B.EAT STREET's latest venture in the Great Northern Warehouse is a variation on a pretty great…read moretheme. Many of the usual suspects were in attendance and that's slightly negative in terms of it being a bit repetitive, especially when those stalls are also restaurants, but actually the food I had was better overall than any of my previous visits: stunning buttermilk chicken burger from Coq o the North which three of us lost our shit over (we claimed it was better than Mumma Schnitzel which was controversial...) and I also was delighted with my chili brisket and sweet potato mess from Red's. No dessert stand which several members of my group found very disappointing. Normally they always have one so I would guess something fell through at the last minute. As with Friday Food Fight, there doesn't seem to be quite enough bar space/staff so you will have to queue but there are some fun cocktails (the Lynchburg Lemonade was particularly lethal) and there is a smaller bar round the corner doing stuff like cider which I'm pretty sure would have no wait at all. Also as with Friday Food Fight, the music was super fun - Shaggy, Skee-Lo etc. Although Upper Campfield Market is a very special place which I am really glad is in use, the Great Northern Warehouse is less draughty, has far better toilets, and in general a very cool and attractive space. I'm sure I'll be back and will be recommending to others.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have endorsed B.EAT STREET and their pop up, foodie adventures…read morearound Manchester all year. This occassion, named Food Fight MCR (rather than the original name of Friday Food Fight) is situalted in Great Northern Warehouse next to the ticket office to the AMC Cinema. The concept is the same as previous events, with street food vendors from in and around Manchester coming together to whip up some of the most imaginative eats around. Some of my favourite vendors have attended most weeks - Viet Shack, Mumma Schnitzel and Piggy Smalls to name a few. You'll have to take a look at the photo's I have posted for me to explain just how good the food is here...! If you want very, VERY casual dining on a Friday or Saturday night and want to be surrounded by other people who also share their love for food, then look no further. There's plenty of seating, plenty of food and the drinks are always flowing. Just a great time to be had by all. I have managed to make my way around most of the food stalls in here - but I will always be a big fan of Food Fight.

I am currently loving the Manchester Jazz Festival. Not that I'm a big jazz listener, though I can…read morebe found frequenting Matt & Phred's from time to time, but the whole atmosphere at this event is just great. The main hub is located on Albert Square, with food and drink a-plenty. Understand why I like it so much now? Working just across the road, I have been for three days in a row - and planning on going for more. We've been just for drinks, but also for food, and every experience has been the same. Laid back, not too damaging on the wallet, and just plain tasty. The bar is a bit slow on service, with some of the bartenders seeming as if they've been drafted in from every role but bartending, but once you're sat in the sun spot of Manchester it's hard to stay annoyed. They take cards behind the bar, which is very handy. Despite serving wine by the bottle, you can't take this out on to the square - wine in a pint glass anyone? Although I understand the need for this rule, they haven't thought it through and provided anything other than an empty Pimm's jug or pint glasses. The food is from Woody's pizza, street wraps, and Chaophraya. I've had the pizza - £6 for plain, £7 for ones with toppings - which totally hit the spot after a slightly heavier night than intended the day before. I'll certainley be trying the thai, reasonably priced at circa £5 for a main portion. Albert Square is the perfect hub for this kind of event, and this is a great taster for the upcoming Food and Drink Festival.

The Manchester Jazz Festival is a great event currently being held in Albert Square. There is a…read morefestival pavilion stage where jazz bands of all genres play for a small ticket price. There are also food stalls selling high quality food including Chaporaya and Woody's pizza. There is a reasonably stocked bar but be aware the service is quite slow and lots of seating in the form of wooden benches. The atmosphere was great when we went down there to watch the Jonathan Silk Big Band. We thoroughly enjoyed the concert and it was well worth the £5 entry fee to watch 20 or so talented jazz musicians play some fabulous music. I hope this event comes back to Manchester next year.

