A new multipurpose drink and dining venue with a taproom, cocktail bar, street food kitchens and DJ sets will fling open its doors in Manchester city centre this week.
Society MCR – an 8,000 sq ft hub based in Baribrolli Square near Manchester Central Complex – will welcome its first guests today (May 20) from 10am.
The 350-capacity food and drink space will be home to a mouth-watering selection of independent traders including:
Dokes Pizzeria: A stone-baked pizza site from the founders of Cutting Room Square favourite Elnecot
Slap & Pickle: Banging burgers, vegan patties and loaded fries that first rose to popularity in Leeds (and have resulted in the diner expanding to four locations).
Chaat Cart: Authentic South Indian street food named Street Food Vendor of the Year in the Manchester Food and Drink Awards 2017
Manzoku Street Food: Pan-Asian specialists whipping up favourites such as Chicken Katsu Curry, Char Sui Pulled Pork Buns, and Korean Fried Chicken Wings
Dokes Pizzeria will be serving stone-baked slices / Image: Society MCRSlap & Pickle’s wildly popular burgers are coming to Manchester / Image: Society MCRPan-Asian dishes will be on the menu at Society MCR courtesy of Manzoku / Image: Society MCR
Also settling into Society MCR is Vocation taproom.
One of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the UK with sites already in Hebden Bridge and Leeds, Vocation’s new site is expectedly diverse – boasting over two-dozen different types of beer to choose from.
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As Society MCR turns into a post-work venue when the lights go down, a lineup of resident DJs spearheaded by Manchester party favourites Regal Disco will spin tunes throughout the evening.
Society MCR opens on May 20 / Image: Society MCR
Co-founder of Society MCR Nick Gregory stated: “We’re very excited to finally open the doors to this iconic venue and look forward to welcoming guests throughout the day, evenings and weekends at Society.
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“We’ve got an incredible line up that will showcase local food operators as well as our 2021 events programme that will be dedicated to highlighting independent artists from Manchester’s thriving music scene.
“It’s so important to us to create a destination that showcases the very best of Manchester, and Society will be just that.”
Learn more about Manchester’s new multipurpose venue online.
Food & Drink
Can we please make 2025 the year of the ‘wide burger’?
Danny Jones
In 2025, I have just a few resolutions/goals that I’m determined to achieve this year: one is to lose a bit of weight, another is to improve my marathon PB and arguably the most important one is to champion the trend of the ‘wide burger’.
Yes, I’m fully aware that the burger thing doesn’t quite chime with the first two but I intend to reward myself with said burger after I hopefully smash the other ones.
First off, I want to begin this by making it clear that I am in no way calling for the end of the trusty dirty burger convention that has spanned more than a decade now (Manc pioneers like Almost Famous remain one of my go-to spots to this day), but I am advocating for some innovation.
I want this year to be the year of the wide burger, someone else can come up with a better name for it if anything comes to mind, I’m just a hungry ideas man.
If it isn’t already plainly obvious as to what I’m talking about, let me explain.
The culinary world often feels like it can get stuck in these cycles, be it people slapping pulled pork on things, salted caramel-flavoured everything or the current hot honey craze; they’re exciting for a while but, eventually, things move on as they should to keep our interests piqued and mouths salivating.
On the other hand, there are some food and drink staples that are so tried and tested that they rarely evolve that much, mainly because people will always eat them no matter what.
Case and point, burgers.
That being said, although there’s something undeniably enticing about a towering, food-porny mess of a burger dripping with cheese and grease, the advent has become so overly saturated in modern cuisine.
Besides the ‘smashed’ style enjoying its time in the spotlight – which we’re also really enjoying, by the way, this isn’t a diss on any perfectly cooked patty – I don’t think there’s been much evolution for a while and it’s almost starting to feel like we’ve seen most takes on burger a dozen times before.
Again, there’s no doubt that all of these bad boys are delicious – we’ve eaten them all, so we can definitely vouch for that – but we can’t pretend we haven’t seen similar creations not only in Greater Manchester but at countless places up and down the country.
