New Spring Menu at Gusto Didsbury: Salmon, Lamb and a LOT of Avocado

Bearing in mind that some parts of the country have had snow this morning, it's perhaps a little difficult to believe that Spring has sprung in Britain. Still, sprung it has, and I know this for two reasons. Firstly, I am now awakened by actual daylight at 6am every morning, and secondly, the new Spring menu has launched at Gusto.

Gusto Didsbury is one of my favourite haunts. It's part of a chain but doesn't feel like it; it has a great atmosphere and lovely cosy leather booths where no-one can see if you get arrabiata down your top; the staff are lovely; it's possible to dine well there for not much money; there's a very decent, mostly Italian wine list; and it's ten minutes' walk from my house (a walk that I am always glad of afterwards, although technically more of a roll than a walk on the return journey). I also like that they change their menu every Spring and Autumn - it means regular visitors like me get to try new stuff, and also reflects their interest in seasonal eating (although to commit to this fully would require more frequent changes than twice-yearly, of course).

The new menu has some interesting-sounding new dishes; so many, in fact, that we are forced to eat olives and some rosemary focaccia bread whilst we are choosing. I want it all, although truth be told the options are more limited for my dairy-free, pescatarian plus-one (although his moment in the sun will come later, with the dessert menu). In the end I go for the asparagus spears with dolcelatte mayonnaise and roasted red peppers - a simple dish, well-executed. The dolcelatte mayonnaise is a thing of great joy and the asparagus spears are fresh and fat (although for £6.25 I think three of them is on the low side). My friend has the cold smoked salmon with spiced avocado, red pepper purée and capers and although it looks absolutely stunning, in practice it is a bit of a misfire - the star of the dish should be the salmon (which is, indeed, lovely) but it finds itself a bit overwhelmed by the other elements. The spiced avocado turns out to be a purée which would work well on its own as a dip or on toast, but here makes the dish a little wet, and the capers add too much salt to a dish that is already well-seasoned. It wouldn't take much tweaking to make this a great dish - more texture to the avocado and one or two less complicating elements perhaps.

For main, I have the roast lamb rump with truffled cheese piccolo ravioli and tomato sauce. I enjoy this very much - two generous slabs of perfectly pink and tender lamb surrounded by a whole army of exquisitely tiny ravioli that are probably my favourite component of the whole meal. I have misordered on the sides, as I have gone for my usuals of fries, Italian fried courgettes and, on the waitress' recommendation, the new polenta chips (these are to share by the way - not even I'm that greedy). Each of these, individually, is perfection, but the lamb dish would have benefited from a green vegetable and the salty sides end up making the overall dish a little over-seasoned. The picky friend is more of a problem though - there are some wonderful-sounding fish dishes on the menu but they contain reams of butter, so he ends up going for the pan fried salmon fillet with tomato and avocado salsa and spiced crumb, fully aware that he is essentially ordering salmon and avocado followed by salmon and avocado. Still, he is a little surprised when the "avocado salsa" turns out not to be a fresh, perky chopped salad but instead is more of the purée from his starter dish. This is a shame, as again we are close to the perfect dish here: it's a lovely piece of beautifully-cooked salmon and the crumb adds both flavour and texture, but as before, the purée is too wet and too salty - the advertised salsa would have worked far better.

Still, as someone with a dairy intolerance, he has become used to not even glancing at the dessert menu, much as he would like to. The manager has, however, already told him of the almond milk panna cotta with honeycomb, flaked almonds and lemon curd - he has been looking forward to it all evening and it doesn't disappoint; in fact, it exceeds expectations. I don't actually get to try any of it as it disappears down the hatch too quickly, but the idea makes sense to me - the natural sweetness that makes almond milk undesirable (in my opinion) in tea is surely perfect for this kind of dessert. To keep him company I have one of my all-time favourite things, the bombolini - homemade mini doughnuts with orange chantilly and chocolate sauce. Gusto is one of the few places I ever have a dessert, and they are as good (and calorifically unjustified) as ever.

