#odd bar

[8eightinfinity]

Son Dam Bi, Lee Kwang Soo, and Jung Chan Sung at Seulong’s bar “Odd”

[8eightinfinity]

Odd Bar

[belisaurus]

[krasniyb]

HD Gifs from "Odd Bar"

[themancreviewer]

A chilled evening at Odd Bar - the Northern Quarter

I was royally excited this month because, after all my months of sporadic blogging, I was invited to review food at a bar. I was asked to come along to try out Odd Bar's new menu, and I happily obliged.

I was really nervous to be honest, because I wasn't sure of the 'rules' - was the meal free? Did my boyfriend get anything free? What about drinks? How do I introduce myself?

After a bit of initial confusion (not their fault), the staff at Odd Bar quickly put me at ease. The service was relaxed but attentive and the atmosphere was perfect. Dim lighting, quiet music and lots of people having nice chats.

The menu was fairly casual too - burgers, sandwiches, burritos and the like. I went for the Odd Burger Extraordinaire (juicy beef burger and Montery Jack cheddar piled high with salad) and boyf had the P.P.P Burger (pulled pork smothered in Jack Daniels with MJ cheddar and Peri Peri coleslaw).

Here's mine:

It was absolutely delicious. The burger itself was huge, tasty and juicy, the salad was crisp and the cheese (with some kind of weird sauce on) added an extra dimension. I loved every mouthful, which is high praise as I easily get bored of meals.

Boyf really enjoyed his, too. He let me have a bit of the pulled pork and the Jack Daniels sauce gave it a real barbeque kick.

It was pretty funny because we were sat next to the window, and could see Almost Famous' old headquarters. These burgers were so much better than the one I had there, served on an actual plate and with much less wanky hype and queuing.

If you're looking for a casual after-work meal, Odd Bar is the perfect place to go, and I reckon it's also a good shout if you're meeting up with old friends for a nice chat before Christmas. The staff are friendly, but leave you to your business to enjoy things at your own pace, and the food is top notch for a reasonable price.

This was all finished off by their special honey & vanilla cheesecake. It was heavy after the burgers tbh, but I ate it all!

What a lovely time I had at Odd Bar, and will definitely make an effort to pop in there for a drink when I'm passing in future.

We then went to Apotheca and had some lovely cocktails (boyf unintentionally got the girlier one... again)....

Fab evening!

[hayleyflynn-blog]

The Thomas Street Pineapple

Thanks to Sam Newiss for the image.

This old building on Thomas Street, sometimes known as the Binks Building, is on one of the busiest corners of Manchester when it comes to nightlife. The current tenant is Odd Bar and the neighbours are a collection of bars, restaurants, secret cocktail lounges and traditional boozers. But as well as all this the area is steeped in history, art and culture and the view from Binks Building is one of the loveliest in all of Manchester; the walls and gates of Speakman, Son & Hickson's Wholesale Fish Market. 

The market entrance is, for want of a better word, entrancing but look up just a little and you might be surprised to find this pottery pineapple settled on the highest ledge of the Binks Building. The exotic finial perches on the crow-stepped gables and it isn't as rare as you might imagine to find this particular fruit incorporated into the design of a building. In terms of carvings and architectural adornment, the pineapple, was most prevalent from around the mid 1700s to the back end of the 1800s (until the influence of Egypt and Greece set in). 

We first caught sight of the pineapple in Europe in 1493 but it was from around the 17th century onwards it truly became the most coveted of rare fruits. In preparation for a feast, a host (should he be lucky enough) would rent a pineapple for his table's centrepiece and so it was only natural that it was adopted by artists and architects as a symbol of hospitality and of wealth. 

The most impressive of all it's architectural applications must be the Dunmore Pineapple near Airth, Scotland. The roof of the building is a 14 metre high carved pineapple and part of the grounds at Dunmore contain a hothouse in which the fruit could be grown, and was done so succesfully throughout the 18th century. Sadly, it's unknown who is responsible for this great architectural wonder of Scotland.

But back to our Thomas Street pineapple, glistening in the sun as vibrantly as it does I should have suspected this was not the architectural pineapple of the 18th century but rather a recent piece commissioned at some time in the late 1990s by Liam Curtin of Majolica Works. Majolica are responsible for a number of street art projects around the city, especially so in the Northern Quarter. The artist is Kate Malone who said of the piece: 

I see my pineapples as a symbol of friendship and hospitality, for me it is the celebratory essence of the shape, with its crown of leaves reaching outward like a party popper or firework .. and its sumptuous fruit being sensual and fiery...

There are more fruity delights to be had in Manchester so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, whilst doing some research for this piece, I came across a Flickr group of London pineapples so check it out and see if you can help find any more.

Read more Skyliner

Previous: Skyliner #3 Next: Skyliner #5