venue though and so the increasing popularity has lead them to open a second premises in the ever popular Didsbury area of Manchester.

The Didsbury restaurant opened in September this year, and I'll admit I visited not long after opening to leave a little disappointed with the cooking skills. I'd heard the chef had changed though and a birthday gave the perfect excuse to give it another try.

We booked a table for early evening despite it being mid-week, but it's a good job we did as the restaurant was full before long, so booking is recommended.

Inka grill explained

The restaurant is decorated with a clash of colourful tiles, artwork of various film characters by local artist Stan Chow, all against rustic exposed brickwork and timber. There are huge chalk board displays hung around the building, showcasing their latest special dishes, or explaining some of their cooking techniques. It all works very well though to create a perfect balance of trendy and smart.

Artwork by Stan Chow

Overlooking Solita

We were seated at our table which was at first quite "cosy," but the waitress saw how cramped it looked and gladly offered us a larger alternative table.

She handed us some menus and explained the process of ordering at Solita, all burgers come with a side of fries, which can be upgraded for an additional cost to cheese fries, sweet potato fries, chilli fries or their current special side of pizza fries, and she then left us to dwell on the menu for a good while. We needed some time though, as there's so much choice to pick from. 

Wall display of Solita's bacon double cheeseburger

Solita have recently overhauled their menu to include some new items which were already becoming famous throughout Manchester.

Solita Menu

There has been a lot of talk about a particular new starter they have included, cheeseburger spring rolls. These traditional spring roll exteriors contain a traditional burger ingredients of minced steak, cheese and gherkins.With so much talk about this latest menu item I had to give them a go.

Starters

The other item I was keen to try was a burger that had only been released that day, but had already become famous throughout the UK (thanks to a mention by the national news and a national supermarket on social media). This burger wasn't on the standard menu though, as this was their Christmas special, but we'll get to that in a minute.

Solita's burger options

The burger choices are huge, with a whopping 14 burgers to pick from on the menu. These include traditional cheeseburgers with funky twists (how about some candied bacon stuck in the top, and 2oz of cheese?), or remakes of well known burgers such as their Big Manc (a much larger, fresher, all round better recreation of a Big Mac which tastes just the same, just a lot better). You'll be spoilt for choice if you're here for a burger. 

For those who prefer steak to burgers, Solita serve a up a range from a simple 10oz steak right through to a whopping 1.2kg on the bone rib eye steak cooked directly on charcoal. Or if you prefer the sea to land, there's a number of fish steaks to pick from. Failing that, there's chicken wings or hot dogs (including a 24" long widow maker!). 

There's even a selection for the vegetarians, not just the single halloumi dish usually found in restaurants. 

Once we'd all finally decided the waitress returned and we placed our orders. Then before long the starters arrived.

The cheeseburger spring rolls immediately lived up to the hype surrounding them. WOW. The soft contents of moist mince, melted cheese and diced gherkins give the cheeseburger taste we're all familiar with, yet it's all encased within a not so familiar pastry wrapping.

Cheeseburger Spring Rolls - £5.50

I can understand some people's hesitation about this dish, but Solita have got it spot on, and those willing to give it a go will be left craving another plate of these!

Cheeseburger Spring Rolls - perfection in filo pastry

After the starters there was a bit of a wait for the mains but the restaurant was busy so this was forgiveable. All the other mains arrived at the same time, except mine, which took at least another 5 minutes to arrive which was a bit disappointing. It arrived hot and fresh though.

So, onto the main.

For Christmas, Solita have come up with their Christmas burger (they ran a competition to try find a better name but I think they've just settled for this title). Between and atop a single brioche bun they have managed to include a whopping 8 different meats!

They start with a 6oz Angus beef & venison patty. This is laid on top of a patty of panko fried stuffing and cranberry and port sauce. On top of the beef and venison patty then goes a slice of Aldi's 5 bird roast. This on it's own consists of turkey, duck, goose, chicken, and pheasant, layered with more stuffing. If that wasn't enough, then on top of that goes deep fried sprouts.
To finish the burger off (and you thought that was it!) they skewer a caramelised pig in a blanket to put some pork into the mix.

