New Guest Blog Post, in which Matt celebrates 20 years of Chorlton's Lead Station

I’ve lived in Manchester on and off for about 12 years and my first flat happened to be in Chorlton. During our initial trip down Beech Road, we first remarked that it was very different to anywhere else in Chorlton, and I piped up with ‘Looks like this is the Chelsea of the North’ (I’ll let you make your own minds up on this one). I’m a little bit addicted to eggs and, needing some kind of breakfast, on our meandering we came across the Lead Station. There was a whole leafy street to explore but we thought if we were going to spend a lot of time eating around Chorlton we might as well start here, particularly since its former-police-station location is so unusual and so inviting. Now it was 12 years ago but from what I remember the food was good and when I was asked to go back there for the launch of their 20 year cookbook, I first thought, ‘Blimey where has the time gone’ and my second thought was ‘Why the hell haven’t I been back here for 12 years?’ (Now after writing this I remember my City-loving friend and I stopped off for lunch last summer, but still, the point remains.)

Anyway, enough of this nostalgia. I arrived for the 20 year celebration dinner and cookbook launch and was greeted with a really tasty mini fish and chips in a small cone. I love canapes and this really hit the spot - to be honest I could have eaten at least 8 of them. We all sat down in the back room and were greeted by Nick, the Lead Station’s owner. The menu looked appetizing and we got to choose from a selection of starters, mains and puds - for my first course I went for Grilled Goats Cheese with Sesame Seed & Balsamic Beetroot. Beetroot and Goats Cheese is a magical combination (which I probably eat 3-4 times a week) and it was nice to see it was on a measured piece of toasted bread - this is a classic way to serve it in France and I was glad to see it here as I don’t find it in many places. The sesame added a nice balance to the rich, earthy beetroot. I did manage to pilfer a little morsel of the Crab & Prawn Spring Rolls which were plump and meaty, and the Vietnamese Dipping Sauce was really moreish.

Any dish that has peas, pea puree, or any pea combination I will always order, so I couldn’t resist the Seabass & Scallops with Pea & Mint Puree with Pea Shoots. I’m not sure about you but I like the roe from the scallops being included in the dish, as they give a slight saltiness to the plump, sweet pan-fried scallops. The sea bass was perfectly cooked and the very generous portion of scallops was a lovely match paired with the creamy, rich pea puree. A big dish in every respect so I think it could have done with a little jug/helping of citrus buerre blanc to really marry the rich flavours. But all in all I’d order that dish again (and cook it as it’s in the new cookbook).

I love sharing food, maybe because I don’t ever want to miss out, so had a little taste of the Posh Shepherd’s Pie with Seasoned Greens (again from the cookbook). I’d have liked the potato a little crispier on the top but the flavours were rich and complementary, and I think that’s where the cookbook really stands out, it actually replicates the recipes from the Lead Station. A lot of places make a homage to their restaurant dishes but when you have a really good plate of food you want to create it to the exact recipe and this is where the cookbook really works.

Having a mild allergy to milk and cream (I’m ok with cheese and butter as the lactose is very much lower than pure milk and cream) I couldn’t really manage the puddings but was presented with a lovely board of classic cheeses instead - very thoughtful. The two pots of chutney were delicious and complemented the cheese very well. A delightful evening with fantastic food and good company, what more could you want on a crisp winter’s evening? The next day I delved into the cookbook.

What first struck me was the beautiful photography (I very rarely buy a cookbook that has sub-standard pics). The dishes looked inviting and immediately made me hungry - below you see a few of the dishes that really stood out for me. I’m not one for cooking massive breakfasts at home so would probably visit the Lead Station and take the breakfast firmly in hand, as well as this dish, and as a previously stated lover of beetroot, I think the beetroot risotto will become a staple dish in my household (apart from when I get in a cab and hot foot it down to the Lead Station, which will be happening on many more occasions than twice in 12 years). It's a really well-produced, useful book that will get regular use in my kitchen from now on.

- Many thanks to the Lead Station for the dinner and the book, both of which were provided free of charge for review purposes. For copies of The Cookbook please email info@theleadstation.co.uk. Nick de Sousa has owned and operated The Lead Station at 99 Beech Rd, Manchester M21 9EQ since 2007, and it is the sister restaurant to its ‘young upstart’ little brother Tariff & Dale, located in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

The Manchester Cook Book: A Celebration of Mancunian Food and Drink

I have a bit of a problem with cook books. I own - probably - in the region of 100, and, even worse, I'm also one of those slightly spinsterish ladies who clip recipes from food magazines and keep them in a folder (OK, OK, multiple folders). I very rarely cook from them though, reading them for pleasure instead and then falling back on cooking the same old things every dinnertime, things that I can make up from whatever happens to be lying round the fridge. This is all well and good, but means that I don't ever bother making anything new - and thus, the arrival of a review copy of The Manchester Cook Book was a very fine thing indeed, forcing me to stop being so lazy and cook something different for once.

