As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared!…read more Mr Bens Potatoes is one of a handful of jacket potato stands serving Brummies out and about in the city centre. Sitting at the top end of Newhall St, and pointing the way to the Jewellery Quarter Mr Bens does a decent range of grub. If it's a jacket spud you're definitely after use the location to your advantage and try this place first. Situated primarily in 'office country' the queues at Mr Bens can be a bit smaller than his competitors, which tend to cater for the shoppers too. The thing I like most about these potatoes is the canny pricing. They make it impossible for you not to fill your spud to bursting point. One filling costs £2.30, whereas you only pay 50p more for 2 fillings. *** A city centre potato and 2 fillings for less than a city centre pint! *** There's plenty of fillings to choose from, but make sure you have the chicken curry regardless of your second choice. It's gorgeous and goes with absolutely anything! I take my bowler hat off to them...

So simple but so very, very tasty, Mr. Ben's jacket spud wagon is a popular diversion for many of…read morethe Newall Street/Colmore Row crowd, and for many from even further afield! There's a good selection of both hot and cold fillings available, as well as drinks to wash down your meal. A winning formula of good, honest food served with a genuine smile and side order of friendly banter makes this one of my favourite places to grab something hot and filling during a lunch break.

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!

Seeing as the market is the biggest German market outside of Germany I wasn't as impressed as I…read moreexpected to be. There were duplicates of lots of the food/drink huts and I expected a wider range of huts selling goods like toys and decorations. It felt very sparse compared to what I'd seen in previous year's photos. We checked the map to make sure we hadn't missed a section but I'm guessing they maybe took a hit post-covid because it just didn't hit the mark for us. Beautiful to walk around at night but very expensive, especially for the food options.

The smell of mulled wine and sausage cooking on the streets of the city centre can only mean one…read morething......the Christmas market is back! This is a yearly addition to the city centre with stalls selling festive treats ranging from chocolate and tasty treats through to toys and ornaments. The real thing people go here for however is the food and even more importantly the drink. This is the one time of the year that Birmingham city council lets allows people to drink on the street (in designated areas) and people 100% take advantage of this! The bars and stalls are always full with people enjoying a range of mulled drinks and beers. I am a big fan of this market and even though it can be a little pricy at times its a welcome addition to November/December in the city. Go get yourself an oversize glass of festive cheer and welcome the Christmas market back to Brum!

I will be totally upfront and tell you first off that I help organise the market. It is run by the…read moreJewellery Quarter Neighbourhood Forum who are a group of local volunteers. But I'm also a customer who looks forward to seeing familiar favourites and new stalls and I never leave without bags weighing me down, so I'm judging it as ok to write a review :-) We now do an Easter, summer and Christmas market the grounds of St Paul's church. We don't make any profit and plough any surplice back into the next one to keep the cost to stallholders down. We have a mix of delicious food to eat there and then, to buy and take home, and a great bunch of local artists, crafters, makers and growers selling stuff to adorn you, your house and your garden. We are small and perfectly formed but growing well. At our summer 2014 market in August we had 27 stalls, a good footfall and a great atmosphere. Look out for our Christmas market in December.

One of my favourite days of the Jewellery Quarter calendar is the third Saturday of each month when…read moreit's 24 Carrots day. The food traders are all local to the West Midlands and after 2 years of popping in for my regular haul I've got to know them pretty well. Must haves are coffee beans from Andy at Beans & Leaves from whom I tend to try whatever is new this month. He's also an expert on the 1970s but that's beside the point. JQ business Vee's deli are there with their great selection of cheeses that you can try before you buy and then there is the markets' own vegetable stall which occasionally sells carrots! More often than not I'll pick up some flowers and whatever vegetables I want with the Sunday roast the next day. Sometimes I'll pick up a homemade frozen meal or at the very least a dessert from the frozen food stall before checking out the delights from the huge Squisito hot food stand. Finally it's the essential dozen eggs from the meat guy, who has a 10 year old clever side-kick who can calculate in his head faster than I can with a calculator. If you're coming along, I'm usually there around 12, when occasionally they have live music so be sure to say 'hello.'

This is the best smelling store in the city…read more The fried onions fill the air and waft down the local streets and parks announcing the gorgeous food on offer. I swear you can even hear the onions sizzling despite the crowds and the nearby traffic. The smell and the sizzles are all down to the lovely hotdogs on offer. I always go down the Jumbo route or, if I'm feeling adventurous, I go for the Jumbo Cheesedog with plenty of ketchup and mustard that they let me put on myself. I revel in a place that still lets the customer administer their own sauce and condiments. Why have so many other fast food outlets robbed their patrons of one of life's little pleasures? Although I go for the sausages, don't let my tastes give you the wrong impression. This stall is a sandwich expert first and foremost - Hot Roast Pork and a variety of breakfast sarnies are their specialities! There is always plenty of filling and if you're just too stuffed, take it away with you and eat it on your train journey home (I may have done this in the past with a rather cheesy smelling baguette.) Go on take in a big sniff, you may even be able to smell the 'dogs from where you are reading this!

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.