Great event, however you can find yourself in an ultra long queue waiting for one of the food…read morestalls. For example one of the pizza stand queues we waited 30mins before giving up. Was also good to see the security staff bopping along to some of the music being played by one of the bands.

How do I nearly miss this every year (now in its 10th). Great live music and performance and great…read morefood in a safe festival atmosphere. Global feel in the heart of the city.

A Carefully Planned Festival (#4) is apparently named ironically but it seemed pretty perfectly…read moreplanned to me. The website is excellent (with links to clashfinder so you can figure out how to see everything you want) and there were helpful paper schedules with timetables and act descriptions as well. A day ticket was £10 in advance, £12.15 on the day, weekend was £15/£18 and picking up the wristband from Gullivers was completely painless. Considering I saw about 11 acts in 7 hours, that's great value. There's a huge range of music from metal to electronica to singer songwriters and the website helpful sorts acts by genre, provides links to their music online and highlights some of the organiser's personal favourites. The venues are all very good as well. My personal favourite was The Castle Hotel (Uranium Lake and Sam Brooke, both brilliant) as it's a beautiful space and the sound was excellent. Gullivers (Jo Mango, amazing) was also a good space but a little warm. Soup Kitchen has an even bigger & better space but wtf is that smell? Whiskey Jar and Cord have similar tiled basement rooms but Cord was really a squeeze for what was one of my favourite acts of the evening, Jo Rose. Mint Lounge isn't the most beautiful space but is good for bigger crowds and they have Coke in glass bottles. Kraak likewise doesn't have much atmosphere, it's probably my least favourite of the spaces but was a bit quieter so good for a bit of a breather (math rock notwithstanding). The crowds weren't mega friendly (hipsters...) but there were no dicks either. Overall, highly highly recommended and I already look forward to next year! If you happen to be reading this on Sunday 19 October 2014, stop immediately and head straight to the NQ to experience for yourself!

I enjoyed my visit to Manchester Oktoberfest, there was a lively, convivial atmosphere helped by…read moreboth the decent live band and a Captain Nostalgia DJ who was playing Spice Girls at 8pm on a Wednesday. The gigantic marquee on the square is very impressive and great insurance against the Manchester weather as the festival is completely under cover. The overall feel of the festival is a bit budget - plastic glasses, cutlery etc and there's basically only one choice of beer. There is a "post dinner" bitter but overall if you come here expecting to sample a wide range of German beers you will be disappointed and would be better off at Albert's Schloss. They do have a German sparkling wine option. I had the BBQ chicken and chips to eat which was as simple as it sounded although it was a generous portion and well cooked. It would be nice if they could give you more than one side (sauerkraut was not an option, but then would have just been chicken and sauerkraut, which is a bit weird). All in all I enjoyed it here for an hour and a half but probably wouldn't make a night of it or pay to enter (Weds and Thurs you can enter free).

My first visit to a Manchester Oktoberfest and my first ever Oktoberfest. Overall had a good time…read morewith the lively atmosphere. It was relatively calm early on but as more people arrived and more drink was consumed (and people dancing on the tables) to got lively - especially when it was a particularly "singalong" type of song - like Spice Girls or Bon Jovi. The mixture of music was a few German songs mixed with many singalong type songs - which I was told is pretty what you get from a "proper" Oktoberfest if you were in Germany (Munich). As Natalie has mentioned, there was basically only one choice of beer - was expecting maybe more with it being Oktoberfest. The beer was not bad but £11.50 for a 2 pint stein! I didn't fancy any of the food they had on offer but heard the chicken was not bad. Apart from the tableclothes, which are Oktoberfest style I think and then people working there wearing traditional type clothes, I thought a bit more could have been done to make it feel less like just a big white tent. Overall, had a pretty enjoyable time. Worth checking out if you want to drink some beer, standing on a table while singing Proclaimers (500 Miles).

