Do you fancy your fave sarnie creation as the best of the bunch? Ready to see its name up in lights as one of the greatest of all time?
Bada Bing are offering one lucky sandwich supremo the chance to create their next special menu item in a new partnership with General Stores.
Ancoats General Store recently became home to the ultimate hoagie joint, and the queues for Bada Bing’s Sopranos-inspired sarnies have become a regular feature on Great Ancoats Street.
The two independent food brands have teamed up to bring sandwich fans the chance to have their own personally designed Hoagie on the menu – and to enjoy it for FREE with a fellow wise-guy for a whole month!
Fans of the Bing are being asked to help the team come up with a new month-long special for the menu – a chance to go heavy on the gabagool, sharp on the provolone and massive on the ‘mutzarell’.
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Two classic Bada Bing hoagies // generalstores_ on Instagram
Or for those who don’t know what any of that means, it could be a chance to fuse some more traditional Brit influences into the mix – maybe a new salami and salt and vinegar crisps sub is on the horizon?
To get the juices flowing (probably a bit of dribble too) Bada Bing’s signature sub (‘The Bing’) is composed of a fat stack of gabagool, mortadella, salami napoli, spicy salami, giardiniera, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and mayo.
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Sandwich fanatics are being asked to share their creative combinations for the ‘money can’t buy’ prize over on the General Stores Instagram page between now and Friday 24th September.
Bada Bing & General Stores will select the two-handed hoagie deemed to be god tier status, and it will go on sale as a special in October.
General Store is a shopping experience that champions local makers and creators.
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They stock big brand convenience products right through to artisan local producers, alongside a coffee shop on site, plus an alcohol emporium with tasting area, local fresh baked goods and zero-waste, household essential refill stations.
Enter the ultimate hoagie competition on the General Store Instagram page here.
Food & Drink
Viral juice brand Joe & The Juice makes a BIG return to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Popular coffee shop Joe & The Juice is making a grand return to Manchester, taking on a huge unit in the city centre.
The Danish-based business is famed for its juices, shakes, and sandwiches, including its best-seller, the Tunacado.
Joe & The Juice used to be based within Debenhams in Manchester, but moved out of town when the retailer collapsed.
Now it’s back, signing a 10-year lease on a 2,685 sq ft unit at Manchester Arndale, in the former EE store.
With more than 300 juice bars and coffee shops around the world, Joe & The Juice’s pink branding has become a familiar site globally since its launch in 2002.
It’ll be joining the likes of Michael’s Coffee House, HOP Vietnamese, Sides, Creams, Black Sheep Coffee and Lazy Sundae in the Manchester Arndale’s ever-growing food and drink line-up.
Scott Linard, Portfolio Manager for M&G Real Estate, said: “It is great to welcome Joe & The Juice back to Manchester city centre.
“They have built a brand which has become synonymous with meeting spots across UK towns and cities, so we expect them to thrive at Manchester Arndale thanks to our close proximity to city centre businesses and students keen to catch up over a bite to eat.
“Joe & The Juice adds to our already strong F&B mix as we strive to create a full day out experience for visitors to Manchester Arndale.”
Steve Gray, Head of European Retail Asset Management at Global Mutual, added: “Joe & The Juice selecting Manchester Arndale for its city centre return highlights the continued demand we are seeing from international F&B and retail brands for space at the centre.
“Having a mix of established and growing brands helps to ensure Manchester Arndale continues to be an attractive destination for visitors and allows us to draw in shoppers from across the North West.”
Matcha latteInside Joe & The Juice ManchesterThe limited-edition steak sandwich The Green Shield juiceJoe & The Juice on Cross Street, ManchesterThe Green Shield juice and a steak sandwichInside Joe & The Juice ManchesterA fruit juiceCredit: The Manc Group
Everything you need to know about St. Patrick’s Day at Mulligans, Manchester’s biggest Irish party
Danny Jones
With Manchester’s deep-rooted connections to Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day in the city centre is one of the biggest parties of the year, so it only makes sense that thousands spend it at the ultimate Irish bar: Mulligans.
