Oh, ever-optimistic Manchester. I love how you'll boldly hold a picnic in the middle of August…read moredespite the clouds looking increasingly angry and the breeze getting somewhat nippier these past few weeks. But this isn't just any picnic. This is The Manchester Picnic. Let the rain wash over us, for we are Mancs, we always carry a cagoule. It's actually been illegal not to do so since the Gallagher brothers first came to power. Imagine my surprise when I turned towards The Triangle and saw our very own Manchester Wheel and the surrounding Wellington and Sinclair's pubs bustling with multicoloured bunting, noise, rides and... *backs away suspiciously* CHILDREN?!? Then I actually walked INTO the shopping centre itself and was greeted with the ambient, if a little lounge/bar-esque sounds of a jazz pianist doing a few pleasant cover songs while people sat at makeshift wooden benches and on picnic rugs indoors. Marvellous, really. There was action all over the city from Castlefield to Cathedral Gardens (and even a Twitnic organised via Twitter on the Sunday in Spinningfields), but perhaps the most impressive spot was Piccadilly Gardens. It was like a festival without the bands. Stall upon stall of food, the air thick with Bratwurst (which I was paranoid about having cling to my hair as I was off out later that evening, then again I was en route to meet the film buff, he loves a good sausage), and so many cuisines to choose from. Healthy soups, burgers, wraps... I wandered through, eyes gorging on the visual deliciousness, and stopped upon the Hey Little Cupcake stall. I'm such a girl. To be fair, I've been stalking these guys fervently since their ad for their pop-up shop in Spinningfields right next to Pure Gym (talk about location location location, that's GENIUS) and I have it on good authority that the selection of cupcakes I chose to take to the film buff's Blog Birthday went down a treat the following day. I'll be over to their new shop later this week to check out the treats for myself. In the meantime, long live this fab new Mancunian piece of local flavour. Ensure you're in town for the next Manchester Picnic, and hey, it certainly bridges the gap between those wintery Food and Drink festivals!

The Manchester Picnic is back!…read more So, a few times in the year, Piccadilly Gardens becomes a nice place to be. The huge bonus is that it's currently sunny - extra points for Manchester! The Manchester Picnic is an array of food stalls and local vendors, some of which will change over the 3 days, and a range of entertainment. Today, the vendors included Castro, El Kantina, Martins Bakery, and Nandos (what?) - others that I don't remember the name of were a Tibetan van, Thai food and very popular sushi offerings. Everything smelt amazing, the smoke was flying, and it was busy busy busy. I went for El Kantina today; the service was slower than I could personally bear, with only one woman actually serving and the other just standing and smiling, but we got there eventually. And what did we get to? Pig Candy. And yes, this was my lunch. Pig Candy consisted of 2 small pancakes, topped with candied bacon and cinnamon dust, with a side of cheese sauce. I'm all for mixing salty and sweet, and this combination bought my American days flooding back. It's not for the faint hearted - I have a sweet tooth, but I'm desperately craving something salty now! Treats for the office consisted of a brownie and two smartie & choc chip cookies from Martins, who seem to trade frequently at The Lowry food market, and who I would buy again from in a heartbeat. The brownie was an instant hit, squidgy and sticky to the roof of your mouth, and the cookies have a real depth of flavour. At 3 for £3, it's not to be sniffed at! I'm planning on visiting again this weekend in order to soak up the atmosphere while Manchester is on form!

The food here was delicious! From the moment you walk into Katsouris Deli, you know you are in for…read morea treat! The air is heavy with yummy food smells and really gets you excited for what's to come! The restaurant was quite busy when we arrived. The ordering system here is a little chaotic from an American standpoint. You place an order at the register, but at first it seemed hard to tell where that line began. Once we got that all sorted out, we grabbed a table and waited for our food. I got strumpets and my husband had the English Breakfast. I loved my meal and had a few nibbles off my husband's plate and everything was legit good! The sausage is made in house and the food was excellent quality. Katsouris is located in a bustling part of the city and had great people watching too! I would love to return here in my next trip to Manchester to try more of their fare.

