Frankie gains weight at Home Sweet Home

Mel's foodie friend Frankie headed over to HOME SWEET HOME and made herself at home!

Some days, the only real way you can beat an otherwise miserable Saturday, is to say; “Bobbins to you rain! I’m gonna go eat my body weight in delicious food in a cosy setting!” (Or similar).

So that’s exactly what we did, my fellow carb-loader and I bundled ourselves up in waterproofs and hit the streets of Manchester in search of a snug and inviting foodery – and where did we end up? Well, there’s only one place which could possibly brighten up a drab and drizzly lunchtime, the bright and bodacious Home Sweet Home – Great Northern Style.

If you weren’t already aware, The Northern Quarter’s petite Home Sweet Home has branched out to occupy a second premises. Taking over where Luca Libre once stood, this new setting allows Home Sweet Home’s larger than life personality to really sparkle, whilst still maintaining the cosy, “in your buddy’s kitchen” vibe of its (littler) Big Sister.

I was more than ecstatic that with a new loco, brings a brand spanking new menu – full to the brim of mouth-watering combinations and the new delight that is “CakeShakes” (but more about those magic makers later...)

My friend and I were seated in a perfect location overlooking the windowed cake display (of which I had already made an imprint of my face) and were left to agonise over the menu.



Ordering drinks first, my friend went for a humble apple and elderflower juice, whilst I went for the slightly more glorious Rocky and Bullwinkle CakeShake.

What might a CakeShake entail I hear you say? Well I’m glad you asked!

A Gaston-esque pint glass with liquidised chocolate cake fills the perimeter, stood half-solidly under half a can of whipped cream, complimented greatly with toasted marshmallows sliding gracefully down the glass (cue slow-mo imagery) finished rather splendidly with a hunk of homemade rocky road on top.



I sat and took in this thing of sheer beauty. A work of pure alchemy and one which I was totally unashamed to have smeared all around my mouth throughout the duration of my meal, (thanks for having my back Kim.) Deliciously filling and wickedly sweet, a CakeShake is almost a meal in itself. But only almost...I was still hungry for more.

Having both decided on our main meals, we placed our orders of the Adios Bitchachos Tacos, (evidently a pretty hard thing to say with a mouthful of milkshake,) and the Steak Daddy Melt, complete with deep fried brie for my cheese-fiend companion



My soft tacos arrived, looking positively picturesque; presented lusciously in a basket. Barely a second had gone by before I swooped in to sample the Mexicana delight which awaited me.

I sank my teeth into the soft parcel and was immediately in love. The meat was tender, succulent and fantastically seasoned, with feta generously crumbled on top, guac and spiced pickled cabbage cushioned the steak from the bottom – flavours and textures working in harmony. All it took was a casual dip in the blue cheese side sauce to send this taco over the edge of exquisite – to pure ecstasy.

Without my side of blue cheese, I would say the spiced pickled cabbage may be a little too spicy spice for those with a more sensitive palette; simply request it on the side, that way you can distribute your spice accordingly and still enjoy the momentous flavour party that is the Adios Bitchachos Tacos.

The Steak Daddy Melt is a meat-lover’s dream, a mouth-watering splendour so powerful it could even turn a Vegan. Spiced fries lay under a perfectly cooked flattened rump, completed with fried cubes of chorizo, with a side of fried brie. Adorable silver pots adorn the platter, generously filled with a classic peppercorn accompaniment and an original marmite sauce (never heard of this little filly before, but regardless, it should be drizzled on all future things.)



The cheese was a perfect juxtaposition of soft with a crispy outer coating, steak perfectly pink and flavoursome with the chorizo adding that extra hit of meat to give you that perfect balance of thickness from the steak with the softness of the chorizo cubes.

The only downside lay with presentation, as the meat was so deliciously juicy, positioned over the fries made those poor lil guys a little damp by the time you uncovered them. Not overly annoying, especially as the meat is the main reason you’re at this party - but if you’re a fellow crispy chip lover like me, you may be a little bit disappointed to follow such excellence with a soggy chip. The solution? Order them on the side and you’re good to get yo crispy fry eat on.

After all this chow, you’d think we’d barely have room for dessert, right? Wrong! Having learned from previous escapades I had planned ahead and dressed accordingly for the occasion. Smugly pinging the band of my elasticised trousers, we relayed our dessert orders to our server and watched her return moments later attempting to balance the weight of our generously cut slabs of cake.



I had gone for the S’moreo; a buttery biscuit base, rich chocolate filling adorned with wonderfully sweet pink icing and marshmallows aplenty. As already frequent consumers of the famous Home Sweet Home cakes, (hey, when you’re passing and there’s no queue in the cake line – you HAVE to seize the day,) I knew exactly what I was getting here. Soft and rich dark chocolate sponge, broken up with the fairground sweetness of pink buttercream frosting and with the added elements of soft mallow with crumbly biscuit – I was in sheer layer cake bliss!

When even my stretch-waist pants were begging for some resistance, only then did we drop the forks, pay the bill and waddle away. Pleasantly stuffed, we happily left Home Sweet Home’s fantastic new set up; satisfied knowing that cake indulgence could be continued with the leftovers we had boxed up.

“I ain’t no quitter,” I told our server who noted our defeat. “...I just need slightly bigger trousers.”

Follow Frankie on Twitter @FrankAboutFoods!

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Posted: Friday 20th November 2015
ID: 10675 - 1461