Moreover, at what juncture are we feasibly going to stop and say, ‘Sorry, but this mountain of bread and meat is officially too tall and tackling it is more a challenge than it is the simple act of enjoyment that we hope for out of a burger’?…
We all know how appetising these things look at first glance in a picture and they certainly stand out from the other options on any given menu, but there has to come a point where a burger is just too unwieldy to even attempt eating and simply whacking even crazier, unexpected toppings won’t cut it.
That’s why I’m posing a rather straightforward change of tact or direction, rather: don’t go up, go out; don’t make it taller, just make it wider.
It’s also worth noting that this is by no means a totally original thought, but it is one I’m fully behind.
The proof is right there on the internet for everyone to see: the people have been asking the same question, ‘Why tall and not wide?’ for ages now and I think it’s time we put the prospect to the test.
The Two Markets Girls channel even built what they called ‘the BEST wide burger ever‘ to test their theory.
Big dirty burgers stacked high with an immense surplus of extras are great on paper, especially when one of those overly indulgent days comes along and you want to pig out, but are they the most practical? I would suggest perhaps not.
I don’t want to have to disassemble a burger’s excessive layers or unhinge my jaw like a python to try and get my chops around my tea, I just want to take a big bite of a big burger with lots going and, as far as I can tell, there’s no reason this couldn’t happen with a burger that has greater width instead.
They don’t need elevation, they need surface area – as proven by the resurgence of delightfully crispy smash burgers – and it could open up a whole new avenue for those naughty cheat meals.
You could argue wide burgers or at least ‘wide-leaning’ offerings already exist, with one example being the viral and cult favourite Fergburger, made popular over in Queenstown, New Zealand, which tends towards a larger circumference rather than height.
Better yet, if you’ve ever been to a greasy spoon, old school caff or just a local butty shop and ordered a large barm or seen someone ask for a ‘bin lid’ (if you know, you know), then finding bread/buns/baps/whatever you want to call them big enough doesn’t even factor into the equation.
Another bonus upside is that this will in theory make big stacked burgers less of a tired novelty but rather a push-the-boat-out treat and once again see them restored as a worthwhile variation on one of the most popular foodstuffs on Earth.
Manchester has the chance to be the pioneering city at the forefront of a new craze, which is an opportunity that is really rare in gastronomy these days.
So how about it? How about we make 2025 the year we give wide burgers a go? And if I’m wrong then I’ll happily slink back into my chair and keep my mouth shut – most likely because there’s a burger in it.
You can enjoy a luxury Valentine’s dinner on a steam train travelling through Greater Manchester next month
Emily Sergeant
East Lancashire Railway’s special Valentine’s dining experiences are back by popular demand next month.
Just in case you need a little reminder, Valentine’s Day isn’t too far off now.
In just under a month’s time, couples all over the world will be marking the international day of love with the people they care about the most, and for those who are keen to celebrate in style, East Lancashire Railway (ELR) has announced that its ‘Valentine’s Night’ luxury dining experiences are back once again by popular demand.
This means that lovebirds can hop on-board a vintage steam train and enjoy a four-course meal while riding through the picturesque Greater Manchester countryside as the sun sets.
East Lancashire Railway’s ‘Valentine’s Night’ dining experiences are back by popular demand / Credit: ELR
These romantic dining experiences are promising to provide couples with an “elegant” and “atmospheric” evening as they travel through the Irwell Valley and raise a toast to each other to celebrate their love.
Priced at £85 per person, all guests will have a personal waiter for the evening, who’ll make sure everything is taken care of everything – from the Prosecco welcome, right through to the after-dinner chocolates.
The train journey lasts just under three hours, and all dietary requirements can be catered for.
Tickets are now on sale from £85 per person / Credit: ELR
Once couples board their train for the evening, their welcome drink will be accompanied by a live music reception to set the mood, all before they sit down to enjoy and tuck into a mouthwatering four-course meal.
The train journey lasts just under three hours, and all dietary requirements can be catered for.
The Valentine’s Night experiences are taking place on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 February this year, and tickets are now on sale.
The Manc -
20th May 2021 
