Tuesday 26th August saw Mike from Stag and Hen Manchester invited down to be a guest judge at “The Printworks Burger Off Competition”. What is that I hear you yell? - well it was a competition amongst the majority of the Printworks tenants for who cooked the best burger and Mike had the hard job of eating 7 Burgers and along with three other judges deciding which was best. This was done to celebrate National Gourmet Burger Week and showcase what this nightlife complex has to offer visitors to Manchester
We are now able to let you stags and hens know the results and whether Mike and the team at Stag and Hen Manchester agree with them. This will mean you will be already well versed on the best places to visit in the Printworks for your evening meal on your Manchester Stag and Hen parties.
Mike’s fellow judges were top chef from the Mark Addy and nominee for chef of the year at Manchester’s Food and Drink festival Robert Owen Brown, Rock Radio’s Paul Anthony and Paul Southworth the Twitter judge (@Paulsfloors).
Passing you across to Mike and he will tell the story of the day!
The afternoon started at Manchester’s Hard Rock Cafe where the first burger up for tasting was the Hard Rock California Burger:-
Now Stag and Hen Manchester already loved the Hard Rock Cafe and its food and this burger was no exception. We love it so much that we can offer the Platinum Menu to stags and hens coming to the city on their Manchester Stag Party or Manchester Hen Party.The burger had an excellent filling of Guacamole, good beef and lashings of cheese with their always excellent chips! (The Platinum Menu doesn’t include this burger though so let us know on enquiring and we can arrange it for you)
Second up and another of our offerings to Manchester bound stags and hens was Henry j Beans and their standard cheeseburger with Monterey Cheese. The secret ingredient that surprised us all though when the chef told us was “Love” and it was obvious that he took an awful lot of care over every dish he sent out from his kitchen.
With Burgers already on our special Stag and Hen Party meal menus and cocktails or jugs of beer included all for as little as £25 per person you are onto a winner if you decide to have your hen party or stag party dinner at Henry J Beans in the Printworks.
Next up as the day continued was a trip to Lloyds No 1 Bar where we sampled their Blue Cheese burger.
With consistently high hygiene ratings you can be rest assured your food is prepared properly and it is certainly packing a punch on taste with its wonderful Blue Cheese sauce but the chips scored quite poorly in our minds so if you like you accompaniments with a good burger you will get better elsewhere in the Printworks.
Following on from Lloyds No 1 Bar was Chiquitos for a bit of a Mexican theme and their Big Texan Cowboy Burger and bottle of Corona went down a treat with me until I got to the Bun of their burger which was massively soggy and needed improving. It was a shame as the whole group including the chef from The Mark Addy was scoring it very highly until then. See if you like the look of it here and oh if you order it doubled up and finish it – it is yours for free perfect for that Manchester Stag night challenge and lining the stomachs before enjoying some more Corona!
Next up on the Burger conveyor belt was a trip to Waxy O Connor’s Irish pub for their burger with cheese, bacon and Ballymaloe relish all the way from Ireland. Expertly presented this was definitely a feast for the eyes but did cause a bit of debate as to the Irish relish on top of the burger. Robert Owen Brown our resident chef judge felt it too sweet for a burger but I thought it was lovely and a great addition. A strong contender for me and as it turned out later the other judges!
Following Waxy’s we went to Old Orleans where we were presented with a number of burgers including a chilli burger and cheeseburger and we all tucked in having had them explained by the onsite chef.
The shame about these was whilst it was clear the chef was passionate and proud about what he offered to guests coming into Old Orleans unfortunately the chain sources it meat poorly and from London which meant the meat quality was poor in comparison to other locally sourced options we had had. However the Sweet Potato Fries are to absolutely die for!
Last up we headed into one of the more recent additions to the huge restaurant portfolio at the Printworks PapaG’s. Here the owner Angelou was probably the most passionate about his restaurant and food and he introduced us to the Big Greek Burger:-
The burger had halloumi, houmous and smoked ham as well as the burger and salad and went alongside some of Papa G’s famous thick cut chips or what I ended up calling half potato chips they were that massive. The smoked ham was a bit overpowering for me but yummy none the less.
Once we had finished and slumped back into our judging chairs we assessed the figures that we had given to the appearance, bun , burger meat, burger additions and overall taste of all the burgers we had tasted and after a little debate we came up with a winner on the day and that was the last burger we had tasted the Papa G’s Big Greek Burger which won by a short distance from Waxy O Connors and Henry J Beans. We still loved the Hard Rock Cafe burger and give it an honourable mention despite other critical words from my fellow judges.
So what have we to conclude from my afternoon of judging. Well:-
The quality of food across all the venues at the Printworks is of a very high quality
There is a huge variety of choice of restaurants always willing to accept large groups.
It is is conveniently situated in a nightlife hub for your Manchester Stag and Hen Parties and opposite the Birdcage for you hens
IF you do not opt to visit Henry J Beans or The Hard Rock Cafe we suggest heading to Papa G’s and seeing Angelo for food to remember and fill you up!
For additional information on the Printworks see www.theprintworks.com or simply ask us for details!
And remember we provide free nightife passes to top quality venues in the Printworks if you book your Manchester Stag Weekend or Manchester Hen Weekend with us so it will work perfectly to get some food at the same place!
