Amazed by this place…read more I haven't seen anywhere like it since my travels to Portland. It has a real community atmosphere. Everyone involved, from the growers to the staff to the people shopping, care and it really shows. It's honest. It's exactly where you want to buy your vegetables. There's soil on the fresh produce. Actual soil. No cellophane, no unnecessary packaging, no nonsense - just tasty, local food. The shelves are clearly labelled and well stocked with interesting offerings. They have your staples - potatoes, all the usual veg, cereals, spices, fruits as well as some more unusual choices when/if it's in season. Prices are reasonable and when you pay you feel like you're contributing - something you never experience in a chain supermarket. There's a play area for kids and free apples to keep them occupied - with a little compost bin for the cores. A big green thumbs up.

Unicorn is quite simply the best place ever and the eco-jewel in the crown of the noble and good…read morekingdom of Chorlton, that land of the yoga bunny, the eco-warrior and community campaign group Keep Chorlton Interesting http://keepchorltoninteresting.org/ Walking around the unusually-wide aisles of this wholefoods supermarket, it is easy to feel inspired that the times are *not* a' changing. Because they've changed. And here we find ourselves in a land flowing with everlasting organic milk and honey, and we no longer have to constantly check the label because it's all good stuff! Unicorn is a fully-fledged supermarket with the small and large trolleys to prove it, but the relaxed atmosphere and experience of the five senses being bathed in everything that is good is tangible. Starting outside the door, the Big Issue vendor deftly helped me free a trolley that was jammed, and I could feel his genuine wish to help and for my Unicorn shopping experience to be a good one. Inside. Organic seeds. Garden tools made in Wigan by a company called Bulldog. (I bought a hand fork and a 3-pronged hand cultivator, which I think will prove useful for weeding close to plants without damaging their roots.) Organic fruit and veg which is all labelled and sourced as locally as possible (e.g. Broad Beans from Gielty of Ormskirk). And plenty of choice of fruit and veg - how come supermarkets never manage to have more than a few lines of organic produce? A lovely blackboard telling what's in season and how things have been going for the farmers out in the field. Sometimes, I've seen another small blackboard outside showing how Unicorn is cheaper than Sainsbury or Tesco for the same items. This doesn't surprise me, as a good co-op is a very strong business model, without the big salaries and pressure for huge shareholder dividends of all chain supermarkets. I've not tried much from the chilled display, so I'll leave that to others to review. The dried goods are handily displayed on tiered shelves with small, medium and large sizes of each item. In the back corner, there is a lovely little play area, including a compost bin for the little eco-warriors to put their apple cores in! Every time I've visited, the play area has been very much in use, with lots of fun being had. The kids are nice to each other! The bakery and hot food takeaway is all good stuff from the best organic bakeries in the area, supplemented by some goodies baked instore. I've had great soups from here, eaten with a buttered roll or pastie, very wholesome-tasting - sweet potato or roasted red pepper, mmm! On the shelves in the middle are a many speciality ingredients which are hard to find elsewhere. From my till receipt, for example - Toasted Sesame Oil (organic), Pomegranate Syrup, Puffed Wheat (organic), Puffed Millet (organic), Polenta (organic). Even if you're not an enthusiastic cook, I would personally much rather have a breakfast cereal of Puffed Wheat with a dash of maple syrup and whatever else I fancy rather than trust the Honey Monster! Waiting at the checkout, the lady in front offered me half a organic loaf in a brown paper bag - thank you very much, madam! I always find the checkout staff and all the others very pleasant and on-the-ball - there is a maturity about this place. Unicorn is not a side-show in Chorlton it's the dominant retail model (shh - you know what I mean!) with a turnover of millions of pounds. One last thing - at the checkout, those branded plastic things that supermarkets provide to separate your shopping on the belt from the customers in front and behind are replaced by...pieces of wood! Pass on the well-worn, wooden baton and the good word about Unicorn. :-)

Fruit & Veg does not come better than this! FRESH everyday…read morefrom the market and not pre packed, you can choose your own from the huge selection Matthew provides daily with a smile. I have never tasted apples like the ones this local independent and trust worthy shop has to offer, and there is always locally grown seasonal produce. Matthew always makes the effort to find fresh produce that has been grown within 50 miles of his shop and labels them for all his customers to see. An added bonus is if there is something particular you are after, all you have to do is ask and the next day you have the best quality of it! There is a free delivery service if you cant carry your 10lb of spuds and carrots etc home with you or if you cant get to the shop at all which is fab for the older generation. Also THE BEST place for Christmas trees! Always service with a smile :)

You won't find fresher or faster food anywhere in Manchester than Market Street Fruit Stall. Have…read moreyour £1 at the ready for a bag of five pieces of fruit - banana, pear, apple, plum, orange - a punnet of strawberries or a bunch of seedless grapes. I had a really good chat with the owner of Market Street Fruit Stall who is a really warm, friendly character. He told me has been running a fruit stall from this location (beside Carphone Warehouse) for the past twelve years. During these recessionary times, he told me that people are still buying fruit, but not as much of it as they used to. But I do hope these types of stalls can keep going as they seem to me part of the soul of the city. This small stall in particular with their focus on fruit only is a great example of the strengths of specialist businesses - their citrus display is by far the brightest thing on Market Street. Fellow Yelpers, I would like to propose a toast - let us raise our glasses of freshly-squeezed apple or orange juice - 'For the Health and Prosperity of the Market Street Fruit Stall.' Thank you.

