Went to the Northern Quarter Markets for a mooch around this afternoon and really enjoyed it. The…read moremarket is monthly and is run by the people behind the excellent Levenshulme market. The Northen Quarter market is on Stevenson Square and is quite small but all the stalls are selling good quality stuff and it's well worth a visit especially if you're a foodie or into vintage. There was an excellent handmade chocolate stall, a stall selling gourmet marshmallows, a place selling macaroons as well as cheese, vintage clothing, handmade jewellery and furniture stalls. The Soup Kitchen were also there with a Jamaican BBQ and there was a street food place selling wraps and sandwiches. A great way to spend a lazy Sunday.

The Northern Quarter market is great for a bit of browsing on a lazy Sunday. In the past I've…read morebought handmade single origin chocolate, crazy over-the-top cakes, and amazing pop-up gift cards.

Held twice a month in Manchester city centre, Real Food Market sees the North West's farmers…read moredismount their tractors to give Manchester's pasty-faced masses a taste of real nutrition as Mother Nature intended. (I've uploaded over 30 photos, so do have a look!) There are about thirty market stalls in all - hot takeway foods for you to eat on a bench in Piccadilly Gardens, plus apple tarts, fudge, cupcakes, cheeses, preserves and crafts to take home. (As a vegetarian, I didn't pay too much attention to additional non-vegetarian food, but there are stalls in this category which can boast having been featured several times on local television.) I paid £2.50 for a container of Carrot & Coriander Soup the size of a small bucket, mopped up with a Caribbean style vegetarian patty, £1.50. The soup was great, the patty OK. From the Caribbean stall I would be more likely to skip the patty next time and try the Caribbean vegetable curry on rice & beans. Or try something else from the soup stall. Plus, check out Trove Foods, which sells homemade jams and marmalades in recycled jars. http://www.trovefoods.co.uk/home I took home jars of Seville Marmalade and Carrot & Almond Jam - delicious stuff, and a lovely young couple run this business together. Here's a summary of the rest of the stalls and again, do check out my photos as that will give you a good idea: * Hot foods: fresh soups (Carrot & Coriander, Smoked Sausage & Butterbean, Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato, Leek & Potato), BBQ chicken, burgers and big piles of juicy fried onions. Caribbean patties (including vegetarian) plus curried goat, jerk chicken or vegetarian curry with rice & beans. Samosas, spicy chickpea wraps, seekh kebabs. * Sweet foods: patisserie (apple or apricot tarts), homemade sweets and fudges, home baking, cupcakes by Cupcake Palace, retro macaroons. * For your kitchen pantry: Trove Foods homemade marmalade, jams, and spicy sauces and pickles; Mrs. Kirkham's artisan cheeses. * Crafts: bags, African crafts and jewellery, enamelled tableware. I am still quite a Manchester Markets newbie, but I would say the Real Food Market is neck-and-neck with the Arndale Market Food Court and definitely worth timing a visit to town on the second or fourth weekend in the month to catch it. It's all good retro, low carbon, tasty fun - Real Food Market FTW!

I love food, and I love local produce even more, so I was really pleased to hear about this…read morebi-monthly market held in Piccadilly Gardens. People are looking more and more to their local producer, knowing they're getting eco-friendly quality straight from the source, and I'm all for it. You can pretty much get anything here, great fresh breads, conserves, meats, dairy, speciality cheeses, pies, pickles, ales, puddings. It's an epicurian's paradise and always puts a smile on my face. It runs Friday and Saturday on the 2nd and 4th weekend of the month between 10-6pm.

A bit of local flavour that's around at the moment is a lovely little set of stall that have set up…read morein Piccadilly Gardens, creating a mini little market. There are only a handful of stalls, but each is worth a visit. They include: 1. A Jamaican Food Stall selling jerk chicken and goat stew with soup for four quid! 2. A sweets stall selling amazing candy of all sorts of flavours 3. A cheese stall which smells amazing and has a great range of fresh cheeses. Some of the cheeses are worth seeing for the sheer size of them! 4. A pie stall selling large pies for £3.50 or small ones for £2. All look incredible and are in puffy pastry in pretty star shapes. 5. A fresh meat stall 6. A stall selling rubbish stuff. Check it out!

What better on a beautiful day than to wander around a Farmers Market smelling freshly cooked…read morebread, roasted hog, hot dogs, cakes, exotic African cooked meats, Chinese and Jamaican street food, curries and Paella. It's the culinary world on an al fresco plate in the heart of the city. A quick delicious imaginative fix for the urban gastronome

This is a beautiful old building and I hope the rumours I have heard that it is/was under threat…read moreare not true. The Victorian Christmas Market was a little lacking in atmosphere but I hope it comes back bigger and better next year because it's a nice idea - they need to make it a little cosier, if that's possible in such a big space. I was a big fan of Friday Food Fight except that they really needed a whole extra bar to cope with the demand - the queues were way too long and the range of drinks was limited/expensive. Again, hope it comes back improved next time!

