Ten good things I ate in March

Crab, dumplings, desserts and more

Apologies for this being quite a bit later than usual. Wine tours have been going OFF and, honestly, I haven’t been able to get my shit together on the writing front.

March was an invite-heavy month, and even though I always turn a lot of stuff down (if it’s not a “hell yeah” it’s a “no”), about half of this month’s best dishes is via PR-invites with the rest being places I have managed to get to on my own steam. I assure you, these dishes wouldn’t be here if they weren’t fantastic.

I’ve got a lot of thoughts on influencer culture, PR invites, and so on, that I have been trying to wrangle into a succinct piece of writing. Look out for that soon.

For now, read on for the best things I ate in March:

Ricotta gnudi dumplings with brown butter, crispy sage, pine nuts, and black garlic at Exhibition (£20)

If I was going to recommend just one dish from the new menu at Exhibition ( which we tried via a PR invite), it would be this. They’ve changed the way they present the menu now, so you don’t know which kitchen things come from. I kind of like that; it means you can focus on dishes you want to try without having to look at three different menus and panic that it might be weird to order one dish from each.

Anyway, I loved this handmade gnudi stuffed with ricotta. Firm enough to stab with a fork but yielding once in your gob. Sage butter never fails for me, toasted pine nuts add crunch and their unique essential oil flavour, and the acidity of the black garlic peps things up. I forgot we were meant to be sharing and wolfed down a few of these in quick succession before realising everyone at the table was glaring at me.

I did my research, and this dish was made by the team at Jaan (from Another Hand).

Brixham crab, celeriac remoulade, mustard cress at Winsome (£14)

When I went to Glasgow last month for the Michelin Awards, I ate lots of great seafood, including at a restaurant called Crabshakk. It made me lament that there isn’t a restaurant specialising in seafood here in Manchester city centre. As much of a champion as I am of Manchester, there are some glaring omissions, and this is one of them. Shout out to Easy Fish Heaton Moor and The Oystercatcher in Chorlton. I see you, but alas, you are not in the city.

Anyway, it looks like Bar Shrimp from the team behind Higher Ground and Flawd might fill that void, but we have to wait until “winter” for that. In the meantime, my crabby desires have been fulfilled by this outstanding dish at Winsome’s press launch.

A bisque-like, intense brown crab meat sauce topped with fresh white crab meat and a crunchy, creamy and acidic creme fraiche-doused celeriac remoulade. I only got to taste a little of this at the press launch, but next time I am here, I’m ordering it to myself with some Parker house rolls to pile it onto. A glass of English sparkling, too.

It was so good, I failed to get a decent picture, so the above will have to do.

Dormouse chocolate, guava, forced rhubarb at Sampa (£58 as part of a 10-course tasting menu)

I have already written a long article on Caroline Martins’ latest iteration of her Sampa supperclub pop up. I have known Caroline since we met when I interviewed her on the eve of her first appearance on Great British Menu. She had just arrived in Manchester to launch a residency at Blossom Street Social. I found her enthusiasm both captivating and infectious, and I have been lucky to try many versions of her tasting menu as part of my job. I’ve loved watching her ideas evolve. This magic mushroom has been on the menu since day one, and I think it’s currently the best it’s ever been. Even with my lack of a sweet tooth, I didn’t struggle to polish off this incongruous mix of Dormouse chocolate, sharp rhubarb, and fruity guava. It really shouldn’t work - but it does.

Trout pastrami, pickles, smoked belly, caviar at Fold (£14)

I have been to Fold several times both in a professional capacity and as a regular human choosing where to go for dinner. I’m a big fan. Marple Bridge is a gorgeous place, well worth a visit and easy enough to get to by train from Manchester. Every time I go there, I think I should go back more. So when Fold invited me to try the new menu, it was an easy yes.

Current head chef Jake Rossington has created a menu of dishes that are skilful and playful in equal measure. On our visit, we enjoyed tiny delicate crab tarts, beignets topped with ‘Frazzles dust’, and a pristine bit of lamb rump. But it was this trout ‘pastrami’ that we talked about all the way home on the train. It makes sense to cure trout and then spice it up with pepper, cloves and herbs in a similar way to pastrami. It works so well. The pickled cucumber is an ideal foil to the oil, while the smoked trout belly mousse brings another level of deli-inspired fun. Put all three together with a blob of caviar and you’ve got a mazel tov cocktail of a 70s dinner party nibble.

Braised Bluefaced Leicester lamb, barley, dandelion and green sauce at The Palmerston, Edinburgh (£28)

Twice up to Scotland in the first quarter of this year, and I couldn’t be more pleased about that. In March, I headed up to Edinburgh to host a wine event for a private client and jumped at the opportunity to get an early train and grab lunch at The Palmerston. A reliable source had recommended this place, but I was a little spooked by some of the online reviews saying service was poor and it was overrated. I am glad I ignored them because I found the welcome to be warm, the place absolutely buzzing on a Wednesday lunchtime and lots to love on the menu. Good wine too.

This was a difficult favourite to pick because everything we ate was excellent. But I love that this is so very Scottish. I can’t imagine where I might eat something like this in Manchester. Everything I love about Scotch broth (my fave soup, since you asked) but without the, er, broth. This was a great hunk of melting lamb sitting on a pool of its reduced meaty juices and topped with an eyelid twitching salsa verde, all soaked up by a mound of that most underrated grain, pearl barley. Dandelion added a welcome and unusual bitterness. Highly recommend this place if you’re up in Edinburgh.

As always, the second half of this roundup is for paid subscribers only. Thank you SO much for supporting my work as an independent food writer.
Below the paywall:

• a shining light in a place I really don’t rate otherwise

• my new fave cheese deli in the city

• the perfect dessert

and more!