A trip to Gusto Didsbury is always a pleasure, and this was no exception, despite a couple of issues with the meal. Avocado and salt are two of my very favourite things and I never thought I'd find myself writing negatively about them; still, we'll order more wisely next time we go. Gusto are clearly mindful of catering for people with allergies, and the arrival of the almond milk panna cotta suggests that more dairy-free dishes might appear on the menu alongside the excellent range of gluten-free options they currently offer. Or, next time I could just go with someone less picky...

- Gusto Didsbury is at 756 Wilmslow Rd, Didsbury M20 2DW. They have also recently started offering brunch at the weekends and it is very good, as witnessed by the photos below from a recent visit.

Botanical Syrups from Discover the Wild: Foraging Made Easy

As I have previously confessed, I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, an outdoorsy person (unless you count the occasional spot of gentle beer gardening); even less so during times of inclement weather. No-one was more surprised than I, then, to find myself foraging near Rochdale in torrential rain back in September 2014 - if gin had not been involved, then I count it highly unlikely that I would have bestirred myself for such an event. Thing is, though, I really enjoyed it, and have stayed in touch with our genial foraging guide, Dave from Discover the Wild, ever since, full of well-meaning intentions about booking onto one of his other events.

I still hold these well-meaning intentions but have hit upon an altogether more satisfying sort of arrangement: I stay warm and dry at home, and Dave pops round with some stuff he has already foraged on my behalf, and made into a range of enticingly-flavoured syrups. There are currently eight in total (some of which are still prototypes), made from all natural ingredients which Dave has foraged locally (blackcurrant leaf and nettle, rose, linden blossom, dandelion and burdock, spearmint), found in his garden (lavender, lemon verbena) or got a mate to source the plants for him (hibiscus); they are all handmade by Dave in his kitchen and are pretty much organic (although he can't say so as it would involve him getting every spot of land he's foraged on organically certified).

All of this worthiness is pretty meaningless unless they taste good too; fortunately, they really do. I haven't tried them all yet as once opened they don't have an indefinite shelf life (although the ones I opened a few weeks ago and have kept in the fridge since are still going strong), but so far, so good. The first ones I tried were the rose and the lavender, aided by a gin-loving friend - we simply added a dash to a gin and tonic. The rose was my slight favourite and the lavender just edged it for the gin-loving friend, who confessed afterwards that she doesn't normally like floral flavours but loved this due to its natural rather than synthetic taste. I have since tried the hibiscus in a g&t and can pronounce it just as good, and am thinking of trying the spearmint in a Mojito-type concoction next.

The other one I've tried is the dandelion and burdock - with some trepidation, I must confess, as even the smell of a can of d&b is enough to make me queasy. Turns out, of course, that real dandelion and burdock tastes nothing like this commercial imposter but is in fact delicious - far more intensely savoury, with strong notes of ginger and star anise augmented by the judicious addition of a little black treacle. I treated this one like a cordial and just added some hot water - it was utterly wonderful and is one of my new favourite things. All of the syrups can be used with water, lemonade or in cocktails; Dave also suggests pouring this one over some ice cream (and confesses to having tested this particular combination extensively, all in the name of professionalism). I can imagine that next time I'm poorly, a hot drink made with one of these would be particularly comforting, and am saving the linden blossom for this very purpose at Dave's recommendation - apparently it can be used to treat colds, runny noses, sore throats, headaches and to relieve anxiety. This is a man who really knows his stuff.

The botanical syrups are obviously small batch produce that also, in some cases, rely upon seasonable availability, but are already available in select local bars (including the Lawn Club in Spinningfields, which uses some of the syrups in their cocktails). The Discover the Wild website is currently being revamped so that individual customers (me! me!) will be able to order through the site from next month; businesses can already order through the "shop" link if they would like to use or stock the products. Each syrup is priced at £5 for a 250ml bottle - I think this is a bargain, as they last for ages. And what could be nicer than an afternoon's foraging in the fridge and emerging triumphant with a well-earned cocktail? This is my kind of outdoorsiness.

