Eateries
Food always plays a major part in the life of a muso!
Cafes and Restaurants
Nick's Oxford Snack Bar
How many musicians remember (Greasy) Nick's Oxford Snack Bar on Oxford Road which was at street level below the Plaza Ballroom (Tiffany's) until the site was redeveloped.
It was perhaps the only one on a City Centre High Street which opened 24 hours a day. Consequently, no matter what time you arrived back in Manchester after a gig you could always get a fry up or a hot sandwich.
The father of the family, Nick himself, owned several other places in the City centre and this was not generally known.
These included The National Milk Bar on Corporation Street in the old Evening News building, the Favourite opposite the Town Hall at the John Dalton St corner of Albert Square, and I am led to believe he owned the "Egg and I" on Deansgate,opposite the former ABC cinema.
Nick died about 10 years ago and his passing merited a write up in the Manchester Evening News when his funeral paused outside his last remaining cafe on Deansgate. His son,Theo, who ran the Oxford in the 1960s still ran the last cafe at the time of Nick's death.
The Wimpy Bar on Oxford Road closed in the late 60s and for a time was the headquarters of the new Sun newspaper after its conversion from the Daily Herald.
The building was later taken over by A1 music retailers and became a virtual Aladdin's cave of group gear.
In the sixties, of course, Manchester had six City Centre railway stations and most had buffet bars which were open until the early hours depending on services. The stations at London Road, Victoria and Central were always sources of a late night or early morning brew and a sarnie, unless you were brave enough to try their meat pies of questionable pedigree!!!!
Finally, nearly every town had at least one chippy with a dining room at the back. Our favourite was a few yards down Parrin Lane on the Winton side of Monton Canal bridge.
The place was heaving at 1130 after the nearby Labour Club and Brown Cow threw their patrons out. We spent many a good couple of hours with guys from the other Eccles groups in the Parrin Lane "Ritz".
Gordon Collinge
2/12/10
Hi
I just had to write a comment regarding Nicks cafe On Oxford Road in Manchester Im Nicks daughter and my Dad died 7 years ago but some of the facts here arent actually true!
After the Oxford got knocked down, he spent many years in a restaurant in Blackpool where we all worked there.
He didnt own the Egg & I as far as I know!
But he was well remembered and we miss him dearly.
Thanks for the write up though
Theo is now in Urmston at the County Grill on the bridge, working with his cousin Matthew and Lilian Spanou.
Alex Theodosiou
7/2/11
Chinese Lil's Cafe - The Lung Fung, Middleton
This is where many local groups met up after a gig. It was the only place open late at night.
The main dish was curry and chips, curry and rice, curry and chicken with rice or chips.
It was the first chinese eatery in the area. It was in a tumbledown terrace on the road leading from Rochdale road to Royton. I remember chicken curry rice and chips was 1s 3p and that was for half a chicken.
She had a restaurant in Darwin, upstairs in an old ballroom and when I played with Johnny Masters and the Mastersounds we came to an arrangement with her to hold gigs featuring local bands on a Sunday afternoon. This realy took off after a couple of weeks to the benefit of all.
Geoff Brannick
16/2/10
A nights' gigging for most Middleton bands was not complete without a trip to 'Lil's' Chinese takeaway - more accurately the Lung Fung. Around one o'clock in the morning most weekends there would be bands exchanging experiences from the nights' gig.
Many a weary band member would engage in a little good-natured repartee with Lil or her lovely daughter - May Lei as I recall though my spelling may not be strictly accurate!
Les Hall
The Crime Lake Cafe, Daisy Nook, Failsworth
A popular hangout for teenagers in the '50's and ''60s especially the motorcycle rockers. Race the juke box was popular, riding from the top of the hill near the cafe, downt to the bottom bridge near where the fair was held and back again before the record finished. Lots of classic British bikes on display and not a japanese bike in sight. Thoes were the days. There was also a good pub there called the Crime Lake Hotel.
Geoff Brannick
17/2/10
The Hogey Wagon, Warrington
The one I will never.. ever forget....do you remember the 'Hogey Wagon' from about 1965 ...a caravan on a car park in Warrington...each Friday Saturday and Sunday night from about midnight to 3 in the morning was crowded with bands returning home either to or from Manchester/Liverpool.
Their speciality..'The Hogie'..was a huge sausage on a French loaf...most normal muso's could only manage half a hogey and beaker of delicious coffee they sold...Tommy Becket is the only person on the planet that easily demolished 2 complete/whole 'Hogies' on a regular basis....a feat, I would hazard, has not been surpassed to this day!
