Finished with Greens (again in Didsbury) last night and that was beautiful as usual, I had the black pudding and lentil casserole. I've yet to have vegetarian food that compares to anything in there, perhaps down to the way Simon Rimmer approaches vegetarian food.

We had an early tea in Greens tonight before going to the MEN ... and it's very good. I had the same dish as you ... but on trying my wife's choice (griddled aubergine and red thai curry with sticky rice) I felt I'd made a bad choice, because her dish was really tasty and full of different textures to make a better all round dish.

The service was excellent and so was the wine, so hard to fault it really. I'd make one observation on your comment above though. I think there are plenty of great places to eat - in this area and elsewhere - which serve up vegetarian dishes as good as or better than Greens. The Red Pump springs straight to mind, there are others.

The big difference for a vegetarian diner is having a choice. Whatever (eg) the Red Pump gives you to eat, it's going to taste wonderful, be locally sourced and well cooked. However there's a good chance it will involve goats cheese or something else you may have had for lunch. Greens offers you seven main courses, 100% vegetarian, all will be well cooked and presented - and for a vegetarian used to the goats cheese problem that much choice is just heaven on earth.

All that said, I've got home and heated up a nice portion of the roast belly pork (bought locally from Huntleys of course) which I cooked last night (Gordon Ramsey's stunning "twice cooked" recipe just click here) ... and there's no way I'll be joining the vegetarian society any time soon

Been to see the Australian Pink Floyd Show tonight at the MEN Arena. Mixed feelings when we booked the tickets a few months back at 39 quid each ... surely a cover band couldn't be worth that much?? Could they carry off playing a venue like the MEN??

Well they absolutely could. Three hours of the best Floyd tracks, carried off brilliantly. I was most worried about the sound, Dave Gilmour makes his guitar sing like nobody else. It wasn't quite Dave Gilmour, but it was as close as you're going to get. Light show and stage show to match the big sound.

Playing Liverpool in July. I think we'll be going again. Awesome.

In what way?

It's barely marketed at all, try finding a company that stocks it!

Booths stock it ... bizarrely so does Ye Olde Sausage Shop in Ossie Mills, and there ain't much (ie anything) else veggie in there!

It does taste authentic, but I don't think the texture is quite right when compared to real black pudding.

Lower Buck at Waddington well worth a try - been there twice recently and both times excellent.

We had lunch at the Lower Buck yesterday and really enjoyed it.

Less "cheffy" food than the nearby Inn at Whitewell / Red Pump / Three Fishes and therefore appropriately cheaper, but no less well cooked. Varied and interesting options on the specials board and helpings are generous (I had a whole spring chicken flattened, skewered and chargrilled perfectly with spring onions - 11 quid or thereabouts).

5 real ales on offer (Bowland and Moorhouses), nice proper pub feel although it was quiet yesterday. Great chips and very well cooked vegetables. All their meat and vegetables are locally sourced (Longridge according to the GPG).

I wonder if there's another rural area in the entire country which offers such a wide choice of fantastic quality food pubs in such close proximity as this little corner of East Lancashire?

Motorhead tickets booked bob, abbey ... see you on the all-dayer

Grasshoppers (Zurich) ... ... the blue & white halves sealed it for me.

Lovely shirt ...

Plan to hit sweet mandarin next time I am down, any experiences?

http://www.onionring...cle.asp?NID=435

What more can you say. Went about 2 years ago and had no probs getting in without booking but now ?? ..Evening only and you choose a sitting when booking..Not too far from the Printworks ,Band on the Wall area in Manchester

This restaurant thread has played another blinder with this tip - so thanks to both of you. Sweet Mandarin, 3 mins from Victoria station.

A couple of reasons why I wouldn't usually choose to eat here - (1) Whilst I enjoy Chinese food, it's not my first choice (when there is a choice) ... and (2) I have two well established favourites now in Manchester (El Rincon de Rafa and the Armenian Tavern), so it just feels wrong not to eat at one or the other of those two fantastic places. And (3) ... surely the best Chinese food in Manchester or any city - would be in Chinatown????