- as well as beavering away in his kitchen, Dave has announced a number of foraging events for 2016 that are also listed on the website (including a foraged drinks one where you will take home your own bottle of syrup, and some mushroom ones that I'm very interested in, not least for the opportunities for fungi jokes that such an occasion affords). Most of these are priced at £35 and can be booked via the site. Dave gave me the range of syrups for feedback purposes but I will genuinely be purchasing again (and be paying good money to wander round a field in the rain looking for mushrooms).

Bloggers' Brunch at Neighbourhood, Spinningfields: Sausage and Cocktails before Noon

There's something very attractive about a brunch menu. For one thing, it tends to include many of my favourite items, often involving a sausage or two, and bacon, and some eggs, and maybe a clutch of pancakes. For another, it opens up the thrilling possibility of hard liquor before lunchtime, somehow rendering it acceptable to knock back a martini or similar as long as it features something vaguely breakfasty - some kind of juice or marmalade product, perhaps. However, I rarely go out for brunch due to two basic flaws in the premise: I am an early riser but rarely find myself dressed and presentable in time for such occasions, and it forces me to forgo breakfast - something that makes me grumpy, and often a little petulant.

Still, the Bloggers' Brunch at Neighbourhood, held to preview their new mid-morning offering, looked to be worth attending, not least because the fragrant Didsbury Girl agreed to be my date. I've only eaten at Neighbourhood once before, and whilst the food was very good, I've always been slightly put off by the glitzy, rather waggish photos tweeted every Friday and Saturday night of thin women in small dresses drinking cocktails. And initial signs are not promising - we arrive to find the place full to bursting with hungry bloggers (always a terrifying sight), and whilst we bag a table to ourselves, it has a large tea stain right in the middle that isn't wiped away at any point. I ask for a pot of tea of my own and am brought half a coffee cup of hot water with bag and milk already in, and despite the fact that there can't have been more than a couple of inches of water in the cup, the teabag just isn't up to the job. I did warn you that not having breakfast made me grumpy.

The food itself is good though. We each order a main dish from the brunch menu - I go for the Full English, mindful of the importance of pork products at brunch - but are brought some samples unbidden in addition to this. The buttermilk pancakes arrive first, draped with a glossy chocolate sauce; the pancakes are light and fluffy and the sauce excellent, although I would have liked a few blueberries or other fruit items in the batter rather than just the solitary one on top (I ate that one - Didsbury Girl was too slow). We enjoy them, but wonder exactly how many you would get for the price of £7.50, which seems on the expensive side. Then comes the Breakfast Sandwich - a toasted muffin containing bacon, sausage and a fried egg. This is straightforward, and enjoyable, and I get to eat it all to myself as Didsbury Girl is given a spinach and mushroom number instead for her veggie option.

Best of all is the Full English Breakfast - two pork sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, Bury black pudding, grilled tomato, sautéed mushrooms and toast (except the mushrooms promised on the menu seem to have turned into baked beans - no matter). This is very good indeed; in fact, we both agree that the scrambled eggs are amongst the best we've had, hitting that correct balance between butter (lots of) and egg. The bacon is good quality and perfectly grilled, the toast is just to my liking, and they clearly understand here that a thick slice of black pudding is mandatory at brunchtime. My only (small) gripe is a preference for a thicker sausage. Meanwhile, across the table Didsbury Girl is enjoying her veggie option and is particularly taken with both the eggs and the spinach.

All of this takes a very long time to be served. But the staff are lovely - cheerful and efficient and liberal with the Bellinis and Mimosas that frequently appear as if by magic. It transpires that the kitchen were prepared for 34 guests but over 70 have turned up - and rather than gripe and sulk, Neighbourhood simply serve us all, with good grace and humour and some really very good food under the circumstances. Neighbourhood closes soon for a full refurb, and seems keen to position itself as a quality restaurant where everyone is welcome rather than just those hoping to bag a footballer - there is already a kids' corner with some excellent dressing-up props (erm, apparently), and all sorts of events are planned in order to fill this impressively large venue every night of the week. Definitely a case of watch this space I think (and hands off the crown in the dressing-up box - that's mine).

- Neighbourhood is at The Avenue North, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3BT. The new brunch menu is available Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 2pm.