Solita Christmas Burger - £14.50

I started with the caramalised pig in a blanket from the top of the burger. The sticky, sweet sugary glaze doesn't overpower the pork contents within, so you get just the right mix of sweet and savory.

There are some ingredients between the bread that even I was hesitant about. I'm one of those odd people who actually likes sprouts, but deep frying them just seemed outrageous to me, but Solita so far has excelled at outrageous so I had to trust them on this too. They don't batter the sprouts, they just dip them in the fryer and the frying process adds an extra sweet taste to the flavour of the sprouts, not how I imagined they'd taste at all.

Christmas Burger

Fried Sprouts

The beef and venison patty was very generous. A great thick patty full of high quality minced beef and venison tasted fantastic. There was a good amount of venison in there too, I didn't have to search my mouth for the taste of it. 

Fried sprouts on a 5 bird roast, on a thick beef & venison patty, on cranberry & port sauce, on Panko fried stuffing, on bread

The slice of Aldi's five bird roast tasted more of turkey than anything else, but the flavours of the other birds may be being lost within the rest of this burger. I believe Solita tested numerous 5 bird roasts and found this to be their favorite so at least they did the research for the best one.

The real flavour hit came from the panko fried stuffing. The crumbly fried coating around traditional stuffing was excellent. The stuffing was the herb packed explosion of taste you'd expect from any good stuffing. 

For the side I'd opted to upgrade to another special, pizza fries. 

Pizza Fries - £2.00 supplement

It was great to see whole slices of pepperoni on top of fries, combined with cheese and tomato sauce gave a real pizza look to the fries. If you got all the ingredients together they tasted similar to a pizza (as they should). My only criticisms were that the fries could have been a bit crispier for my liking, although this probably wasn't helped by the heavy dousing of cheese on them. May be a little less cheese would have gone just as far with the taste.

My partner opted for the plain cheese fries and the cheese on those was a lot better than the cheese on the pizza fries I thought. Apparently they use a combination of brie and a a traditional white sauce which creates an amazing soft cheese when melted with a fantastic taste. Next time I'd opt for these as a side.

Conclusion

Despite some early teething troubles at their new location, Solita have managed to open a restaurant that's at least on par with their Northern Quarter restaurant. 

They've managed to take their quirky Northern Quarter attitude and fit it into the trendy Didsbury location, combining the smart building exterior with trendy decorations within. 

Their specialist Inka grill (mixing roasting and grilling over charcoal) manages to serve up meats and fish with unrivaled taste. While their burger inventions and daring frying techniques intrigue customers and keep them coming back for more. It's easy to see why they had outgrown the little Northern Quarter location. The Didsbury restaurant also seems to expand their client base even further. 

Solita burgers are arguably Manchester's best, they're certainly make Manchester's biggest. The special Inka grill is worth the huge up front cost as it creates amazing smokey charcoal flavours while allowing food to be cooked to perfection. 

The food delivery was the only criticism on this visit really, as it's a shame my main was brought out so much later than all the others on the table. The fries could also have been a little crispier for my liking but that's personal choice. If it wasn't for the delay in the main it would have been an easy 10/10 for Solita. Safe to say though it hasn't put me off coming back and I'll be returning to introduce yet more people to Solita Didsbury. 

Now I wonder if I can sneak another of their Christmas specials in before they take it off their menu after Christmas! 

@SolitaNQ 

Solita on Facebook

Meat Rating: 9/10

Money for Meat: Paid in Full

Guerrilla Eats

The second food festival to feature in the memoirs comes from Guerrilla Eats hidden away in Ancoats, Manchester. 