And no, we’re not exaggerating; hordes of punters pass through this pub over the full Paddy’s Day weekend, which this year lands on a Monday, but you’ll still see countless people filing in and out of the place from Friday onwards.
Considered by many as Deansgate’s crowning glory, this legendary venue is a pure gold-grade bar serving the best Guinness outside of Ireland. It’s a reputation we don’t need to bang on about too much, they built it up themselves over so many years that you’ll all have heard it by now.
While Manchester has some of the best Irish pubs around beyond those you’ll find in the Emerald Isle (yes, we firmly believe that), you won’t find anywhere in town putting on quite as big a St. Patrick’s Day celebration as Mulligans. Here’s what they’ve got on offer:
Paddy’s Day at Mulligans of Deansgate
Well, the obvious place to start is with what’s behind the bar, i.e. lots of whiskeys, lager, spirits and, of course, they’ve got the best Guinness in Manchester – scratch that, the ‘best outside of Ireland.’
Mulligans averages 13,000 pints of ‘The Black Stuff’ every week and they’re expecting to pour well over 4,000 pints of the stuff from their total 24 taps on Paddy’s Day alone, each as perfect as the last.
So, what time is the party getting underway? The answer is obviously all weekend as many people may not have booked Monday, 17 March off itself but, for those who have, they’ll be opening from 11am.
However, we hope we don’t need to tell you that there’ll be queuing from the crack of dawn, so the earlier you get there the better. It’ll cost you £20 to get in, by the way, so have your card/cash ready.
For context, we got there 10:30 a couple of years back and still weren’t guaranteed to get in, we just waited patiently and prayed to St. Patrick himself.
As for what time they’ll be closing on Monday, Mulligans is staying open until 1:30am as more than 1,200 guests are expected to visit the pub throughout the course of the day.
Entertainment
One thing that Mulligans is famous besides the obvious rivers of black gold and good craic is virtually non-stop live music throughout the week and Paddy’s Day is no different.
Instead, they try and cram as much of it into 24 hours as possible.
Now featuring two floors for the first time on Ireland’s national holiday, there is set to be an incredible lineup of eight different live bands performing throughout the day, playing everything from classic Irish reels and covers to get you up and dancing, as well as plenty Manc anthems to play to the home crowd.
2025 also marks the first St. Patrick’s Day at Mulligans to make us of the recently renovated first floor, which has seen the pub more than double in size, and the capacity along with it.
The expanded space, complete with timber-beamed vaulted ceilings, a mezzanine-level performance area and two brand-new bars, sets the stage for an unforgettable day and night of high-energy live indie bands, while Irish folk tunes will fill the downstairs.
Between the beloved exposed brick walls, cosy snugs, Guinness memorabilia galore as well as room to dance a proper auld jig upstairs and down, it won’t just be Mulligans at its very best but akin to being in the heart of Dublin itself for the big day.
Plus, since it’s a bunch bigger now, you stand an extra chance of getting in – or at least less time spent in the queue with all the other die-hards.
We often get people asking why all the faff surrounding Mulligans and all we can say is if you haven’t been before, you’ll only really know once you’ve been.
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Pádraig Brady, owner of Mulligans, said: “St. Patrick’s Day is always special at Mulligans, but this year will be extra special with the new space upstairs.
“We have gone above and beyond to provide an extensive live music schedule that will guarantee an unbeatable atmosphere all weekend. And – as always – we’ll have measures in place to make sure every single pint of Guinness served is nothing short of exceptional.”
There’s no booking and no advance ticket purchase available either; everyone lines up the same and is guaranteed the same unbelievable night. Trust us, it’s worth the wait. But don’t worry if you’d rather skip the queueing and try somewhere else, there’s still plenty of good Guinness to be found in the city centre.
The Manc -
17th September 2021 
