All Star Lanes

Saturday night came around and we didn't fancy the night in this week, but also wanted something to do in Manchester besides the usual meals. 

One of the group had been suggesting All Star Lanes for a while, and as much as I'd wanted to go and try their menu, I'd just always had better offers. This week though, the option of food followed by bowling seemed like a great idea so off we went. 

Set in the ever popular Great Northern Warehouse, just off Deansgate, All Star Lanes has tough competition from the likes of Almost Famous and Lucha Libre either side of it. To sit between these 2 restaurants you've got to have the food game on check, so we thought we'd see if it had. 

All Star Lanes

All Star Lanes is noticeable for its full glass front and bright orange signs above the doors. Inside the place is huge! It's sort of split into 3 areas, the bar area as you walk in, then the restaurant area with a bowling alley in the back. 

Bowling is reasonably priced for late night bowling, and priority is given to people who have dined in the restaurant, but you can just turn up for a game if you wish.

We arrived for a late evening meal, around 8:30 and was told there'd be a 15 minute wait for a table. This gave us time to grab some drinks at the bar and check the place out a bit. 

All Star Lanes has a sports bar vibe about it, I suppose as you'd expect from a bowling alley, but the dining area is well segregated and so you aren't overpowered by TVs and loud music while you're eating, so you can still enjoy a sociable meal out. 

Celebrity Signed Bowling Pins

Bowling pins signed by Paddy McGuiness and the cast of the Inbetweeners

Around the bar area there's a cabinet with a vast array of bowling pins with various celebrity autographs on. Then on the wall I noticed a half cask with plaques on entitled "whiskey hall of fame". On closer inspection this was a £100 whiskey serving but if you bought it you had your name on the wall. As well as being a meat fan I've also grown to love my whiskies over the last couple of years, so I had to ask what it was. Apparently it was some 125 year old Rye that they found in a basement somewhere but there isn't any left now so unfortunately the meat memoirs weren't able to get their names on the wall. 

Whiskey Hall of Fame

After having a good luck around and enjoying our drinks we were ushered to our table in the dining area. 

The dining area isn't huge but I suppose not everyone comes for the food here, there's drinking and bowling to be had as well. The waiter (sorry I forgot his name) was soon over to introduce himself and offer recommendations off the menu. I took his advice for the starter but opted for my own choice on the main course. 

The menu was a reasonable size with enough choice to satisfy everyone. 

Starters

Mains and Sides

I'd opted for the recommended fried "popcorn" squid with garlic mayo. These were served in a delightful little chinese takeaway box with a dipping sauce on the side and chopsticks for those that have the finger coordination. 

Popcorn Fried Squid with Garlic Mayo dip (£6.50)

The popcorn squid was very good, the outer fried coating wasn't too greasy and was seasoned with some chilli flakes, but alas, little more than traditional squid. The garlic mayo complimented the squid well and didn't have an overwhelming hit of garlic. 10/10 for presentation though. 

My partner opted for the BBQ chicken wings. Small chicken wings on a hot plate covered in a sticky BBQ sauce with a side of blue cheese dip. Tasty, but nothing new I'm afraid. 

BBQ Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese dip (£6.50)

For the main course I'd opted to try one of the All Star Lanes burgers. I'd heard that the burgers here are very good, but with Almost Famous just next door could I be lured back to All Star Lanes given the choice? 

Burger Options

I decided to go for their top of the range, King Pin burger. A treacle cured bacon cheeseburger topped with a fried macaroni cheese croquette and finished with the usual salad. Sides are optional, originally I was going to choose the seasoned sweet potato fries but I asked what the "monterey jack corn grit chips" were. Apparently a soft corn bread with cheese, fried into stick shapes. I was intrigued and so ordered these. My other half opted for her favourite sweet potato fries.

We were all asked how we'd like out burgers cooked and we were told they come pink as standard. I was happy with this so would take them how they come.

The mains arrived not long after the starters were finished. 

I tried the Corn Grit Chips first. At first I found these a different delight. A soft fried coating surrounded a soft textured cornbread and cheese center. The portion of these at first seems quite small with just 4 chips in the bowl but after finishing just 1 I could feel these were quite heavy to eat. The initial intriguing taste soon becomes a carbohydrate overload. 

Monterey Jack Corn Grit Chips (£3.00)

Time to try the burger I think. 

