Squirrels, for me at least, have always been a friend of the park, not the plate. Still, when I saw a dish of crispy fried wild squirrel appear on the menu at Street Urchin I knew it was inevitable that I would try it.
Served over a creamy pulled ham hock cassoulet with hazelnut bread croutons and nettle pesto – the squirrel deep-fried and crispy, chicken wing-style, in a buttermilk batter – at £22.50 a plate, this is certainly no roadkill barbecue.
The dish has been a smash hit since its introduction and shortly after making its first appearance on their specials board, it quickly sold out.
In fact, the crispy fried squirrel here has proven so popular that by the time I got down the specials plate had changed altogether.
Reimagined with homemade black pudding, puy lentils, wild garlic and new potatoes, with a tart little pickled blackberry and rocket salad, whilst some elements were different, the crispy fried wild buttermilk squirrel was still the same – and that’s what I really came for.
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So, being pretty much game for anything, I left my mixed feelings about the cute little pests at the door and ventured inside to find out if these squirrels are as delicious as I had heard. Spoiler alert, they kind of are.
Nutty and mellow, a bit gamey, you’re encouraged to eat the meat as you would a piece of fried chicken -and so I did. For a moment, I even forgot what it was that I was eating.
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With all the flavour in the crispy buttermilk coating, and more from the combination of black pudding, puy lentils, salad and wild garlic, the only thing to bring me back to reality was the little bones I kept having to pick out.
According to husband and wife time Rachel and Kevin Choudhary the dish has proven a hit with customers and staff alike, leaving them ‘really surprised’.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
“We were looking for something new for the game options on the menu. Kev was speaking to our game supplier and randomly asked if he had any grey squirrels. Happily, he did,” Rachel told The Manc.
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“The whole team tried the dish the day it went on and the majority thought it was really good.
“We weren’t sure if it would sell, but have been really surprised. So many people have tried it and given good feedback. We’ve recommended that they eat it like chicken wings and pick it up, that way you get most of the meat.
“I’d never tried squirrel before and I absolutely loved it, it has great flavour, rich buttery texture, and it’s wild, free-range meat.”
In the UK the culling of grey squirrels is perfectly legal, and some chefs are even adopting the mellow, nutty meat as a sustainable alternative to factory-farmed products – arguing it’s better to eat it than let it go to waste.
Part of a new trend in what’s being called ‘ethical dining’, I personally found the squirrel to be bony but delicious. If asked to try it again, I absolutely would – no hesitation.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Food & Drink
‘Exclusive’ Manchester nightclub shares customer’s eye-watering £88k bill
Daisy Jackson
A nightclub in Manchester has shared a picture of a recent customer’s bill – and to call them a big spender would be underselling it.
The luxury nightclub posted a photo of a bill that racked up to an eye-watering £88k.
Or, to be very specific, £88,589.60.
The flash customer was at The Continental Club, otherwise known as The Conti, an ‘exclusive’ bar and club on South King Street.
The bar is a drastic departure from the former nightlife spot which stood in its place – the building was previously home to South, a legendary underground club famed for its alternative soundtrack.
Now it’s got a new life as a nightlife haunt where, apparently, it’s not uncommon to spend the equivalent of a small terrace house on drinks.
The bar shared the picture of the receipt yesterday, describing it as a ‘record-breaker’.
The Continental Club has claimed that it’s not only the biggest spend in its own walls, but the most expensive bill to have ever taken place in any club in Manchester.
‘Exclusive’ Manchester nightclub shares customer’s eye-watering £88k bill
Curious to see how exactly a person could spend £88k on drinks? Let’s break down some of the more expensive items.
Let’s kick things off with three bottles of Clase Azul Ultra Extra Anejo, a tequila which retails for around £2.5k but set this customer back £9,500 a pop…
Then there’s a couple of magnums of Dom Perignon rose champagne (£2,000 each), a few bottles of Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Champagne (£1,500 each), and a few £950 bottles of Chivas Regal 25 whiskey.
It makes the £850 Grey Goose at the bottom seem like child’s play.
They also slammed at least 48 Red Bulls, according to the bill.
Then on top of that you’ve got a staggering £8k worth of service charge – some very happy staff went home that night, I’d imagine.
The Continental Club wrote: “Some come to sip…others come to set records. The biggest table spend to EVER take place in a club in Manchester.”
V.Goode Pies – Michelin-recommended Manchester restaurant launches new pie shop
Daisy Jackson
A new pie shop has opened in Manchester today – and it comes from the same team behind a Michelin-recommended restaurant.
Chefs Shaun Moffat (of Winsome fame) and Sam Grainger (Madre, Belzan, Doug’s and loads more) have joined forces for V.Goode Pies.
The Oxford Road pie shop promises to serve ‘the kind of pies Manchester’s been waiting for’ that won’t cost the earth.
Shaun and Sam dreamed up the idea following the success of the pie offering at Winsome, which are a highlight of its proudly British menu.
Now open on Oxford Road, you’ll find four core individual pies as well as breakfast pies.
Expect classic flavours like cheese and onion, and meat and potato, but also less common creations like a lasagne pie and a breakfast pie too.
There’ll be the option to have your pie served in a barm, Wigan kebab-style, or have it as it comes after a hefty dunk in a vat of gravy.
Pie dinner trays at V.Goode PiesInside the breakfast pie and the lasagne pie at V.Goode PiesA pie barm at V.Goode PiesShaun Moffat and Sam GraingerTraditional British piesThe full spreadInside V.Goode PiesCredit: The Manc Group
You can also have it served on a classic dinner tray, with mash and mushy peas on the side.
As well as traditional fillings, V. Goode Pies will have more out-there bakes like a lasagne pie, where layers of pasta are packed into a pie crust.
You can also expect rotating specials and collaborations.
V.Goode Pies – or, to use its government name, Valerie Goode’s Pies – is inspired by co-founder Tom Fastiggi’s dinner lady grandmother and pie connoisseur.
V.Goode Pies will take over the old Loaf store on Oxford Road and is set to open on 18 November, with a pop-up also planned at Freight Island this winter.
The pie shop will be open Monday to Saturday, from 8am until they sell out.
Georgina Pellant -
28th April 2023 
