Manchester’s much-loved hip-hop burger shop has returned to Stockport after an eight-week hiatus, and we’re absolutely buzzing to have them back.
Following a short closure to allow for a kitchen refurb, dirty burger peddlers Big Grillie are back – serving up a menu full of towering smashed patties, fried chicken, and loaded fries to the good people of South Manchester.
With a host of dishes named after hip-hop icons like Snoop Dogg and Childish Gambino, Big Grillie’s burgers are available to order for delivery or collection only at The Drawing Room in Bramhall.
Image: Big Grillie
Must-trie burgers include the ‘Chilli Gambino’ – comprised of two 100% beef smashed patties, chilli and coriander cheese, chilli jam, chorizo rosario sausage and chipotle mayo in a sweet brioche bun – and the ‘Snoop’, which comes with double patties, bacon, house burger sauce, pickles, red onion and American cheese.
Elsewhere, you’ll find the ‘Junior Mafia’ – full of umami richness with a mix of truffle salami, Neapolitan pizza sauce, a deep-fried cheese patty, pepperoni and 100% beef smash patty. With added balsamic glaze and grated parmesan, this might just be the naughtiest burger on the. menu.
Add to that the ‘Old Skool’ (featuring a 100% beef smashed patty, American cheese, house ketchup, mustard and pickles), plus cracking fried chicken tenders, a fried chicken burger and ‘Slutty’ BBQ fries topped with charred chorizo, BBQ sauce, baconnaise and crispy onions, then try and tell us you’re not drooling.
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It’s not all about the meat, though. Veggies and vegans are catered for too, with a selection of mouthwatering sides including salt and pepper fries, deep-fried ‘Saganaki’ halloumi fries with hot honey, chilli, coriander and crispy onions, and simple, skinny ‘house fries’ dusted with Maldon salt.
Speaking on his return to The Drawing Room, Big Grillie founder Alex Applegarth told The Manc: “Bramhall and South Manchester are awesome and we’re grateful for the support they’ve shown us throughout the pandemic
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“South Manchester has lots of burger joints, but we want to elevate it beyond the regular smash-burger joints that seem to be popping up everywhere.
“I could completely bore everyone to death for hours about the science behind cooking methods, Maillard reactions, meat to fat ratios and everything in between but I won’t.
“Hit us up and give us a try instead! We’re also able to smash out top-quality fried chicken not too!”
You can find Big Grillie’s burgers available on Deliveroo, or you can order for takeaway directly through the website here.
News
Greater Manchester officially launches five-year climate change action plan
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester has officially begun its five-year climate change action plan, with the overarching goal of becoming a net-zero city region by 2038.
The comprehensive pledge put together over a number of years itself will see Manchester City Council and the nearby local authorities put into action a number of key measures that will help to reduce not only central carbon figures but, eventually, across the 10 boroughs in turn.
Over the last 15 years, emissions have been reduced by approximately 64%, saving an estimated 44,344 tonnes of carbon through cleaner building energy, street lighting and other electronics, as well as the increasingly green and over-growing Bee Network.
They have also insisted that it isn’t just about cutting down on greenhouse gases; the aim is to make the city region and the surrounding areas more sustainable, affordable and create a better standard of life.
Our five-year plan to tackle climate change launches today. 🌏
It details how we’ll continue to deliver dramatic reductions in the amount of carbon we emit (the biggest contributor to climate change). 🏙️
As per the summary on the Council website, in addition to creating more efficient homes, they’re hoping to provide more access to nature and good-quality green space, “public transport you can rely on”, and “better health and wellbeing for those who live, work, study and visit here.”
With a steadily recovering local and national economy (touch wood), they’re also hoping for an influx of new jobs, too.
Summarising the key bullet points leading up to the end of the decade, these are the next steps currently outlined by the Council:
Lower carbon emissions
Grow the use of renewable energy
Improve low-carbon travel in the city
Improve air quality
Grow the city’s natural environment and boost biodiversity
Improve resilience to flooding and extreme heat
Engage and involve our workforce and our city’s communities
Reduce waste and grow reuse, repair, sharing and recycling
Support a move to a more circular economy
Minimise the negative impact of events held in the city
Develop our knowledge of our indirect emissions and lower them
Create a green financing strategy and explore new funding models for the city
Influence the environmental practices of other organisations
As for emissions, the target is now to drop the present output by another 34%, which will prevent almost 43,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from being pumped into the atmosphere.
Having touched upon the continued expansion of the Bee Network infrastructure, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is also set to install multiple new travel links over the coming years, including both new tram stops and train stations – further
You can read the climate action plan in full HERE.
Manchester’s firework displays are ‘back with a bang’ as they return from 2026
Emily Sergeant
Council-organised firework displays in Manchester’s parks are set to return from next year, it has been confirmed.
You may remember that these once-popular events have not been held since 2019, as the COVID-19 pandemic initially prevented them from taking place from 2020 onwards, and then following that, they remained paused on a trial basis while the Manchester City Council sought to ‘reprioritise funding’ to support a wider range of free community events across the city.
But now, as it seems, the door was never shut on their potential return.
An ‘improved financial position’ now means that the Council is in a position to bring firework events back, while also still continuing to support other community events.
Papers setting out the Council’s financial position show that fairer funding being introduced by the Government next year will leave the Council better off than previously anticipated, he the reason firework displays have been brought back into the mix.
The Council has admitted that ‘pressures remain’ after so many years of financial cuts, but this new funding creates the opportunity to invest in the things residents have said matter the most to them.
“Manchester prides itself on free community events and we know many people have missed Bonfire night firework spectaculars,” commented Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council.
“That’s why we are pleased to confirm they’ll be back by popular demand in 2026.
“We know that generations of Mancunians have enjoyed Council-organised displays and that free family events are a great way to bring people together… [and] now that this Government is actually investing in Councils like ours rather than the cuts we had since 2010, we can bring back Bonfire events.”
Georgina Pellant -
27th May 2022 