Tony Lingard
The Hogey Wagon is still there. it's now called the "Hogey Cabin" but is in the same place although the bus station has now gone and there is a nightclub called Mr Smiths. Instead of bands frequenting it, it is "drunken clubbers". Our keyboard player lived in Warrington so we were always there.
Stuart Bunyan
The Hogey bar was a trailer on a bomb site in the centre of Warrington that sold hot dogs about a foot long.
On the occasion I refer to, our manager John Eaton had come along for the ride and after the gig we had gone to the Hogey bar for some grub. We all got into the back of Ian's (our roadie, Ian McNab) nice clean Morris J4 bus and started munching.
Ian must have hit a bump because I spilt some red hot coffee on John, he started laughing, Ces Moseley in mid sup started laughing spurting coffee over everyone, then hot dogs started to get thrown around. Result, total chaos and one very messy bus .Sorry Ian.
Bernie Byrnes
I remember the Hogie Wagon well. It was started by two GIs from Burtonwood airforce base. We used to go there at all hours in the morning, there was nothing better than a large hogie with mayo and tomato sauce and onions.
What a lovely dribbely mess that tasted wonderful to a starving half drunk muso at two in the morning.
Mike Ward
17/2/10
The Hoagie Wagon in Warrington was at the back of the shops on Bridge Street as I remember,we used to race around the one way system in Latchford after a night out at the venues in Northwich.
As an alternative we would go to Poplar Cafe on The A50 at Lymm for a full breakfast and play Norman Greenbaum's Spirit In The Sky on repeat on the jukebox (sad or what)
John Flanagam
12/8/10
Plaza Cafe
Upper Brook Street,
Manchester
Check out The Plaza on Facebook
Does anybody recall the Plaza curry house? Cheap & cheerful. The list of curries included the following, Killer, Suicide, Charlies Special, Cremation & Goodbye. The sauce was sometimes served in a pint pot!
Rumour had it that an alsatian was found in the freezer lol.
I always plumped for a Chicken biryani (suicide) & I'm sure the chef ? only had one arm, although I could be mistaken there.
Long gone & sadly missed.
Phil Roberts
17/210
I certainly do! I was living in a shared student house opposite the High Street baths round the corner - must have been about '71. We used to get a half Biryani - they were huge and we never met anyone who managed a full one. Mind you, at a whopping 9 shillings, I could never afford one.
We were regulars, almost every day, so we used to get 'extras'. The Biryani would appear with a fried egg, cabbage or some spuds plonked on top. Place was often full of drunks, flat out on the tables.
Great place.
Paul (webmaster)
17/2/10 |
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Plaza Cafe, I remember it well as does my stomach on a bad day! I lived on Curzon Ave just around the corner from the Plaza and it became my second home although I never achieved anythiong hotter than a suicide. The saying used to be 'if the bottom has fallen out of your world, have a plaza and it will feel like the world is falling out of your bottom!'. Shame its gone and god rest old Charlie who took the secret of his sauce to the grave, thank god!!
Paul T
20/7/10
I used to live across the road from the Plaza Cafe, my dad had a shop called The Cake Box on the corner of Upper Brook St and March St.
The waiter, a huge black fella was called Ali, don't know if it was his real name !!!!.
My normal order was madras steak curry with spuds carrots and cabbage on top, the steak used to be that tough it would be getting daylight by the time I had chewed my way through it.
I'm still having trouble with my guts, and its all their fault ! ! ! ! ! .
Butch Mepham
14/9/10
My dad was Charlie. I worked there when I was very young along with my sisters and brother. The food was different, times were good, work was hard - finishes at 6 in the morning, majority of customers great.
Brian Ali
9/1/11
I first went to the Plaza with a bunch of friends from Stockport College in about 1979. We were on day release (one day a week at tech) and one of the lads on the course told us the legend of the Suicide and Goodbye.
A few of us bunked off early one particular evening and ventured to Upper Brook Street. Being Plaza curry wimps at the time there was only one soul brave enough to order a Suicide. Thing is, he said the secret not to feel the burn was to throw it down his neck massively quick. Never seen a half-byriani disappear so fast.
After this first time I went back fairly regularly with a couple of mates who lived in town. I was living outside at the time so coming into Manchester was a bit special, a big beer tour, then to Jilly's or the Sporran (trying to pull and failing miserably) and ending up at the Plaza.
We honed our Plaza resistance until on one particular night, well ethanol'd you understand, we had the Goodbye. Next day we knew about it mind, bog-roll in the freezer anyone.
