Manchester’s grilled cheese legends Northern Soul are on the look out for ‘cheese tasters’ to trial their new Christmas menu for this year.
With the most wonderful time of the year now firmly in our sights, the Northern Quarter cult-favourite eatery is getting ready to launch its highly-anticipated festive food offering for 2023 in a couple of days time, and is in need of some enthusiastic cheese fans to lend a hand in testing out all the new diary-filled Christmas creations.
Taking to Instagram this week to call on keen ‘cheese tasters’ to come forward, Northern Soul wrote: “Christmas menu testers wanted.
“We are hosting a private Christmas launch party and giving a chance for a lucky few of you a chance to come and try our CRIMBO MENU and give us some feedback.”
The street food joint is an absolute favourite of Manchester‘s foodie community, and is known and loved for serving up some of the heartiest – and cheesiest, of course – comfort food dishes the city has to offer.
First established all the way back in 2015, and now based on Tib Street in the Northern Quarter and down at the Etihad Stadium on match days, as well as popping up at food festivals and markets across the UK throughout the year, Northern Soul has been serving Mancs cheesy grilled sandwiches for coming up to a decade now.
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Claiming to be the first restaurant of its kind to open in the UK, the grilled cheese OG’s have gone from strength to strength over the years, and have developed a well-deserved cult following along the way.
Northern Soul is looking for ‘cheese tasters’ to trial its Christmas menu / Credit: Northern Soul Grilled Cheese (via Facebook)
While grilled cheeses in all their finest forms are, of course, the restaurant’s speciality, Northern Soul also serves up other cheesy delights like mac and cheese, loaded fries, burgers, and jumbo wings, and is also known for adding all sorts of limited-edition seasonal specialities to its menu throughout the year.
And anyone who knows Northern Soul knows just how legendary its Christmas menus are each year – which is why getting the chance to become a ‘cheese taster’ this festive season is bound to be the stuff of dreams for fromage fanatics.
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Despite the fact most of the 2023 Christmas menu – which is being launched tomorrow (9 November) – is currently under wraps, Northern Soul has already confirmed that its beloved ‘Crimbo Dinner’ grilled cheese has made the cut this year.
This means the ‘cheese tasters’ will get to try out the creation that’s made up of juicy turkey crown, cranberry sauce, succulent stuffing, and a giant homemade pig in blanket, topped off with a little Yorkshire pudding and dripping in gravy.
The restaurant’s famous raclette is also returning for 2023, and it’s bigger and better than ever before.
The Alpine-inspired winter delicacy sees melted cheese draped over your own personal mini smörgåsbord of pickles, spicy piccalilli potatoes, and stout mushrooms made from a secret family recipe.
Fancy trying your chances at becoming one of Northern Soul’s ‘cheese tasters’ then? All you’ll need to do is head on over to the Instagram post and comment underneath letting Northern Soul know why you’d be the perfect person for the job.
Featured Image – Northern Soul Grilled Cheese (via Facebook)
Eats
This new app tells you the best sunny pub spots in Manchester
Thomas Melia
A brand new app has launched, which tracks the sun and tells you where the best sunny pub spots in Manchester are throughout the day.
No, you’re not dreaming: this is what heaven feels like. This all-new app, initially trialled in London and now covering Manchester, allows users to identify the best sun traps in our stunning city centre.
Designed and created by architect Mo Dawod, Sunseekr aims to show you the best pub, cafe and restaurant locations where you can take advantage of and soak up all the sun in real time.
As well as being a handy tool to use throughout the day, you can use this sun-centric app to pre-plan your day, as it lets you know all the sunny spots in advance for anyone who fancies chasing the sun.
The app shows you the best pubs, cafes and restaurants to catch some rays.You can easily chase the sun around Manchester city centre with this handy new app.Credit: Screenshots via Sunseeker
Of course, we don’t need an app to tell us all the best sunny pub spots in Manchester as locals and visitors alike know about our pride and joy, Stevenson Square.
However, this new technology will come in handy for organising your next beer garden trip and locating exactly where you’re guaranteed to sit down and possibly catch a tan.
Sunseekr had a trial run in London first, catching the attention of reputable publications like Timeout London and even got itself featured on BBC London.
It makes perfect sense why Dawod made this app; being a Battersea resident, his area of London is packed with plenty of amenities such as pubs and bars, perfect for sitting out and relaxing in the sun.
Now the sunny app has spread nationwide, including Manchester, meaning we Northerners can make the most of the precious sun while we have it.
Safe to say, here at The Manc, we know a lot of good places to soak up the sun while sipping on a class pint.Nothing beats a crisp pint and some gorgeous Manchester sunshine.Credit: The Manc Eats
The arrival of this sun-tracking pub-spotting app gives us the perfect excuse to drop everything and make our way to the nearest beer garden to put this to the test ourselves, it’s not like we needed any encouragement…
Sunseekr is available to download NOW and allows users to live-track the sun to see if any pubs, cafes or restaurants near you have been blessed by the sun.
We’re in the business of knowing about beer gardens galore, so this long-overdue app just made our lives a whole lot easier.
Stunning Ancoats favourite Street Urchin closes after ‘heartbreaking’ health emergency
Danny Jones
The stunning Ancoats restaurant and Manchester favourite, Street Urchin, has announced its sudden closure following a serious health emergency.
Opened by partners Kevin and Rachel Choudhary back in 2019, the inventive dining room has been a firm favourite among local foodies and those visiting Manchester for some time.
However, following the awful news that co-founder and head chef Kevin has recently suffered a heart attack, the city centre food spot has sadly had to close its doors, seemingly for good.
Informing diners and longtime fans online, Rachel confirmed, “We are unable to continue as a business”, adding that they are simply “heartbroken” by the turns of events.
Known for endless creativity and famous experimental dishes over the years, including a viral squirrel dish, Street Urchin has been one of the most envelope-pushing kitchens in the area for some time.
Writing in the caption, Rachel said: Thank you to our amazing team who supported us over all the years and continued to do so in these dark times. Thank you also to our suppliers, we never thought this would happen. We’re so sorry x”
Reacting to the news, local artist Painted By Courtney replied: “This is so sad, I’m so sorry to you both. Forever one of my favourite dining experiences in Manchester.”
Various names from across the Greater Manchester hospitality scene, including the likes of Tameside’s Cafe Continental, have joined in sharing their sadness and heartfelt support, with the Stalybridge spot simply adding: “Sending love. A remarkable place!”
Their menus boasted all the style, quality and flavour of a fine dining establishment without any of the haute cuisine pomp and traditional culinary trappings.
Put simply, they delivered great food served in an efficient market diner fashion. We, along with countless other Greater Mancunian foodies, absolutely loved this place.
It goes without saying that everyone at The Manc Group is shocked and deeply saddened to hear this news; we hope Kev makes a full and fast recovery, and our thoughts are with his friends and family during this difficult time.
Emily Sergeant -
8th November 2023 