The Manchester Cook Book, written by Kate Eddison and in support of Hospitality Action, is the latest in a series celebrating regional food and drink - Sheffield, Nottingham, Derbyshire, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire are already available, although the Manchester one is, of course, the most important. It offers us a foreword by Aiden Byrne, over 55 recipes from some of Manchester's best-known pubs, restaurants, delis and food producers, and some truly stunning photography of our fair city and its cuisine. The book offers a pleasing range of difficulty and poshness levels, including tricky-looking recipes from 63 Degrees and a beauty from Manchester House that seems to require handfuls of straw; I must confess though that I tried out a couple of the easier recipes - both of which were very quickly knocked up after work and were easily adapted to what I happened to have in the fridge (which, as you will see, largely consisted of chicken and rocket).

First up, I made the Hot Coronation Chicken, from a recipe provided by Palate in Chorlton. I blame my age for the fact that Coronation Chicken remains one of my very favourite things (preferably as part of a buffet spread that also involves vol-au-vents), and this hot version is quite ludicrously easy (particularly as I ignored its breezy instruction to "make a timbale with the rice" and instead opted to "make a pile"). I added some mushrooms, and found that my tastes required a little more lime than the recipe suggested; I also substituted the mange tout for some of The Great Manchester Rocket Surplus. Otherwise, I promise I cooked from the book, and the result will definitely become part of my repertoire.

The other recipe I tried was almost as easy, although did require a little planning ahead. I loved the Mojito Chicken when I had it at the launch of Mish Mash in Chorlton (yes, there are quite a few Chorlton establishments in the book) and was keen to recreate this at home - a keenness that was slightly frustrated by the fact that the chicken needs to marinate in its sexy bath of rum, sugar, lime juice and fresh mint for 12-36 hours. In the end I left mine for about 30 hours and it was totally worth it - all it required then was a quick flambé and it was good to go. I made the jalapeno salsa (verdict: new addition) but changed the other accompaniments slightly as I had no wild rice but did have a lot of tortilla wraps, avocado and (yep) rocket. I took the leftovers to work the next day and had them cold rolled up in another wrap; if anything, the flavours were even better than the day before.

This is a lovely book, and it's hard to imagine anyone in Manchester with an interest in food not enjoying it. It's published by Meze and costs £14.95 from the featured establishments, Waterstones and Amazon. Before you know it, I'll be Aiden Byrne*

*I'll be cooking Hot Coronation and Mojito Chicken dishes until the end of days.

Mish Mash Restaurant & Bar Joins Beech Road, Chorlton

I can put a fairly precise date on the beginning of my love affair with Chorlton: the summer of 2013, when the Metrolink expanded to East Didsbury and offered the thrilling possibility of travelling to Chorlton and back for the princely sum of £2.90. Whilst I love living in Didsbury, Chorlton offers a far wider range of bars and restaurants, many of them interesting independents. Predictably enough though, I very soon got lazy, and have tended to stay at the "tram end" of Chorlton rather than exploring properly. Last week saw me venturing slightly futher afield for once to the opening of Mish Mash, a new bar/restaurant at the far end of Beech Road, one of Chorlton's most popular areas for eating and drinking but somewhere I rarely visit; fortunately, it was worth every step.

First of all, Mish Mash has bagged a great venue here - a gloriously high-ceilinged, 60-cover space set back from the road and thereby possessing plenty of precious outside space; it used to be an Indian restaurant apparently, although not a trace of this former guise remains. They've unblocked all the windows and decorated the walls with interesting murals and artwork such as Ms Pink by local artist Sarah Lynn Mayhew - I'd seen a photo of this on Twitter and hadn't been too sure about it, but in the context of this impressive building it really works.

The evening began with tasters of a couple of cocktails (the fragrant gin and cucumber-based English Hedgerow is a definite winner) from an interesting looking drinks menu, and some excellent canapes that boded well for the main meal. The final menu was still being tweaked at the time of our visit, but we were able to choose from a selection of dishes and, being greedsters who wanted to try a bit of everything, we both went for different options. My starter of smoked salmon and Earl Grey dressing with rye bread was beautifully presented and pretty novel, with instructions to squeeze the tea bag over the fish. I would have liked a slightly more robust dressing - this one was fragrant and delicate and maybe just a touch too refined for a girl who likes to eat mayonnaise straight from the jar. Across the table the Lovely Louise's starter of poached pear and pasta salad with rocket, parmesan cheese, pepper coulis and toasted pine nuts was also as pretty as a picture - her only criticism was the discovery of a burnt pinenut. Good news too to see a restaurant using vegetarian Parmesan as standard.