Last Friday saw the launch of Birmingham's newest Streetfood market to Birmingham. Welcome Brum Yum…read moreYum #Lunchmarket! Brainchild of Duncan, mastermind behind Brum Yum Yum's various incarnations throughout the city, the Lunchmarket does exactly what it says on the tin. Based in Central Birmingham's "The Square" (by the Oasis Centre), the market brings together some new names and old favorites on the foodie scene to create a chilled out spot for people in the City to grab some top quality grub that doesn't cost the earth. Traders on Friday provided a choice of wood fired pizza, vegan and vegetarian wares, Caribbean treats and a choice of Mexican delicacies to sate the lunch hunger. As well as food, beer and wines were provided in the #Beermarket unit (although it was a bit early for me to partake). The market will now be on every Friday until 1st August and runs from 12pm - 4pm (meaning you can always grab a post work beer if you finish early). Prices for food range from a couple of quid for satay up to £8 for a whole pizza. I chose a hotdog from Vegan Grindhouse which set me back a modest £4.50 with the pound off flyer that was given to me when I got there. There was a great atmosphere when I was there, even if I didn't stick around for too long (I had to run off to another meeting). I am planning to check it out again this week and see what foodie treats are in store in the next installment!

So Friday night brum yum yum has set up home in a new venue just behind the old DV8 club just off…read moreKent street near the gay village. Much to our surprise they were still setting up and had a few teething issues in the day which is understandable with a new venture like this. We met up with Duncan who was keen to show us around the new bar and dance floor area as they are working in partnership with the club next door. Outside were two stalls one selling fries with a twist of either Mexican flavours or Italian reasonably priced and great flavours too. I has the pastrami brisket which was salty and tender.. With added fire and tang from the fresh chillies and pickles. Loved the concept and wish them every success in the coming future. I'm looking forward to their main launch night in June.

Hygiene cleanliness...the spoon to sugar your tea is like bacteria heaven if you ask for a spoon…read moreyoul be told there's the sugarspoon in a polystyrene cup half filled with warm water the colour of illness that countless lift out put sugar in there drink and put back in like warm polystyrene cup to wait for more fingers wet warm old water over and over .....again diffrent fingers ...like they want a badge for being old school fag Ash lil. ....look at there sauce bottles age and wear and tear especially the tops and faded name of crusials sauces like 6 months old...watered down only reason ....food is OK. Just don't get hot drinks or sauces

With all the talk of streetfood being huge in Birmingham, there is a subsection of this which is…read morebeing forgotten. The humble market food van. This particular van is situated right on the edge of the market (as you come from the Bullring) and has been a fixture here for many years. On many occasions I have passed by this little van and smelt their delicious wares tickling my nostrils, but not being one to grab breakfast out very often I have resisted it's temptations. That was until this morning where the temptation proved too strong and I had to give their "£2 breakfast bap with tea or coffee" deal a go. I do love bacon and all things cholesterol-y, but as I am trying to watch my weight (an impossible feat), I chose to go for egg and mushroom on my bap. The fantastic member of staff that served me was friendly, smiley, helpful and chatty when taking my order and whilst I was waiting. The coffee was your standard fare, but surprisingly good (I was expecting some awful mellowbirds) and very hot. The mushrooms tasted mushroomy and fresh. The egg was cooked right then and there and was fried to perfection. To my surprise it wasn't too greasy at all and the white was cooked through whilst the yolk was dippable (yes, I may have invented another word). I chose to sat underneath their small awning area and enjoy my breakfast in the sunshine. The other clientele was a mix of construction workers on their morning break, early shoppers grabbing a quick bite to eat before hitting the Bullring and some people who (like me) looked like they just fancied a bite to eat in the morning. If, like me, you are a regular at the market; give it a go. Its cheap, good food served with a smile. You won't be disappointed.

Streetfood is becoming huge in Birmingham and he Mexican bean have started popping up at events in…read morethe last 6 months or so. They have a very sweet bespoke van decorated in a Mexican theme, so are immediately noticeable. As you would expect from the name they sell a selection of burrito's and Nacho's (with multiple different toppings and heat levels). I will admit, I haven't had a burrito from these guys yet; but I did try the nacho's at a recent Brum Yum Yum Streetfood event near Kings Heath. First thing of note, a tray of regular nachos was £3.50. Very reasonable (when you note that at Streetfood events, it's not uncommon to spend £7 - £8 on a burger). They had plenty of toppings and the guacamole was especially fresh and tasted homemade. Unfortunately, the corn chips were quite bland and this took the whole experience down somewhat. The Mega nachos were massively covered in toppings and looked like a feast! The Burrito's look pretty tasty and fresh with everything being made to order. A regular burrito was, again, about £5 - £6 which isn't bad value considering the rising prices at events. They use a local brand of hot sauce and had a good selection of meats (pulled pork, chicken etc) and salsa, guacamole and vegetables. **As an addition to the review, I have been advised that Mexican Bean buy fresh chillies and smoke them themselves to make up 3 levels of intensities.** The staff are smiley and friendly, but the whole experience was a OK... but nothing special. I will give them another go and try a burrito next time, maybe that will hike up the star rating... watch this space!