Unfortunately I can not count sometimes I buy cassava in this place, perhaps a mistake on my part…read moreto insist because 50% of the time is not good for consumption, and I keep buying from the same place, more this time I decided to complain here, because I have spoken For the clerk and he said it's not normal

Since finding an innovative way to navigate the record-breakingly narrow aisles here, in the words…read moreof REO Speedwagon, I can't fight this feeling anymore. I adore Strawberry Garden. It is indeed as good as it gets. Since spending more time here and actually having a browse rather than doing the whole, "I need this, that and this," I've grown even fonder. I had absolutely no idea that you could get so many exotic fruits and vegetables here. I've picked up plantains for my forthcoming Jerk chicken recipe, I grabbed some 'custard apples' because they were on special offer, and a bag of chestnuts to roast for 79p. Not that they're particularly exotic... but special offers are the name of the game here. Hankering to make a batch of banana bread? They'll sell their overripe bananas at reduced prices to get rid of them rather than waste them. This goes for many fruits. I gathered several soups' worth of ingredients on my last visit, as well as the aforementioned, plus grapes, mango, bananas... the whole thing came to around a measly £11, and I had a ridiculous amount. Like two full bags. I mean, beyond five a day. I asked them to keep the change, because another thing I've noticed is that the staff are ridiculously nice. Offering to double-bag your fruit, chatting away to you - I felt like I ought to do *something*. Occasionally you'll need a late night fix or you might not be able to get to the Arndale, but goodness me, you should always shop here when you can. It's epic.

This little fruit and veg stall is located just in front of the small park next to Man Met Uni…read moreacross the road from their Union building. Although it looks like a transient stall, it has been in this location for at least the past 5 and a half years. The best deal here is the 5 fruit for £1 offer. I think it used to be 6, but times are hard! This includes apples, bananas, oranges etc and you are able to mix and match. More exotic fruits such as grapes are obviously more expensive but still cheaper than the supermarkets. They also sell bags of avocadoes, peppers etc for around a pound a pop, though you will have to eat them within a couple of days or share them out amongst your housemates as they won't last as long as supermarket produce. They don't sell much exotic produce - you'd be better off heading up to Worldwide in Rusholme for that. As the stall is situated on the busiest bus route in Europe it is probably recommended to wash your produce before you eat it, though I've had many an apple from here on my way home, and I'm still alive.

You know how Ronseal claims to 'do what it says on the tin'? Well, what it says on the tin is…read moresomewhat separate to the name of the product. Referred to as Oxford's Road's 'Mixed Fruits Stall' by most, I didn't realise it was called the Have a Banana Trading Co until our beloved stall was under threat due to developments at MMU. 2,415 people joined a Facebook group to help save it, and saved it has been. Not bad, huh? Shows how popular it is. I constantly walk past this stall on Oxford Road in a rush to get to the Aquatics Centre, but as I didn't have to rush back today, I took a moment to browse. I'd been drawn in by the two for £2 on their punnets of blueberries, an offer which seemed to be a longterm one, and then proceeded to be (fruit)bowled over by the value. Tenderstem broccoli, our favourite, a quid a pack. Six crunchy Braeburns, or six sweet Pink Ladies, or six of any variety of apple it seemed, bagged up and ready to go, £1. Bananas, a generous bunch, £1. I spent a mere £6 and I've returned with enough fruit and veg for the week. Surrounded by students whose diets may consist of alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and the occasional kebab, we all know an affordable place like this is appealing to a market just crying out for a bit of vitamin C. You can get a great deal of fresh grocery shopping done here, and you know it's locally sourced and ethically sound. It might be on a busy street but it's soooo cheap and incredibly convenient. The vendors are lovely and friendly, always happy to be there in all weathers (and we know Manchester can have some harsh weathers), and they tweet too! https://twitter.com/#!/bananastall Shop local, buddies!