Guerrilla Eats

Guerrilla Eats has been running each Saturday evening since mid-September with famous names from Manchester's food scene taking residence there for 4 weeks at a time, including:

• Fire & Salt - @FireandSaltBBQ
• Mumma Schnitzel - @MummaSchnitzel
• Dirty Dogs - @dirtydogsarehot
• Cow Boys Burgers - @CowBoysBurgers
• Gingers Comfort Emporium - @GingersComfort
• Las Paelleras - @Las_Paelleras
• Chaat Cart - @ChaatCart
• Streetza - @streatza
• Shake, Moroc & Roll

Aside the resident food sellers there are guest food sellers making a special appearance each week. 

Last night the line up featured:

• Resident Mumma Schnitzel offering up some of the best schnitzel around
• Fair Game (@FairGameFood) serving up their special game
• Rudy's Neapolitan Pizza (@RudysPizzaMcr) serving fresh stone baked pizzas
• Madame Francoise (@FrancoiseManc) offering up fresh made crepes & galettes
• Smokin' Hot Tamals (@SmokinHotTamale) offering up traditional Mesoamerican Tamales
• Dirty Food Revolution (@dirty_food) dishing up some crazy burgers
• and finally the increasingly famous Hip Hop Chip Shop (@thehiphopchippy) who recently featured in the Guardian and won "best looking trailer in Britain" at the British Street Food Awards. Although it's not the trailer we're interested in here. It's the fish and chips they're offering up.

The venue makes use of some unused commercial space and is fairly industrial with the exposed concrete walls and pillars. It's nothing fancy inside, instead has a quirky style using sheds for bars and a black taxi as a DJ booth.  

Guerrilla Eats venue

Cocktail shed

Coloured lines on the floor and walls lead from the list of food stalls on the wall outside to direct you to wherever you're looking for.

Follow the yellow lines

Mumma Schnitzel

First stop was to the resident of the week, Mumma Schnitzel. Mumma Schnitzel have been a resident in the Spinningfields area of Manchester until recently, serving up their schnitzel chicken from their retro van. Weekend evenings they've been a common name at food festivals like Guerrilla Eats. 

Mumma Schnitzel

Schnitzel Menu

Their fried/schnitzel boneless chicken is cooked to perfection with moist white chicken meat inside a light breaded coating which is lightly fried. At Guerrilla Eats they were offering smaller sliders from the menu giving you the chance to sample more. I opted for one slider though topped with their signature home made fresh guacamole, smoky mayonnaise, thick cheddar slices, smoked bacon and chopped red onions. 

Mumma Schnitzel chicken, guacamole, smoky mayo, cheddar cheese, smoked bacon & red onion slider - £4.00

The fresh ingredients topping the two perfectly cooked pieces of schnitzel make this the best fried chicken I've tasted in Manchester yet. One of the chicken pieces was a little fatty, but this would be my only criticism, as the chicken is so well cooked, yet still so juicy. If you're a fan of schnitzel and want some in Manchester than look out for Mumma Schnitzel, and if you've never tried schnitzel but you're intrigued, then Mumma Schnitzel is defiantly the place to start. Here's hoping they're able to get back to their home in Spinningfields soon. 

Meat Rating: 9/10

Fair Game

Fair Game

Fair Game is another famous name in Manchester's street food scene. They can be found offering up game in various ways at events like this. This week they were specialising in Pheasant, offering it up in both a burger format and as dippers within a spicy crumb with a paprika or garlic mayo dip. As well as the pheasant they had rare breed crackling with paprika mayo and sour dough pretzels. 

Fair Game menu

We opted for the breaded pheasant burger with BBQ sauce, onion marmalade, coleslaw all on a brioche bun. 

Pheasant Burger - £5.00

The pheasant was very well cooked and tasted great in a light breaded coating. The slices seemed a little thin though, but it's great to see something other than beef or chicken for a burger. The fresh coleslaw was crunchy and along with the marmalade onions really boosted the burger as a whole. 

Meat Rating: 7/10

Rudy's Neapolitan Pizza

Hidden in the corner of the room was a little stone baking oven beneath a sign for Rudy's pizzas. Available in a personal or larger sharing size we opted for an individual size to share. 

