Tony Soprano once told a friend trapped in a desperate situation: “You gotta get your arms around this thing.”Bada Bing Sandwich Deli is offering similar advice to its customers.
Manchester’s new city centre snack bar – inspired by mafia TV series The Sopranos – is serving ‘hoagies’ so big they come with eating instructions: Two hands recommended.
Partners Sam and Meg had often wondered about setting up their own cafe, and during one lockdown evening spent watching David Chase’s seminal show, the pair found themselves feasting their eyes on the plates of food that were so often piled high in the foreground on screen.
It was all the motivation they needed.
Together, Sam and Meg made it their mission to bring proper Italian-American sandwiches to Manchester for the first time – recreating the kind of ingredient-packed, eye-popping hoagies that wouldn’t look out of place in Satriale’s (the mob deli where Tony is often found chewing over a problem with his food).
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They officially launched their cafe in February and called it ‘Bada Bing’ – an ode to the venue that brings in business for the New Jersey mafia in The Sopranos.
Of course, there are a few crucial differences. Manchester’s Bing is an alley kitchen serving sandwiches – not a bar and strip club off a highway exit.
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Currently, Sam and Meg do all the prep and cooking themselves – whipping up recipes in a dark kitchen (with bread freshly-baked each morning) and passing orders out of a window.
However, there are already plans to move to Ancoats and share a space with another Italian-American-themed takeaway ‘Fat Tony’s Lasagne’ later this year.
Bada Bing co-owner Sam told The Manc: “Me and Meg were sat there one night watching The Sopranos and I said: ‘You know what, why don’t we just do it? Set up our own shop and call it the Bada Bing’?
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“It was a bit of a laugh at first, but then it turned out to be a great idea in the end!”
Within a matter of weeks, the pair were serving hungry customers out of a hatch round the back of B Lounge.
“We do get a lot of Sopranos fans coming down, but we also get people who are just looking for a good sandwich in Manchester,” Sam explains.
“I can’t think of many places that offer a sandwich like we do.
“Obviously, you’ve got the big chains but I’ve always been disappointed by them.”
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In time, Sam and Meg are hoping to have their very own shopfront with “pictures behind the counter” and “meat hanging from the roof” – just like in their beloved TV show.
But until then, they’re keeping The Sopranos theme alive through their menu.
Tony Soprano was often seen tucking into sandwiches at Satriale’s during the series / Image: YouTube
The headliner sandwich is The Bing (with ‘Gabagool’, pistachio mortadella, salami, provolone, tomato, lettuce, red onion, giardiniera and mayo); whilst the Paulie Walnuts is named after one of The Sopranos’ fearless Mafia captains (this one is packed with mushroom shawarma, artichokes, balsamic caramelised onions, walnuts rocket, vegan truffle mayo and gouda).
Other options include the The Meatball Sub with fennel sausage meatballs, red sauce, mozzarella, rocket, pecorino and basil salsa verde; and a rotating list of specials including a Chicago-style hot beef sandwich.
There’s also plans for a Bánh mì sandwich – which the pair have been wanting to recreate since trying one in Melbourne.
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“We’ll keep changing the menu as often as possible, maybe the meats will change from time to time, too,” Sam tells us.
“We just want to keep it interesting, I’d hate for the menu to get stale.”
“We’re also hoping to hire someone soon to help with the workload.
“It’s a lot of hard work just the two of us, but it’s been really fun. We’ve worked in bars for years and we’ve decided to throw ourselves in the deep end.
“Touch wood it’s been pretty successful so far.”
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Bada Bing Sandwich Deli
So much of The Sopranos is set against backdrops of food – whether it’s a cafe, pork store, restaurant, dinner table, or the wake of a fallen mobster.
By the final season, one boss’ daughter even reaches breaking point, exasperatedly turning to her father – who is clad in an orange prison jumpsuit – and asking: “Jesus, can’t we ever about anything else in the family besides food?!”
It was a snatch of dialogue that can be seen as a cheeky, knowing nod to the show’s obsession with cooking. And maybe it was the masterful cinematography, but the grub always looked so good.
Bada Bing is a welcome addition to the neighbourhood for this reason alone. But it’s probably about time New Jersey and Manchester got better acquainted, anyway.
After all, the two cities already share several similarities – including slate-grey winter skies, residents bursting with intense civic pride, and international status for making groundbreaking achievements in media.
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Perhaps NJ’s most famous televisual export, The Sopranos ran for nine years in total, but it picked up a cult following mere months after it first launched.
Bada Bing Sandwich Deli has been much the same.
What this means, of course, is that Piccadilly’s freshest deli is as busy as the real ‘Bing’ on a Friday night.
“We’ve been selling out every week!” Sam chuckles.
“It’s really popular because there’s a gap in the market for this in Manchester.”
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Bada Bing Sandwich Deli
Because they’re only a crew of two at Bada Bing right now, customers are urged to get their orders in early.
You can arrange collection on the same day or the next – but you’ll need to act fast to get your hands on (and you will need both hands) a weekend hoagie.
If you wait around too long, fuh-get about it.
Bada Bing Sandwich Deli is located on Back Piccadilly in Manchester city centre.
Opening times are Friday to Sunday, midday until 3pm. Order for collection next day.
Beloved plant-based independent street food business Herbivorous is set to close imminently
Danny Jones
We hate writing this, but we have news of yet another local hospitality closure as beloved Manchester-born and pioneering plant-based brand Herbivorous has confirmed they’ll soon be calling it a day.