If starters were promising, the mains delivered in full. I chose the Mojito chicken with wild rice, roast peppers, beans, jalapeno salsa and flat bread. This dish, which marinates the chicken in rum, lime and mint before flambée-ing it in more rum, looks set to become a signature dish, and is already well on its way to being something to which I could become addicted. The flat bread (which was strangely crispy) seemed a little redundant as this is quite a dry dish anyway, and I could have managed a little more chicken to balance out the generous quantities of the hideously moreish rice, but apart from these minor points this was a great dish, full of flavour and textures. As was the ham, egg and chips snarfed by my dainty dining companion - sugar baked ham shank (Frosty the butcher's finest) with a fried egg, triple cooked chips and a mustard reduction. We didn't have a single word of complaint about this dish other than the little watering can containing the mustard reduction - I reckon the food here is too classy for this kind of slightly contrived serving vessel, and whilst I understand they are part of a theme at somewhere like The Botanist, it seemed a bit out of keeping here.

Desserts were also excellent. Louise had the chocolate and cherry pot with vanilla cream whilst I went old school with the baked banana split with salted caramel, pecan nuts and poached apricots, and whilst neither was ground breaking both were examples of straightforward combinations, done really well, and served in generous quantities (too generous possibly). I particularly enjoyed the combination of the thick, salty caramel sauce with the sweet, crunchy pecans, and also the fact that, at a push, I reckon I can count this dessert as two portions of my five a day. More watering cans though, AND a flower pot. We were served a lovely Pinot Gris from the Sussex-based Bolney Estate throughout the meal - great to see a restaurant actively promoting English wine, and the wine list as a whole looks to be thoughtfully chosen and carefully pitched at a range of price points.

I really, really want this place to do well. Owner James is just lovely, and after 25 years in the food business (including stints at Simply Heathcote's, Jamie's Italian and Restaurant Bar and Grill) has realised his dream of opening his own restaurant before he turns 40. Serving up a three course meal to a busy restaurant on launch night is a brave move but revealed surprisingly few early teething problems - the staff were already genuinely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the menu and service was polished and friendly, whilst the cooking was confident and accomplished. I'm looking forward to going back another night and eating from the full menu - and of course, I can be secure in the knowledge that the walk back to the tram stop will doubtless burn off every single calorie I consume...

- Mish Mash is at 133 Beech Road, Chorlton, Manchester M21 9EQ. We did not pay for the food and drink on launch night but I will definitely be back as a paying customer.

The Thyme Machine Lands in Chorlton: A Carvery with a Difference (and an unconvincing moustache)

I'm a big fan of a roast dinner, and can think of few other plates of food that so effortlessly encompass so many highs and so few lows. To be honest, I think the meat is almost the least exciting part - I like great piles of parpy vegetables, and enough crispy-edged roast potatoes to build a wall across half of Cumbria, and an ocean of gravy lapping lazily round the edge of the whole magnificent ensemble. And to be fair, most pubs and restaurants do a decent roast these days, no doubt having realised that this is a meal most people are capable of knocking up at home and thus there is no real excuse for getting it wrong.

Chorlton is not short of options when it comes to choosing a roast dinner, with places such as The Parlour and Electrik carving out pretty fearsome reputations on the back of their legendary Sunday lunches. Still, it's nice to find someone doing something a bit different, and The Thyme Machine, a new silver service carvery that has started popping up in the Chorlton Irish Club every Sunday, is certainly that. It's essentially Sunday dinner meets steampunk meets Parisian bistro - the blinds are down, the staff are dressed in fetchingly Victorian-esque outfits, the music is a mash-up of old and new, and the wine waiter (Marcel, apparently) sports an extravagant fake moustache that is only fractionally less convincing than his French accent.

Maybe this sounds a little contrived, but in reality it isn't - it's fun. And for all the frippery, at the heart of it all is great food and a proper wine list - the chef hard at work in the kitchen is Kim H Merritt and the man behind the ridiculous moustache is a wine merchant who really knows his stuff and is eager to share his enthusiasm (he also does magic tricks if you ask nicely). We start by sharing a couple of dishes from a board offering a short selection of starters, all priced at £4.50 - we have cubed watermelon wrapped in smoked ham (very refreshing and a good combination of textures and flavours) and the garlic mushrooms, which are pretty sexy and carry just the right amount of garlic (ie enough to be tasty but not so much as to preclude you actually speaking to anyone else for the rest of the day).

