Almost Famous – completely fantastic!

The Almost Famous has been on the blog before – you may have recognised the name from a lockdown special that we did where we looked at the Almost Famous Homie, a cook at home burger kit. This isn’t a follow up to that, more getting to the source – this is the tale of a slightly boring road trip, culminating in excellent food……

The Almost Famous can be found in a few of locations in the North of the UK, and so is a fair distance from my usual West Country stomping grounds. I’ve been looking for an excuse to make the journey for a little while, ever since I procured and cooked one of their excellent home kits a couple of years ago. Luckily for me, I needed to go to get a part for my motorbike, that happened to be very close by their Great Northern location – what an incredible coincidence!

The journey up to Manchester is a laborious affair – from my Cheltenham starting point it’s all the way up the M5, joining the M6 just after Brum and keep on going for a while. It’s dull, start/stop all the way with nothing really going for the journey at all. Luckily for me I was armed with a bag of granny herbals and an audiobook to keep me company along the way, and unusually the weather was sunny! The destination was going to be worth the journey!

Arriving at my first destination (The Kickback Custom Bike Show) at the Manchester Central Center (previously known as GMEX) I spent the first couple of hours wandering around the show oogling the custom metal on display there. As usual the standard of engineering on show was exceptional – lots to see and ponder, I found myself usually trying to work out just how the builder achieved this or that, and in some cases wondered *why* they had done this or that! If you ever feel that the ingenuity of the ‘Man in a Shed’ is dying away, go to a custom bike show – I promise you’ll come away with faith restored and possibly some inspiration to go find yourself a donor bike to get cutting on….

My motorbike engineering mission achieved (I needed a new controller module for my classically butchered BMW) and my inspiration topped up (my eBay search history is now again full of clapped out old motorbikes) my thoughts turned to lunch. Luckily for me, the Almost Famous was a 5 minute walk from the centre, and as the day was sunny and pleasant it was no decision at all to take a little stroll along!

The Great Northern location is situated in a lovely open space in the heart of the city – set above a play area and walkway that was bustling with visitors all enjoying the early spring sunshine – eating, drinking and generally having a really nice time. The sounds of playing children mixed with the muted ‘thump thump’ of bar music adding to the general ambience of wellbeing – that all was right with the world and life was good. I was especially taken by the feeling of wellness, as I was heading to somewhere that I have wanted to visit for a long time. I really hoped it would live up to expectations!

Luckily for me, as it was early lunchtime and so was able to be seated quickly. I found myself in a little nook overlooking the bar, which I can imagine would be fairly busy, but still nicely separated from the hustle and bustle when the place fills up. The decor is bright, cool and definitely interesting to be in. Every wall is covered in pop-culture references, Americana branding imagery and lit with neon.

I was quickly attended to, and drinks ordered whilst I pondered the menu – I had a choice to make. With a long journey back home ahead of me, do I play it safe and have a sensibly sized meal, or do I take advantage of being here bearing in mind that I wasn’t likely to be coming back in the near future. The choice seems obvious to me know, writing a couple of weeks later….

I made a decision, which the image above will speak for. I decided on a ‘Kids in America’ burger ( double cheeseburger, nacho cheese fries, pepperoni, bacon rain, jalapeños and onion) with a side of mixed sweet potato and standard fries and Hot Wings. I figured that there are always service stations along the way home, so what the hell!

The Kids in America was delicious, as you’d expect. The melted cheese and pepperoni was reminiscent of a classic pizza, and added a little spicy kick that was subtle and pleasant. The beef burger itself was perfectly cooked, juicy and tasty. The team at Almost Famous have clearly spent some time working on their beef blend, which is paying dividends. The grind was spot on – course enough to provide bite and retain juice but not so course to be ‘bouncy’ on the teeth. Overall, it was very good – it made the trip worthwhile on its own!

Next up was the hot wings – I’ve only recently started to fully appreciate these as a side for a burger, and they were very good. I’d chosen for the ‘Hot AF’ option as I’m a fan of the spicier foods, and I wasn’t disappointed. They were well sauced, and the meat came away from the bone with no effort at all. My only complaint, if there is one, is that they don’t come with a wet wipe of some description – I was nearly covered head to toe by the time that I had finished them up. A small price to pay for such delicious food.

The verdict?

The Almost Famous is absolutely worth seeking out – the ambience, service and food are all top notch. The pricing is as you’d expect for the quality that is served and although I didn’t partake in any of the drinks (afternoon drinking is not my game!) the cocktail menu was very impressive. Would I take another 200+ mile round trip to go get another one? Quite possibly…..

For more details of their locations, visit the website at www.almostfamousburgers.com to book a table, brows the menu and see what they are all about!