Tagged: Valentine

Valentine’s Dinner at The Angel: Review

photo IMG_1193_zpsaced3e70.jpgSince Mrs B and I went to The Angel Pub in November for her own review for 4ManchesterWomen neither of us can get enough of this fantastic little place. I’ve been a couple of times to sample the many great ales, I’ve helped others get in contact with Carole and Kevin the owners, to organise some upcoming great events.

So when we knew they were doing a special menu for Valentine’s Day then we were quick to jump on it and book ourselves a table. Beautiful old wooden surrounds, big roaring fires, amazing food, what more could we want in a romantic meal? After pouring over the menu for days beforehand, I pretty much knew what I was having and was looking forward to it!

* I apologise about the quality of some photos, but I didn’t use flash as I wasn’t prepared to interrupt everybody else’s meals on Valentine’s Day. *

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We were greeted as ever with a glass of champagne and amuse bouche of salmon rilette. Nice little touch before the meal, I couldn’t drag myself away from what they normally have and had a couple of pints of Keep Calm pale ale with my meal. Soft, golden and deeply satisfying.

photo IMG_1196_zpsee535748.jpgTo start I had Chinese Pork Belly with Asian Coleslaw. Three generously large pieces of pork belly, full of flavour and served with delicious coleslaw, I’d have happily had this as my main course and be done! Mrs B had Pan-Fried Mullet with Ratatouille and black olive tapenade. The mullet had lovely crispy skin, the ratatouille was sweet and the tapenade added a nice sour / salty flavour.

photo IMG_1198_zpse4fab9df.jpgThere was only one choice for my main this evening;  Fillet of Beef with Asparagus, Fondant Potato and a Poached Duck Egg. The beef was again huge, perfectly cooked, pink where I wanted it, with a runny rich yellowy egg on top, perfectly seasoned potato. Mrs B only had eyes for one item on the menu; Goats Cheese Ravioli with a Rocket Salad. The ravioli had plenty of goats cheese, which made it perfect in her book. the tomato sauce was full of flavour and contrasted with the confit cherry tomatoes which were nice and garlicky.

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As full as could be, still nursing a pint of lovely ale, I passed on dessert, but Mrs B was eager to see what local cheeses were on offer. The cheese board had 5 little pieces of local cheese, a variety of biscuits and homemade onion chutney. She found a new favourite blue cheese, a Lancashire blue matured in a cave, it was subtle and creamy – almost spreadable. photo IMG_1200_zps49d8aabe.jpg

If you are still to even visit The Angel, you are missing out, not only on a huge array of ales, but on fabulous tasty food and one of the cosiest welcoming pubs and restaurants in all of Manchester. Less than a two minute stroll from Shudehill away from the city centre, easy access and parking right next door, you really need to try them out.

Month of Love Day 7: A Night (in) at the Movies!

A genre of movie that strikes fear into some; the rom-com. But you don’t have to be afraid. There are many, many great movies that are branded with this dreaded title, but are still great, potentially classic films that are lovely to just spend the night in, together, watching on the sofa with a bottle of wine and crappy sweets.

I’ve got three favourites, also loved by Mrs B. We take every opportunity to watch these when we can. Great funny comedies with nice warm loving endings. If you’ve seen them before, watch them again, if you’ve never seen them, get them on! Have a nice cosy night in, look forward to the weekend and enjoy.

photo loveactually-poster_zpsa573f07f.jpgLove Actually is a film surely everybody knows. I know it is generally seen as a Christmas movie, but deep down it’s a thoroughly enjoyable heartwarming comedy with up to a dozen different love stories brought together in a way only Richard Curtis can write. A personal favourite for Mrs B, it has a couple of my favourite ‘nice’ scenes in any movie ever. Just to watch Bill Nighy sing, Hugh Grant dance and Andrew Lincoln steal a scene without talking, you can’t help but watch with a smile and a tear in your eye. It’s currently on sale at Amazon for a whole £3.35. Bargain!

photo gd4_zpsa42595e8.jpgBill Murray. Not really a man who you would associate with a rom-com, but he’s been in his fair share of them. Some good, others not so. Groundhog Day though is one of his best movies. One of the most quotable of all his movies, ridiculous and funny in it’s story of a man reliving his worst ever day until he ‘gets it right’. Herein lies the love story as he has to win round Andie MacDowell and convince her he is not egotistical and without feeling. I love this movie and you really are left feeling for good old Bill come the end as he tries again and again getting things just right. I also guarantee you’ll be quoting it for days. If you know anybody called Phil then your life will never quite be the same again. £3.90 from Amazon.

photo when-harry-met-sally-original_zps1841ecb7.jpgLastly, a movie that is in my own personal top 5 movies list. I don’t think I love any movie more than When Harry Met Sally. There are better movies, but nothing that leaves me with such a lovely satisfying feeling at the end. Typical 80s stuff, Billy Crystal and a staple of rom-coms in Meg Ryan, meet at the beginning of the movie and we are then lead down a  ten year road of their friendship and relationship. Interspersed in the timeline are little snaps of ‘real’ American old couples talking about how they fell in love and what they mean to each other. That is what makes it that much better for me. There is a sense of reality to this and you watch these people, hoping that is how you will be in your 60s, 70s or 80s.

Some fabulous nice little scenes between Harry and Sally, with a great Harry Connick Jr. soundtrack I defy anybody not to laugh or at least smile when watching this. Mrs B and I have been quoting this movie forever, I fell in love with it when I first saw it over 20 years ago as a young romantic. Get it from Amazon again for £5.93.

