When Chris M and I ducked in here on the way back to his in need of some milk, who'd have thought…read morewe'd be grabbing amazing bargains by the armful. Our first introduction to Lakeland Groceries involved giant bags of Barbecue Doritos for less than a quid, and huge quantities of eggs at criminally low prices (free range before you start finger-wagging!). Wow, where had this place been all our lives? Situated right near Castlefield Gallery, it seems to be operated by one or two friendly staff, and it's a lovely hotch-potch corner-shop-like offering with a surprising range of products. Anything from a stonkingly generous variety of cheeses to pretty much a whole deli counter, snacks and store cupboard essentials and bits and bobs. You can even buy a bit of booze here if you've had a hard day at the office. So, The Southern Gateway eh. Sarah-Anne M's right, this residential area doesn't have a single recognisable retail outlet less than a ten minute walk away. Well forget hopping all the way to Whitworth Street West's Sainsbury's and Oxford Road's Tesco for your essentials and forgottens, if you're in need of a bit of milk, juice or even some cold cuts and nibbles to lay out for guests, here's your spot!

This little grocery store is genuinely worth a visit. I went in today for primarily yelping…read morepurposes and for the first time I was delighted with a convenience store. Not only do they have a really impressive range of everything you could expect, from chocolate and crisps to newspapers to necessities such as ketchup and tobasco, but they also have a cold meat and cheese counter! It's a little mini version of the Cheese Hamlet in Didsbury, with a great selection of different cheeses and cold meats that are much much cheaper than your usual cheese shop prices. A really nice little surprise find. Check it out!

This is a small, simple off licence that has a good selection of beers, wines and spirits…read more It's clean and tidy, with a small range of magazines and basic groceries. A perfect place to pop in and get some of those bare essentials on your way home.

This is one of very peculiar streets in Northern Quarter. A mile-long Tib Street runs from the…read morejunction of Oldham Road and Swan Street down to Market Street, where it is flanked by Debenhams and Starbucks. Affectionately known as "cats and dogs street", Tib Sr used to house a good number of pet shops. Sadly, the last pet shop was forced to close in 2002. Since then "pet" acquired a more intimate meaning, in the proper sense of the word: the number of adult shops in the street and on its corners is, well, astounding. It is still possible, I suppose, to call it "cats and dogs street" or "pet paradise", but with entirely differently meaning attached... Of course, there is more to Tib St than shop windows with X-rated videos and sexual paraphernalia. My main destination in Tib St between 2005 and 2006 was CSV Media Clubhouse, at the top of the street, close to Hydroponics shop on the corner. CSV Media Clubhouse provides training and courses for those who want to acquire various skills in Broadcast Media, from radio to TV and filming. Opposite the door there is a peculiar graffiti wall, commemorating Tib St as it was, with lots of pet shops. Other notable doors in Tib St include: Olivier Morosini hairdressing salon; Thornley Groves estate agency; Rags to Bitches famous vintage shop; Matt & Phred's jazz club; The Northern pub; the Army Shop; Centro bar; Simple bar; Hedonist hair salon; and Sacha's Hotel. Affleck's Palace occupies the corner of Church St and Tib St. Abakhan Fabrics, the Mancunian Mecca for all things sewing and knitting, is planted on the corner of Warwick St and Tib St, opposite The City pub. Warwick St also connects Tih St and Oldham St. And one more unique feature about Tib St. As you walk up and down, you will notice pavement blocks with lines tiled on them. Take a moment to read them: they are the lines by the renowned Lemn Sissay, a poet who marked Manchester by his talent before jetting off to London (due to family, not for fame, as he insists). He was a guest at 2009 Manchester International Festival, and there are several places in the city where you can read his poems, but Tib St must be the most daring one. The poem is called Flags.

A pretty small Spar store at St Mary's Gate, I like to avoid this store if I can as it isn't the…read moremost inviting of stores, people (and sometimes the staff) like to smoke outside, and there is a lot of homeless people outside the store most of the time (very sad) The store is pretty small inside and a little dark, the selection is okay, but I do much prefer the Spar store at City Tower, or local Sainsbury's and Tesco locations in terms of product range and selections. Some of the staff seem friendly and they do offer MyHermes drop-offs, which can be handy, especially considering my previous favourite Hermes store, Sainsbury's Local, no longer offer this service. 2*

Right next to Hulme Post Office is Hulme Off Licence. As the post office sells almost all you would…read moreneed on a daily basis, the only reason for this shop really is its alcohol vending capacity. Having said that, if you're passing and both are open, you've got a better selection of sweets and drinks here than you have in the post office, but only marginally. So the alcohol. Well its fine, and they do have a few deals, but its nothing special really. I suppose as it's the only off licence around you haven't got a choice and they do sell beers, ciders wines and spirits so no major complaints. Not good. Not bad. It's a review of convenience really, just to let you know its there.

