Dough

After an exhausting, fun and somewhat unusual day catwalk-modelling and lugging stuff about in the Arndale (for Bike Fabulous), I went for some eats with some Friends of the Earth. Initial plans had been to go to the Cedar Tree in the Northern Quarter (a delightful Lebanese restaurant containing a... questionably delightful grotto set into one of the walls) but the Cedar Tree was full (with no room even in the grotto) so we ended up nearby in Dough.

I'm not sure how long Dough has been there, because I'm not very observant and I'm not cool enough to be allowed in the Northern Quarter that often, although I vaguely recall it used to be an architect's office. It's an Italian chiefly specialising in pizza, quite large, yet still spacious and roomy, though the selection of 80s music played put me in mind of a singles bar frequented by middle-aged divorcees. They have a reasonable selection of lagers (some relatively exotic) but no proper beer, and there is wine, and a selection of expensive Bellinis, whatever a Bellinis are. The crossroads location and large picture windows make it ideal for watching the girls in their summer clothes pass you by, especially if you're Bruce Springsteen.

The menu covers all yer usual classics but there's some real odd stuff on there and I decided to 'go inauthentic' with the West Indies pizza, a dish that would surely have the inventor of the pizza, Julius Pizza, spinning in his mausoleum. It was topped with curried lamb, red onion and peppered banana, which is clearly wrong, but was no less delicious for it.

The Friends of the Earth all had lettuce pizzas. I don't know if they enjoyed them; they were too pale and weak to be able to tell me.

Afterwards we tried to take our drinks downstairs, but discovered that when the chairs are all up on tables, there's a reason for that, and were shooed next door into the adjoining bar, Apotheca, which had a fine selection of beers but was too noisy.