Humour me for a minute


Angie Harrison's Cafe Reviews awards; 


The best place for a breakfast in the North West is


Kershaw's Sandwich and Deli Bar, Bury


The best place for fish and chips in the North West is


The Regent, Eccles


The best place for a coffee, which is made from freshly ground beans and is inexpensive.


Any Morrison's Cafe




Interesting things to read/ look at/ listen to


http://mancunianwave.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.rabid.oneuk.com/index.htm

http://www.manchizzle.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BzX8ZFPRwM

http://doorsintothepast.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.spotlightlancaster.co.uk/

http://true-to-you.net/

Town Fryer World Famous Bury Market

Like Elliot Eastwick’s Pub Quiz, Bury Market is World Famous. I went in search of something I could drench in salt and vinegar. The queue and smell enticed me. Not a black pudding in sight, just pie, chips, salt, vinegar, gravy and forks. I patiently waited my turn. There were nine of us in the queue, which stretched right round the corner. Seven were from the same family and they proceeded to order pies, chips, scallops, peas and gravy. The chips were thick cut, the gravy dark and beefy looking. The chips were piled high into a tray, the peas on top of the chips, then the gravy on top of everything else. Plenty of cones of chips were wafting in front of me. Everyone who was served asked for a fork, as there were none on the counter. The harassed looking chip fryer was permanently hunched, passing forks over the counter with his left hand and shaking fat from the battered fish with the other. The chip fryer was rather good looking. Brown eyes. I craved a scallop. I yearned for it, shoved between a barm cake, crusty with salt and drenched in vinegar. When it was my turn, I hesitantly asked for a scallop on a muffin. I was self conscious that my flat Salford vowels were standing out like a sore thumb. I was an alien on Bury Market. A muffin, in Salford, is a barmcake. The red faced woman told me there were no scallops left. It was half three and they were shutting in an hour, she said.  She took a breath, turned to the left and told the young girl at her side to go and serve in the café. I was crestfallen. I was about to settle for just chips when the brown eyed chip fryer told me he would put me a couple in if I didn’t mind waiting. I said I didn’t and took a step back to wait. I offered the woman my money. Aforementioned scallop on a muffin was one pound. Business continued, briskly, with people reaching over each other for the salt and vinegar. At one point in the proceedings there was an altercation in the queue, one woman was very insulted that another man had been served before her. “Just ignore me then”, she protested to the woman behind the counter. I was presented with my bag of food and I went and sat down. My scallop on a muffin/ barmcake was outrageously delicious. Piping hot and non greasy I folded back the barmcake to reveal the thick batter. There were 2 scallops in there.  The butter on the barmcake had melted and I smothered the whole lot in salt and vinegar. It was worth the trip to Bury. The salt pot had dried peas in it.

(For those in the south of England a scallop is a slice of potato, battered and then deep fried. It has nothing whatsoever to do with an actual scallop). 

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