This is my local newsagent/off-license/general store. It recently underwent a refurb and is now…read morebigger, more spacious, cleaner and stocked with a wider variety of produce. When a trip to the nearest supermarket seems the most arduous task its really nice to pop round the corner to get some essentials from this little store. Catering for the locals, there is a lot of carribean/indian options and also lower-priced alternatives (as you may know Hulme aint the priciest of places to live!). Of course some of their stuff is outrageously priced because they know you shop with them for convenience and not much else, however, the cheaper option can usually be found. The booze is well priced also - especially for 3 for £10 on good wines or my favourite Faustino - this costs less than our local Asda! The fellas who work there are nice enough, with the occasional flurry of banter or a wee giggle which makes a brief visit mildly enjoyable!!! Well who really enjoys shopping in convenience stores?! I mean really....

I'd disagree with Alfie, living as I do very close to the gay village, this offy is very…read moreconvenient, especially since Olive Deli got repossessed or somesuch. There's actually bumloads of residential properties in and around the gay village, and not everyone wants to go out to bars all the time. Offies are for when you want to buy booze to drink in your house, or at parties. Yes, there are bars around, but they don't exactly do takeout for your poker night. It's a jolly good offy, selling the usual boozes at decent prices. They always seem to have some sort of offers on, too. For a recent party, the boyf popped to this offy to re-stock our gin supplies. The man behind the counter very kindly let him off 47p (because the boyf was clearly drunk and thusly having issues with his PIN number, so he had to scrape together all the cash in his pockets). I like businesses like this; friendly and local, and run by people who give you a smile and a wave as you drunkenly leave with your Gordon's. This is a lovely offy, and contrary to prior belief, really useful to the residents of this area. And, of course, a visit to the Village is a hip hip hoorah for local business (and booze), which we should all support. That reminds me, I should go in and give them that 47p...

An off licence, in the Gay Village. I've been in for a chocolate bar and done a reccy, and its…read morepretty good, but I don't really know why it exists. I suppose some people live there, but there's not that much residential and so many alcohol selling bars and clubs, that I cant imagine going there to buy booze. They have lots of choice; wines, beers and spirits, and deals that make it pretty good value. But you can get a bottle of beer in bars around here for a pound or even less (Baa Bar) and Canal Street literally never closes so I don't know when you'd need it. So if you need to know there's an off licence near Canal Street, then I'm telling you there is, but you probably don't need it.

There's a Tesco, Sainsbury's, Co-op popping up on every corner of the city centre and it doesn't…read morestop at one branch of the supermarket giants' one stop city centre shops. The domination and battle of the supermarket giants are ever present in the city centre, you can find like four mini Tescos around the vicinity of Deansgate and Piccadilly areas. A lot anyway. So here's to the Xpress on Whitworth Street West, one of a few cornershop types springing up in the city, to balance the equilibrium of the chain store masses and inject a little local to the often impersonable, daunting city centre. Xpress Local has recently opened up on my route to university. I've watched it been transformed from an empty space, learnt what it takes for a cash machine to be installed whilst thinking damn, this is where my late night snacking will take it's higher form. Xpress stocks all your basic groceries, milk, cheese, bread and acts as your off license too. I've used it for the range of bad snacks on offer, which has been bad for the healthy eating regime plus the purse. It annoyingly does not display prices on a lot of things which I thought was because it was opening mid-finish but this isn't the case. Annoyingly so, one late night purge, I watched my tube of pringles being scanned to reveal £1.99. I knew I should have purchased the half price ones in Tesco. Xpress is one of those places you just pop in and get the things you want or crave or when you're under time pressure. There may not be an extensive range of fresh or organic what nots but you can expect a pleasant none lengthy queue if you do find yourself in here.

