Tuesday, 26 February 2013

The Weatherfield Good Food Guide

We all know where to go for a good booze up in Weatherfield - The Rovers Return of course. However where would you go for a decent feed? I set to wondering what culinary options are available to the residents of our favourite cobbled street. Let's take a look at the evidence:

We may as well start off with the world renowned Rovers Return. The Rovers has been famous for one dish, and one dish only, for as long as we can all remember. The wonderful Lancashire hotpot. The merest whiff of hotpot gets us all misty eyed as we think back to the days when wonderful Betty Turpin graced the Rovers bar with her magnificent presence. I wonder if you are with me when I say I think the Rovers has never been quite the same since Betty departed? And neither, of course, is her famous hotpot. 

Why oh why was the closely guarded recipe gifted to Sean Tully?! They weren't particularly close and I can easily provide a roll call of Street residents who would be better trusted with this little slice of Corrie heritage. Sadly this has put me off ever dining at the Rovers. Apart from hotpot what else does the Rovers actually serve? I remember Annie Walker bravely diversifying into soup until Eddie Yeats found the industrial tins in her backyard. I'm surprised she ever lived down the shame.

Let's move on to the Rovers' main rival - Nick's Bistro. Nick's is famous for two things. Being demolished by an errant tram, and bringing the stuffed olive to Gail's dining room table. Personally I wouldn't trust the food served at the Bistro. Since it opened the staff have included Leanne, Mary, Kylie, Lewis, Ciaran and of course Gail. Remember when she left a fingernail in a food critic's dinner? I'd take a star away for that, if they had any to begin with. 

 Although the Bistro offers a classier environment for our favourite Corrie characters to brawl, bitch and get trollied, The Bistro does seem to be where everyone goes these days. Before that it was Vallandros (until Leanne burnt it down - if I was Nick I'd be keeping her away from the creme brûlée torch). And going back even further there was Delphines, a favourite of Mike and Alma Baldwin, and The Clock. I wonder what has happened to these places now everyone dines within 50 yards of their front doors?
Victoria Street provides two more earthy eateries. The first of which is the delightfully named Prima Doner. Currently owned by Dev (enough to put even Becky McDonald off after a night on the cider), it employs beige Ryan and pointless Katy. The kebab shop is often neglected, originally belonging to Sinbad from Brookside. Ryan obviously finds the scent of kebab grease deeply alluring as it seems to be where he does all his courting - remember that is where he first hooked up with Tracy-luv Barlow. Now be honest, even if you were desperate for a kebab, would you purchase one from any of the above suspects? I think not.
A far better bet in my mind is Roy's Rolls. Originally Dawson's, then Jim's Cafe, Roy's has long been as reliable as Fiz Stape's stupidity, Deirdre's fag breaks and Tina's strange golden hue. It may not be fancy, but I'm sure a visit to Roy's is always a comforting experience. Unless of course Owen the Ogre is menacingly standing by the counter plotting with Anna Windass. Thankfully the craze for Mary's theme nights has now passed and Roy is safely back at the helm. Anyway, I'm sure Roy can knock up a mean steak pudding. And where else would the faktry girls go on their never ending cake runs?

 There is one place we sadly never see anymore - Wong's Chippy. I loved it when the truly hideous Cilla and Yana worked in the chippy dishing out limp saveloys to Les Batterby and various other assorted unsavoury specimens! Which reminds me, whatever happened to Jackson's Chippy? Maybe we should campaign for its return!

So where would you choose to dine if you happened to find yourself down Coronation Street? And do you think Corrie makes enough of Lancashire's glorious culinary history? Deirdre's stuffed marrow does not count!
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8 comments:

  1. ChiaGwen26 February 2013 at 18:52

    I think Betty's hotpot is well and truly trampled into oblivion after the weird bequeathing of the recipe to Sean of all people - it is rarely if ever spoken of and even if it were, to be associated with Sean is just too hideous and unthinkable. A picture of her hotpot should be hung along side her portrait in the Rovers and leave it at that.

    I would dine at Roys, for the full English (as I have never had it) breakfast but more so just to catch a glimpse of Roy, Hayley and Sylvia!

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  2. bbhilda26 February 2013 at 18:54

    We do have 'For Your Fries Only', but we only ever see people coming out, never go inside. I wonder who works there?

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  3. Tvor26 February 2013 at 19:31

    I'd prefer Roy's but he's not open in the evenings. I've heard people ordering sandwiches at the pub, cheese and pickle, or salad.

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  4. Anonymous26 February 2013 at 21:45

    I'm pretty sure I saw Audrey and David chowing down on some sort of sandwich and salad in the Rovers last week. I do wonder where they get their chips...you often see characters (Tina) chomping a chip and chewing on it for an entire scene whilst meandering ever so slowly down the street. The Rovers can put up sandwiches for an army with an hours notice..shower, wedding, death...etc. Usually, nobody eats the sandwiches because something dramatic happens so I wonder if they're just saved until the next fiasco.
    I wonder where how most of these folks on the street can even afford to go out to eat..most of them are unemployed or work in the faktry.

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  5. Humpty Dumpty26 February 2013 at 22:56

    Plot devices are fine but they're a lazy way of going about things. Everyone eats out because then they get the dialogue over in one go. The idea that people might go home for dinner and chat to their spouse, and then chat to someone else on the way back to the factory seems to have escaped the writers.

    It's not just the eating out that's so easily afforded. What about the cake run? Coo, that could be another five quid a week each.

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  6. Janice27 February 2013 at 00:36

    There is a curry house nearby we never see. Characters often talk of getting in a curry. Who runs the place? Who works there? .

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  7. Anonymous27 February 2013 at 21:10

    I'd eat at Roy's Rolls, def a full English especially if there's black pudding.

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  8. Carry On Blogging!27 February 2013 at 21:50


    Humpty you're right! One minute Katy and Chesney are pleading poverty, the next she's in Roy's ordering a full English and he's in for a bacon sandwich. Doesn't ring true if you ask me!

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