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Our friend Jan lives in Manchester—that Victorian holdover from large-scale industrialization—and a city that seldom makes it into the guide books for picturesque England. But he invited my husband to visit the university and talk shop (they are both engineering professors), and I tagged along, expecting...well, I'm not quite sure what I expected.

What I saw, once I got there and began walking around, amazed me for its hip-ness, big-city energy, beautiful nineteenth-century buildings, and one of the best fish restaurants I have ever seen. (LIVEBAIT Restaurant and Bar actually started in London!, and has several branches there. But let that pass.) It looks like a throw-back—greeny fluorescent lights, black and white tiles, 1950's kind of graphics.

The restaurant serves an extensive array of possible fish dishes, including the absolutely incredible seafood platter, which piles together in artistic mayhem: "Whole Whitby crab, rock oysters, cockles, Atlantic prawns, winkles, whelks, mussels, clams, Madagascan crevettes, and Saudi white crevettes." (It must be seen to be believed—we came, we saw, we ordered.) The bar will serve you any conceivable alcoholic concoction, and we had a terrific Pinot Grigio.

Both Jan and I ordered swordfish, with which you can request a sauce (or two, or even--I forget just how many varieties we tried). I loved the "Green mango salad," also the black olive tapenade, not to mention the tartare sauce. I was told, by an independent observer, that an "angelic" look of pleasure come over my face with each bite, and I must say that this was what it felt like to dine there. This chef cooks fish perfectly. And they clearly take pains to import the very freshest ingredients—a fish restaurant poses, above all, a Transportation Challenge. This they have mastered.

I am forgetting the Caesar salad, studded with fresh anchovies, which was also perfection in its genre. Jan ordered oysters, as a first course, and this time the angelic look of pleasure was to be seen on his visage. We ordered another bottle of Pinot Grigio, exclaimed again and again about what a great meal we were having, and sauntered out into the night happy as clams. (Oooops, bad analogy. Anyway.) For my part, I can't wait to return to Manchester again. Jan reported on a recent rapturous meal of fresh trout there, so LIVEBAIT clearly continues in top form.

As for my day of wandering around the city, I zealously followed the instructions which were given to me for Important Sights to view. I went to the newly built (quite spectacular) symphony hall, Bridgewater, and to the Victorian City Hall, an immensely grand and gothic affair. I also visited the John Rylands Library, which was built about a century ago by a wealthy textile manufacturer, and is now owned by the University of Manchester. It is said to be a fine example of modern Gothic architecture, and caused me to inquire, in some confusion, "Is this a church?" (Very naive--but the porter was extremely polite. No, it was just built in neo-medieval style.) I did, in addition, see Manchester Cathedral, and also the Royal Exchange, which used to be used for trading cotton or corn (I never satisfactorily settled this question), and which now houses a couple of cafes and a very modern theatre.

Everything that I had heard (as an unbeliever) about Manchester and The Arts is, in fact, true. We saw a terrific play, and could have had our choice of several other theatre productions.

As for simply strolling through the city, I counted no less than four Starbucks Cafes (all of which, I may say, were doing a bustling business), and I also slipped into the lobby of the Crowne-Plaza hotel, where Mr. Rolls and Mr. Royce held a historic meeting (now commemorated by a plaque outside the hotel).

The only anxious part of this adventure was reading the map. I despair of myself, and am beginning to conclude that I am virtually dyslexic in this regard. I can certainly tell where I want to go, when looking at the map. The problem is, I can never tell where I am, on the city street. (Possibly I need to acquire a compass for city use.) While tentatively advancing in one direction, map in hand, I tripped on a step literally pitched head forward onto the pavement. At still another point, I became totally lost, somewhere in Chinatown. In despair, I squinted up at city street signs. No luck. Suddenly, a huge city bus loomed up. I dashed inside, as the door opened, waved my map around in a panic-stricken way to the driver, and said, "Please, I want to go here." He went exactly there, as it turns out, (the Royal Exchange) and I was back on the road. To cap it all off, city buses are entirely free (another aspect of the civic pride evinced by a city with this sort of history).

My friend Jan tells me that Manchester is extremely hip, if you like nightclubs (of nearly any variety, apparently), and he is often rushing off to hear people like B.B. King perform.

The city seemed to me to have all of the kind of energy and sparkle of London, but to be small enough to walk around in comfortably. My husband and I stayed in an Ibis Hotel, which was modishly new and squeaky clean, although the elevator talks to you every time you step inside ("Going up"). We snickered every morning when we went downstairs to eat in their cafe, which was devoted to the theme of Hollywood films. (There was a bust of Alfred Hitchcock, and rather more than that of Marilyn Monroe.)

It was a lot of fun. And the train connections both to the Lake District (where I had been staying) and to London (where we went the following day) are exemplary. I am certainly going to Manchester again, especially now that I am looking over the LIVEBAIT menu I brought home with me. Jan receives my personal award for Man of the World, plus a finders' fee for introducing us to such a cool restaurant.

Livebait Restaurant is located at 22 Lloyd Street, Albert Square, Manchester, M2, telephone (0161) 817 4110. I can't wait to look up the other branches in London. The restaurant has published a cookbook with fantastically difficult and seductive recipes, which is also available for purchase. Their website is www.santeonline.co.uk. If you want to check out what to do in Manchester, the web address is: www.manchester.gov.uk—they're very friendly and helpful (ditto those bus drivers). Other helpful websites are www.visitmanchester.org.uk and www.manchesteronline.co.uk.

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