I LOVE a burger. And not just any old burger... With the Streetfood revolution happening in…read moreBirmingham, I have become a burger snob. It's not good enough to just chuck any old beef onto a griddle and serve it in a sesame bun anymore. A great burger has locally sourced, fresh ingredients and has been thought about from start to finish. THAT's why Flying Cows gets a big ole' thumbs up from me. As one of the volunteers at the JQNF who arrange 24 Carrots, I love seeing new traders at our market. When I spotted Flying Cows on the list of people coming down - I was both intrigued and excited. Although they have appeared at super popular streetfood events across Birmingham, I hadn't come across them before. I decided to take a gamble last night and give them a try for my dinner. From the moment I walked over to Dan, I knew it was the right choice. After I had placed my order (beef burger with stilton - £4), Dan explained that it would take around 5 minutes to cook. This wasn't a problem as we filled the time talking about how he got started in the burger business and what was different about his food. Honestly, if you ever get a chance to chat to him - do! He's a lovely chap. My burger looked amazing! Unfortunately I ate it before I thought about getting a picture, however, it was meaty, cheesy and just fantastic. The bun was soft, the meat tasted and looked fresh and the cheese was the perfect accompaniment. It was one of the best burgers I have had in Birmingham (and I've tried most of the greats). Dan is relatively new on the scene, but he will be a big name before long. Check him out now (and have a natter) before he gets to the point where there are queues forming around the block!

Unlike the previous reviewer Im not a fan of burgers at all and a burger from a street vendor is…read moresomething Id normally avoid like the plague...BUT... there are burgers and then there are The Flying Cows Burgers..... there is just no comparison these are stunning... we had them at the Hare and Hounds Kings Heath Street Food Sunday Festival..... and it was very hard to stop at just one.....by boyfriend had two !!.... amazing.....

DDC's just awesome. The original and best weekly street food event in Brum. Mercifully now 2 days a…read moreweek (Friday and Saturday) to allow more opportunity to enjoy some of the vendors amazing grub. It's set out the back of Spotlight & Mama Roux's under a large canopy. There's normally 5 or 6 vendors, and it's generally a good mix of different cuisines - always one burger joint (the best being Flying Cows and Meat Shack, now OPM have their own digs), normally something Asian (either Thai, bao or Vietnamese), sometimes Mexican, BBQ (Andy's Low n Slow is there regularly) desserts (crepes, pancakes and so on), wood-fired pizzas and loads of other stuff. Drinks are inside Spotlight, full bar with craft beers, cocktails and everything else you'd want. Always a great vibe with good music in very 'Digbeth' surrounds. Well worth your time of a weekend!

It's a place I got dragged to, yet I ended up enjoying myself more than expected. I highly…read morerecommend.

Birmingham open market is an absolute lifesaver! We've been shopping here for over five years and…read morethe quality, variety and price far outweigh any convenience of shopping at a supermarket. From standard fruit and veg to more exotic Caribbean and Asian foodstuffs the open market has something for everyone, and usually something to didn't know you wanted. The produce is fairly seasonal so when something is in season it is cheap as hell like 3 butternut squash for a pound or bunches of asparagus for 50p. The frozen food stall at the back is well worth checking out for your freezer-stocking bargains and the stall at the front with eggs and cheese is a must. Seriously, you'll hear the egg man shouting from mills away!

Great Quality produce and great prices. Shop around for the best deals, but on average we save…read morebetween 50p to £1 on each item - meaning a £10+ a week saving on our shopping (compared to supermarkets). The traders are friendly and will normally do you a deal if you need a large amount of a particular type of fruit or veg. Well worth a trip! Remember to take your canvas bags!

Anything giving Birmingham a cooler and more east London vibe is only a good thing in my book and…read moreHawker Yard is doing exactly that. Joining into the street food revolution of the city Hawker offers a permanent street food market offering all year round! Having popped in on Friday night I was happy to see some great traders including vegan, indian and pizza offerings serving fresh and fast street food with a smile to a small crowd of lovely looking people. There are also permanent bars to grab drinks from which can never be a bad thing right? As far as I understand it the traders are on constant rotation so check the website for deets and given the time of year there will also be heaters added to the site asap....can't come soon enough in my book! I think the best thing about this venue is the location. Usually street food vendors and events are pushed out to Digbeth and the suburbs of the city, but Hawker Yard is right by the Bullring and Arcadian making it less of a destination venue and more of an accessible option to pop in a grab something rather than a long walk commitment to do so. I think collectively this is the kind of place that deserves some support and really adds value for both street food lovers and vendors of Brum. Go there, eat, drink and enjoy asap :)

