After seven months of keeping the locals happy at legendary Ancoats pub the Crown and Kettle, Mira’s saucy Neapolitan sandwiches have found a new home just around the corner.
The team will be moving intoAncoats General Store on 2 March, taking over from fellow sandwich slingers Bada Bing.
Mira built up a loyal fanbase during the pandemic for their saucy ‘Cuzzetiello’ sandwiches, inspired by the Italian region of Naples.
A cult staple of Napoli street food, the Cuzzetiello is a natural evolution of the simple act of tearing the end off a loaf of fresh bread to scoop up hot, home-cooked ragu.
Image: Mira
Crude but incredibly satisfying, it’s become quite the hit with locals who’ve fallen for these stuffed, saucy sandwiches in their droves.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mira owners Mike and Rhea first fell in love with the rich flavours, culture and history behind the sandwich whilst travelling and felt compelled to bring it home to Manchester.
Popular fillings at Mira include slow-cooked Genovese beef brisket with onions, parmesan and salami; Italian meatballs in a slow-cooked ragu with fresh basil and mozzarella and a vegan-friendly juicy aubergine parmigiana sandwich with rich tomato sauce, cashew cheese and. basil.
ADVERTISEMENT
The menu also features a regularly changing ‘wild card’ option – like the salsiccia, made with chilli sausage, spianata, marinara, garlic greens, parmesan and chopped olives.
The Salsiccia, made with chilli sausage, spianata, marinara, garlic greens, parmesan and chopped olives. / Image: Mira
To celebrate the move to Ancoats General Store, Mira will be giving away free sandwiches all day on opening day from 8am – 4pm (or until they run out).
To start with, Mira will just be serving its classics until they get settled in to the new space. Wild cards will then be reintroduced to the menu once they’ve got their feet firmly under the table.
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking on the move, co-owner Mike said:
“We’re buzzing to join the Ancoats General Store family and can’t wait to introduce more people to the Cuzzetiello.
“It’s a food that people in Napoli seem proud to keep sacred and we like to reflect that by cooking mainly old school Neapolitan recipes, with our Wildcard specials added occasionally to mix things up.
“Ancoats feels like home to us, and considering it’s Manchester’s ‘Little Italy’, our new residency with General Store is a perfect fit. See you next Wednesday for sandwiches on us!”
Mira will join Ancoats General Store from Wednesday 2 March until early June.
Feature image – Mira
News
Manchester secures £5.2m funding to build ‘supported accommodation’ for rough sleepers
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has secured a whopping £5.2 million in funding to build new ‘supported accommodation’ designed to house rough sleepers.
After an application submitted to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme (SHAP) has been approved this week, Manchester City Council says it’s eager to help the former homeless “rebuild their lives”.
This means that, by working in partnership with housing and support providers Humankind, Jigsaw, and Great Places, the Council will oversee the creation of 42 units of supported housing across three different schemes.
The schemes are for single people with a history of rough sleeping and longer-term support needs.
Manchester has secured £5.2m in funding to build ‘supported accommodation’ for rough sleepers / Credit: Flickr | Giving Compass
According to the Council, these people will stay in this accommodation and receive personalised support until they are ready to “take the next step to independent living”.
This new £5.2 million funding allocation from the Government covers both the cost of creating the accommodation – which must be completed by March 2025 at the latest – and revenue funding to help run it for its first three years of opening.
“We are working with a range of partners to tackle the homelessness challenge on all fronts, from prevention in the first place to helping people into permanent, settled homes,” explained Cllr Joanna Midgley, who is the Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council.
The Council says the funding will help the former homeless “rebuild their lives” / Credit: Ethel Red (via Flickr)
“Securing this £5.2m funding for the city will help us create much-needed extra accommodation for those being helped off the streets who need significant long-term support before they are ready to live independently.
“It’s only part of a wider response but it will be a welcome addition to the accommodation and support available.”
The news of the successful application comes after the Council published its plan to get rough sleepers off the streets of Manchester and into temporary accommodation this winter back in early November.
Efforts in the city will be “stepped-up even further” in the coming months to encourage people sleeping rough to “come inside and access the wider support available”.
Featured Image – Flickr
News
Amber heat-health warning issued as temperatures drop across the North West
Danny Jones
An amber health warning has been issued for the North West and other regions as temperatures continue to drop across the country.
Having already provided an update on the “possibility of snow” and the imminent cold snap earlier this week, the Met Office and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have now added a heat-health warning to their forecast for the new few days as things get increasingly colder across Great Britain.
With temperatures expected to reach as low as -5C by Friday, 29 November, the Met Office and UKHSA pushed out an amber heat-health alert on Wednesday, with the elderly, clinically vulnerable and the health sector in general said to be those most at risk.
Although the freezing weather obviously has the potential to affect everyone — with the likes of the North East and Northern Ireland having already been given a yellow weather warning as well — amber heat-health warnings are deemed to require an ‘enhanced response‘ as they are likely to significantly impact “across the whole health service” and possibly other sectors too.
The current heat-health alerts that have been issued for the UK. (Credit: gov.uk)
Under the relatively new CHA (cold-health alert) system, anything beyond a yellow level alert means that it is expected that there will be increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable populations and an increase in risk to health to individuals over the age of 65, those with pre-existing health conditions, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and other vulnerable groups like rough sleepers.
As well as the Met Office offering their verdict, the UKHSA’s Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection, Dr Agostinho Sousa, said: “With a risk of widespread overnight frosts and some snow across the country this week, it’s important to check in on the wellbeing of those most vulnerable to the cold.
“Cold weather can have a serious impact on health, particularly older people, and those with pre-existing health conditions, as it increases the risks of heart attacks, strokes and chest infections.
“If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over the age of 65, it is important to try and heat the rooms where you spend most of your time in[doors], such as your living room or bedroom.”
For those considered to be at risk during this cold snap and amber-heat health warning, the official government-sanctioned advice is that if you can’t heat all the rooms in your home, it is important to heat the rooms you spend the (i.e. living room in the day and bedroom before going to sleep) to at least 18 degrees if possible.
They also recommend wearing a few thin layers instead of one thick layer, as the former is better at trapping heat than just one big jumper etc.
Other advice on how to stay safe during these colder periods includes stocking up on food and medicine, keeping windows closed and reducing draughts at home, as well as getting vaccinated against flu and COVID-19.
If you or someone you know is in need of help, you can get in touch with the NHS on 111 and if it is an emergency please call 999 immediately.
Georgina Pellant -
23rd February 2022 
