5/5 James G. 10 years ago on Google • 4 reviews
Competition
Review
for
MCR,
sponsored
by
Google:
B.Eat
Street's
Friday
Food
Fight
held
at
the
Campfield
Market
Hall
venue.
B.Eat
Street's
Friday
Food
Fight
is
a
12-week
free
event,
involving
a
variety
of
MCR's
enterprising
eateries
laying
on
sapid
street
food
for
the
city's
swanky
and
stylish
socialites,
accompanied
by
fashionable
beats
from
some
of
the
MCR's
well-known
DJs,
all
washed
down
with
craft(-ily
expensive)
beers
and
cocktails...
Of
course,
as
with
all
of
the
city's
newest
food
fabrications,
there's
a
slight
whiff
of
affectation
-
moody
red
lighting,
chipboard
signage,
rustic
picnic
tables
and
chairs,
an
understated
advertising
campaign,
and
a
secretive
entrance,
a
la
Almost
Famous.
Set
in
the
elegant
1870s
vaulted
Victorian
Upper
Campfield
Market
Hall,
Friday
Food
Fight
is
actually
accessed
on
Deansgate,
Liverpool
Street,
in
the
brick
Campfield
Arcade
that
houses
Dimitris,
and
Don
Marco's
and
the
Instituto
Cervantes.
Although
an
elegant
structure
in
itself,
the
Arcade
hides
customers
from
the
magnificent
Market
Hall's
fifty
shades
of
grey,
steel
and
stone,
as
you
are
directed
by
a
solitary
sign
down
the
dark
and
dingy
internal
corridor
of
the
Arcade,
past
bags
of
rubbish
from
the
restaurants.
It
felt
like
New
York,
with
an
added
air
of
manufactured
secrecy.
Inside
was
the
imposing
stone
columned
and
steel
strutted
interior,
eerily
enhanced
with
the
red
and
white
lighting
around
the
food
stalls
and
ceiling.
The
clientele
were
a
consequence
of
the
confidentiality
-
straight
fringes,
topknots,
piercings,
big
spectacles,
Brogues,
beanies,
and
fishermen's
bob-hats,
interspersed
by
Spinningfields
suits,
pencil
skirts,
and
pointy
shoes.
Rosie
the
Riveter
meets
The
Apprentice.
The
atmosphere
was
pleasant,
with
the
hum
of
sociable
jabbering,
and
music
from
Juicy,
including
O.
P.
P.
by
Naughty
by
Nature,
befitting
that
U.S.
feel.
Sticking
with
the
American
vibe
(now
so
in
vogue
in
MCR),
it
was
cocktails
in
customary
red
cups
-
I
chose
a
sweet
but
tangy
pomegranate
daiquiri
with
blood
orange.
My
partner
had
'Welcome
to
Jamrock',
based
on
bourbon,
and
topped
with
a
soggy
Jammy
Dodger
biscuit,
a
surprisingly
neat
innovation.
The
bar
was
busy
but
service
was
quick
enough.
For
food
we
stayed
Stateside
with
MCR's
recent
arrival,
Reds
True
BBQ.
There
was
also
the
choice
of
British,
Chinese,
Indian,
and
Malaysian
food,
with
established
restaurants
like
Ning
and
Alams,
and
less
well-known
street
vendors
like
Hip
Hop
Chip
Shop
and
Fair
Game.
Due
to
the
variety,
queues
were
small
and
service
quick.
I
took
the
pulled
pork
sandwich
with
slaw,
my
partner
the
baby
back
ribs
also
with
slaw,
though
other
sides
were
available.
The
ribs
could
have
had
a
touch
more
meat
and
smokiness,
but
they
were
still
stickily
sumptuous.
The
homemade
BBQ
and
ketchup
sauces
were
all
exceptional,
cut
through
with
a
satisfying
touch
of
heat.
The
accompanying
mayo-free
slaw
was
refreshingly
healthy,
with
chunky
white
and
red
cabbage,
and
sweet
apple.
Not
too
dry,
yet
definitively
crunchy,
it
robustly
complemented
the
ribs.
It
also
worked
perfectly
with
the
pulled
pork
sandwich,
inducing
a
bodily
sag
of
satisfaction,
eyes
drooping
as
your
teeth
sunk
into
the
succulent
meat,
hunky
bread
and
crispy
sweet
cabbage
and
apple.
Despite
the
predictability,
B.Eat
Street's
venture
can
therefore
be
seen
as
a
solid
success.
Being
a
carnivorous
lover
of
American
BBQ,
I
had
wanted
a
taste
of
Reds
for
weeks,
but
feared
disappointment.
At
£5
for
a
dish
Reds
was
affordable,
and
I
was
given
the
means
to
court
calamity
by
B.
Eat
Street
without
bashing
the
bank.
And
all
this
in
a
decent
atmosphere,
with
plenty
of
choice,
in
one
of
historic
Manchester's
heyday
developments
-
a
fusion
of
a
proud
past
and
a
present
on
the
pulse
of
modern
culture.
Only
one
issue
nearly
derailed
my
delight
-
those
tatty
gold
chairs
at
the
Briska
cider
bottle
bar.
Poor
renditions
of
farmhouse
pine,
they
remind
me
of
everything
that
isn't
on
the
pulse
of
modern
culture
-
classless
hotels,
conference
halls,
and
wedding
venues.
Verdict:
Food:
9/10
Service:
8.5/10
Ambiance:
8.5/10
2 people found this review helpful 👍