After two years based at the Velodrome on the outskirts of the city, MBCF have moved to the grand…read moreand colossal setting of Manchester Central - which makes it much more convenient to get to. Though I'd seen there had been queues for other sessions since it opened, we were inside in next to no time thanks to the sheer number of volunteers on the doors. With a choice of a half- or full pint festival glass (£3 refundable on return) it was onwards into the main room. There were a lot, and I mean A LOT, of fellow drinkers inside, but still just about enough room to wander round the space and see what was on offer. Lots of table seating, but almost all were taken. Thankfully we met up with a mate who'd been there for a few hours so could dump ourselves on his table and use it as a base for the evening. This year they had an incredible 470 beers and 130 ciders & perries available - though once some were sold out that was it. The 60 metre mega-bar on the back wall had well over 100 hand pumps on it. Serving time didn't take too long as again, there were dozens of volunteers. About a dozen breweries had their own bars at the festival as well. These were mostly on the central bar and included the likes of Marble, Blackjack, Cloudwater, Runaway and Red Willow. A popular section was the Bière Sans Frontières bar, where you could get draught or bottled beer from around the world (it was great that CAMRA were embracing new modern styles and non-British breweries). The only thing (seriously) lacking at the venue was decent food offerings. This may well be out of their hands if the venue insists on providing it - but even so there was hardly any choice. Thankfully, Pancho's Burritos was still open when we left! Tip: I wouldn't bother with a £1 beer programme, it's crammed with adverts and confusingly lists beers by country and not bar location - just have a wander round and investigate.

Wow....300 ales...and the rest. That's a selection of a tall order !…read more And what a setting for this new venue. I wonder how the dryathlete cyclists peddaling around felt about hosting hundreds of beer fuelled non-supporters. Personnaly I loved the location, the layout and the organisation. Great to be able to have thirds as well, means me and Michael have been able to try about 30 ales between the 2 of us which I am no un-proud of. I mean...that's 10% of the selection right. Anyway, I'll definitely go again next year. But I've heard more mitigated opinions from people going on the Saturday. It seems they ran out of beers and had to close at 4pm instead of 7pm. I can see the frustration and disappointment for Saturday afternoon beer fans. The food could really do with an improvement. I bet they eat better in school canteens, for less money.

I have just been to the Grand Opening of the Winter Gathering at the amazing London Road Fire…read moreStation opposite Piccadilly Station! The whole place looks fantastic with numerous bars and food carts selling food. It was free to get in for the Grand Opening but i do believe that there will be a £3-5 entrance fee and skating is extra, so I'm not sure if this will put people off coming i hope it dosnt as the whole place is buzzing and some nights there will be music from different artists. Makes a change to the Christmas Markets around the Town Hall.

Such a good event, lots of different food stalls and a live band playing! Go and visit before it…read moregoes

St.George is a bit of an odd fellow. He didn't even get us a day off work. Instead, we spend the…read moreweekend prior to the actual event drinking, eating meat, and watching men walking around in chainmail. We spotted the festival on Friday when walking through Albert Square and were intrigued. When we woke up on Saturday and the sun was shining, we knew we had to make the most of it, and headed towards Albert Square. Spanning three days, this event is supposed to be a celebrationg of all things British, with lashings of beer, cider, and hog roast. However, there's something lacking here - is it because he never got us our much longed after day off? The event was supposed to kick off on Friday but nothing was ready. Even when we turned up on Saturday, past 12o'clock, the signage above the bar tent was only just being put up, and there was an air of nothing really being ready. There was a selection of real ale/beer available, including the newly released Manchester pale ale, but a lack of real cider; one on tap or Bulmers from the fridge. Stall wise there was hook a duck and another fairground game, the Barnhouse Bistro, a fish&chip stall, cakes by LulaBelle, everything you could imagine with an English flag printed on it, and some donkey's to pet. Somewhat of an odd mix. In amongst all of this were folks dressed as St.George himself and a music stage featuring brass bands, 'rock' bands, and that girl who sings on Marketing Street. We had hog roast in our minds but, as with the rest of the event, it obviously wasn't ready, so we opted for the Barnhouse Bistro, something we experienced at Guerilla Eats. A burger and a hot dog later we were sat in the sun with our beer and cider, taking it all in. We had a good time, but it was little to do with the event and more to do with the sun and availability of seating. Maybe next year Georgey boy.