Just a quick shout out for the fruit stall on Deansgate at the entrance to House of Fraser…read moredepartment store. I had so much fun explaining to the stall owner why I wanted photos, and how I was going to put his fruit stall on the internet. He didn't even have a name for the business - so I hereby name this stall Deansgate Fruit Stall! Fruit from street vendors is invariably very fresh and uses as little packaging as you like, especially if you bring your own small bags as well as shopping bag. On the stall, we have the usual apples and oranges, cucumbers, avocado, etc plus whatever is in season (see photos). Also, some more unusual items such as fresh figs of a much better quality (luscious!) than I've ever seen in supermarket. Definitely make a special effort to visit during the soft fruit season - cherries, raspberries, etc, best bought little and often. The stall owner is a really friendly gentleman, and a little bit of rounding down of the grand total to the nearest whole pound sometimes happens - but let him do it!

A bulb of garlic, a stick of ginger, a couple of onions, a bunch spring onions, a juicy red pepper,…read morea few red and green chillies, a huge bunch of fresh coriander.......£2.36? The first time I went in there and bought a similar amount of fresh veg I found it hard to conceal my delight at the price. So hard in fact that one of the brothers asked me if I had expected it to cost me more! I have never bought my veg from Morrisons since. For a relatively small store they sell a wide range of produce (about 8 different types of mushrooms, 10 different types of potatoes etc) and I have never been disappointed with the quality. OK, so I definitely wouldn't eat any of the veg without giving it a good wash first, as it is often a bit grubby and has been sitting outside on a main road all day, and the shelf life isn't as good as supermarket veg. But give me a grubby misshapen apple over a polished supermarket apple any day! The brothers themselves are friendly and hard-working. My housemates often used to chat to them, and they seem to know their regular customers really well. Inside the shop there is a well-priced selection of herbs and spices, rice, couscous and pulses as well as the not so well-priced English essentials such as boxes of PG Tips and cans of Coke. To every Chorltonite's delight the opening of a brand new Tesco Express opposite the store doesn't seem to have harmed their business in the slightest. Long live Khawaja Brothers! PS - there is even a facebook group for fans of the brothers and their shop.

Have you read this? http://www.yelp.com/weekly?editorial_id=zGMtxe-XYdLx73faQYnikw Well there's one…read morepretty serious omission, and that, my friends, is the Mini Market of the Khawaja Brothers. Whether you're concocting a katsu curry or just seeking out some seasonal salad, you can do no wrong by making a beeline for this little place because it's fresh, it changes with the seasons, it has more ethnic ingredients than you can possibly pile into your plastic bag, and perhaps given the first three the most appealing factor... it's almost obscenely inexpensive. I was introduced to this spot by a good friend who waxed lyrical about Pakistani mangoes, also known as 'honey' mangoes. These are orbs of pure deliciousness, sold in handy boxes of 6 for £4.50. They taste like they should be twice that price. Keep them in your fridge and peel them at breakfast time, you shan't be disappointed. In other bargainous news, a recent offer had me reeling with incredulity - surely they weren't selling entire crate-like boxes of tomatoes on the vine? Check my pictures. Yes indeedy they were. Also, their giant dates are just exquisite. Once inside you can get tons of dry ingredients for any kind of world cooking you can imagine, loads of types of flour, rice, pulses... the list is endless. And on top of all that there are exotic fruit drinks and Halal Haribo. Yes, it exists! I'm more than happy to make the journey to Chorlton to grab some essentials (and indulgences) from here, the service is friendly and the location can't be beaten - right near Unicorn? It's a veritable shop-local bonanza!

The Garden of Eden is basically a green grocers but kind of a fancy one, with local chutneys and…read morecheeses and some useful store cupboard ingredients (including Patak's tandoori paste, which I had ended up taking a BUS to get from Sainsburys). They do some more unusual vegetables like pak choi and yam as well as a great range of fresh herbs, which is useful for recipes. There's also an extensive pet food selection! The only negative point is it shuts at 5pm, which means I don't get to shop here nearly as much as I'd like.

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.

I regularly shop here and I was asked on one visit to leave my bag at the counter. I told them I…read morewouldnt be and the woman started arguing with me. I told her that there is no way that I am leaving my work stuff behind . very rude. if they have an issue with shop lifters they make enough money to have properly security

It's like visiting Asda, but in Morrocco. the only thing missing is wildlife. with it being Ramadan…read moreseason, expect massive crowds in the evenings. There are plenty of cash and carry's dotted alongside Stockport road for all your exotic foodie needs but this place arguably trumps them all. Whilst Ahmad's Cash and carry is just as big, it has a cold and empty warehouse feel to it and is located in an odd place. It really is well worth a gander or two, if only to take in the aromas, the foods and spices you've probably never seen before. Despite the size of the store don't worry about getting tired either dragging that trolley around, there's a cake shop and a small cafe for you to rest and treat yourself. Want more encouragement to visit? The boxes of mangos are going at 3 for £10 a pop. I can personally vouch for the fact they are sweeter than sweet.