Careful this place will make you wonder why you paid so much more elsewhere…read more But let's start with the beginning. And the best advice I can give you is "take your time". There are so many food options and variations. Even when the counter is free to order don't jump on it. Make sure you understand all menu options first. That said I ordered - half a "German" Frikadellen sandwich - half an Eastern chicken sandwich - a small (regular fries) and a coffee latte. It all came down to £14.50 (including the extra tax you pay while eating in) a steal! Let's address the Elefant in the room first: a German guy ordering a German Frikadellen sandwich and he is about to review it. A Frikadelle is a meatball patty The specialty is it is made with egg and onions. Let me tell you it is nothing about this sandwich being German. lol. It's Just a regular meat patty. In general, that is fine, but why would you mark it as a German Frikadelle. so please don't get food. This is not original. It is still a tasty sandwich though. The chicken sandwich has a delicious tzatziki coming with it which is Jo sauce with garlic and dill sometimes onions which in this case has not. Did chicken meat stove was tasty but a little bit on the dry side which is surprising for a deli that is as busy as this one. Overall, both sandwiches were very dry they were missing a sauce taste Wise both of them have been good I ordered Health sent juice so that I can try both but what came was a real sandwich so I got two full sandwiches. Please be aware if you are just a little bit hungry don't order more than one sandwich. They are very generous. The fries have been VERY crispy. I like mine well done but that was even a bit hard for me. They have a very tasty seasoning (like a good crisp/chip with paprika) and I ordered the regular-sized portion I am so happy I did cause I would have not been able to eat it all (even when they would have been perfectly cooked). Would I order again yes I would now know what I know I can easily adjust and ask them to give me more sources or anything to make it a little bit Juicy. Of course, I cannot ask them for chicken not to be dry but it was still tasty. In the end, it was a huge meal and I suggest starting small you can always go a second time. Prices are Hands down surprisingly low. I will have to take down one point for marketing products as "German" and then not even being close to the original. And a second one for the sandwiches being dry and so have been the chicken. Three stars easily can get to four - even five when they make the sandwich differently or make a Frikadelle.

Nice homely feel but a bit too cramped for my liking ! Would definitely return to try something…read moreelse.

A very nice little cafe - pink chairs! - close to Piccadilly station. It was quiet with lots of…read moretable space. The staff were very friendly and I really really liked the delicious crayfish that topped my jacket potato. Also had a nice lemongrass and peppermint tea, they have a range of very appealing options. I like they have lots of good options beyond sandwiches, next time I will try a salad box - healthy too! Probably this is just because I am slightly special, but I found the humming of the fridge really noisy when I was reading. Luckily I now have noise cancelling headphones so I can stop making ridiculous comments like this. WAIT Right after I posted this I saw Mark D's comments about the fridge noise IT IS NOT JUST ME. Take your headphones!

I tried Pita Pit for the first time this week and I was very impressed by the range of food that…read moreyou can order here. Working in a 'Subway style' for serving the food, the staff are helpful when it's your first time and the guy on the till explained how it all worked and what I had to do. I opted for a large, white pita with grilled halloumi and lots of hummus and salad. Wrapped up at the end and taken away it was a quick, cheap and tasty lunch. And with so many different variations you can have, I'll be back to try them all.

I popped into this new branch on Deansgate with about 4 minutes to spare between meets! And why -…read morewell I knew it was going to be super quick , fairly tasty and all the ingredients would be fresh. The bottom line is that it's basically like subway but replacing the bread for a pita. There's also a fair amount of ingredients to go in each wrap but nothing has a taste of blowing you away. Even though it was very quiet the servers all seemed a little laboured in their enjoyment of service but overall not a bad experience. Serves a purpose but not somewhere I'm rushing to get back to.

Gabbots Farm is a Butchers / Deli in the Manchester Arndale, which has been in the centre for a…read morelong time, more recently being taken over by Crawshaw's but still trading under the other name, due to its presence in the city for so long. Inside, it is quite a big place with a variety of meats either in the fridge or at the counter, there is a service point mainly for sandwiches etc on the Arndale floor, meaning when busy as you go further inside the store it can be near enough impossible to get service, which was why I eventually walked out. The overall selection is poor, even compared to smaller and more local butchers especially for gluten free and even other stuff too, some things isn't clearly labelled to stand out and make you want to buy the product and know fully and exactly Inside, it isn't the nicest of places either and it could do with a refurb in a way to stand out and be a nicer place to look around, but the main issue is the service which is basically non-existent hence warranting a single one star.

