Sandbar [part 3]

Well, faithful readers, you've probably noticed that Christmas is upon us once again. For your tireless reporter, this means that many of my potential posts have been thwarted by the seemingly ubiquitious 'Christmas Menu' and for the most part, we all know that this is not a good thing. How many times have we paid £20 a head for a limp slice of Bernard Matthews, a few of those weird tasting roasties and a rock hard mince pie? Not this year for I went to the Sandbar Luncheon Club Christmas Luncheon where Wisia treated us to a Polish festive feast. It was fabulous as it included Pierogis and concluded with Piernik, a delicious Polish honey cake.

An added bonus was the return of Alex [see photo top] who looked after our increasingly Rabelaisian rabble with seasonal good cheer.

To all the good people of the Sandbar, I want to say 'thank you' and to all the members of the Sandbar Luncheon Club, past and present, a very Merry Christmas and see you in the new year.

Around the World in 25 dinners

Boteco Brazil

Many years ago in Chorlton there was a Brazilian restaurant called, if memory serves, Latino's. It was a sweet but short lived place where, again if memory serves, I danced badly to Samba until 3 in the morning with Romanna Flores. When it closed so to did Manchester's only South American cafe.
Recent developments have brought us 2 new Brazilian eateries, Pau Brazil on Lever Street and Boteco Brazil in the Arndale food court. I found myself at the latter on Friday, where I was treated to carne moida com batatas,feijao,farofa,more carne and arroz. It was a favela of flavours built on a bed of rice in a bowl
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The guys were friendly as I asked the names of the dishes and understanding as I explained the madness of my project.As I have returned to Chorlton after a decade away, perhaps the spirit of Latino's has come back too.