King Pin Burger (£11.00)

Cutting into the burger revealed the pink center of the thick meat patty. The last burger I had in Manchester, at the newly opened "Filthy Cow" (see the memoir here; Meat Memoirs Filthy Cow) also had the perfectly pink patties. It's been a good couple of burgers recently for this. Not too pink as I've had in the past in London  though, just spot on!

Wonderful pink patty of the King Pin burger

On top of the beef patty was the thick cured bacon. This was great quality bacon which could easily have been sourced from a local butcher or somewhere similar. It's coated in a thick sweet treacle glaze. This is then topped with thick melted cheddar cheese. Finally to top it all off, under the bread was the fried mac and cheese. This fried patty oozed cheesy sauce and soft cheese coated macaroni pasta. Perfectly cooked and not as heavy as you'd imagine (light as a feather compared to the Corn Grit Chips). 

My partner opted for the nacho burger and sweet potato fries. This was the first nacho burger I'd tried. The nachos give a great crunch to the burger and with a similar pink filled patty her burger was just as good. Although I would still have opted for the mac & cheese topped creation. 

Nacho Burger (£9.50) with side order of Sweet Potato Fries with cracked sea salt (£3.00)

Conclusion

All Star Lanes has a great night out in one building, with a well stocked bar, great selection of food and bowling to try afterwards. 

The food here isn't much different to many other places in Manchester, with the usual burgers, sides etc. However, the food they serve is presented better than many of the others around the same price mark. 

The starters were nothing I can shout to the memoirs about, and the sides that are different were just too heavy to accompany the burger meals. They may have gone better with a lighter main such as the fish or lobster though.

I should note though that the sweet potato fries that my partner had were some of the best seasoned sweet potato fries I've had. The cracked salt took just enough of the sweet edge off to stop the becoming over sweet by the bottom of the bowl. 

The burgers though were outstanding. The pink minced beef patties were juicy, thick and declicious. It's getting difficult to pick a favourite patty in Manchester now. The macaroni cheese patty on top was also incredible! 

All Star Lanes has tough competition next door, particularly when it comes to burgers, but they're managing to make burgers which compete. 

What lets them down though is the sides and the starters. There was nothing outstanding that would make me choose All Star Lanes over Almost Famous if I was stood outside the Great Northern Warehouse looking for a burger to eat. 

The bowling alley and bar area could definitely lure me back though, and if I was feeling peckish before a game in the red and white shoes, I'd be more than happy to have another of the All Star Lanes burgers. I'd probably skip the starters though.

I'll have to come back for a game on the bowling alley though, as after all this food we were all too full and drunk to consider playing in the end. My first ever turkey will have to wait yet again.

All Star Lanes bowling Alley (£8.95pp/per game at peak times)

http://www.allstarlanes.co.uk/venues/manchester-deansgate/

@AllStarLanesMCR

https://www.facebook.com/AllStarLanesManchester

Meat Rating: 6/10

Money for Meat: Paid in Full

Red's True Barbecue

A late Sunday night and Monday off called for a top quality meat intake. Red's True Barbecue was the restaurant of choice. Having visited a couple of times before it's often required a long wait on arrival as it's always busy. So we hoped a mid-Monday afternoon may be a different story. 

Luckily we were correct as even our reasonably sized group were seated straight away without a booking. 

Red's True Barbecue continues to open in new locations and can now be found in Headingley, Leeds, Nottingham and of course Manchester. 

Red's True Barbecue

The Manchester restaurant can be found right on the corner of Albert Square. It's therefore surrounded by other popular bars and restaurants, so Red's were obviously confident of their product by selecting this location. They were right to do so though as Red's is almost always full, meaning you can have a couple of hours to wait for a table sometimes. 

Over the door on the corner of the building is the neon sign of "Red's True Barbecue," and on the walls within the porch are hands praying for meat. 

Pray for meat

As soon as you walk in the door, before noticing anything else, the smell of barbecue will hit you! I'm not sure if they vent the extract fans from the kitchen over the door or something but the smoky, barbecue smell is fantastic. I can't remember any restaurant where the smell has such a positive effect as this. 

As the waitress leads you to your table she'll likely lead you past the open kitchen where you can see the barbecuing in progress. Chefs pulling apart racks of ribs which have been cooked and smoked for hours, while another will be mopping other meats with barbecue sauce. 

