CityLife

Digest

GREENWOOD Street, Altrincham is staking its claim to be the beer mecca of the north west. Already, at No 40, it contains Belgian specialist bar Le Trappiste, with 12 draught and more than 100 bottled beers. Now neighbours Fat Loaf, at 28-32, have opened a beer café/bar beneath their existing business, showcasing 250 styles, homegrown and continental - from dry, strong, golden beer to complex, full and extremely heavy. It's called Morte Subite, Place de la Biere. Morte Subite means sudden death in French - appropriate in a bizarre way since the Fat Loaf cellar space was once the morgue for Altrincham hospital. Mort Subite' is open Tuesday- Saturday 6pm-late.

HEALTH scares about bacon - and revelations that British pig farmers lose £26 on every pig they sell - seem to have rallied its supporters. Restaurants throughout the UK have joined forces to mark Save Our Bacon National Restaurant Week, which runs until Sunday, by putting pork on the menu. "We've all got to take responsibility for the great British pig," says chef Fergus Henderson. Fergus is putting a Gloucester Old Spot bacon sandwich on the menu at St John Bread and Wine.

Manchester restaurants offering pork specials include Velvet (roast pork chop with apple sauce), Bluu (rolled pork belly with creamy mash, savoy cabbage and tassey cider sauce), The Bridge (roast pork, spinach and blue cheese tart), Choice (Bowland outdoor reared loin of pork with thyme roasted parsnip and pear compote with smashed jersey potatoes and mint oil), Albert's Shed (Florentine style pork fillet, with white truffle scented mash and braised sage fennel).

THE Circle Club is now open for lunch with the appointment of new chef Neil Lorenzo, who has worked for some of the city's finest restaurants including Room, Malmaison and Palmiro (where he was award two AA rosettes). The refurbished private members' club at the back of Barton Arcade is offering a menu ranging from gourmet sandwiches and homemade pasta to fresh fish and meat dishes, including pig trotter patties with fried quail's eggs, with prices from £3.50 to £14.50. Lunch will be served from noon to 3.30pm, extended to 10pm on Fridays - and to celebrate the Circle is offering two courses for £10 through a voucher that can be downloaded from thecircleclub.com. To book, phone 0161 288 8118.

TWO new Cheshire restaurant openings. The Italian-style chain Strada have a new branch on Water Lane, Wilmslow, while, more interestingly, an upmarket Indian restaurant, Swadesh, launches this week on Richmond Road, Bowdon. It is the latest venture by the folk who run Sangam in Didsbury and I like the look of a menu which contains tandoori pomfrait and a Keralan fish curry.

AND finally, don't forget to support the NW Fine Food's Manchester Food Lovers' Festival in Alexandra Park, 10am-5pm, daily from tomorrow until Bank Holiday Monday. More than 80 producers will be selling their wares and there will be demonstrations from leading chefs, as well as children's entertainment. Visit nwfinefood.co.uk.