Jam Street Cafe – Whalley Range, Manchester

Monthly Archives: July 2009

Jam Street Cafe – Whalley Range, Manchester

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Pros:  The finest German beer.  Amazing food.  Imaginative menu with two or three choices that change every time you visit.

Cons: a little bit scruffy for a 32-year old PR dandy who has become used to expensive Michelin starred tastes.  Probably fine for “young” people.  Maybe public school boys from Charterhouse, with subscriptions to The Spectator  might feel out of place.

 

The review

 

Everyone thinks Chorlton is the food capital of Manchester, but actually there are several weaknesses to this argument as I have illustrated in previous blogs.  In summary, prior to Ostara, there were ZERO top grade restaurants in Chorlton.  Lots of good places to eat, but no five star luxurious dining to be had.

 

Jam Street Cafe is not a top grade restaurant either, but it is a place where the food is imaginative and served with love.

 

Tonight I took my lovely lady as company.  We tucked into Dortmunder Union beer as aperitif (is there a better beer other than that brewed under Reinheitsgebot?)  I shall now fast forward our small talk and deliver you to the main course.  My main course.

 

I had a squid and chorizo salad with chick pea, roasted onions, tomatoes and fennel.  The many legged beast was marinated in lemon, thyme, garlic and oil.  The squid was plated with gay regard to portion control and flame grilled to get that delicious char-grilled flavour.  The chorizo was used with restrain.  Some sausage lovers might have wanted a more generous serving, but it was spicy and diced in a way that meant a little went a long way.

 

I can’t be bothered in telling you about my lovely lady’s dish other than it was a pork chop and what a cut; it was exceptional.  Served on hearty bed of bean stew.

 

As for the Jam Street concept, everyone bangs on about Jam Street Cafe’s breakfasts as being the pinnacle of this eatery.  And it once won an Observer Food accolade for its Petit Déjeuner but I was underwhelmed when I had mine.   You must also remember that Chorlton has more Observer readers than anywhere else in the country so this voted for accolade is hardly representative.

 

 Also, having lived in Bristol, and dined at the Bristolian in the Montpelier area of the city, it came a not very close second.  However, the real’ tresor’ is to be had at Jam Street in the evening.  Every night is different I tell you! Every single night a different menu.  Great concept!

 

The other thing to remember when eating here is that if you are a carnivore, then please don’t rule out the vegetarian offers.  I think that their vegetarian dishes beat some of the under seasoned dishes I ate at Green’s, Didsbury – supposedly a shining light of vegetarian fine dining.  I’m a raving mad carnivore but when I come to Jam Street I do go veggie more often than not.

 

In summary,  I like the (very )scruffy environment of The Jam Street Cafe, but it won’t suit everyone.   Not one for Tory Boys me thinks.   However, forget the shabby chic styling and what you get is, pound for pound, the best food in South Manchester. 

 

p.s.  My friend Lu Lu loved it also

 

© James Crawford’s PR and Media Blog.  2009

Twitter is child’s play. Please play safely

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I have been showing a newbie around Twitter today. The whole process of inducting someone to Twitter cracks me up every time. The look on his or her face as you explain how it works. The impression of incredulous horror the exude as I explain WHY I follow Andy Crane of all people (of Children’s BBC fame, and most recently Channel M)…

I think Twitter newbies fall into two categories:
1) those who are mesmerised and somewhat baffled by what on god’s earth Twitter is all about
2) people are hostile to Twitter and take the mick, making statements about Twitter users living in the “great blue beyond”.
I thought today’s newbie fell somewhere between the two…

This experience got me thinking about how best to explain Twitter to a lay person. I have a training presentation for Twitter, but this induction was a 5 minute flying tour in between meetings.

Condensing Twitter down into such a small time period was, to say the least, challenging. Twitter is so versatile it is difficult to give an “elevator” pitch which explains what it is, as the reality is that the service can be a different tool to each and every person.

Even handy guides like this example from Mashable http://mashable.com/2009/07/20/twitter-new-users/ , don’t really explain the benefits…

The PR and communications’ industry likes to think it knows a thing or two about Twitter. Everyone in this industry talks about having a strategy for Twitter use.