I'm a little bit disappointed as a few months ago I had seen the plans for brum yum yum outdoor…read moredining space it was supposed to be over two floors instead there is a platform in the middle which spreads over two floors. The design of this particular space doesn't reflect what I set out to do. So hawkers yard lets out container boxes for various food and drinks vendors and each week they will set up stands for the public, on Friday and Saturday each week only But in hindsight it is a small space and it may have been to overcrowding. I came in on Friday evening for a drink and some food. It was very pleasant indeed though the seating could of been better. I think they are having a few teething problems to get started with, which is fine by me and this will become an ongoing review. I look forward to visiting again.

I loved my trip to Rib nights earlier this year, so when I heard that the man behind it was…read morelaunching another new event, I couldn't buy tickets fast enough. Unlike Rib nights, (which is is a sit down meal affair where two competing rib smoking teams try to win the vote of the eaters), Burger Battle seemed to be a more laid back affair. I bought tickets in the "secret sale" for £20 each. All I knew initially was the venue and that I would receive two burgers and a drink for my ticket price. Over the coming weeks, more was revealed about the event... It would entail two burger teams competing (same format as Rib Nights), but with the added extra of DJ's, a retro gaming arena, superstar judges (well, well known foodie characters within Birmingham) and a more chilled vibe than Rib Nights. Needless to say I was excited... So, yesterday was the day! We rocked down to the venue early (having been warned of queues for food) and got checked in. On entry, we received a wrist band with three boxes to be marked. A box for a burger from the "Beefy Boys", a box for the burger from "The Flying Cows" and a box for a complimentary drink. Once the event was ready to go, we were at the front of the queue to recieve our burger from the "Beefy Boys". This was called the "Butty Bach" (the sauce being made from the Wye Valley brew of the same name) and offered a brioche bun, bacon, two different cheeses and top quality beef. The guys from the team were brilliant! All up for answering questions about the ingredients and willing to swap any of the components in the burger in the case of allergens. We grabbed our burger, grabbed our complimentary drink (I went for an alcoholic ginger ale) and sat in the main table space to judge our food. This burger was very good, but there was too much sauce (which ended up overpowering the other flavours). Once we had drank our first drink and eaten our first burger, it was straight into queue number two. I have had a "Flying Cows" burger beforehand, so knew I would be getting a treat. It was definitely my winner of the evening. Delicious beef, crunchy red onions and a fantastic bun from the local bakery, "Peel & Stone". Once more beers had been sourced (with Pistonhead being offered at two cans for five pounds, this offered a better alternative to the bar offerings in Spotlight) and our votes cast, we headed into the retro gaming arena (for me to be thrashed at Mortal Kombat and for the other half to be thrashed at Sonic 2). We ended up leaving shortly after that... Not because the evening wasn't jam packed with stuff to do, but mainly as it was on a Sunday and based the other side of the City from us. I can't wait until the the next battle. Needless to say, I'll probably end up being one of the first people to buy tickets (again). Roll on Burger Battle!

I'm a fan of burgers. I'm a fan of street food, so when the founder of RibNights, Ahmed Kage…read moreannounced UKBurgerBattle, I was definitely going to be there. 2 teams, The Flying Cows and The Beefy Boys competed. They both had good sized queues, but they were seriously efficient in the way they produced the burgers. There were queues, both times, we queued for about 15 minutes. It sounds a long time, but when you're stood there, chatting to likeminded foodies, it flew by. Both burgers, individually got 10/10 as they were both outstanding. Opinions differed and I'm led to believe that the VIP judges said one team, whilst the public voted for the other. It's very subjective. It's a 4/5 because I thought that there wasn't really a finish to the evening. We left just after Leo (a chef from local Michelin Starred restaurant, Simpsons), managed to compete his challenge of eating 6 burgers (3 from both teams), in 30 minutes! In my party of 10, the vote was 50/50. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Buddha Belly are another star of the Birmingham Street Food Scene. Again, I am totally shocked that…read morethey haven't had any reviews yet! This stand is the brainchild of Sai, who was a Masterchef contestant back in 2012. They have since won an award at the "Midlands Street Food Awards 2014" and Sai was a "Young British Foodies" finalist that year too. You can find Buddha Belly at DDC, KingsEATh/Brum Yum Yum and Scoff regularly. If there is a fun and interesting event going on, keep your eyes peeled for these guys! These guys offers options for Vegans and most of their dishes are Gluten free. All of their dishes are dairy free too, meaning you don't have to worry if you have a food intolerance! I have only had nibbles from these guys (which are reasonably priced at a couple of quid), but have been tortured many a time by their amazing selection of foods which changes really regularly. They're priced averagely for their wares and a main dish will fall between £6 - £8 (so about the same as you would pay elsewhere on a food market). These guys have earned a lot of respect, awards and loyalty for their great offerings. It's probably about time you gave them a go yourselves!