Rudy's Neapolitan Pizza

Rudy's Stone Baking Oven

The menu was clipped to the wall like a paper storyline with a good selection of pizza flavours to choose from. 

Rudy's Menu

Fresh ingredients, fresh out of the oven

We decided on a salami topped pizza which was topped onto a thin fresh crust. After a short wait our pizza was ready and fresh out of the oven. The pizza crust was fresh and crispy, and the high quality salami tasted great. 

Salami pizza

There wasn't really enough cheese on the pizza for my liking (this seems to be a common issue with these stone baked pizzas, they're more tomato sauce than cheese), and there wasn't really anything to make it stand out against some of the other stone baked pizza vendors that have begun to pop up at these types of events. The pizzas are always fresh and taste great, but none of them seem to stand out. 

Meat Rating: 4/10

Smokin' Hot Tamales

Smokin' Hot Tamales

Smokin' Hot Tamales Van

I'll be honest, I didn't know what a tamal was before this evening, but all the more reason to try one. I presume this is a common problem for Smokin' Hot Tamales, as they had a board in front of their stall explaining Tamales. 

Smokin' Hot Tamales Menu

What is a Tamal?

With the decoration of their van I figured it was a Mexican dish but with a small menu of either a vegetarian Tamal, or a chicken Tamal, I had to choose the latter. From a boiling dish they plucked a bundle wrapped inside a leaf and then topped it with cheese, salsa and hot sauce. 

Chicken and Sweet Potato Tamale - £5.00

The hot sauce was hot! Inside the soft shell was some marinated chicken which was soft and juicy. The sprinkling of cheese and freshly made salsa added some extra flavour. Whatever flavour the dumpling surrounding the chicken and sweet potato contents was supposed to have was unfortunately overpowered by the hot sauce. I'd like to try this again, perhaps without any hot sauce, as the fresh salsa and marinated chicken was inspiring. 

Meat Rating: 3/10

Madame Francoise

Madame Francoise, crepes and calettes

Madam Francoise is another name I hadn't come across to date, as desserts aren't always my first choice. Someone in the group I was with had a sweet tooth though so I gave them a try. 

Madam Francoise Menu

It was good to see crepes being offered with a combination of toppings instead of just nutella or similar spreads. My friend opted for the choconana which included bananas, chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, cream and coconut. 

The combination of flavours was great! And the thick fresh crepe was perfectly and evenly cooked and much thicker than I expected. The chocolate ice cream was full of chocolate flavour and really smooth. The cream unfortunately just seemed like canned cream. 

Choconana crepe - £6.00

Fresh ice-cream surrounded by cream and coconut flakes, doused in chocolate sauce

Meat Rating: 7/10

Dirty Food Revolution

Dirty Food Revolution

Dirty Food Revolution is a name I've heard around Manchester but yet to have the chance to try. I'd seen their creations pop up on social media leading up to Guerrilla Eats this week and couldn't wait to try them out. They'd been teasing creations which would include frazzles, matchstix and maple syrup on burgers, even a Krispy Kreme donut burger!

Dirty Food Revolution Menu 1

Dirty Food Revolution Menu 2

Their menu was more extensive than I thought it would be with 6 different burgers to choose from, but eventually I made my choice, choosing the Dirty Swine Burger - chuck steak patty, mature cheese, smoky streaky bacon, frazzles crisps, home made dirty mayo, dirty BBQ sauce, all inside a brioche bun topped with pork rind crumbs. 

Matchstix and frazzles on burgers

Sometimes when you bite into a burger you're stopped dead in your tracks by the excitement that your taste buds are experiencing. This was one of those burgers. The huge thick steak patty was delicious, with top quality meat and cooked to perfection with a hint of pink to the centre of the patty. The frazzles and thick streaky bacon added a huge bacon hit. The mature cheese was melted to liquid over the patty and was much better than using typical american cheese slices. The pork rind crumbs on top of the burger literally topped it off, especially when combined with the maple syrup drizzled on top too. The burger is held together by a Dirty Food Revolution flag on a skewer.