The first time I'd ventured to the Market Hall was in December when the Victorian Christmas Market…read morewas being held there. I was immediately taken aback as to how such an impressive space had totally slipped under my radar given how central it was (it's literally in the shadow of the Beetham/Hilton Tower next to MOSI). It's all stunning ironwork and arches, quite a feat of engineering. Our next visit was for the inaugral 'Friday Food Fight' organised by B.Eat Street Manchester (http://www.beatstreetmcr.co.uk/B.EAT_STREET/B.EAT_STREET.html). It's slogan: "12 Fridays of eats, beats and great drinks." It's free entry for all, though they release 20% of the hall's capacity as 'queue jumper' tickets every preceding Sunday at noon via their Twitter account (https://twitter.com/beatstreetmcr). If you don't get a queue jumper don't worry, the queues are small to get in. The street food vendors are lined up along the length of one wall, their offerings range from just a couple of quid for light bites to £7-8 for meals with a side dish. The beauty of the FFF is that no two weeks will be exactly the same - different pop-ups and musical talent will appear on certain weeks (though some will do multiple appearances). The likes of SoLIta, Hip Hop Chip Shop, Yang Sing, Red's True BBQ all have stalls so this gives an idea as to the quality of the food on offer - nigh on eveything I ate was finger lickin' good. There are plenty of veggie options too ;) The only element I'd say the FFF falls down on is the price of the drinks which seemed rather excessive compared to the food. Small cans of beer for £3.50, pints for over £4 and weak cocktails for £7, they could really improve on this for future weeks IMO. Oh, and get more bar staff as the queuing times for a beverage were far too long. You might want to grab a beer in nearby Knott Bar or Cask which is just across the road (though the latter will likely be busy). FFF is a fantastic addition to the Manchester food scene, in a great venue. Just need to resist the urge to visit every single week for the rest of their run!

This little shop is a time capsule of days gone by... not the fake specifically marketed goods…read moreideally placed on faux vintage grates surrounded by chic cool organic products but honest to goodness basic straight out of the card board box fruit and veg with either little or no plastic in sight. A very friendly honest Salford welcome greats you as you enter and the helpful, down to earth service offers fresh reasonably priced fruit and veg. Don't let the lack of over hyped marketing put you off. This is the type of local business that needs our support. If you are on the Zero Waste journey or just want to cut down your plastic consumption then give this place a go. I will be a frequent visitor for my weekly fruit and vet.

Ah, locally sourced produce. I said I'd give this shop a fair try and I must say, it is a gem…read moreamongst the grey desolation of Mocha Parade, an area which is just ASKING to be the set of an apocalyptic zombie movie... Oh great, now I've scared myself into never going there again. Anyway, while I can, or while I'm accompanied by some kind of strong ass-kicking compadre (because seriouisly, if I saw a zombie, I'd freeze and it'd probably have enough time to go ahead and eat me. Heck, it'd even have time to prepare itself a little beverage while it was waiting), this is a great place to visit. And it frequently performs too, despite its seasonal produce I've so far found what I need since starting to visit there the other week, and my friend, a veteran of the store, says in all the times she's gone there only twice has she been disappointed - once when they were out of celery, and another when she bought some carrots but they went off in four days. Otherwise the food keeps remarkably well, especially the potatoes. I'd advise all students to learn how to make soup and get the vegetables from here. Seriously, that's what I did when I gave up my cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner I'm-saving-money-but-I-look-worse-than-Jodie-Kidd-in-her-heyday routine. And it cost around the same, if not less. Student budgets are low, hey, most of our budgets are low when we're starting out in the city. So it's good to know we can get inexpensive high quality fruit and veg to actually nutrify ourselves, much as that sounds like a threatening word. Mocha Parade may not be the pleasantest of places, but it's worth the trek to bring back heavy bags of goodies from here.

Running from 15th Nov to the 18th Dec (10am-8pm), the Victorian Christmas Markets was quite a find…read moreand lot more enjoyable than the overly busy and touristy German Christmas Markets in Albert Square. Tucked in at Campfield market, around the corner from Dimtri's Greek Taverna - The Victorian Markets are a lot more intimate than others in that there's more time to browse, the food and drinks stalls are authentic and in a different area to the gifts section and the whole vibe is a lot more chilled out. There's gifts for women (jewelry, clothes, cushions, plants etc) stuff for kids and guys - plus stalls selling Christmas novelty gifts to decorate the home over the festive period as well. What was refreshing at these markets was the fact that the drinks and food were all provided by independents such as the fantastic Meantime brewing for the beer (2 beers on tap and 5 different bottles), an independent cider hut and coffee and cakes where people were taking a load off and enjoying themselves over a leisurely drink in the afternoon. Food ranged from Vietnamese street food, to a Greek kebab hut and one selling waffles and pancakes. I really hope that this Market continues every year as it definitely had the best vibe of all the ones I've been to this year!