These are obviously just my choices, but we all have rom-coms that we love and our favourite movies to spend a night in together and watch. If you think I’ve missed any, let me know and I’ll see if I can watch them too. I may have missed a cracker! But don’t ask me to watch Dirty Dancing or Pretty Woman. I don’t like rom-coms THAT much.

Month of Love Day 6 – More Gift Ideas

Following on my them of get prepared for Valentine’s Day as soon as you can, I am repeating the post I made about Cherry Bomb Boutique shoes last year, a great idea for something personal for the lovely lady in your life. Enjoy!

A while back, a tweet caught my eye from Ashlee at Cherry Bomb Boutique asking for bloggers to work with her and write a post about her range of custom shoes and what she does. I’ve not done this before, but knowing how much Mrs B likes shoes I was willing to respond and see what happened.

You could either buy an existing pair of shoes from her designs, or you could give her some ideas and she would create something custom for you. I took this option, providing the style Mrs B prefers, her size and some colour options to work on. For a small deposit to show I was genuinely interested, Ashlee was happy to go away and create something special for us. Further emails back and forth between us both, discussing style and colour, but I was primarily happy for her to go and use her creativity and just make something she was happy with.

A week later I received an email from Ashlee to say the shoes were finished and she had sent me some preview photos, seen below. She was nervous, but I couldn’t have been happier with the results. The shoes looked fabulous. The silver and red was sparkling from them and the addition of little bows down the back gave them a girlie touch. We were both happy so she would send them to me to surprise Mrs B!

Ashlee then also blogged about them, you can read about her side of the process here.

We went on holiday and I had forgotten about these until we came back to a missed delivery note in the letterbox. Still not letting on, we went to collect them and Mrs B was confused to why a shoe-box sized box was being delivered in her name. I was that excited I made her open them in the car there and then!

She was amazed. She LOVED them. She was even more amazed that these had been made just for her. She loved the sparkle, really loved the little bows and was very happy with a the care and quality taken to make them, we both were.

We then had to wait for a night out where she could wear them not just round the house! So she put together a nice little outfit and we went out for dinner. It was all in all a resounding success. The shoes were very comfortable, elevated Mrs B above me even more so, looked great on and she even received compliments from our friends about them, Ashlee I think you could be looking at some more orders!

Ashlee was so happy with them she has made more of the design, you can buy them here for now, but she is in the process of setting up her Cherry Bomb Boutique online store. I would recommend anybody to speak to Ashlee, buy her shoes and see what she has to offer you. We’ll be back for some shoes from her again!

You can follow Ashlee on Twitter or like her page on Facebook. You can look at more of her lovely shoes and accessories at her online store here.

Happy shoe shopping!

Month of Love Day 5 – Valentine’s Dinner!

As I briefly said yesterday, Valentine’s Day will soon be upon us, so it is time to get thinking about what you are going to do. If you make at least one romantic act this month, make it Valentine’s Day.

A meal out on Valentine’s Day can be the nicest meal out or a complete disaster and let down. Over the years me and Mrs B have had both. It is also sometimes seen as a waste of money, but if you can find the right meal and the right price, then it’ll be a night you’ll both come away loving.

We don’t always go out for dinner, it depends on Mrs B’s rota, sometimes we’ve stayed in and cooked, sometimes it has even passed by with little effect. But this year we are going out, which I will come to later, but I’ve picked out, for me, what the best offerings for a Valentine’s meal this year, ranging from most expensive, to, well, something otherwise.

The River Restaurant at The Lowry Hotel is somewhere myself and Mrs B have been to many times, for many different occasions, I’m always blown away by the food, service and the quality coursing through the hotel, restaurant and bar. They are offering an exceptional set menu including cocktail on arrival, four courses and coffee for £58 per person. It’s available from 8th to 16th February so you have no excuse if you can’t go exactly on the night or fancy more than one meal out!

If you’ve not sampled the new food from the new team at Stock then this is a perfect reason to go. Choose from an extensive rich Italian four course menu including their signature ravioli and seafood; dine in one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. If Italian opulence and food cannot grasp the idea of romance and love then we’re all lost. A very reasonable £39.95 available on the night itself.

Another restaurant spreading their Valentine’s love is Linen at Manchester235. Having eaten here before with Mrs B and meeting Chef Jarda, I can promise you an interesting and tasty meal. They’ve gone for an ‘aphrodisiac menu’ determined to put as much love around as I am! A love cocktail on arrival and an extensive choice of menu including some excellent choices to share (what better way to find the love) I can’t deny it will be a fantastic night. You can visit from 14th – 16th February and it’s a bargain at £35 each.

Now on to our choice. We’re going to a favourite of ours, The Angel. The three course menu has plenty to choose from including pork belly, fillet of beef and pan fried cod. What more could you want than a romantic Valentine’s dinner with a roaring fire and dozens of beautiful ales. On 14th February only, dishes individually priced.

Finally, the option of having a romantic Valentine’s meal without leaving the house. Essence of Swinton, a British take-out, are offering a romantic meal for two with wine delivered to your door from 14th – 16th February as long as you preorder. Choose from marinated chicken breast or lamb shank, followed by dessert and your choice of wine for only £14 per person. If going out isn’t for you and you are local to them then this may be a good choice.

I hope you have a nice meal, whatever your choice and let me know where you decide to go!