Dirty Swine Burger - £6.50

The bacon was also really well cooked and of a decent depth, not like some cheap thin bacon slices. 

Section of the Dirty Swine Burger

Luckily I wasn't the only one in the group choosing a burger and so I was able to sample a few of the options. One of the party chose the Dirty Elvis Burger - chuck steak patty, american cheese, smoked streaky bacon, pork rind crumbs, american syrup, sweet potato fries and a Krispy Kreme iced donut bun. I've tried a burger with a donut instead of a bread bun before and found it a little bit confusing on the palette. The Dirty Food Revolution seemed to work a lot better. It's still a little confusing mixing the sweet with the savoury but the quality of all the ingredients used seems to show through as it tastes incredible. 

Dirty Elvis Burger

The donut, fries and thick patty mean the Dirty Elvis was piled high and a bit more difficult to eat with dignity. But when it tastes this good who needs dignity? 

Finally after sampling these two I had to go back for another! My last choice was the Dirty Sanchez Burger - chuck steak patty, mexicana cheese, maple chorizo and pancetta, matchstix crisps, home made dirty mayo, dirty BBQ sauce all inside a brioche bun. 

Dirty Sanchez Burger - £6.50

Just like the Dirty Swine burger, the patty was perfectly cooked and the cheese melted to liquid. It was great to get a completely different taste compared to the first burger, yet the same great meat quality and consistent cooking perfection between the two. This had a lot more sauce on it so was a bit messier but the dirty BBQ sauce had a great smoky flavour too it. The maple chorizo pieces were outstanding! 

A couple of weeks ago I searched London for the best burger possible, Dirty Food Revolution beats all I found in the capital. One of the best burgers I've eaten in a while! 

Meat Rating: 10/10

Hip Hop Chip Shop

Hip Hop Chip Shop

The final vendor of the evening was the Hip Hop Chip Shop. I expected there to be a big queue for this stall following their recent publicity, and after having tried their food before, I knew they could dish up something special. 

Award winning

Hip Hop Chip Shop Menu

There wasn't much of a queue though and so I ordered their Feastie Boys Box. A combination of fish, chips (note; not fries!), chilli onion blings (rings), and mushy peas. 

Feastie Boys Box - £7.00

The batter to the onion blings was crunchy without being too heavy. The chilli flavour comes through with a delayed subtle little kick. The mushy peas were sprinkled with that I think were fried onion pieces. 

Mushy Peas

The thick cut, skin on chips were fluffy in the middle with a thin crispy skin to the outside. The definition of a chip!

Onion Blings & Thick cut chips

Finally, the fish pieces are soft, moist pieces of fish in a light batter all which melts in the mouth. Usually fish and chips is a heavy, stodgy meal, Hip Hop Chip Shop take all the weight out of the batters, so you still feel like having more even after finishing a portion.

Fish Pieces

Fish Pieces

Easily the best fish and chips around! 

I spoke with staff here regarding their recent award for their van which has just won best looking street food trailer in Britain (it's shaped like a boom box), and he explained that they measured it up and found it wouldn't quite fit inside the venue which was a shame. I'm sure after this food though I'll be coming across Hip Hop Chip Shop again soon and hopefully I'll get some photos of their trailer then. 

Meat Rating: 10/10

Conclusion

Guerrilla Eats is a fantasic food festival which I'm disappointed I haven't sampled sooner. They have a great selection of food vendors represented within a great venue. It's a little out of the way from the city centre, but it's not so far to walk that it's off putting. The event is suitable for all ages (there were families with small children, young adults and OAPs all present last night). It also seemed a lot more food focused compared to some other food events which seem to be used more as an extra place to drink before a night out rather than for the food. 

So if you're looking to sample some of Manchesters smaller food vendors (but also some of the best), then whatever your age I highly recommend Guerrilla Eats!