The rest of the restaurant is a mix of brushed steels, colourful neon signs and church like symbols. Under the kitchen partition logs are stacked for the grills and smokers. 

Fuel for the fires and the open kitchens

"The Good Book"

"I believe"

The bar is a colourful display covered in chicken wire. 

Bar

As we sat at our table the waiter left us with the "good book" (menu) to look over. You may need some time to make your choice in Red's as the menu is very extensive (You can read their "good book" HERE). 

"The Good Book"

The Ten Commandments

If you decide before the rest of your party then it gives you chance to try the 5 different barbecue sauces in the middle of the table. 

1. Triple 6 hot sauce - from 5 types of chilli
2. South Carolina BBQ - a mustard based sauce with spicy kick
3. North Carolina BBQ - a vinegar based sauce
4. Judas Ketchup - their own made tomato like BBQ sauce
5. Kansas City BBQ - a sweet & smokey barbecue sauce

Barbecue Sauces

As the names of the sauces suggest, their barbecue is based on some of the most famous barbecue towns in the USA. This is why almost every American style barbecue item can be found on the menu, from pulled pork, barbecue ribs of various varieties, burgers, chicken, you consider it barbecue and it's probably on the menu. 

You can sample quite a lot of the menu with their wide selection of starters. Ribs tasters, burnt ends, BBQ chicken wings etc. Or there are other great American favourites such as macaroni and cheese. 

On this visit I decided to try their "swine fries." Sweet potato fries, topped with pulled pork, cheese, sour cream, onions, jalapeños, and salsa. 

Having not tried these before I was apprehensive about having fries as a starter, but I wasn't having fries as a side with my main so figured why not. The fries were excellent, nice and crispy but I had to dig to find them. They were lost under mounds of sour cream, and huge chunks of pulled pork! 

Swine Fries - £6.95

The pulled pork was easy to pull apart and combined with the fries, salsa and sour cream tasted incredible. Toppings you'd normally find on nachos were even better on sweet potato fries! 

Then it was on to the mains. 

Red's True Barbecue burger creations are famous for including extra barbecue in the form of steak, or replacing the traditional bread buns with doughnuts or waffles. 

My partner ordered their "Sleepy James," a southern fried chicken breast, topped with bacon, lettuce, burger cheese, and ranch dressing all between a couple of waffles. 

The Sleepy James - £14.40

As you can imagine they also offer pulled pork sandwiches, steaks of all varieties, barbecue sandwiches, brisket etc. 

The Meat Memoirs were here for some proper barbecue on this particular day and needed to try their ribs. In previous visits there had always been one of the 3 types of ribs sold out. Luckily as it was quieter this time they were all in stock so I jumped at the chance to try them all. 

Red's offer up 3 types of barbecue ribs. You can try a small sample of their pork ribs as a starter but we wanted a proper portion. There's the choice of Kansas City wet style pork ribs, Memphis dry rub pork ribs, and huge beef long beef ribs. To try them all, they offer a "bucket o' bones," and seen as they were all available on this visit I opted to try take that down alone. 

All the mains in Red's True Barbecue are offered with either 2 "humble" sides (e.g, fries, onion rings etc.) or 1 "divine" side, such as mac & cheese, grilled cheese on toast, bbq beans, bbq corn on the cob, or sweet potato fries. 

To side my bucket of ribs I choose the grilled cheese on toast. 

Grilled Cheese on Toast side - £2.95 or included with a main

Not long after the starters had been cleared the mains arrived. The bucket of ribs didn't look too overwhelming to begin with. A combination of small racks of ribs could be seen from the top of the bucket which didn't look too much to finish. I therefore took a bite of the side of grilled cheese on toast first. Huge, doorstop thick sized slices of fresh bread were topped with a thick layer of melted cheddar and finished with garlic and herb butter. For simple cheese on toast these were very good. I figured I best make a start on the ribs though before I got full! 

Taking off the first small rack of ribs the meat was full of smoke flavour! 

The barbecue flavours are some of the best I've tasted. 

After the first little rack I pulled out a bone sticking vertically up one side of the bucket. It was then I realised how much I'd underestimated the challenge of finishing this bucket alone. This beef rib was one of the biggest ribs I'd ever seen. The rest of my party agreed! Taking this down was challenge enough. 