But tonight was to see Dizzee Rascal (he's a rascal) so proximity to Victoria station / MEN was the main factor, so we checked out this thread and a couple of reviews and gave Sweet Mandarin a whirl.

Best Chinese food I've eaten in a decade. The main thing was the veg, it was fresh and well cooked, and just jumped out of my sizzling pork dish ... so many times Chinese food gets bogged down by soggy veg and gloopy sauce but this did the opposite.

We were served our starter within 5 mins of ordering - 1 starter, 2 mains, 2 rice and a bottle of wine was ~40 quid - attentive, polite, efficient staff - I haven't got a bad word to say about this one.

We had a couple of mates over from Hull who found themselves sat near the bloke who shouted out, seems he was too drunk to realise what was going on.

Apparently the fellow Hull fan sat immediately in front of him turned round and smacked him so hard he couldn't breathe for the rest of the silence, never mind make any further noise.

It's a credit to everyone in the Darwen End (upper and lower) that the rest of the minute was observed in impeccable silence ... because usually after an unfortunate incident like that the whole thing degenerates.

I hope John's family found some solace through the respect of the 23,000 fans and both clubs

Can anyone recommend anything in Bowness/Windermere? Off up there in a short while for the wedding anniversary.

Depends what you're looking for.

Miller Howe probably serves the classiest food on that side of the lake. However half of its charm is the stunning view up and down Windermere, so it's a lunchtime or summer evening place. I've never had to pay the bill there (and I never want to) - but it is top notch food and service if that's what you're looking for.

Surprisingly, some of the best food in Windermere is at Lakeland Plastics 1st floor Cafe - surprising that is until you read the chefs CV, and then you'd queue for ages to eat there. As many people do ... it's strictly 1st come 1st served and no booking, is this the only shop in the world where the cafe starts serving before the shop actually opens?? Maybe not an anniversary place, unless you both enjoy shopping for bin liners and kitchen gadgets.

For something more "in between" those options - and without crossing or going around the lake to Hawkshead / Sawrey (where you have some truly stunning restaurant quality pubs) - I'd take a taxi 2 miles from Windermere to Ings or Staveley and go here - using the Guardian link because their own website is down ... or here (Eagle and Child Stavely) ... both lovely pubs with good honest food and good beer.

[After Nick's experience, please phone these places first!!!]

Red Pump Bashall Eaves last night. I had a dollop of red cabbage last that er indoors could'nt manage. It was also served with duck. It was superb and cooked to perfection and obviously without that horrible vinegary taste that one associates with pickled red cabbage.

I had the sausage and mash (home made flat sausage with no skin) and it was excellent. My only complaint was that the portions were not great. Fine for the missus but barely enough for me.

This place gets rave reviews and it is a charming and comfortable hostelry hidden far from the madding crowd. It also has 3 guest rooms for anybody wanting a 'get away from it all' weekend. Good local brews on draught but I reneged on those and chose a couple of pints of the excellent Czech lager 'Budvar'.

We were in the Red Pump for a late Saturday lunch, so probably only missed you by a few hours

Comfortably the best eatery in this region in my opinion (as previously posted here).

Portion size depends on what you choose I think - I had the super-slow roast Pendle belly pork, and although I managed a desert after it I certainly wasn't going to be hungry after the main. Elsewhere on the table were the shin of beef, the rabbit and venison hot pot, the duck dish Mrs Tnd had, and the veggie stack - you couldn't call any of the portions insufficient.

I agree their home made flat sausage is fantastic, I asked them to slip one on the side for brekkie last time I was there and loved it.

We are certainly lucky to have this sort of place on our doorsteps.

At the other end of the spectrum, I finished yesterday off with a chicken and lamb mix shish from Yummy's Kebab Land in Stourbridge. Seemed like a good idea at the time ...

The players have weight goals - he was way below his

He is fat, lazy and not willing to put the extra work in to prove just how good he is.....only 1 person to blame - Benni McCarthy! Dress it up how you want but thats the fact....