The main event though is obviously the roast dinner, which comes in at a reasonable £13. The meats change slightly every week - this week we are given brisket, pork and chicken along with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, carrots and parsnips, red cabbage, greens and a baked onion stuffed with bubble and squeak (a treat that I normally only get to eat once a year, on Boxing Day). This is all served at table from underneath satisfying silver domes, and our lovely server Melissa, to her credit, doesn't so much as blink when my "say when" with the roast potatoes takes an embarrassingly long time to come. We also like that when we request more gravy we are simply brought the enormous jug from the kitchen and allowed to drown our dinners to our hearts' content. Everything is beautifully cooked, with nice crispy frilled edges on the potatoes and the most flavoursome roast chicken either of us recall eating in some time - both of us surreptitiously save the skin till last. Even the veggie option looks good - smoked butter squash and goats cheese pie - and there is also a weekly special, which this week is blackened salmon niçoise.

As well as eating all this, we also take a pretty enthusiastic run at the wine list. We have a bottle of good Sauvignon Blanc at £16 (well, guineas, but I only have English pounds on me), a couple of glasses of very easy-drinking Barbera with dinner, and then a Port and a Madeira from the basket of goodies Marcel tempts us with after our meal. He is really quite something; in fact, all the staff are lovely, and Melissa even remembers me from my eating marathons at The Mark Addy when she used to work there (this might explain her lack of surprise at the RoastPotatoGate incident). We are both a little saddened to emerge from this mad little corner of 1890s Paris at the end of the meal, and will certainly go back - I don't think this concept will be to everyone's taste, but we enjoyed doing something a little bit different. Even better, next time I plan to return in full-on Victorian garb - Chorlton, you have been warned, and if anyone can lend me a top hat and some evening gloves I'll be eternally grateful.

- The Thyme Machine is currently running every Sunday afternoon on High Lane, Chorlton - check their Facebook page for more details or call 07459 023741 for reservations. We were invited to try the carvery and paid for all our drinks but not our food.

New Menu at the Beagle, Chorlton; even the TOFU is Tasty

Despite being a Didsbury girl, I spend a fair old percentage of my time in Chorlton. And being a creature of habit, much of that Chorlton time is spent either in Font, enthusiastically drinking my way through the cocktail menu, or over the road at The Beagle. This latter venue tends to be my default meeting place - it's a nice, roomy pub (particularly since they built the lovely glass extension on the front) with decent beer, good food and a dog-friendly policy that always leaves my dog-loving friend feeling distinctly broody and me fearing he will dog-nap one and make off with it under his arm before I can stop him (Chorlton - LOCK UP YOUR DOGS).

Last week saw the launch of a new food menu, so I trammed it over the border to have a look. The menu in all honesty doesn't look vastly different from before and still offers its laid-back selection of tacos, burritos and burgers; there is a new pick and mix starters section though that looks very promising indeed. These can be bought individually or you can choose any three for £9.95, and although they're billed as "snacks" each is fairly substantial (and this is coming from a girl whose idea of a snack is a couple of rounds of cheese on toast at the very least). We were given a selection of four to try on the launch night - deep-fried pickles, sweetcorn and jalapeno fritters, fried courgette "wings" and crumbed chicken strips. We enjoyed them all, although my girly friend found the sweetcorn fritters too spicy - these were probably my favourite item though, so his loss = my gain (always best to take a picky plus-one as then you get to eat more than your share).

The next course was the highlight of the night - a selection of tacos (Baja Fish, Korean Tofu, Carne Asada and a Popcorn Shrimp lettuce cup). I am a big fan of The Beagle's Popcorn Shrimp and so was confidently expecting to enjoy this or the chargrilled steak the most from this particular platter - but the Korean Tofu (barbecued and served with kimchi, sriracha & crispy shallots) just edged it. Again, this one was very spicy - but was so good even the heat-averse friend had to eat it. Tofu has honestly never tasted this good to me - must be something to do with being in Chorlton maybe.

On to the mains, although by this stage we were pretty full and couldn't fully do them justice. I was bad and had the Homeslice Chicken Bucket despite it not being a new item on the menu - I am generally powerless to resist the lure of this cheery vessel of crumbed buttermilk chicken (three pieces of chicken, four wings, fries, slaw and a couple of sauces to make a mess with) and it proved the case yet again. Our other choice was the only misfire of the evening - the Nacho Maximo (nachos, melted cheese, cheese sauce, refried beans, pico, crema and jalapenos) was a toweringly generous plateful with a good balance of toppings, but the beef brisket we added as an extra was quite astonishingly salty. You can't see it in the pictures as it's lurking underneath, but there was lots of it and its integration into the dish made parts of it pretty inedible - and that's coming from someone who really, really likes salt. To be fair, I'm sure they would have changed it had we asked, but we had eaten so much by this point anyway we didn't ask them to.