Bucket o' Bones - £23.95

Beef Long - the largest rib I've ever eaten

Throughout the bucket of ribs the barbecue flavours were outstanding. The meat was a little dry though and the ribs were perhaps a little overdone for my personal liking. The selection of barbecue sauces in the middle of the table helped to soften some of the drier ribs but I'd have preferred some of the ribs to be cooked a little less. 

The bucket of bones could easily have served 2 people, if not 3! I managed to complete it alone though, but feel sorry to say I have to take the grilled cheese side home (I finished it later, I'm not one for letting food go to waste!).

Conclusion

Red's True Barbecue brings a larger American menu to Manchester than anywhere else I'm yet to discover. The traditional tastes are fantastic and all the senses are involved when you eat at Red's. The small is better than any restaurant I've yet visited and the barbecue methods are brought through from the states to the tastes.

The portion sizes are very generous, even if you opt for a more traditional sized meal unlike me who ate what was probably a meal for 2 or 3 people! 

My criticism is that the ribs were too dry, and the barbecued exteriors too tough. The great selection of barbecue sauces helped alleviate this issue a bit but it couldn't over power some of the charcoaled edges. 

I did finish the ribs though which I wouldn't have done had they been that bad. Had they been a little softer and more moist they'd have been perfect! 

@RedsTrueBBQ

Red's True Barbecue Facebook 


Meat Rating: 7/10

Money for Meat: Paid in Full

Gourmet Burger Kitchen (Trafford Centre)

So it's about time these memoirs mentioned meat between bread, and so here it is. The first burger to feature in the memoirs comes from the Gourmet Burger Kitchen restaurant in the Trafford Centre food court. 

The Trafford Centre was probably one of the first real out of town shopping centres which included all the usual high street shops alongside entertainment complexes such as a cinema, while also managing to boast a huge selection of restaurants and food outlets. 

For those that have never been, the food court is entered either from the car park via the Trafford Centres favourite marble effect staircase, or via a number of "streets" of various themes leading from the shopping area. These themed streets all lead to a large room which houses one end of a ship making the main focal point. The ground floor comprises of lots of seating area around a large central pool like water feature. Look up from here and you can see the "stars" on the ceiling. 

Much like the retail shops, you can find the usual dominating high street food outlets on the ground floor, and restaurant chains around the first floor. The choice is huge! There are over 50 food and drink companies to choose from. Whatever you like there's something for you.

The first trip for the memoirs within the Trafford Centre was to the Gourmet Burger Kitchen. 

Situated on the first floor directly facing the ship feature in the food court, the newly refurbished Gourmet Burger Kitchen is one I've been keen to try for a while. There is the option to sit "outside" the restaurant (but this feels more like you're sat within the path of people making their way around the Trafford Centre), or inside (where it feels much more separated from the rest of the Trafford Centre sat inside the restaurants). 

The newly refurbished interior is a light, bright experience with a mixture of clean white tiles mixed and rustic timber panels. At first there doesn't look to be much seating inside the restaurant but there is additional seating on a balcony area above. 

"From the first bite to the last"

Inside the restaurant

Upon arrival we were warmly welcomed by the manager on duty who offered us a seat inside while we waited for a table to be cleared. This was hardly worth sitting down as the table was ready so quickly after. Once seated he served out the menus and explained the process of how things work here. Food is ordered at the bar and additional sauces and napkins collected from a table near by. This seems to be becoming more common in restaurants. It varies on the establishment as to whether it works or not, although an establishment like this doesn't really suit it. It has the feel of a proper restaurant where you'd expect the standard level of service. 

Collect your own sauce

The manager before leaving us to browse the menus also highlighted to us their newly overhauled mobile application. Download this and use it when you order food for your next visit you earn a free item from the menu. Come again and you increase the value of this item etc etc. A very clever promotional trick as we'd all soon downloaded the application. With the first download you earn a free dipping sauce before having spent a penny which all helps. 

The menu samples options from a simple plain burger, to burgers with some toppings which, if done well, could be excellent. Including truffle mayo, onion jam and smoked chilli mayo. It's also possible to change a beef patty for a buffalo patty (although Buffalo was sold out on this visit). 
There are also chicken burgers which can be either grilled or breaded and fried. 

The Menu

During the evenings they offer a promotional offer of one of their "classic" burgers, small fries and a drink for £9.95. This also includes chicken burgers which is a nice touch for those that prefer their chicken to their beef. 
The starters and desserts menus aren't very extensive but we ordered some halloumi bites to start and an extra portion of sweet potato fries with baconaise to side our burgers. 

