Manchester UK-good place for a Thanksgiving dinner?
Oct 25th, 2013, 12:58 PM
#41
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,367
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
dutyfree, if you aren't getting good personal recommendations here perhaps have a look at www.viamichelin.com or one of the Manchester newpapers online food section for restaurants to look into further.
Oct 25th, 2013, 07:30 PM
#42
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,525
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You guys have offered some great suggestions-keep them coming!I will look into your suggestions. When I said a roast type place, I was just looking for something that was more upscale than pub food yet not $100 a person.I was just looking for some place to have a nice meal,not necessary turkey as my daughter hates it and my son is a vegetarian!Our family actually enjoys UK food so will check out the above.
I just want to mention that eating anything American overseas would make me gag-I don't even eat at those places here in the US!
LOL Working for the airlines and usually going overseas each week allows me to enjoy each country's food and culture which is always a highlight of my working trips!
Seriously, if I could afford to live in the UK I would be moving over there as I love anything British,Scotch or Welsh!
I just want to mention that eating anything American overseas would make me gag-I don't even eat at those places here in the US!
LOL Working for the airlines and usually going overseas each week allows me to enjoy each country's food and culture which is always a highlight of my working trips!Seriously, if I could afford to live in the UK I would be moving over there as I love anything British,Scotch or Welsh!
Oct 27th, 2013, 04:17 AM
#43
A couple more:
Simple in the Northern Quarter on Tib Lane and Rosylee Tea Rooms in Stevenson Square.
Reading dutyfree's last post, then I'd definitely recommned the Manchester Chop House as in my post above.
Simple in the Northern Quarter on Tib Lane and Rosylee Tea Rooms in Stevenson Square.
Reading dutyfree's last post, then I'd definitely recommned the Manchester Chop House as in my post above.
Nov 29th, 2013, 02:19 PM
#44
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ok....for all the people patronising informing the OP that Thanksgiving is not celebrated in the UK...it is actually becoming a lot more popular. Many London restaurants are doing full on American Thanksgiving menus, and although not as many in Manchester, the Hard Rock Cafe did a Thanksgiving menu on the day itself that was reasonably priced and looked like the just the the OP was after.
This is not to mention the countless American expats who served up turkey and pumpkin pie yesterday in their own homes...sharing the holiday with several of their UK friends.
This is not to mention the countless American expats who served up turkey and pumpkin pie yesterday in their own homes...sharing the holiday with several of their UK friends.
Nov 30th, 2013, 02:03 AM
#46
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,664
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Aprilcolleen - excuse me but who was "patronising"??? The answers given were factual, and based on experience of people who live in the UK. It has to be pointed out repeatedly on this forum, London is a special case filled with foreign visitors and residents and not typical of what goes on in other parts of the country. As for the Hard Rock Cafe, I'd group that with Frankie & Benny's and TGI's - not somewhere I would ever recommend for a special meal.
Happy holidays to you.
Happy holidays to you.
Nov 30th, 2013, 02:54 AM
#47
The whole issue of how to provide advice without being patronising is a difficult one. You say tomato and I say tomato.
Given that the majority of the people saved by the Thanksgiving experience were vagually British it would not be unreasonable for Brits to celebrate. Similarly you would expect Guy Fawkes to be a big US party.
Still expectations and reality are why we travel.
Given that the majority of the people saved by the Thanksgiving experience were vagually British it would not be unreasonable for Brits to celebrate. Similarly you would expect Guy Fawkes to be a big US party.
Still expectations and reality are why we travel.
Dec 1st, 2013, 01:40 AM
#50
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,300
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mr Thomas' Chop House serves up a nice Lamb Shank, if this comes close. You could get something bordering on a roast at one of my favourite Manchester restaurants: Alberts Shed.
For a real treat, forget the turkey and go to This and That on Soap Street whetre you can eat three curries and rice for a fiver. Its as rough as rats but even so you will be lucky to get a table.
For a real treat, forget the turkey and go to This and That on Soap Street whetre you can eat three curries and rice for a fiver. Its as rough as rats but even so you will be lucky to get a table.
Dec 1st, 2013, 05:48 AM
#51
"Given that the majority of the people saved by the Thanksgiving experience were vagually British it would not be unreasonable for Brits to celebrate."
Not sure what you mean by vagually [sic] British. If we're talking about the Plymouth Colony the settlers were English. They had lived in the Netherlands for a few years, but found the Dutch too libertine (plus ça change, lol) and were worried about their children losing their English culture.