There was the usual chuntering on Twitter about free food blah blah blah, but I spend a good percentage of my salary here anyway and we paid for all our drinks on the night aside from a welcome margarita. In fact, I'm fairly sure it was only the saltiness of the brisket that drove me to order and neck that very good, quite expensive Sauvignon Blanc (this is my story, and I plan to stick to it)....

- The Beagle is at 456-458 Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton, Manchester M21 0BQ. Food is served every day (except Monday) until 10.

New Menu at The Beagle, Chorlton: Bigger Choice, Bigger Portions, Bigger Trousers Required

For some time now I've been a fan of The Beagle in Chorlton which, along with other hostelries such as Font and Proof, represents all that is good about this particular suburb - an interesting bar with a great range of drinks and a good atmosphere no matter what time of day you visit. Until recently, The Beagle also had the lure of Margo & Rita's Mexican food, but Mark and Diane have now packed up the van and set off for a summer of streetfood and festivals, despite me threatening to cling on to one of the rear tyres in a bid to stop them going.

But gone they have (it's OK - I only suffered a few scrapes, and they're healing now), so it seemed only right to call in one Saturday afternoon and see what's going on now with the food menu. The first thing you notice is how much it's grown - many of the dishes remain the same or similar to the Margo & Rita days (think tacos, burritos, burgers, fried chicken) but there's now a lot more choice. We eventually decide on a couple of things we've not seen on The Beagle menu before: the Homeslice Chicken Bucket at £10 (three pieces of fried chicken, four wings, slaw, fries and a couple of sauces) and the Popcorn Shrimp Cocktail Salad at a pound less, and sit back with a pint or two of Veltins Pilsner while we wait.

The service on food at The Beagle hasn't always been the quickest, but on a busy afternoon the wait is a lot less than it has been whenever I've visited before, meaning that we only see one small child launch themselves down the stairs which separate the dining area from the bar before our food arrives. The portions are huge, and the Popcorn Shrimp Salad looks particularly impressive with its hollowed out avocado filled with moreishly bitesize crispy shrimp piled on top of a dish of lettuce, avocado, red cabbage and tomatoes. Indeed, I am most taken with this dish - I fear the Popcorn Shrimp could become ridiculously addictive, and the presence of all those salad items help you believe you're eating healthily despite all that batter and all those Veltins. Not so the fried chicken, which is unashamedly trailer trash in all its greasy, sticky-finger-making glory: it's delicious, offering a pleasing mix of chicken both on and off the bone, and some nicely spicy sauces in which to dip one's fries (this activity, incidentally, leads to the accidental ruining of a new dress - ask them for extra napkins if, like me, you are blessed with the co-ordination of an ape).

So will I continue to eat at The Beagle? Yes. This is straightforward food done well and served up at reasonable prices; it's not ground-breaking or gourmet (or even, in my case, very dignified), but it is pretty tasty, not to mention an excellent way of mopping up all that Pilsner...

- The Beagle is at 456-458 Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton, Manchester M21 0BQ. We were given £20 towards the cost of our meal (so effectively ate but not drank for free) and asked to email feedback in exchange - I was not asked to blog the meal but I enjoyed it, so I have.

Cheese and Wine at Hickson and Black's Deli, Chorlton: Festive Faces at the Ready

There are a number of highly excellent advantages linked to the run-up to Christmas, and the festive period in general. For one thing, it is entirely permissible to accept and consume a small sherry at any time of day or night should the opportunity present itself; equally, entire afternoons may be safely passed in the watching of a succession of low-quality festive films, often featuring brave canines, small children lost in dangerous snowscapes or - ideally - a combination of the two.

It is also entirely to be expected that those with an already high level of cheese consumption may push the dairy boat out still further, embarking upon a whole new array of Christmas cheeses which - by law - must be consumed with an appropriate wine pairing. To this end, I was pleased to be invited to Hickson and Black's deli in Chorlton for a cheese and wine tasting (no finer combination of words in the English language than these four in my opinion) in order to showcase some of the wines already in stock and dangle a couple of possible new ones for our opinion. Now, barely a day goes by on Twitter without some smug Chorltonite crowing about the magnificence of the Hickson and Black's sandwich they have just snaffled (bacon seems particularly popular) and I have bought cheese here before from their excellent selection, but I had never really thought of it as a place to buy wine. I now stand corrected on this matter - here's the sampling list, with my favourites clumsily highlighted in non-wine expert manner:

