Manchester Northern Quarter

The Market Restaurant where I grabbed some lunch has taken unpretentiousness to delicious and sublime levels. A Northern Quarter landmark way before they were calling it the Northern Quarter, it’s small, friendly, cosy and homely. But oh, the food. The Executive Cheese On Toast may have vanished (bring it back, go on!) but the Cheesecake is still, as they say, ‘to die for’. Most patrons were settling in for a long afternoon, but I wanted to get back on the streets where at almost every turn there are all kinds of sculptures, pictures and other little artworks, freestanding or set into buildings. Tib Street and the little labyrinth of streets around it, being some of the most fascinating. None of your chain store multiples. This is shopping’s equivalent of ‘indie music’. Clothes, accessories, vinyl – and some rather more unconventional goods. And since you ask, the odd bar. One of them, wait for it, called the Odd Bar.

Very aptly named. I think ‘free spirited’ is as close as I can get to a description. They don’t take themselves too seriously and it’s a fun place to drink with fantastic background music. It claims to have the most massive offering of drinks from around the world, has a giant cinema screen downstairs, and will lend you a brolly if it’s raining. Fortunately, I didn’t need one, contrary to the rumour, it doesn’t always rain in Manchester and I stayed dry as I strolled off to get my head down for the night at Staying Cool. Not a hotel, but Manchester’s only officially five star rated serviced apartments complete with fluffy robes, Apple computer, wi-fi, i-Pod dock, flat screen TV with Sky. I fell fast asleep thinking about the new Manchester. The next day I would be visiting a corner of New York, going via the Far East.