Aside from their fellow-dissenters, probably the only peole interested in their departure were the government, no doubt glad to see the back of a bunch of trouble-makers, and the investors who arranged the charter and financed the voyage, who wanted a return on their money.
I have no idea why 21st century Brits should be interested in celebrating (in so far as what happens in the US could be described as a celebration) a US holiday any more than they might celebrate a French or German one. Bastille Day, perhaps.
Not sure what you mean by vagually [sic] British. If we're talking about the Plymouth Colony the settlers were English. They had lived in the Netherlands for a few years, but found the Dutch too libertine (plus ça change, lol) and were worried about their children losing their English culture.
Aside from their fellow-dissenters, probably the only peole interested in their departure were the government, no doubt glad to see the back of a bunch of trouble-makers, and the investors who arranged the charter and financed the voyage, who wanted a return on their money.
I have no idea why 21st century Brits should be interested in celebrating (in so far as what happens in the US could be described as a celebration) a US holiday any more than they might celebrate a French or German one. Bastille Day, perhaps.
Dec 1st, 2013, 05:57 AM
#52
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 453
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've lived in Britain all my life and have never known anyone apart from American expats mention Thanksgiving. Most people wouldn't even know when it was. I only knew it was about now because I read travel forums like this.
It's not impossible that there would be restaurants in areas with lots of expats that you might find a Thanksgiving dinner, though I have certainly never noticed one. Most people in Britain would regard a turkey dinner as being a Christmas meal, though.
It's not impossible that there would be restaurants in areas with lots of expats that you might find a Thanksgiving dinner, though I have certainly never noticed one. Most people in Britain would regard a turkey dinner as being a Christmas meal, though.
Dec 1st, 2013, 10:10 PM
#53
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,921
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
"Given that the majority of the people saved by the Thanksgiving experience were vagually British it would not be unreasonable for Brits to celebrate."
Well, some people have suggested doing it on July 4th.
Well, some people have suggested doing it on July 4th.
Dec 2nd, 2013, 05:00 AM
#55
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,184
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, after this weekend, 40 more Brits know all about Thanksgiving and I'm pretty sure they like it.
As an American we celebrate Thanksgiving for it's historical origins as much as the Brits celebrate Guy Fawkes Day for its origins. Everyone knows the story and can explain it but celebrating it is not really the purpose.
I can't imagine anyone disparaging a holiday that's (now) about being grateful for what you have and sharing it with those you love.
As an American we celebrate Thanksgiving for it's historical origins as much as the Brits celebrate Guy Fawkes Day for its origins. Everyone knows the story and can explain it but celebrating it is not really the purpose.
I can't imagine anyone disparaging a holiday that's (now) about being grateful for what you have and sharing it with those you love.
Dec 2nd, 2013, 06:57 AM
#56
"I can't imagine anyone disparaging a holiday that's (now) about being grateful for what you have and sharing it with those you love."
If everyone in your family gets on with everyone else, more power to you. I know too many people where that's not the case, and Thanksgiving is an ordeal. And as someone who moved to the US as an adult, I have some other issues with Thanksgiving:
-- It's far too close to Christmas, when you have to do it all over again - the Canadians have the right idea
-- The travel is hideous (I don't do that anymore, but it used to involve far too much driving, some of it potentially in a snowstorm)
-- My main complaint - it's all about excess - especially all that combat shopping - ugh. (I've never done that, but it's all over the news anyway.)
If everyone in your family gets on with everyone else, more power to you. I know too many people where that's not the case, and Thanksgiving is an ordeal. And as someone who moved to the US as an adult, I have some other issues with Thanksgiving:
-- It's far too close to Christmas, when you have to do it all over again - the Canadians have the right idea
-- The travel is hideous (I don't do that anymore, but it used to involve far too much driving, some of it potentially in a snowstorm)
-- My main complaint - it's all about excess - especially all that combat shopping - ugh. (I've never done that, but it's all over the news anyway.)
Dec 2nd, 2013, 08:18 AM
#57
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,184
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<<Thanksgiving is an ordeal>>
I guess I just don't get that. Taxes are an ordeal. Passport control is an ordeal. Those are a means to an end that one must endure.
Thanksgiving is a holiday. Participation is optional!
P.S. Living an ocean away from family it's easy for me to be glib about the obligations that come with families and holidays. I'd like to think that even if I lived down the street I would still choose to celebrate in my own way but who knows?