The Whites

Statti 'Feudo dei Baroni' (Greco) Calabria 2012

Ciconia 'Branco' (Anton Vaz, Viognier, Verdelho) Portugal 2012

Domaine Patrick Vauvy 'Sauvignon de Touraine' (Sauvignon Blanc) Loire 2012 - this was a favourite with most people. I am suspicious of Sauvignon Blanc, particularly in non-summer conditions, finding it often a bit acidic and rather tasteless. Not so with this one - soft, fruity and pretty exquisite with a sliver (/slab) of goat's cheese. I think this was £12.95 but as measures were fairly generous I'm afraid I cannot be completely certain on this matter.

Levenwacht 'The Tin Mine' (Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Roussanne) South Africa 2011 - another favourite, with an unusual minerally taste and a blend of grapes that really works. Not currently stocked at the deli, but SURELY it should be.

The Reds

Cours la Reine 'Saint-Chinian' (Syrah, Grenache Noir) Languedoc 2012

Tierra Segrada 'Antigua' Tempranillo, Garnacha) Carinena 2006

Devil's Corner 'Pinot Noir' (Pinot Noir) Tasmania 2012 - in truth, I enjoyed all the reds, but this was my standout favourite. Although I did, ahem, have to try it several times, just to be really sure.

Chateau Les Rochers Mirande 'Montagne-Saint-Emilion' (Mainly Merlot) Bordeaux 2006

The Extra Blagged One

Niepoort 'LBV' Douro 2007 - I am only a very recent convert to Port, but as a room full of wined-up people were baying lustily to try this, it seemed churlish not to join in. I think I have been put off Port previously by exposure to nasty, cheap, supermarket stuff; this one is in a whole different league and worryingly easy to drink, particularly when someone has foolishly placed a plate of blue cheese right by you on the counter. Hickson and Black's sell a half bottle for - I think - £12.50, and I am keen to procure one for my Christmas drinks cabinet (which is, in truth, only a metaphorical cabinet, but is none the worse for that).

All of this booze was ably soaked up by a selection of cheeses, pâtés and meats from the deli counter; the range and quality of cheeses here is particularly impressive, as you will see if you have a little browse of the website here. Thanks to Jay and Steve for their excellent hospitality; now all we need to do is start a campaign for Hickson and Black's to have its own dedicated tram stop for those of us who wish to cart their wine back to the wilds of East Didsbury...

- Hickson and Black's is at 559A Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 8AN; tel. 0161 881 2001.

Celebrate Christmas in Manchester - But Not Until December Please

Now, I've overheard some debate in recent weeks about when exactly it is acceptable to begin celebrating Christmas. The general consensus appears to be December 1st, and I must concede that even I - that most fervent of festive supporters - considered the playing of Mariah Carey in Debenhams last weekend a little on the premature side. So in keeping with this general mood of restraint, here are a few Christmassy things I have my eye on for December...

1. Christmas Extravaganza at Oddest, Chorlton - Sat 7th December. I've become very partial to Chorlton since the powers-that-be so obligingly extended the Metrolink, and I am most interested in an all-day shindig that offers me a hog roast (which will be slow roasting all day on the terrace, and served up with rum plum chutney, cider sage and apple sauce) as well as live music from a number of acts including Jo Rose and Walk, Christmassy cocktails with names like Bailey's Bauble, hot cider and mulled wine, and winter ales. The free winter festival starts at 1pm and appears to have no official end time, suggesting it carries on until all the booze has gone or the majority of customers have fallen over, whichever comes the sooner.

2. Breakfast with Santa at Hard Rock Cafe, Manchester - Sat 14th December, 9-11am. If you can't wait until the big day, Hard Rock are promising a visit from the big man a full 11 days ahead of schedule along with a full English breakfast and party games, all for £7.50 per child and £9 per adult. They are also doing a three course Thanksgiving dinner for £25 on November 28th, but I'm not allowed to mention this due to the pesky December curfew thing.

3. Levenshulme Christmas Market - Friday 20th December. I'm a big fan of this independent market - it offers a range of food and gift stalls and has a lovely feel to it. I've been to the November one this morning, and purchased some pork, bacon, sprout and chestnut sausages from Bobby's Bangers (which are even better than last year's, following advice from a sprout-loving girl that they required more of the green stuff), bread from Robinson's Bakers, and cheese and butter from Winter Tarn Farm - and, shamefully, have already eaten most of it. The next market will be an evening affair, which means ideally I need someone to pick me up and transport me there so that I may drink mulled wine and warble winsomely along with the Christmas carols - interested chauffeurs may apply via the normal email address.

