Places to go in Krakow #9: Irish Mbassy

Before you start, no spelling mistake here- they weren’t allowed to call it an ‘Embassy’ as this may be considered confusing by some people (casting no direct apersions at anyone).

Did I forget to mention they have some cool pictures on the walls?

Places to go in Krakow #8: Pierwszy Lokal

Or, in full, ‘Pierwszy lokal na Stolarskiej po lewej stronie idąc od Małego Rynku’…i.e. ‘First Place on Stolarska on the left going away from the Maly Rynek’ or ‘The Long Name Bar’, or simply ‘Long Name’ as I prefer to save time referring to it. If difficulty finding a place to sit is any indicator of quality then Long Name is up there with the best of them.

Just about squeezed the whole name in...

Places to go in Krakow #7: Tram Bar

The sign outside tells you that this is the home of Krakow’s largest iced coffee but strangely they don’t tell you that it is also home to the cheapest coffee in town. I’m fairly confident in saying that there isn’t anywhere nearby where you can hand over a 5zl coin for your coffee and, depending on your disposition, either get change or make the staff like you by leaving a tip.

Tackling Tram Bar square on

Places to go in Krakow #5: Pinokio

Anyone living more than 500m away from this old school pizza place (I can’t bring myself to use the word restaurant, it’s little more than a big takeaway with some tables) but trust me when I say it’s their loss.It’s a bit of a hike for the casual visitor up to Pradnicka street to the north of the city centre, but worth it.

Places NOT to go in Lublin #1: Ceska Piwnica

What would have been an entirely positive first experience in Lublin’s ever-improving Old Town was ruined by decidedly sub-standard treatment from our waitress.

Thinking we had found an ideal haven from the wintry weather, we went downstairs and settled in on the leather sofas sent down by a higher power. A few minutes later, the order had been placed for hot mead all round and we were impatiently anticipating their warming glow.

When we were given a cup of piping hot mulled wine each instead, the sense of disappointment and confusion was outweighed by the sense that this was a small problem, no doubt swiftly and easily fixed. How wrong we were…

Places to go in Manchester #1: Mr Thomas’ Chop House

Depending on where you read about it and who you believe, “Tom’s”, as it is known in the city, is either the oldest pub in Manchester or merely one of the oldest.Oldest or not, it definitely has the best preserved Victorian tiled interior and remains one of the premier purveyors of traditional British food for many a mile, putting most dedicated restaurants to shame in the process.

Best known for its long standing menu favourites- fish and chips with mushy peas, steak and kidney pudding and corned beef hash- Tom’s is the perfect place for a hearty lunch on a cold wintry day but has over the past couple of years been defying its limited dimensions, successfully extending its range to evening dining and, in the summer months, the best outdoor seating area in town.

Being essentially a pub, Tom’s also has plenty to offer on the drinking side of matters- in particular a selection of local real ales and an impressive wine list.

Book ahead if you want to eat at the weekends- it’s location and high profile combined with the tourist-pulling interior and ‘(maybe) oldest pub in Manchester’ tag mean a steady stream of full stomachs and satisfied customers.

Information

Address: 52 Cross Street, Manchester, United Kingdom
E-mail: toms@thevictorianchophousecompany.com
Website: http://tomsmanchester.thevictorianchophousecompany.com
Wifi: No

Prices: Starters from £5, mains from £10, beer around £3, wine from £3.50 a glass

Polish Porter Playoffs Part 1

“It tastes like licking a key that’s been touched by a load of people”- on that bombshell, porter number 3 was making an unspectacular entrance into February’s Beer of the Month competition. Unsurprisingly, it went on to finish a distant last in this, the first half of February’s enlarged competition, but what of the others?

Contenders for February?

February is looking like a quiet month so the next edition of ‘Beer of the Month’ will be decided in a more scientific manner, with 8 contenders whittled down slowly to the 1 winner. I’m taking suggestions for those to consider over the next few weeks before the showdown in late February, feel free to send them in by whatever means you have of contacting me.

Beer of the Month: January

In order to keep myself occupied waiting for the stupid Balice fog to clear (again! thanks very much fog, you cost me several hours of my time, and 66 pounds of my money this week, giving a total so far of many* hours and 150 quid), I picked up a copy of the Krakow Post and discovered the new (probably- I haven’t read it for a while) section: Beer of the Month. A little underwhelmed by the choice, I felt inspired to start a rival contest, but only once I’d thought of a sufficiently brilliant, original name. Now that’s done, we can pick our first winner…