There comes a time in every young adult's life when they realise they're simply not a student…read moreanymore, and your standard 3 for £12 plonk or multipack beer from Bargain Booze ain't going to cut it. You need something special. Why, you're a grown-up, you've a good job, you pay bills, you rent your own place, you're in a proper relationship and you're having people over. You want these people to have something a bit different to remember your soiree by. Well thank you Carringtons for shouldering that responsibility. Walking around this shop is like being six again and cooing over the Pick 'n' Mix at Woolworths, only this time you know how much everything costs because you're paying for it yourself. Yep, the rush of guilt from tugging on Mum's hand and whinging at her way back then comes soaring over again. Anyway, during my first introduction to Carringtons, I had a request that was both specific and vague in equal measure. I needed local beers, European beers, some nice Prosecco and a good gin. I had bugger all to worry about in the very capable hands of Rosco. He immediately packed up a couple of bottles of Prosecco into a box for me, took me round the shop pointing out some great beers, and when it came to the gin he said, 'Can you come tomorrow or do you need this for tonight? We've got a Brockmans delivery coming and that's great gin.' I was most certainly free the next day, and any yelper who made it to the Yelp Summer Stunner (http://vimeo.com/28057905) will know how amazing that is. Thanks to the introduction from Carringtons, we brought Brockmans to the Manchester masses! They've a spot in Didsbury Village too, and they're certainly the place to go if you love your Brewdog beers (I know several Mancunians who do). The service is great, the staff are knowledgeable and they love what they do. Can't say fairer than that for a great independent booze specialist!

If you're tired of smart price vodka and wine in cartons just labelled 'Australian Red Wine' then I…read morecan definitely recommend a trip to Carringtons. Stocking a range of boutique beers, handpicked wines and high-end spirits there is something here to suit all tastes. It may be a little bit pricey, as has been noted, but for that special occasion, gift or even a little treat for yourself (Just a couple of well-deserved bottles of Konig Ludwig Weissbier) Carringtons is perfect. The staff are knowledgeable about what they're selling - I know because I once worked at an off licence at home and I had absolutely no clue about what I was selling. I can sense the genuine opinion in their voice. They're not pushing three for twos or trying to make you buy lager by the case, they are happy to make recommendations according to your budget and personal taste. They run wine tastings and even a blog, how many branches of Threshers or Bargain Booze do you know that can say that.

Oddbins pure purpose is to serve office workers who want a bottle of wine or two before they go…read moreback to their plush flat in the Green Quarter. There's not really any cheap beer deals for us student types. It's more about classy bottles of red and white wine of which you might actually care about the taste. However, Oddbins do realise that sometimes city workers like to get a bit crunk too. They've got a helpful 20 percent discount if you buy 12 bottles of wine. It's not all bad.

Well I think we can finally say we have a wine bar scene in Manchester…read more BistroVin is a peaceful space over the renowned Spirited Wines shop on Deansgate, with huge glass windows overlooking the street and classical music on the stereo. You can buy wine by the glass or buy a bottle from the shop downstairs (£4 corkage fee). There's also a fantastic looking selection of cheese, from which a French staff member selected the English Barkham Blue as her favourite. THE SHAME. (it looked great). She also recommended their new range of beers which features rose and jasmine flavours! Even I might like them! An equally delightful server suggested I try the Merlot which he promised was a strong wine and it was really delicious and at £4.50 a glass (others cheaper) I wouldn't hesitate to come back.

We should all hang our heads in shame, Yelp Manchester - BistroVin has been open since MARCH and…read morenot one of us realised. An unexplored wine bar. Totally unacceptable. Accessed via stairs within Spirited Wines, their large first floor bar is light, spacious and tasteful. A couple of Chesterfield sofas are sat in the corner by the large windows, with the rest of the wooden chairs and tables nicely spaced apart. Though it was raining, dreary and thoroughly miserable outside, the service was warm and welcoming. The bar man, Nicolas, explained that wine was available by the glass from the concise drinks menu, or you could pop downstairs and choose any one of the bottles to enjoy (with a £4 corkage fee - you pay for it at the bar). Two friends and I opted for a lovely Rioja and if we hadn't been going out for a meal afterwards, would have been very tempted to get a platter of cheeses. They have a counter of them with the French cheeses being delivered directly and the English cheeses from local producers. A charming and unpretentious spot to escape the busyness of Deansgate. Long may they prosper.

The much younger sister site to Didsbury-based wine merchants Reserve Wines…read more(http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/reserve-manchester), this wine-focused shop/bar can be found inside Market House next to Altrincham Market. They sell a wide range of quality wines which are available by the case or bottle (to take away) or glass or bottle to enjoy a drink or two whilst feasting on a pizza from Honest Crust or one of The Wolfhouse Kitchen's tasty dishes on shared refectory style tables. As at their main shop, they are more than happy to advise if you're looking for something in particular (or don't really know what you'd like). There's also an ever-changing stock of spirits available so ask the staff to let you know what's on offer. Tip: On weekends Market House is exceptionally busy - dogs, kids, Cheshire Housewives, the lot - so don't be expecting a peaceful respite from the bustling market.