4. And finally, just when you think Christmas is over and all the fun has been had, you remember about the Bop Local Not Quite New Year's Eve party at Chorlton Irish on 28th December. Resident DJ Phil Beckett will be welcoming Inspiral legend Clint Boon as his guest DJ - past experience suggests we will all drink too much, and cry a bit when we do the singalong with Clint when he plays This is How it Feels (or maybe that was just me, I can't quite recall). Advance tickets £8 from the Bop Local website or from Chris at Chorlton Irish. There is also a Bop Local Christmas party in Prestwich the night before for any particularly hardcore boppers who can manage two nights out in a row.
- Oddest is at 414 – 416 Wibraham Road, Chorlton M21 0SD; Hard Rock Manchester is in the Printworks on Exchange Square; Levy Market can be found on the carpark of Levenshulme Train Station; Chorlton Irish Club is at 17 High Lane, M21 9DJ. And by the way, I lied - all that stuff about waiting till December is nonsense, and that's precisely why I've consumed two mince pies during the writing of this post.

Laugh Local at Chorlton Irish Club: Friday 8th November

About twelve years ago I went to a comedy night in Manchester. I won't say where it was (although you can probably guess), but it was horrific: full of baying stag parties and hyped-up office nights out, with nasty overpriced drinks and a selection of comedians who were not only unfunny but were downright vicious to those unfortunate individuals sitting near the front. I cowered unhappily at the back, vowing never to set foot in such a testosterone-filled bullring ever again.

However, there are certain people whose judgement I trust, so when the lovely Alison (of mighty Bop Local repute) says that Laugh Local is an entirely different kettle of fish, I believe her. First of all, it's at Chorlton Irish Club, which - to the best of my knowledge - is not specifically known as a popular stag night destination. Secondly, the night is compered by Justin Moorhouse, who simply looks too cuddly to be unkind or vindictive (although I have been wrong about this kind of thing before). Thirdly, for this Friday's Laugh Local, anyone who works for the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service can get in for the reduced price of £7.50. This is not only generous, heartwarming etc but should also mean that the place is packed with handsome types who could rescue a kitten from a tree in the blink of an eye should the situation arise. Fourthly, there's a bit of a disco afterwards from the Bop Local DJs. And finally - and this is what really sold it to me - you get a pasty supper as well.

This month's Laugh Local features Archie Kelly, Caimh McDonnell, Ben Lawes and David Stanier, with tickets costing £13.50 from the Bop Local website or from Chorlton Irish Club. I'm actually really looking forward to it...although I will still be making sure I sit safely at the back...

Margo & Rita at The Beagle, Chorlton: Mexican Street Food, but with SITTING DOWN

A few months ago, I had my first encounter with those purveyors of superior Mexican street food, Margo & Rita. This took place at the lovely Levenshulme Market and unfortunately, whilst I very much enjoyed my burrito, my almost entire lack of ability to consume food in an elegant manner whilst standing up means I have little natural affinity with street food - much of my burrito ended up in my hair, with the remainder evenly distributed between the front of my dress and the floor.

The good news for incompetent eaters like me is that whilst Margo & Rita continue to sell from their lovely purple van at markets and festivals, they are now also resident chefs at The Beagle pub in Chorlton - where they have tables, and chairs, and cutlery and everything. They've been there a few weeks now and I've already been in a couple of times, but last Tuesday saw them bravely open their doors to a hoard of hungry bloggers and distribute Monopoly money to be exchanged for exciting spicy goods. The lovely Lady Sybil and I arrived quite late, having already been to a wine tasting at Didsbury Lounge (more of which another time), but were quickly provided with a tray of Mother Clucker Chicken Suckers: fried buttermilk chicken wings served with tortilla chips and salsa. These lasted about fifteen seconds, they were so good.

For mains, we pooled our ten pound Monopoly notes and went for a Burrito with ground beef and beans, and a Pasadena Mother Clucker Chicken Burger - spicy fried chicken in a brioche with chilli mayo and jalapenos. The burrito was just as good as I remembered it being, although with the added advantage of being consumed sitting down, with cutlery, and therefore remaining almost entirely out of my hair (almost - you have to acquire these kinds of skills gradually, after all). The burrito itself was a large, satisfying affair, properly crispy on the outside and packed generously with beef; the accompanying refried beans and crema salad also went down well. I preferred this dish over the chicken burger which, although tasty and pleasingly lavish with the mayonnaise, just seemed slightly less substantial and, at £7.50, definitely needed the side order of seasoned fries at an additional two quid.