The thing that got me was the unique flavour, even the hot ones. I noticed the post on here from Brian, Charlies son, thats what prompted me to get in touch.
Brian, can you please tell us your dad's recipe for the Plaza byriani sauce in all its strengths? Here's hoping.
John Mason
6/9/11
Charcoal Hob
Sale
Mmmm, just loved their burgers
Azads
Hyde Road
Who remembers Azads - one of the first curry resturaunts in Manchester, it was on Hyde Road not far up from the Apollo at Ardwick Green if I remember correctly.
Our drummer in The Jets, Joe Abrams took me there for my first ever curry a Madras ) in 1957/58.
We ( the Jets, then The Fourtones) used to call in for a meal on the way home from gigs at 1.00 - 2.00 - 3.00am didn't they ever close?
I've loved the stuff ever since.
Butch Mepham
28/3/10
Wimpy Bar, Oxford Rd
Who remembers the first Wimpy bar in Manchester ?, it was on Oxford street just a bit further up from Barrats music shop, ( there's a Maplins electroncs shop on that spot now ).
The guys that worked there used to spend hours scraping the hot plate.
Its a pity the people who started MacDonalds and Burger King didn't go there, they may have discovered that you don't put bloody wet lettuce and raw tomatoes on burgers, they are supposed to have FRIED ONIONS on them.
John (Butch) Mepham
14/9/10
Does anyone remember the great coffee shops in Manchester of the '60s? Like the Gay Dolphin on Piccadilly? Espresso Bongo (Victoria) Alasia, ect.
Many of these where owned by Greek Cypriots with a lot of dishy waiters! My friends and I couldnt wait for lunchtime at Sparrow Hardwicks (Piccadilly) to go eat and stare. All harmless fun!
Linda Preston
25/1/10
There was brilliant "chippy" in Atherton town square that used to do us Fish Chips and Curry. They used to cook in proper lard and they were the best chips around. Jo the sax lived in Leigh so we went there a lot also. Another chippy we used was near where I lived in Chorlton. It was a chinese and I used to wet myself when the owner said, "Cully Lice, two bobs please". We used to go in and give him a chorus of it and he would dutifully serve up 8 portions of "Cully Lice".
Stuart Bunyan
A funny thing happened one night as the band made their way to the chip shop on Princess Road, after a gig Wythenshawe way. No one wants to be last, so the band always ran across the road as fast as they could to be first in line. That night the band had a friend in the van. As the van lurched to a halt near the chippy, someone shouted "It's the police" as they all legged it across the road. All band members arrived in the chippy safely but the friend kept on running - expecting the police to get him any second. Didn't see him again that night.
Paul
17/2/10
Life often revolved around food and there was a chip shop in Atherton where the band ate regularly. After the meal, the bill came on a scruffy bit of paper - often re-used. Cass soon discovered a cheaper way to eat - he just chose which side of the paper was the cheapest and paid that.
Paul
17/2/10
Another food memory, again around Atherton way. Some of the band were invited back to this girls place after the gig and her dad laid on a great meal for them - which was much appreciated. As they said their goodbyes, dad presented the band with a bill. Unknown to them, they had been invited back to a cafe after hours.
Paul (webmaster)
17/2/10
Sabiry Bar
Rusholme
Probably the first of the Indian eateries on Wilmslow Road. Great place - open late and a sit in area. Always loved a meat and potato pie and curry. Rumour was that they deep fried the steak puddings - wasn't daring enought to try one.
For Rusholme groups it was just round the corner and many is the time we hurried back from Atherton or Tyldesley or Wythenshawe (we seemed to live in those places at the time) to catch the Sabiry before it closed. Focal Points also regulars there.
Paul (webmaster)
Phoneix City Smash
28/3/10
Jons chippy
Cross Street, Sale
I remember fondly Jons chippy on Cross Street Sale which was frequented by many groups from the west side of Cheshire and bands on their way back to Liverpool and the motorway. I recall meeting Lulu and the Luvvers one night although she probably doesn't remember me even though I did offer her a chip.
Tony Peel
9/3/10
I remember Jons Chippy in Sale as I was an apprentice on Marsland Road in the late fifties and early sixties. Jon used to make a big fuss when you came to leave from the back room so we used to duck under the counter on the way out so he missed us.Also attended the Plaza 57/60 and had many a yarn with Jimmy Saville.(Perth WA)What about Amigo's Coffe Bar?
Syd Morgan
28/11/11
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