If you can hear us sighing through the screen, apologies – we’re just getting really fed up of saying farewell to our favourites, so god knows how rubbish those involved feel.
As you can see, the team behind the multi-location vegan street food specialists began by writing: “It’s a long one so stay with me… It seems you can’t open social media at the moment without reading about another hospitality business closing down.
“Throughout 8 years of Herbivorous years we’ve come up against many challenges from Covid 5 years ago to watching all the big vegan brands from London and beyond come to Manchester and largely disappear again to the closure of Hatch our busiest site, but with continually increasing costs its becoming really difficult to maintain a thriving business.”
Herbivorous started out life back in 2016 as a cult hit at the old outdoor food, drink and entertainment hub centring around a ‘container village’, the first of its kind in the city and soon to reopen under new owners and a new name.
Since then, co-founders Robyn and Damian have gone on to expand not just to one permanent site over in Withington but with outposts in Sheffield and York, having gained a strong reputation with stalls and pop-ups all over.
Their hospitality story might not have the ending we personally would hope for, but it’s been a brilliant one for so many foodie fans – us lot included.
Nevertheless, they go on to add in the emotional statement that external pressures such as a recent bereavement and their own ever-growing family have also contributed to the decision which, despite being an understandably hard one, “feel like the right time.”
“We are so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come from spending long days slinging duck wraps from our green vintage horse box at festivals to three Herbi locations across the North of England”, they continue, “and with that we’ve also met so many fantastic people!”
“Whether you worked for us at a few festivals over [the] summer or for years at our restaurant, we just wanted to say and massive thank you! The memories will stay with us forever and, of course, how can we not mention our fabulous customers!
“Thank you all so much for choosing Herbivorous over the years. Those of you who had our food at Festivals and then found us at one of our permanent locations, those of you who came back week after week to Hatch, Spark, Withington and beyond.”
They signed off by detailing their final business days, with their Sheffield Kommune spot having already shut for refurbishment; meanwhile, their spot in SPARK York will be wrapping up on Saturday, 19 April.
As for their flagship brick-and-mortar venue here in Greater Manchester, Herbivorous Withington will be shutting on Friday, 25 April.
Once again, there’s nothing we can say other than thank you for years of delicious food, that we’re guttted to see you go, and that everyone at The Manc Group wishes you the best whatever comes next.
Cult favourite food spot Desert Island Dumplings is set to close their Manchester shop
Danny Jones
A much-loved Manc spot is bidding a reluctant farewell, and to be honest, we’re not ready to say goodbye to Desert Island Dumplings either, as it’s been announced that they’ll soon be closing.
What started as a lockdown idea has gone on to become a cult favourite of the city centre and among vegans in the area, with countless foodies heading to their quiet little third-floor corner.
Delivering the gutting news at the start of this week on social media, founder Lucy Linford had to assure fans that this sadly isn’t an April Fool’s before going on to share a lengthy and stirring statement.
Taking up ten whole slides and numerous paragraphs in what is one of the most emotional Instagram posts the local hospitality industry has seen so far this year, she confirmed that Desert Island Dumplings will be closing in the coming months.
She began by stating, “This news might come as a shock to you”, adding that “we’ve rolled with the punches these past couple years of years and the shop is busier than ever”, but insisted that closing this particular chapter “is the right decision”.
The little dumpling shop that could hasn’t just been one of the most popular vendors inside Afflecks, an iconic Manchester attraction all of its own – it’s also gone through so many steps to get to where it is now, and it’s a local independent story that you can’t help but admire.
From the days of serving as a little pop-up at cricket grounds and various other street food stalls to establishing a dark kitchen in Liverpool, enjoying stints at GRUB, Sadler’s Cat, Ancoats General, Stretford Food Hall and more before settling down in the Palace’s emporium, it’s been a joy to watch.
Before explaining the reasons behind shutting up shop, Lucy wrote: “Thank you to every single person who has supported to Desert Island Dumplings over the past five years.”
We were left particularly moved and inspired by the recollections of the period shortly after she went “full-time-dumplings”, spending her hours learning about business, “trying to concentrate through webinars, scribbling words like ‘dividends’ and ‘GDPR?’ into notebooks.”
This part of the real hard work that you hardly ever get to see but that so many of those who start out with a dream to make it in the sector have to struggle through, and we couldn’t have more admiration for her graft if we tried – and look what it led to.
It’s also worth reminding the waves this place as made in terms of plant-based dining not just in Manchester but the North West and beyond, standing proudly as ‘the UK’s first vegan fusion dumpling joint’ and not sacrificing on flavour one single bit.
The brand even went on to pitch to Aldi, and you’ll be glad to hear that this isn’t curtains completely: Lucy and co. will still be serving right up until the last day, and as she prepares to take on a Masters up in Edinburgh, the dumps, noods, hash browns plus all the rest of will be a big hit in Scotland, no doubt.
As for the final chapter here in Manchester, the team will be bringing back some beloved specials and fan favourites, not to mention “putting on a few fun farewell events” ahead of their final day on 15 June.
Put simply, Lucy says she’s “loved every second of it”, and so have we. She signed off by adding, “Nothing good lasts forever but memories do.” We urge you to read the post in full, it’s really touching.
Make sure to give them a visit whilst you still can, and thanks again to Desert Island Dumplings for filling our bellies so many times. We hope to stumble across you in Scotland one day.
The Manc -
19th March 2021 
