Kevin L.'s Profile

It -must- be a sign that on the opening weekend of a new film, on a Saturday evening at roughly 2130, our showing was at -most- 30% full.

What's most boggling is that this is directly across from the tube station (although there are mad road works directly in front of the entrance) and Covent Garden was otherwise thronged with passersby. Is it the economy? The hefty £17-18 3D film prices? Or something else...?

I will agree, however, that for those kind of prices, one would almost expect a little extra somethin' somethin' for the money. If you know what I mean...

The Modern Pantry seems to have a bit of a case of dissociative disorder going on: every single evening meal I've had here has been staggeringly beautiful; however, weekend brunch was overpriced and mediocre (at best). Does this food all come from the same chef/kitchen?

The dinner menu offers colourful and creative options that are are quite novel in my mind. Flaky white fish over a kimchi base held some eye-opening heat whilst an elegantly plated lightly creamy crab salad cooled our palates.

For the dairy fiends amongst you, be sure to partake of the cheese plate. I found it quite affordable and nominally pricier than the sweet dessert dishes at under £10. If memory serves, ours featured a gorgeous (yet mild) Stilton, a mouthwatering Pecorino, and a soft Brie-like wedge that all but melted across the plate.

If you're considering dining at The Modern Pantry, I'd strongly encourage you to make a booking for dinner. I've never actually seen the place fully occupied, but each visit I've made, they always inquire whether or not we have a reservation, so I imagine they must get rammed at times.

Shockingly succulent pulled pork. Utterly forgettable babyback ribs... ones made nominally better by a decent house chipotle barbeque sauce.

The priciest pint Blue Moon I've ever consumed... and some NFL (American football) on the telly.

And really... that's about all one needs to know about Bodean's. No. Seriously.

Manchester has many gays: Truth.
Manchester has many bars: Truth.
Manchester has many gay bars: Truth.
And all of them are fabulous: Bloody blatant fallacy!

Fortunately, on our single-evening tour of Manchester's Gay Village drinking establishment offerings, we encountered The Molly House, an honest-to-goodness gay bar in Manchester that's a bar... and gay... and -not- rubbish. See, folks. They -do- exist.

With a bar stocking products like St. Germain, Kraken rum, and various noteworthy whiskeys, I had a good feeling about this first floor hideaway. My suspicions were confirmed when my Manhattan (£11.50 for two) ended up being far superior to the one I'd had a few hours earlier at Apotheca. Plus, the hunky muscle daddy working the DJ station earned a point or two for the establishment.

This seems like the kind of place you'd have to bring your own crowd to, but it's warmer, cosier, and definitely offers superior beverages to other joints in the immediate vicinity.

Having been to a proper middle-upper echelon churrasco in Brazil, I'd say that this restaurant gets the idea, but is drastically different in execution. Rather than being an opulent, nearly-sombre space for the well-to-do, Bem Brasil is a raucous, packed, house of protein pleasure.

Having experienced many an all-you-can-meat restaurant previously, this was my strategy to the evening:

- drink only enough water to ensure that I can still swallow
- turn down seconds of any meat that's been processed
- get seconds and thirds of any beef that appears to still be bleeding
- finish up with a single trip to the salad bar to top up on some roughage to ease all that protein down the pipes

I think the farofa here pretty much says it all about Bem Brasil: tasty, but has chunky inedible bits that you just have to spit out.

As much as I love all thing Muji (I mean... they're Japanese! How could anyone not love Keroppi, Nintendo, or Vampire Hunter D?)...

... I've gotta say that I still feel gouged every time I make a purchase here. A silicone ice-baller for whisky for £7.50 and basic bento sets running close to £25 make my wallet sad.

Still, their simple clean designs and the obvious utility of each product can't be argued with. If nothing else, I can be sure that the numerical figure that comes after the currency symbol will be less than the translated number in Yen. Le sigh.

I'm shocked that there are shops in Manchester that know about Nudie jeans, let alone a single shop that carries them. Are there Mancunians with that large a wad of cash burning a whole through their purses? Impressive!

A chill, hipster-y gent sold the boy a super cute pair of Vans (casual shoes that aren't a shade of brown: success!) and explained the origins of the noteworthy bicycle saddles hanging up behind the till. Luxury skinny jeans and posh gear for your fixie... I mean, what else could a Williamsburg-wannabe desire, right?

Apparently this is -the- place to go to get your collectible card game tournament action on as indicated by the tables full of people playing Magic: The Gathering one night and the (reportedly) preview version of Yu-Gi-Oh the following day. Just to be clear, I only know because I asked...

Beyond that, Fanboy 3 has a pretty respectable assortment of various indie and adult games (no, not -those- kinds of games, perv). Whilst I didn't spot the specific boardgame I'd been looking for, a lot of classics were present, such as Risk and Settlers of Catan. Plus, if you're into roleplaying, it looks like they have a decent library of resources for many of those as well, with a whole wall dedicated to Warhammer.

This kind of place isn't for Joe Schmoe, but if you've a penchant for geeky gaming and some pricier analogue entertainment options, it's worth popping in for a wee nosey.

Where -else- can you find pop music even -I- recognise, cougar-ish ladies who must have been at least in their forties, and Jerry Springer clips on the telly showing half-dressed overweight people smearing pie all over one another?

On the upside, at least a handful of boys were dancing, I witnessed a few pockets of socialisation, and the drinks are staggeringly cheap. I could recommend dropping in to score yourself a baseline medication level before moving on to less trashy stomping grounds.

Oh. And for the touristy-inclined, we had a bloke take our photo then successfully sell a resulting picture-keychain to one of our party for about five quid (if memory serves). Well done, sir!

Vintage cocktail glasses: $0.85 per piece
Frightening Pope Benedict biography: $0.99 for the paperback
Getting rid of half the boy's wardrobe: priceless

Considering that the products here are the cast-offs from all walks of life, the assortment of goods is staggering and stupidly affordable. From apparel to housewares and from console games to electronics, there's something for everyone.

Not only can you ditch your discardables for a good cause, you can spend your money here for a fabulously frugal feeling as well!