Canoodle offer Pan-Asian fare (including options for vegetarians and those on a GF diet) and appear…read moreat many of Birmingham's Street Food events. They have been trading since 2013, but I started to see them around 2014. Despite the fact that the focus is on Asian inspired food, Canoodle source their ingredients as locally as possible. Their pork is 100% British and their imported food is all produced ethically. These guys have a big focus of ethical trading and sustainability, and all of their packing is recyclable and from plant based materials. Cool huh? You might get a little wait with Canoodle (as all of their food is cooked to order), but I've had noodles and chicken skewers from these guys before and it was worth the small wait this incurred! The food is fresh, delicious and served piping hot... It also smells as good as it looks! These guys take inspiration from Vietnamese, Cambodian,Malaysian and Sri Lankan cuisine - meaning you can get quite a different experience each visit. The menu changes very frequently and is always under development, so every time you see these folks there is a new dish to try. Dishes are priced around £6.50 for a full serving, but you can get skewers or small things from around £1/£1.50. Next time you're in the mood for food from sunnier climes, give them a go!

If there's anywhere you should be at the beginning of September to celebrate the end of Summer it's…read moreThe Mosely Folk Festival! What a fantastic festival, if you want to soak up some cool vibes and chilled atmosphere it's situated off Mosely high street in Birmingham, down the side of an alley way is Mosely Park and where The Jazz and Folk Festival take place every summer. I've been going to the Mosely Folk Festival now every year since 2013, I was really skeptical regarding Folk music and thought it's all fiddles and banjos, old style folk songs and long fuzzy bearded men! but I've loved it ever since for its variety of old and new style folk, its community spirit and relaxed chilled atmosphere as well as the music. There's also been some unknown acts appear here who have made it into mainstream, one being Wolf Alice. I tend to go for the whole of the three day festival. Friday's are the cool trendy Folkers i.e. Mumford and sons style acts, Saturday is a combo of new and old and Sunday being the last day is more chilled and relaxed with traditional Folk and yes some fiddles! There's always some audience participation of a good ole Dosey Doh! In hay, music workshops or Morris Dancers around and anything goes with fashion. There are two seating areas on the grass; the rows in front of the two main stages are for blankets only and further back is for chairs. Along the sides of the seating areas are shops, a kids play area, face painting, cocktail bars, beer tents, street food vendors even a massage area Last year. The outside porta loos are also kept clean. All you need is a fold up chair, picnic blanket, hamper or rucksack filled with a couple of snacks and an umbrella for our unpredictable weather! Tips: Usual rules apply, no alcohol in bags and security checks on the gate, Deposit for a beer glass ( made of plastic )

I finally got to the Moseley Folk Festival last September, after three years of saying "I'm going…read moreto go this year!" and not making it. I'd heard the vibe was really relaxed, and even a bouncer I know who works on the door told me that "It's just full of drunken hippies." Which of course, is great! And he was right! Before the festival, I'd been to Moseley Park many times, and I kept wondering how such a popular festival fits so many people into one space. Once you actually go, you'll understand how it works, and you'll see the entire grass disappear, as people set up camp. I only went on the Saturday, but the atmosphere for that one day was amazing, with the music in equal good measure, from local talents Pram and Ben Calvert, to international stars William Mason and Tinariwen. However, if I'm honest, I don't really remember much of Tinariwen's set, because the high dosage of scrumpy cider had began to kick in. The only problem with the festival was the amount of wasps that kept trying to steal my cider, other than that, everything was top notch!