Burgertown, Manchester

Ask me where you'll get the best burger in Manchester and I'll have two words for you: 'Almost Famous'. Almost Famous is probably Manchester's worst-kept culinary secret. Down a back street in the popular Northern Quarter, the burger shack was keeping hipsters and students salivating over it's beefy monstrosities before a fire forced them to close in July.

The fire turned out to be somewhat of a blessing, as the company re-opened for business last week in a new meat paradise in the much larger Great Northern Warehouse across town (right next door to my favourite bowling hotspot, All Star Lanes). Almost Famous has always been notoriously difficult to grab a seat at - they don't believe in reservations - but the larger premises has gone some way to easing that. Then again, tables are still likely to be like gold dust on a Friday or Saturday.

The menu offers up burgerry satisfaction for under £15 a head and it would be impossible to complain about the food coming out of the kitchen. Each burger on the menu gets pants-tighteningly better by the ingredient. A couple of highlights include a rare flat iron steak atop a double cheeseburger and burgers garnished with beef flavoured Monster Munch and Frazzles - there's nothing these guys won't do.

After a few minutes of soul searching, I stumped for the Baddaboom burger. So much goes into it that I'll simply have to quote the menu:
Double cheeseburger, garlic butter brioche, bacon, chorizo, onions, marinara, famous sauce, french's sauce, parmesan, chillies.

And that's one of the less loco burgers. The food gets so messy that they don't even bother with napkins. Instead, in a move I'd recommend all restaurants to make, we were handed a full roll of kitchen paper to keep things from getting out of hand.

There are plenty of killer sides as well, if you've the gastric capacity for it. I opted for the Winning fries, a healthy batch of skin on and sweet potato fries with house seasoning (and baconnaise for dipping), and wings in 'redneck' sauce. The wings also come in a spicier 'suicide' or 'pho-king' sauce, and there are plenty of chillified pile-up plates. Plus it's all served up in traditional diner-style baskets (like all food should be). 

Of course, no eatery is complete without a decor to match the food. As shady as a brothel, the new Almost Famous has been designed with a 'twisted Disney' theme, and there's wall art adorned with a badass Mickey Mouse throughout. There's also a healthy smattering of alternative models photographed getting close and personal with the burgers... y'know, just in case all your blood isn't in your stomach.

 And what's a burger restaurant without a cheeky photobooth for dessert?