Still, this remains an excellent menu that I would be happy to eat pretty much anything from - especially the Fish Tacos, which were on as a special but which I resisted because I had them recently at the Indy Man Beer Con. I include a picture of them here so that you may admire the full gorgeousness of Margo & Rita's food in daylight, and as an apology to the lovely Mark and Diane for taking such murky photos of my dinner last week. One day, we will have it all - clean hair AND bright photos; for now, I can but dream...

Margo & Rita can be found at The Beagle, Chorlton every day except Monday - you can lust over the full menu here. We were not asked to pay for our food (well, we were, but with pretend money that we had been given) but would have done so, gladly.

Triumphant Pig Night at North Star Deli's Join Us For Supper; Local Girl Upsets Morrissey

When I was a teenager - a terribly earnest, slightly mardy-faced one at that - I spent a brief period as a vegetarian. This was a well thought-out, committed sort of decision, based almost entirely on a general fondness for animals and a desire to wear my Meat is Murder t-shirt without too many pangs of guilt; and obviously, I HAD to wear my Meat is Murder t-shirt, as Morrissey would NEVER notice me if I didn't.

Thankfully, this stint proved to be short-lived, brought to a premature end by the salty wiles of a bacon sandwich and the - eventual - understanding that I probably wasn't really his type anyway. And Mozzer's loss is my gain, for last night saw the return of North Star Deli's monthly Supper Club; a triumphant, flag-waving return that I shall always choose to remember simply as "Pig Night", the night that Percy nobly gave his life so that he could be cooked three ways for a deli-ful of hungry diners. But I get ahead of myself...this is the full rundown of what we had:

Starter: Home-made stout black pudding, served with Yorkshire forced rhubarb, parsnip puree and crisps, air-dried ham & watercress. I must hang my head in shame and confess that for many, many years I eschewed black pudding, claiming that I didn't like it when in reality I had never tried it and just didn't like the thought of it. Then I married a Northerner and found that, actually, black pudding is DELICIOUS. Last night we were spoiled, as the home-made offering was served up alongside more familiar fare from The Real Black Pudding Company for comparative purposes - opinions at table were divided, but I preferred the home-made option with its crumbly texture and delicately fennel-spiced flavour; he's the one on the right in the picture above. I ate them both, mind, just in the interests of being entirely fair to both entrants *noble face*. It must also be noted at this point that one of my dining companions - a normally most pleasant lady - elected to have the vegetarian menu (including veggie black pudding), and I shall therefore say no more about her in the unlikely event I fail to completely mask my disapproval *cat's bum face*.

Main: Porcus Tamworth pig done 3 ways - crispy pork belly with spiced apple, tenderloin and braised home-made faggot, cider fondant potato and red cabbage. Yes, REALLY. As a North Star regular, I think this was my favourite main course to date, with every item on the plate utterly, ludicrously delicious, from the rib-sticking unctiousness of the neat square of pork belly to the warm spiciness of the complementing apple slices and the earthiness of the accompanying roast beetroot and carrot...the only disharmony here came from the undignified competition to be the most irresistible thing on the plate*. And we licked our plates clean with clear consciences, as SJ, the rare breed pig farmer from Porcus in Todmorden who supplied the porcine ingredients for the repast - or "The Pig Lady" as I fear she is often known - was happy to tell us of the wonderful life that Percy had lived, before we all ate him.

And finally, Dessert: Pineapple tart tatin with ginger ice cream, a coconut tuille and pineapple & mint salsa. Lovely, just lovely - a light-yet-chewy pastry disc contrasting beautifully with the sweet warmth of the ice cream and the minty tang of the salsa. And the fact that I have had to type the word "pineapple" twice in naming it suggests a high fruit content; ergo, an extremely healthy end to the meal.

The theme of this month's Supper Club was "Northern Stars" - named after the all-conquering team of SJ, North Star chef Ben and genial foodie Joby who wiped the floor with some upstart pretenders on a recent episode of the BBC2 food quiz ‘A Question of Taste’ - and showcased the very best Northern suppliers and ingredients; a commitment to seasonal local produce that really sums up all that is right and good about this lovely deli. If next month's Cheshire-themed extravaganza is half as impressive as this one, we're all in for a treat - keep an eye on the deli's webpage for further details, as there's no doubt that owner Deanna will come up with another amazing menu.

*The eventual, worthy winner was the joyously hefty faggot, a sturdy shotput of flavour that I could frankly have eaten many more of. I have learned one valuable lesson though - do not, repeat NOT, innocently start off a faggot-related Facebook thread just before you go out, as by the time you come home it will have absolutely RUN RIOT...

- North Star Deli is at 418 Wilbraham Road Manchester, M21 0SD.