A quick overnight  stop off en route to Manchester Airport and the obvious choice where to dine had to be the blokey blokes food mecca….SoLITA in Manchesters Northern quarter…Once again. My 3 dining companions were the Legendary Manchester food blogger The Hungry Hoss , SoLITA owner and stand up comic Franco Sotgiu and my 16 year old son Max ( very shortly to end up as daft as all three of us ). In a nutshell it was grab a table and order as much food as we could possibly consume. This would set Max and myself up perfectly for a very early morning flight to Girona to dine at the Worlds number one restaurant “El celler de can Roca” ( post coming shortly). So hey….I won`t go into detail about the technicalities of SoLITA cuisine. The restaurant is packed as soon as the doors open and the photos below show exactly why….Enough said.

First to arrive were the Onion flowers.One large onion , cut into a flower shape on a very expensive machine and then dusted with seasonings, deep fried and served with Chefs special Horseradish cream dipping sauce….One to share.

               Olives and things – Nocellara Olives With Caperberries .

Zucchini fritters – Tempura of Courgette.

Deep fried Crispy Mac n Cheese balls.                       Fried Chicken livers with Chicken neck gravy.I`ve really no idea what Franco was playing at here but for some strange reason he ordered an Inka grill roasted Mackerel salad….strange guy.

Ohhhhhh dear….Now this is where the Hungry Hoss comes into his own…He ordered a custom burger just because he had one of his food fancies. Brioche bun with Mac n Cheese patty topped with sticky pulled Pork….Unreal , he ate the lot then looked for more.My turn to order and I went for The Rossini Burger , the ultimate indulgence for the fine dining enthusiast. Butter brioche bun , Chuck steak and bone marrow patty , Pan fried Foie Gras , Butter fried crouton , Black Truffles and a reduced Veal stock and madeira sauce…..Oh now cmon , do burgers ever get any better than this ? ( Available with notice as this one isn’t on the menu ).

Ohhhh dear. The Lobster Thermidor Burger makes an appearance – Franco “insisted” we try the weekly special ,  Butter Brioche bun , Lobster Thermidor patty , Beef and bone marrow patty , Iceberg lettuce and Thermidor sauce….Amazing.

My well behaved `lightweight` son , Max went for the sensible option whilst the animals troughed beside him… He went for the  Bacon Double Cheese burger with 4 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese, crispy Kentucky fried bacon , a toasted brioche bun and all held with a slice of bacon candy.We couldn’t possibly have any room for Puds….Could we ? SoLITA Deep fried `Coke` and Vanilla ice cream was my choice.                                 Key Lime Pie with Coconut ice cream.