Kracklin, Newcastle

‘Bacon. Let’s talk about bacon. There’s no meat more glorious than bacon. You can add it to pasta instead of cheese. You can stick it in a sandwich, er… instead of cheese’ – Rob Manuel

Next stop on our Lightning Light Lunch tour is a bit of a favourite of mine so coming back here to review ‘properly’ was never going to be a challenge.

Kracklin on Market Street has been open for a good couple of years now and I must admit when it first opened I was worried it might be a bit of a flash in pan. It’s a little out the way and the menu is ambitious, which could worry some Greggs pasty loving northerners.

They’ve recently, however been voted as one of the top ten sandwich shops in the UK. And with good reason. The menu is meat, meat and more meat, which is perfect for a carnivore like me. And much as I like to think of myself as having an adventurous pallet, I inevitably end up ordering the same thing every time I visit. Because it’s just that good.

The Badass Reuben is salt beef brisket, swiss cheese, gherkins, thousand island dressing, red cabbage and mustard on toasted rye bread. It’s like a New Yorker on steroids. And it’s incredible. I’m the type of person who likes some fixins with my lunch, crisps, chips etc and although this *only* comes with a string of crackling, the sandwich really is the star of the show and much like me, doesn’t need anything else detracting attention away from it.

My friend Grant, who I’d dragged along on this occasion, and fellow Kracklin frequenter, went for the Baconator (BBQ pulled pork, candied bacon, American cheese, mushrooms, fried egg and hot ketchup) And it was also quite the behemoth!

As well as a wide and varied menu they also have lots of daily specials so it’s often fun to see what concoctions they’ve come up with. I even saw on their Facebook page they do a dish which has Frazzles sprinkled on top, so I’m dying for that to become available. I’m rather partial to getting frazzle drunk, which I did with Emma last year (something about the e-numbers in them that sends me a bit dizzy – in a good way).

There were a few let downs sadly and I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t let you know about those as well (honest by name, honest by nature). To provide some kind of consistency I like to order the same drink everywhere I go for the LLL which has randomly become a Flat White coffee, which is odd seeing as it’s not my coffee of choice at the Green Mermaid. The flat white at Kracklin was not great. It wasn’t terrible, but compared to some of the others I’ve tried in his guide, well it just didn’t compare. It was lukewarm for a start and didn’t smack me with a hit of roasted coffee like most other flat whites do.

For a ‘light lunch’ it’s also a tad on the pricy side. Don’t get me wrong, the sandwiches are 100% worth what you pay for them (around the £9 mark) however once you’ve added a drink and possibly some sides, you’re well over the tenner mark meaning for me Kracklin goes for a ‘regular favourite’ to a ‘couple of times a year treat’ kind of place. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because you always reserve the best places as the places you go to for  treat right?

Scores:

Under £10: No
Pay by card: Yes
Easily seated: Yes
Served within an hour: Yes
Take away available: Yes (would recommend phone ahead though as everything is made or order)