A strategy is, of course, hugely advisable as reputations can be destroyed within a second. On the other hand, is all this talk of “strategy” making something complicated out of an internet tool which is intrinsically simple?

The most rewarding way of getting to grips with Twitter is through the most basic of human activity: play. Play about. Have fun. Chat to people, but do it like you might at a social event. In other words, don’t be uncouth, rude, aggressive or unprofessional (unless that’s how you would normally behave). Don’t talk too much. Be like the wise old sage.

If you are the chief executive of a large corporate, your idea of play or socialising might involve catching up with the golf or cricket. Or discussing the Today programme. The likelihood is that at this level, you will have been media trained anyway so you will be well aware of the pitfalls of saying the wrong thing. You’ll soon get the hang of hashtags and @replies and all the other strange terminology…
The real risk, I feel, is for middle management and their staff. I expect to see more and more stories of employees blundering online. Spilling the beans about sensitive information to competitors, sharing data that was “for their eyes only.” I smell a disciplinary or two on the horizon. …

Please don’t interpret what I am saying as “don’t get involved in Twitter unless you are an old hand at handling the media”. Far from it. In fact those who are not used to dealing with the media should play, and discover like anybody else, but play with great care. Think long and hard before pressing enter and sending your Tweet. Once your Tweet is out there somewhere, then there is no getting it back. I don’t want to sound like the Daily Mail (what? I am doing? Oh.. Sorry) but look at these high profile examples of inappropriate comments as examples http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/twitter/5250680/Top-10-worst-tweets.html . These could be you! They could get you the sack!

In a nutshell, anyone who is not accustomed to dealing with the media, should think twice about using Twitter without undertaking a little bit background reading, training or seeking the advice of a user.

Before you start Tweeting, have a read of this guide from IBM (which @jonclements found for me) http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html . There are some good pieces of advice here for both Twitter users and employers / HR practitioners.

 

© James Crawford’s PR and Media Blog.  2009

What has happened to Beech Road, Chorlton?

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What has happened to Beech Road, Chorlton?

 

Something is happening in Chorlton.  Beech Road, a laidback, independently minded  South Manchester centre of fun, is falling to pieces.

 

 

I’m going to get some stick for writing this from my friends on Beech Road, but sometimes the truth hurts.  Beech Road is a mess!

 

 

Let’s look at this statement for a moment.  The Chip Shop has been empty for two years, Emma Hatton Estate agents is shut, the frame shop has closed down, there is a derelict church building, an empty house with a burnt out roof, and a bloody great tranche of waste land where once a Garage stood.

 

 

And then there is Marmalade, once a beloved South Manchester eating institution.  We all know what happened there :http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNw86JDfoJ0qiNwF6IHqi

 

Of course, Beech Road is still great.  The new Horse and Jockey is beltingly good, Lorenzo’s Tapas Bar is fun and a good night out, and my mate Mark from Truth runs a great business and is a funny guy to boot!

 

However, compare the once all conquering Beech Road to other parts of Chorlton and they are falling far behind.  Wilbraham Road now has Out of the Blue, the best food store in South Manchester, Electriks, possibly the finest bar in the city and off course Dulcimer and Oddest are great new drinking establishments to add to other stalwarts like The Bar.

 

Then you can look at the Manchester Road end of Chorlton.  Barbican deli, Marble Beer House, Unicorn, Pi and outpost Jam St Cafe really have upped the ante.

All in all, when you compare these new areas of Chorlton to Beech Road they make it look scruffy. 

 

Of course, this needs to be tempered.  There is an embarrassment of riches in Chorlton.  Sometimes you don’t know how good you have got it and I wouldn’t live anywhere else other than Chorlton Green.  However, I want Beech Road to get its act together!  Get a great Restaurant Beech Road as Manchester road has Ostara which is serving deliciously original food.  Get a deli.  Manchester Road has one… get a bar to replace Marmalade.  SORT IT OUT!

 

© James Crawford’s PR and Media Blog.  2009

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