I'm sure you're going to give us the details in your next post ... in kilograms and pounds + ounces if you would be so kind.

Then you will be able to describe it as a 'fact'

(BTW I think you meant 'above' not below)

JAL - perhaps if Benni could turn up fit and not over weight for training then I might have a bit of sympathy. Admittedly I'm unsure what pittance we're paying him but I'll guess it's over one and a half million pounds a year for not turning up in peak condition to do his job properly.

People talk about unrest in the camp. Good grief - one of the highest paid players at the club (presumably) can't even get himself match fit or turn up for training. What sort of message does that send out? It's a miracle we're going to get any money for him at all if you ask me.

Who says he's not match fit though? He's looked better than the rest of the forwards in the last few games.

Perhaps they need to get fitter and should have been called in with Benni at 7am??

Or - more likely - perhaps they need to play their football with some freedom, and ignore the instructions from the idiot manager.

Which it appears is the crux of the matter here. Benni has had the nerve to be imaginative with the occasional corner or free kick in the attacking third, and use his footballing brain. Such inventiveness has forced him out of the club.

Sounds like you're condoning his behaviour. He's been like this, more or less, for the whole 4 years we've had him. How can you use Benni well if he can't even be arsed to get fit?

To perform to his maximum he would have to get fit. What sort of professional footballer comes back after the break in the state he was?

I've already done the opposite of condoning his current behaviour a few posts up. Please learn to read and understand.

Whatever state he came back in, he's managed to stay in our top 3 goalscorers list this season, despite being last in the managers pecking order of 4 crap strikers + a fat injury prone free running midfielder (who also wants to escape the Allardyce regime).

That speaks volumes for Benni Mac's ability, despite his fitness levels. More worryingly, it speaks volumes about where Allardyce is taking this club. Away from its traditions and values, and away from what supporters want. Benni Mac -> Beattie (or similar) = 19,000 ST holders -> 15,000 ST holders. At any price.

I'm sure you'll be the first to complain when the only forward option off the bench this time next month is some talentless lump with a worse scoring record than Di Santo. We can't afford new talent like McCarthy, so we had to keep the McCarthy we already owned.

Anyone of them can be shown the door and I wouldn't shed a tear or worry an ounce over the future of the club. We can do as well as or better in the market, push comes to shove.

What market?? Accrington? Darwen?

Push comes to shove, this club needs to use what it has, and use it well. We can't afford a facelift - we can't even afford one new player.

Tris, straight question. Has Benni behaved professionally with Rovers over this?

No of course he hasn't, and you won't find me defending him over this method of forcing a move.

But he gives (gave) us another dimension, and has been misused by a manager intent on relying on percentages rather than flair, in a season when he should have been given the platform to perform to his maximum.

a fat waster who has done sod all in three years for three different managers is beyond me.

He's scored 52 goals in the 3 1/2 years he's been here. Not bad for a fat waster.

And if his record at BRFC is "underachieving" then heaven help the strikers Allardyce has brought to the club.

Why?

That doesn´t make any sense at all. Benni jumps ship after bring unfit for months and other players "certainly see this from Benni´s side".

Sorry...but I think that is a load of rubbish.

Think what you want. It appears that a number of senior first team players want away, even if McCarthy has been the most vocal about it (he has more at stake with the World Cup situation). He hasn't been so unfit as to be left out of the squad has he??

A better man manager would have got the maximum out of this talented player, using the World Cup situation positively to the benefit of Blackburn Rovers, rather than allowing a situation to develop where he might join a rival for whatever pittance they now choose to offer - and no doubt bag a hatful of goals for them to prove a point to his ex-manager.

Tugay, then Warnock, now maybe McCarthy, good players who didn't need to be forced out or sold. Rumblings that Dunn, Pedersen and Hoilett don't like what's happening.

There's a real fear for me that Allardyce's legacy will be a squad stripped of entertaining, talented footballers and it will take years to rebuild a Blackburn Rovers team worth paying to watch.