While ordering at the bar I asked for a simple tap water with my meal and was pleasantly surprised that they offer filtered water free of charge which is a nice touch. 
It's a little disappointing having to pay extra for side portions of sauce if you want, yet hot and spicy sauces and ketchup are free. 
One aspect that is very impressive, is the option to ask how you'd like your patty cooked, much like ordering a steak. It's great to see a restaurant finally offering the customer the option. 

It wasn't long after ordering that our starters arrived. A reasonably sized starter of halloumi bites which we found adequate for sharing between two of us. These bites come with a chilli dipping sauce which had a medium kick to it. The cheese was lovely and soft, perfectly grilled. 

A short wait later, the burgers arrived. I'd ordered a "Taxidriver" burger (American cheese, Onion Ring, Cajun Relish, Smoked chilli mayo, Dill pickle all on a brioche bun) but asked to swop the Cajun relish for onion jam. The burger wasn't overwhelmingly large when it arrived but the patty looked a good size. The brioche bun looked fresh with a nice golden brown while the salad towered this burger up. The cheese looked a bit cheap and dry though. 

The Taxidriver - £9.75

The patty was cooked exactly how it'd been ordered, medium rare. It was cooked but with a slight twinkle of pink to the centre. 

The Taxidriver - £9.75

The brioche bun hadn't been grilled or anything prior to forming part of the burger. This combined with the salad on being very cold made the burger taste cold. Although ideally salad should be cold, when there is this much of it compared to the hot patty, it overpowers the warmth of the meat giving the burger an overall cold taste. The onion jam just seemed more like fried onions than a jam, again disapointing. 

The other burger we ordered was a classic chicken burger (Grilled or breaded fried chicken, house mayo, relish & salad on a seeded bun) as part of the evening deal, so this came with a drink and a small portion of skinny or thick cut fries. We'd opted for the skinny fries preferring crunch over fluff. 
The chicken in the burger was well cooked, heading slightly towards a little dry, but overall it was a nice bit of chicken. The burger was a little plain though without much standing out when eating all the ingredients together. 

The side orders of fries were reasonably sized. The skinny plain fries are very skinny! Almost shoe string fries! They're lightly salted and taste great. They are also served with seasoned Hei Hei salt on the side if you wish to add more flavour to them. This salt went very well with both the skinny fries and the sweet potato fries. The sweet potato fries are considerably more expensive compared to the traditional fries (£3.95 per portion) and probably no larger in portion size when compared side by side and, although sweet potato fries are the preferred taste to some people, the price difference is a little steep. 

Regular Sweet Potato Fries (£3.95) & Small Skinny Fries (£1.65)

The sweet potato fries are served with a baconaise (bacon mayonnaise) dipping sauce which is unfortunately overpowered by the mayonnaise. It was good to see that it contained pieces of actual bacon though. Just a shame the bacon taste didn't come through very strongly. 

Conclusion

The Gourmet Burger Kitchen is obviously a very successful chain of  burger serving restaurants, with establishments up and down the UK. It's clear to see the appeal in the day and age where burgers seem to be the main attraction to a menu, when a menu looks this delicious and reads like it offers higher quality toppings etc. Then they make the burgers look great too. It's just a shame that the taste buds are left a little underwhelmed after being excited by the imagination inspired by the menu. 

They do get some things right though, their fries are delicious, and the skinny fries are a must for anyone who prefers the thinner cuts. The option for how you'd like your patty cooked is also an excellent idea which isn't something you get to choose often. 
It's a shame the Buffalo was sold out as it would have been nice to try an alternative meat in the patty but this can't be helped. 

Overall it's clear to see how, in such a location and with the market for burgers these days, the Gourmet Burger Kitchen succeeds. The good quality patties and enticing offers could be very attractive. But compared with some of the burgers near by, even in the immediate vicinity, the burgers from Gourmet Burger Kitchen just didn't seem exciting enough on the tongue. 

I'd have no problems returning to try Gourmet Burger Kitchen again (may be at a different location), especially to sample one of their Buffalo patties, but given the choice available within the Trafford Centre alone there's more exciting meat to be had. 

http://www.gbk.co.uk/

@GMK

Meat Rating: 4/10

Money for meat: Paid in Full

Keep your eye on the memoirs in the future for more restaurants featured from the Trafford Centre!