This Street Food Market has been up and running for a while now, and as it's always busy and…read morecouncil run I imagine its here to stay for a while. It pops up on Picadilly Gardens, at the top of Market Street, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 11am to 5.30pm. These a great mix of food with about 10 stalls ranging from Hog Roast to Paella, Giant Hot Dogs, and Thai curry. At each end there's normally a cake stall. One offers nice brownies, but is let down by its cup cakes, which have amazing decorations but the actual cakes are just boring vanilla. The other stall has more traditional things like bread and butter slices, Bakewells and even Manchester tarts. I'd head to this one for both bread and for something sweet.

Small but perfectly formed, Fiesta Del Fuego is the newest kid on the Manchester food event block…read more Fancy yourself as a chilli king or queen? Then you were probably here. Bought to you by the folks behind the Kahula coffee house, 6 of Manchester's best bar and restaurants vye for the Best Chilli in Manchester crown; Soup Kitchen, Pancho's Burritos, Home Sweet Home, Luck Lust Liquor & Burn, Kahula Coffee House, AND Kosmonaut. Try them all and be a judge for £10 or enter for free and choose whatever looks/smells best. Thirsty? There's plenty of booze being thrown around, but it can only be consumed within the chilli smackdown area. We ate our chilli from Soup Kitchen due to their use of some local stout and the layer of tortilla chips at the base of the box; the chilli was delicious, creamy but earthy, served with some fresh lime and a jalapeno. For only £3. It was the perfect portion, especially considering we had already eaten at Guerilla Eats earlier in the day. Despite the long queue, the bar service was quick and efficient, offering up beers, cocktails, and cloudy cider to wash away the spice. Entertainment wise, you have the choice of a pinata, a wheel of fortune, a band, and a chilli eating competition. Word has it that the front runner for the chilli competition stopped halfway and had to throw up, so they were using strong stuff. A few folks had a go at the pinata but, shamefully for most, a young boy was the only one to manage it. The wheel of fortune gave you the opportunity to win a Kahula martini, a cocktail, or a hug. N'aaw. The band was an acoustic guitar, kazoo, and banjo - not exactly the guys from the Dorito's ad, but they kept everyone engaged and it was great to see some local, live music. Between their sets, Kahula Coffee House were blasting out a range of music from their speakers. A small stall off the main path was selling a range of hot sauces, none of which caught my eye - it was the chilli gummy bears that made me reach into my purse. Fiesta Del Fuego, please come again next year. Manchester needs more Mexican flavour.

The Church Street Market is a quite small market in Central Manchester with a rather amusing name,…read moreespecially when considering due to its location, near enough on the corner of Church Street and High Street, it actually is located at "49 High Street" meaning the name is incorrect, but not to the point is is misleading or makes it hard to get directions, to me its' just humorous. Manchester has quite a few markets now, including Piccadily Gardens and one that is open longer hours in the Manchester Arndale, across the way so I once again can't help but question the need for yet another market, especially as small as this and think the businesses need to move into a larger market, to benefit them for more business and the customer for having more places in one space, especially if they are interested in shopping at these type of places. The stalls here mainly include the popular Northern Soul Grilled Cheese, which has great Yelp reviews with a 4.6 average over 24 reviews, which sadly I am yet to try due to a lack of gluten free options. There also is a second hand bookshop, which doesn't seem a great place to buy books, with it mainly being older titles, and a fruit and vegetable store. This market doesn't stand out as much, and it is pretty easy to just walk past and simply not bat an eyelid as they really isnt a lot here, and unless you are a big fan of one of the places here, it isn't worth going out of your way to come here, as it just is some place you'd walk past while in Manchester, not somewhere you'd be excited to visit while in Manchester, from my point of view based on comments in this review and as a coeliac, I sadly can't think of any reason for the rating to be over a single one star for the market as a whole.

The Church Street Market used to be a weird kind of metal shack with an awesome shop selling retro…read morerecords, cds and books. As far as I can remember, anyways. Well, that all got knocked down, and now we have the newly refurbished and sparkly Church Street Market. It's called a "market," but really it's just a small row of the kind of little independent shops you get just inside the Arndale Market itself. The whole thing is housed in a kind of small building with curved roofing. The shutters even have graffiti kind of designs pre-painted on. There's a fruit and veg stall, a bookshop, a clothes shop and pet shop. It's a nice addition to the area and is certainly an improvement on what used to make up Church Street Market.

Situated inside the Premier shop on New Bailey Street, you wouldn't expect to find this little pie…read morestand, serving up some great pastry, potato & gravy combinations. Only a few moments from work, we have had Friday lunches from Pie Cottage a number of times - we ring in the morning, put the order in (a large order, of about 20-25) and then collect circa 1pm. The food reaches our kitchen hot and fresh, each box marked with the flavour of pie and either mash in the box or in a large container for us to dish out. I've had meat & potato and pork & chorizo, which were both tasty; the pastry is sturdy - you'd easily be able to pick it up if you wanted to eat on the go - and filling well distributed. Mash isn't my favourite but it's a nice texture, and I believe they only serve up meat gravy. Due to the small and indepdent nature of Pie Cottage, we often end up taking everything they have, so I would recommend avoiding if it's our Friday lunch! £3 pie & mash or jacket potato with filling 10-4 Monday to Friday.