How delighted I was to stumble across this little basement by accident, strolling down Half Moon…read moreStreet just because it had a nice name. And there, opposite the fire escapes, and between the back doors and wheely bins...is Corbieres...a welcoming little rectangle of light luring you in and down its steps. And I really do mean 'luring' - my beau and I had said just 5 minutes ago that we didn't fancy a beer, and yet we soon found ourselves at the bottom of those stairs investigating the various lagers on offer! There wasn't a great selection on tap, certainly no names that I recognised, and the barman didn't seem too enthused about what was on, but I got to try a new Czech lager that I was quite pleased with. And there was a good selection of bottled goodies behind the bar as well. The room is rather small, but the atmosphere of the place is just great: exciting yet understated, the kind of place I could imagine both hipsters and die hard football fans could rub shoulders and neither would snigger at the other. That's my kind of place. The jukebox is wonderful. During our brief visit we were serenaded by a mixture of Happy Mondays, Stone Roses (we are in Manchester after all) and some other classic delights. In fact, one of the quotes on the walls (see photo) claiming to be from Ian Brown himself, is that it "always was, still is, the best jukebox in Manchester." High praise indeed. To sum up, my beau and I both left already plotting our return, this time with friends in tow, to show off the cool bar that we found!

Alison's is a pretty good review of Corbieres, covering all the main points. It definitely…read moredeserves a visit. However, she writes that the bar has managed to keep a low profile and that if you get there early, its all yours. In recent months its popularity has absolutely boomed if that used to be the case, and on Friday and Saturday nights, you've often got little chance of getting in, let alone sitting down, or accessing the Juke Box. The Juke Box is an absolute joke, no doubt, as it claims, it's the best in Manchester. The place is in a cool wine cellar which gives in a unique feel and it has a lizard attached to the bar (great idea). There isn't a focus on wine despite being a wine bar and the clientele are indeed much better than your average Deansgate set. Its genuinely one of the coolest bars around and I think its one everyone should try, so I do advise going, just make it a week night...

TL;DR - Smart deli serving up typical dishes plus extra special items for the gym bunnies…read more We dived in here to dodge the rain whilst trying to find somewhere for a quick lunch and were pleasantly surprised. It's in the heart of office-land, so I'm sure it does a roaring trade with local office workers during the week but on a Saturday it was pretty empty. The interior is bright and clean - lots of light and bright colours, and an interesting array of animal busts on the walls. The menu is typical for this kind of place - sandwiches, paninis, jacket potatoes etc. plus a breakfast menu with all kinds of tasty looking things on it. We went for a couple of paninis and they were really tasty and great value. One really interesting feature of the place though is that they have a special high protein menu for people who've been to the gym. I guess with the big gym round the corner, this could be a big market for them... but I think I'd always end up being tempted to the full English breakfast instead!

Fresh, local ethical located in the superb John Rylands Library on Deansgate, which houses one of…read morethe world's finest collections of rare books and manuscripts. Every superb building needs a reasonable fancy cafe to tea and cake break in and the Cafe is here to serve. Their menu is quite strange but quirky for a none quirky looking cafe. That's because half of the things on it encompass something about Manchester. Pick up a Manchester sausage on toast with local chutny, a roast beef and Lancashire blue on toasted bloomer or some Manchester tarts or eccles cakes for afters. Local knickerbocker glories hot vimtoes, you've got your Manchester hat firmly on. But if you're feeling particularly Mancunian today go for "The northern plate"- A sharing plate for two showcasing the café's regional foods: Lancashire & goats cheese, black pudding, Manchester sausage, Grizedale pork pie, locally cured meats, all served with Lizzie's chutney and relish and crusty bread. What a feast. You've now got Manchester running through your veins. The coffee is not only Fairtrade but Rainforest Alliance certified and organic by the way. Cafe at the Rylands is a right treat for the older generation. I have no idea what a Manchester sausage entails. Superb little concept yet I'm not intrigued enough to try as of yet.

Cafe Rylands offers a really great lunchtime or coffee option on Deansgate where most of the other…read moreoptions are faceless chains. The menu is fairly simple but covers most bases for a casual lunch or snack with a variety of freshly made sandwiches, salads and soup, as well as crumpets, toast and a variety of cakes. I fancied a salad and was pleased to discover that not only do they offer a 'chef's salad of the day' but you can also have any of the sandwiches salad-ified! I opted for the roasted med veg and guacamole which was both delicious and huge and a real bargain at £4.95, although I had green eyes when my friend's afternoon tea for one appeared- £7.50 got her a large pot of tea, smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches (you can choose your filling), a scone with jam and clotted cream, a chunk of chocolate brownie and a big wedge of carrot cake- amazing! As Cafe Rylands is owned by Manchester Uni it excels in sourcing ingredients that are local and as seasonal as possible as well as fairtrade, something that is definitely good to know.