Grillstock Festival completely lives up to its tagline: 'Meat. Music. Mayhem.' On a slightly…read moredrizzly and cool Saturday in Manchester the hordes swarmed to Albert Square and the stalls of carnivorous splendor. Entry was a very hefty £22.50 but you had to buy them online in advance and it had already sold out. You couldn't, therefore, just rock up there ticketless. I was fortunate and had a free ticket donated by a friend who couldn't make it - so I'm not sure I'd be willing to pay that much and not have at least a free burger, hotdog or couple of beers included. The range of options was pretty good, with the likes of Fire & Salt and Red's True BBQ joined with over 20 other vendors. Pretty much all the food was £4-6, with the smaller 'snacks' at around £3 each. The hotdogs from Street Dogs were huge and delicious (see pic). You could wash everything down with beer from Brooklyn Brewery and cloudy cider from Lazy Jacks (both were terrific) and if you had enough room after all that meat, you could get cheesecake or icecream. I failed miserably as I was too greedy after nailing a brisket burger. Rob Heron & The Teapad Orchestra kept us entertained from the main stage, then it was the crowd-pleasing chilli eating competition, with 10 challengers eating increasingly hot chillis that I'd never heard of. Most of them endured until quite far in, then all but two dropped like flies and reached for the milk (or sick bucket - nice). After eating a Trinidad Scorpion 'Butch T' from Australia which was 1.4 million on the Scoville scale of hotness, it ended somewhat anticlimactically with a 'fastest eater' round, much to the crowd's bemusement. The only downside I had, which is the same for every festival like this, is that there were too many people in there, not enough circulation space and only one entrance/exit. Other than that is was a great way to spend an afternoon and start your path towards a food coma!

Another year, another trip to Grillstock! Having been for the past two years, we couldn't resist…read morepurchasing the early bird tickets and signing up for another visit to BBQ heaven. Still located on Albert Square, the festival has expanded somewhat, meaning there was a shift around inside the square, with the main stage moving and appearing to provide much more space than previous years. The entrance (only one this time) was in a strange location and there was very little signage towards it, meaning I was slightly on the flustered side by the time we actually got in! We headed to the bar for a drink to walk around with and explore our options. Brewdog were the providers this years, meaning there were plenty of familiar options, the other half going for the Dead Pony Ale. The bar was also fully stocked with cider, wine and prosecco so we didn't have to bounce between bars - handy! There was also an 'I Heart Wine' van, separate Lazy Jack's bar, alcoholic iced tea, a spiced rum bar, plus a Jack Daniel's cocktail bar. So, something for all tastes! Probably my favourite thing about Grillstock is the opportunity to try food from some new vendors, many of which come from across the country. Ross&Ross were my first stop, serving up slow cooked lamb, which was absolutely delicious and the perfect thing to get the day going. We also had a burger from The Beefy Boys - great, very moist - and some hot wings from Lola's - personal favourite, and coming with some very handy wet wipes. Everything is around the £5-6 mark on top of your ticket price. Unfortunately all stalls serving ribs ran out very quickly - and by all stalls I mean the 2 that were actually serving them up. Shouldn't there be more? When you really take the stalls into account, burgers and hot dogs totally outweigh everything else. Probably says something about the UK's taste in BBQ... As ever, there was lots of entertainment in the form of music (Levi Roots and Grandmaster Flash, anyone?), circus performers, the grilling competition, hot dog/wing/chilli eat competitions, and the ever popular free photo booth, making it very family friendly and contributing to a very relaxed Saturday.