retiredmartin

December 2023. Macclesfield.

“So, you spent an afternoon in Macclesfield, Retired Martin. What’s the maximum posts you can possibly squeeze out of that ?”.

Er.

Let’s continue; Will wanted to visit the Blackjack brewery bar aka Jack in the Box in the Picturedrome, which gives it at least three potential different names to confuse GBG tickers.

I’d visited already, just before Covid, and called it Macclesfield’s Mackie Mayor, which would have been a fourth possible name for it, but Will reminded me this was a converted cinema, not a market.

I knew that ! Almost identical styling to the Northern Quarter and Alty places, mind.

Classy street food delivered to your table, pints collected from the nice Blackjack man up the stairs.

Will noted with glee that the Pub Ale (great name) was described as “chewy“, and since I’d patented this beer description in 2019 I was actually entitled to a free pint. Possibly.

We also noted the care with which the barman pulled the lines through, sniffed and sipped the beer. Before declaring it “just gone“. Oh, the Porter (well under a fiver, note) then. Shame that’s malty rather than chewy.

It was, however, superb; cool rich and chewy (NBSS 4). Pleasingly, Will agreed his half was also a 4, which rather scuppered my theory that beer is always best in pints.

In truth, Blackjack beer always seems a winner, no doubt the throughput in these food halls helps.

The Picturedrome wasn’t quite as busy as the Alty and Manc outlets, but it was 2pm on a wet Tuesday, and I could have had the children’s room to myself if I’d so wished.

The Katsu chicken from the Noodles place was good enough, too, though it takes a bit of getting used to £13 portions in a cafeteria.

A classy cafeteria, to be fair.

I asked Will to identify the film showing (silently) behind my head.

Nope. Perhaps you can do better ?