I guess I just don't get that. Taxes are an ordeal. Passport control is an ordeal. Those are a means to an end that one must endure.
Thanksgiving is a holiday. Participation is optional!
P.S. Living an ocean away from family it's easy for me to be glib about the obligations that come with families and holidays. I'd like to think that even if I lived down the street I would still choose to celebrate in my own way but who knows?
Dec 2nd, 2013, 09:09 AM
#58
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,561
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<<I just want to mention that eating anything American overseas would make me gag-I don't even eat at those places here in the US! >>
The statement above is self-evidently asinine. American food is Creole, Cajun, Yankee, BBQ, Southwestern, Tex-Mex, New Mex, Californian, Soul Food, Floribbean, Hawaiian, New American, pick-a-fusion (Afro-Caribbean, Pan-Asian), and the burgeoning farm-to-table movement and that's just starters. Don't disparage your home country by buying into European stereotypes of American food.
<<It's far too close to Christmas, when you have to do it all over again - the Canadians have the right idea.>>
Thursdaysd statement is simply ignorant. Thanksgiving, at its root, is a harvest festival. Considering Canadian growing seasons are shorter and end earlier than in the US, the decision to set their harvest festival in October instead of November is sensible.
In Canada, various provinces celebrated different days throughout the 1800s, then Nov 6 (that's 6 Nov to the Europeans) in the early 1900s and finally affixed the second Monday in October as Canadian Thanksgiving in 1957. The US has declared the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving for 150 years and it had been celebrated on that day unofficially in most states before Pres. Lincoln's proclamation. In 1863, the commercialization of Xmas had not quite reached the proportions decried in A Charlie Brown Christmas 48 years ago, which, as a commentary, was about 3-4 decades ahead of its time . . .
The statement above is self-evidently asinine. American food is Creole, Cajun, Yankee, BBQ, Southwestern, Tex-Mex, New Mex, Californian, Soul Food, Floribbean, Hawaiian, New American, pick-a-fusion (Afro-Caribbean, Pan-Asian), and the burgeoning farm-to-table movement and that's just starters. Don't disparage your home country by buying into European stereotypes of American food.
<<It's far too close to Christmas, when you have to do it all over again - the Canadians have the right idea.>>
Thursdaysd statement is simply ignorant. Thanksgiving, at its root, is a harvest festival. Considering Canadian growing seasons are shorter and end earlier than in the US, the decision to set their harvest festival in October instead of November is sensible.
In Canada, various provinces celebrated different days throughout the 1800s, then Nov 6 (that's 6 Nov to the Europeans) in the early 1900s and finally affixed the second Monday in October as Canadian Thanksgiving in 1957. The US has declared the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving for 150 years and it had been celebrated on that day unofficially in most states before Pres. Lincoln's proclamation. In 1863, the commercialization of Xmas had not quite reached the proportions decried in A Charlie Brown Christmas 48 years ago, which, as a commentary, was about 3-4 decades ahead of its time . . .
Dec 2nd, 2013, 09:33 AM
#59
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 159
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<<-- The travel is hideous (I don't do that anymore, but it used to involve far too much driving, some of it potentially in a snowstorm)
-- My main complaint - it's all about excess - especially all that combat shopping - ugh. (I've never done that, but it's all over the news anyway.)>>
Agree. Though it is what you make of it. My OH, children, and I have discovered that for us, Thanksgiving is best spent in a mountain cabin tucked away in the woods. Far away from football, Black Friday, and contrived (in our case) extended family meals. It has since become a lovely, peaceful, long weekend for us, and one of my favorite holidays.
-- My main complaint - it's all about excess - especially all that combat shopping - ugh. (I've never done that, but it's all over the news anyway.)>>
Agree. Though it is what you make of it. My OH, children, and I have discovered that for us, Thanksgiving is best spent in a mountain cabin tucked away in the woods. Far away from football, Black Friday, and contrived (in our case) extended family meals. It has since become a lovely, peaceful, long weekend for us, and one of my favorite holidays.
Dec 2nd, 2013, 09:49 AM
#60
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 18,022
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have no idea how or why this thread has taken the turn it has.
I hope dutyfree found somewhere nice to spend Thanksgiving with her family, that her husband had a great birthday, and it didn't all end up in a mass niggle like this thread has.
I hope dutyfree found somewhere nice to spend Thanksgiving with her family, that her husband had a great birthday, and it didn't all end up in a mass niggle like this thread has.
