New York Times: MCR Only UK Entry In 'Top Places To Go 2015'

Manchester is full of boring food no one in the US would be bothered about. Really. So why are the likes of Beyonce, Nas, The Game and Rihanna never away from Archies when they are in England? There was talk of some of them investing in the place and expanding it elsewhere. We are full of boring soulless chains? So why does Lady Gaga love Afflecks Palace so much and cite it as one of her favourite places to shop? I hear she's a big fan of the ice cream from Gingers Comfort Emporium as well as the clothes on offer there. The last gig I went to was John Grant at the Bridgewater Hall, and he was raving about the music shops in the Northern Quarter, and says he always spends far too much money when he's in Manchester because of Piccadilly Records. There's plenty of independent different places to find and love in Manchester. If people from the US can find them on a short stay then there is no reason you can't.

Erm, maybe they shouldn't go to a burger place or an Italian then? They have enough of those in America anyway surely?

Evidently, you are still going to the same cruddy places you frequented in 2011, before food got more interesting. It's not Sydney, but it's a whole lot better than your snarky rant suggests...

@Darren Gaga would say that. Her entourage would have done an internet search for her and suggested it was an awesome and quaint place to shop. Over twenty years too late mind, but still.

Archies Fast Food & Shakes? OMG! Really? How adventurous of those people. To be fair, I couldn't imagine Rihanna having breakfast at Wetherspoons.

Why is it 20 years late? Is everything in there from 20 years ago? I'd guess most of the people who shop there now were not even born 20 years ago. It's constantly changing, its unique, independent, different and a Manchester institution. Go treat yourself to some of salted ice cream there and lighten up a little.

Afflecks has had it's day, and that was over twenty years ago.

Maybe it's you that's had your day and not the thousands of people who shop there each day?

Anon above is just winding people up, Afflecks obviously hasn't had it's day, it's packed and has a waiting list to take us space in there. It probably stands out more than ever as there is very few place like Afflecks now anywhere in the country.

Is Afflecks a go to destination for students these days?

Do stall holders at Affkecks make much money though? Interested to know if footfall and spend is holding up given the dramatic changes the highstreet is undergoing at the moment.

*Afflecks

Darren, when Rihanna goes to Archies, I hope she has Eggs and Gammon despite the tenancy to cause wind.

Afflecks, people making no money, past its best, 20 years out of date......... www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/…/forget-gucci-fashionistas-going-gaga-8554832…

Really Darren? Was there any need to troll around and post that link on here over two weeks after your last post? We've all moved on, unlike Afflecks Palace.

Jeez. I take it you are a glass half empty kind of person? This is something to be happy about, something positive. 2015 will be a great year for Manchester.

Yes Darren it will be really great, another 30 Byron Burger joints, 15 branches of Prezzo and a whole corn exchange full of soulless chains. Great. Can't wait.

It's alright anon, while you're sat in one of 15 Prezzos (though I'm sure it's two) moaning about it, many of us will be sat enjoying one of the many new independents that there are in Manchester.

I bet all you sad sacks who have nothing but negative stuff to say about Manchester being a city of chains and grotty food are the same bastards who get on here every other week rambling on about how the burgeoning independent coffee scene is "just for posh hipsters, all coffee tastes the same anyway, so why not just go to Nero"...?

I always think that if you don't like something you should get off your fat ass and try to change it. Or walk away. Or just shut up

It does seem a very Manchester things to do, to knock the city and what has happened in it over tha last few years. When in fact most places would give their eye teeth to be in the position Manchester finds itself. A vibrant city with masses of development in the pipeline where people want to come and visit and live. Or maybe the negative comments are coming from people in rival cities?

@Rinkydink It's 'arse', not ass!

You can sit and moan about it or you could look at Simon Rogan, Aiden Byrne and Mary-Ellen McTague who will be pushing things on, all operating in town and training a new batch of chefs to very high standards. You could look forward to new places opening and having new places to eat, most of which are only operating in 1 or 2 other cities in Britain. Or you can just find fault. FFS!

That would be the Trafford Centre with its vast array or art galleries, museums, parks, independent and vibrant bars, cafes, shops and restaurants would it?

Yeah the Americans will moan about the weather and that it's more expensive to eat out here than in the US but it was a totally awesome place and it might encourage more direct flights to different parts of the US.

oh, fuck off.

I think that's right. Those town s listed have an unmistakeable sense of being that isn't there with Manchester. A feel of a poor man's London or Birmingham prevails rather than a city confident in it's own identity.

Manchester is on the map through Football, certainly few overseas visitors would bother if it weren't for Man U and with Manchester City overtaking them, its set to attract more visitors. The problem is that away from football there is little to offer.

So there's no point visiting anywhere outside of London Duke, is that what you're saying? As for dirty burgers anon, there's probably fewer in Manchester than any of those cities you mentioned. As for Liverpool identity, what is that exactly?

duke fame, i'm curious? just what do you think birmingham has to offer? i've been there, and i can categorically state that it poses no threat whatsoever to manchester as a visitor destination.