More to the point, the psychology of the entire dressing room ... the players who can't escape Allardyce in the next 7 days will certainly see this from Benni's side of the fence and will no doubt spend the next 3 months planning their own exits in the summer.

Doesn't bode well.

I disagree, 75% of the time his performances make him a liability.

One good performance doesn't change the last 6 months.

You should have posted those words in the Allardyce thread.

Instead of blindly defending him come what may.

Anyone tried Pond in Preston yet? I love tapas and this has been recommended.

Ta!

Went a year ago and haven't been back - but this is what I thought then ...

This is the most useful thread on the MB, just keeps on going ... almost as good as Sawdays

I love Tapas too, and this is certainly a cut above the chains - if you're in Preston town centre, perfect. If you were going to make a special journey, probably worth going to Duk instead.

Got to say Red Pump was excellent , their venison raviolli starter was superb...Also a great pint of Black Sheep..higly recommended

We ate at the Red Pump last night - it was very impressive indeed. The specials board included teal as a starter (pan fried to medium rare, on mash + cabbage with a red wine sauce) - never eaten it before and it was melt-in-the-mouth gorgeous. As was the main, and the desert.

Having eaten at Whitewell and 3 of Nigel Howarth's locals in recent months, I would have to say that the Red Pump was the best of the lot, both for the food and the overall enjoyment of being there - and I do like them all!

Will certainly be back there soon, and can't recommend it highly enough.

Red Pump

He probably thought that Benni would try his hardest to get fit and help the team out in times of need.

But; he didn't, he became even more unfit during the arse end of last season and couldn't be relied on.

It still baffles me on how a "professional athlete" can become unfit during a season. (injuries a side)

I think that says a lot about what kind of mentality Benni has and it sums up how much he actually cares for the football club as a whole.

This is being repeated so often it's turning into an urban myth. McCarthy wasn't unfit and his fitness didn't deteriorate during last season. Allardyce played a 6 foot 7 defender in his position - end of.

As he's said to the press today, he's not the type of player Allardyce wants. Which is a crying shame, because he's a very talented player, fantastic to watch and he scores goals - if a manager is able to use him properly.

I suspect that if (when) he does leave in January, what arrives as a replacement will not have a fraction of Benni's ability or get near his goalscoring record at Rovers.

Not happy.

it does, benni would be starting most if not every game if i was gaffer

We had a couple of drinks in Blues with one of your fellow Northern Ireland Rovers fans last night after the game ... one who enjoys autograph hunting and therefore spoke to Benni Mac as he left Ewood Park.

Benni is determined to leave the club in January because he doesn't fit in to the Allardyce game plan. As forecast.

Which is an absolute travesty from where I'm sitting, he's our best striker and one of the few players left on our books with a bit of flair and skill. To read a story in the press this morning that Allardyce wants to replace Benni with a player nicknamed "The Tank" makes me want to weep.

I suspect that Hoilett not wanting to sign a new deal at Rovers is down to the exact same reason. At his age, blessed with skill and pace, but watching Allardyce football for the last 3 months ... why would he want to stay? Where would his attributes fit in??

4. How do we fare defensively if we attempt to play them both?

After 10 games we are joint last out of 20 on goals conceded, so it can't get much bloody worse than that can it?

I can't believe we're comparing "engines" between David Dunn and Benni McCarthy!! If this was a drag race you just wouldn't want to choose either of them!!

Benni should be playing up front as one of a pair, because as things stand, he is our best striker. Dunn should be in central midfield as part of a 4. If he no longer has the "engine" to do that job without the added protection of two CMs behind him, then he should take a cameo role as a 30 minute 2nd half sub.

We watched the "Bring on the Clarets" DVD this evening, to start the build up to Sunday. What a pleasure it was to watch Souness' side pinging the ball around Ewood's slick pitch - a tough tackling team which could then play passing football, and flair football, in the best way.

I long to see that again on Sunday, and 5 more goals. From our current sqaud, Benni McCarthy needs to be involved to get near it.