There are enough museums and galleries for a decent city break as long as you don't mind the weather

I have family who visit occasionally and they always get excited coming to Mcr

Liverpool ha ha. Do me a favour

Honestly Duke Fame and the rest I've just written a 244 page guide book to the city which funnily enough isn't full of empty pages but full of relentless content and stories and the underlining of this fact: Manchester is not only a city growing faster than cities with old fashioned senses of identity but has always been about change, which is what all real cities have been about. Sometimes dear negative ranters you just need to grow up, read more, stop looking in such a narrow way in your own backyard but travel and then come back and speak from some authority and experience.

I honestly wonder why they live in a city they obviously hate so much. No one stopping them moving to the paradise that is Newcastle....

'Stop looking in such a narrow way in your own backyard' - Very eloquently put.

@Jonathan Schofield I am a born and bred Mancunian and I love my city, but if I have a negative rant about [yet another] burger outlet, street food events, poorly parked disabled SUV/Bentley owners, YAFI's, expensive restaurants or HS2 it doesn't mean I think the city's going down the toilet, it's just my honest opinion about those subjects. Je suis Charlie or sumat.

I'm not born and bred Mancunian, only here because the wife doesn't like Yorkshire, the South or pretty much anywhere that's not Manchester. What I'm saying is Manchester does not have a sense of identity, rather like Birmingham (as opposed to Brum being some sort of oracle) and as a result is not really an attractive city nor is it's offering unique. Being realistic, most tourist visitors come here for the football, no bad thing but don't pretend there is too much more. Yes, I'm aware of Marx & Engels (who are probably guilty of causing Manc's downfall) and on other hand the great industrialists that have made Manchester but little of that is evident in daily life but for a Marxist work-shy attitude maintained by some contributors to these pages.

So it's clear. You dont actually know much about Manchester do you Duke? I find Manchester has a very distinctive image not only in the UK but abroad too and no, that is not solely due to football. And I say this as a reasonably well travelled, outward looking non-native mancunian so I can say this with some authority.

You want to leave but 'the wife' won't let you - lol well I guess that's your problem eh Duke.

@Duke Fame: Manchester "a poor man's Birmingham", give me a break,Brum's incredibly drab and lacking in charisma. There seems to be an upsurge in anti Manchester trolling at present. Some of the Guardianistas on their 'Northener's blog' have been slagging the city off even more than usual of late. It's partly because some of them feel threatened by a growing and more successful Manchester, it undermines their" grim up north meme" and "concern trolling". For others, their relentless negativity says a lot about their own inner state. Even in paradise, they'd moan and complain.

Manchester's on an unstoppable upswing and they feel alienated in their own city. Poor little dick weeds

No @mark fuller, I'm saying Manchester is similar to Brum, in the post Industrial Age, the towns don't really have a purpose.

What towns?

They don't have a purpose? What about being places millions of people live work and socialise in?

You've let yourself down here Duke.

Completely agree! STFU you moaning lot, if you don't like it -fuck off somewhere else. I love Manchester and it's amazing it got mentioned in the NY times. My only real grip with it is that it's gotten really crime-y lately and it feels like we're back in the Gunchester days - this needs to stop

I have visited many times and really enjoy it

News

will

Good grief, you need to get out more.

You could also be talking about New York you know..........If a bit of litter is the bane of your life, move to Switzerland. And then let your soul die a little day by day.

Have a point about litter.NYC by the way is VERY CLEAN as are most US cities...OURS ARE A DISGRACE....

A bit of a generalisation. Chinatown in Manhattan is one of the dirtiest places i've ever been to.

Chinatown in Manhattan is the exception though, the rest is mostly well maintained. Commercial waste is bagged and ordered ready for collection, and public realm is planted and manicured. Subway stations and trains are clean and nowhere feels anywhere near as grubby as Picc gardens or Market St. The exception in town in Spinningfields where Allied London give a shit about their area, in direct contrast to the pisspoor efforts of the council other than around the Town Hall. It's hygiene that lets our city down. The cultural and architectural offerings are great, the streets between them are shameful.

I agree the council are clueless when it comes to cleanliness and waste management, not that they'll admit to it, they claim that they don't see it even though everybody else does. It's not a budget matter it's terrible planning and organisation.

the council need the up their game in terms of cleanliness and waste collection but to compare an entire city with a comparatively tiny pocket of private land is just beyond stupid.

the comparison was between Manhattan - where grot is the exception - to town, where grot is accepted by the council as the norm. Spinningfield being an exception. This was a follow on from the comment about Chinatown in NYC being grotty (and it is). Clear enough?

what a weird comparison. It's clear but still bonkers I'm afraid.

New York is way cleaner generally than Manchester..I LOVE Manchester, but it is very much one of the dirtier cities in UK (Leeds is pristine even on a Sat night) and than others all over Europe...

I shouldn't imagine Leeds gets anywhere near as many people in town at night does it? Manchester council are lazy though about dirt and also public realm upkeep. Some of the road and pavement surfaces are piss poor for a start

I don't find it's too bad for a big city considering the sheer volume of people that use the city centre, many of whom don't live in Mcr and so don't contribute to its upkeep.