New Cocktail Menu at Vega Lounge, Manchester 235

I am not, by nature, a gambler. I like to be confident of the exchange rate I'm getting - for example, £5 = one glass of wine - rather than not knowing exactly what (if anything) I might get back, so whilst I can see the excitement one might get from doubling, trebling or quadrupling (or more) one's money, it's a risk I am very rarely prepared to take. Thus I am not a frequent visitor to casinos - which is a shame, as the Vega Lounge that sits in the heart of the Great Northern's Manchester 235 is actually a pretty nice place to spend a couple of hours, with lovely staff, a very well-stocked bar and a spanking brand new cocktail menu that has been designed with some thought for doing things a little bit differently.

Last week I was allowed behind that very well-stocked bar (which is, admittedly, perhaps a little less well-stocked now than before) as part of a masterclass designed to showcase some of the new drinks on the cocktail menu. Our affable (and very patient) host for the night was the lovely Filip, who bravely permitted us to come behind the bar one by one and have a go at whipping up a cocktail or two - the first few were chosen by Filip to demonstrate the range of interesting ingredients and flavour combinations on the menu, and included Twinkle Star, a dazzling concoction of gold dust, Smirnoff Vodka, elderflower cordial and orange bitters topped up with Prosecco. I enjoyed this cocktail which, unusually, actually allows the taste of the vodka to come through alongside all the other ingredients - Filip explained that the elderflower works to enhance the flavour of the spirit (plus, this drink looks VERY pretty with all its sparkle). A couple of the other opening cocktails - the Melon Gumtini and the Miss Vega, pictured above along with newly expert mixologist Louise - were a little on the sweet side for me, but you really can't fault the care and attention to detail in the presentation here (bravo, James from Rate a Restaurant).

My turn then, and I chose to make a Mojito. Filip suggested the X-Pear, and was right to do so - this was one of the best and most unusual Mojitos I've had in a long time, not because I made it but thanks to the addition of Xante pear liqueur. I'm not usually a big fan of adulterated Mojitos, but would definitely order this one again (I'll let an expert make it next time though). I got to make a Smokey Old Fashioned later in the evening as well, which involved grappling with an expanse of black rubber hosing as we tried to get the smoking gun to work (not pictured here for your own peace of mind) - alas, it was not to be, but the Old Fashioned was still my favourite drink of the evening (but then, it's probably my favourite drink of all time).

Other drinks made on the night included a very good Pornstar Martini made by Miss Pond, a pleasingly tangy Southern Bee (which was nowhere near as sweet as I thought it would be), a Toffee Apple (Smirnoff Apple Vodka, lemon and apple juice, shaken together with caramel syrup - I would order this again), some excellent Strawberry Daiquiris and a couple of rich, dessert-style cocktails. The first of these, the Lemon Cheesecake, was a marvellously extravagant, over-the-top affair - Limoncello, Ketel One Citroen Vodka, Licor 43, lemon curd and mascarpone cheese, shaken and served in a saucer glass rimmed with biscuits and garnished with cake; the second, the Tiramisu, looked pretty fantastic too (although I didn't try this one as I dislike coffee and, as you can see, it was made by Simon Binns). We were also provided with some real, non-liquid food throughout the evening - the fish goujons you see here were particularly good.

All in all, a very enjoyable evening with some excellent cocktails and lovely hospitality. I can't say that Vega will become a regular haunt for me, purely thanks to my non-gambling proclivities, but I do like the leather booths and the slightly seedy atmosphere that comes from being slap bang in the middle of a casino (in a good way - think dim, flattering light; beautiful ladies perched elegantly on bar stools etc etc). And I must admit, I did eye up the blackjack tables on the way out, so maybe a Sharon Stone-inspired evening might be on the cards after all...

- Vega Lounge is part of Manchester 235 and can be found at Great Northern, 2 Watson Street, Manchester M3 4LP.

Yard and Coop, Northern Quarter: Fried Chicken Under the Watchful Eye of Mr Foxy Fox

We all have our guilty pleasures when it comes to food. Mine is fried chicken, and I must admit to being none too discrimating in the pursuit of this field - I harbour a deep love for a KFC bargain bucket and have even been known to stop off at Kansas Chicken when too much wine eliminates all judgement and persuades me that this is a good idea. Fortunately, a couple of restaurants have come to my rescue and helped me preserve what little dignity I have left by making fried chicken respectably desirable once more - Splendid on John Dalton St have been serving up their fabulous buttermilk fried chicken wares for some time, and now we have Yard and Coop in the Northern Quarter as well we need never be too far away from a chook emporium.

And people clearly can't get enough of it - when we went to Yard and Coop for lunch last Friday it was full, and according to manager Nathan the evenings have been even busier. This is good to see, as a lot of care and attention to detail has clearly gone into the new venue, both in terms of the decor and the menu, and we liked the simplicity of the whole concept - people come here to drink good beer, and eat decent fried chicken, and then be on their way a little happier than they were before. This is a great spot they've got here, a huge airy space on Lever Street alongside the excellent Common and Home Sweet Home, and I like the way they've styled it, from the fairy lights strewn around wooden seating areas that look like chicken coops to the fantastic Mr Fox presiding over the whole affair from his vantage point on the wall.

The menu is single-minded to say the least; this is not a place to visit if you don't like fried chicken or halloumi, which is the vegetarian option across all the dishes. We started with a portion of Monkey Balls to be going on with - balls of buttermilk fried chicken served up in a basket with a couple of dips. These were obviously freshly made and cooked and were very good indeed. The menu suggested they went well with a pint so I obeyed, and found that the menu was right, and that the Yard Pilsner was very good too. Various salads and wraps are available as mains, but we went straight for more fried chicken - basically you choose whether you want breast or thigh (always thigh for me), which crumb you'd like, and then select a sauce as well. My Yard and Coop crumbed thighs (two of them) were things of very great joy - moist, succulent flesh with a properly crispy, herby coating and stacks of flavour, and my fragrant dining partner was similarly pleased with her breast-and-blue-cheese-sauce combo. All the sauces are homemade and my Bourbon BBQ was spot on; I'd have liked a little more of it, but I'm sure someone would have brought me more had I asked. I'm also not a big fan of the baskets used to serve the food here - I find them difficult to manoeuvre in, particularly once you start factoring in coleslaw and other sides. As well as the good, fresh slaw we also shared a portion of chips (with Cajun seasoning at no extra cost) and some onion petals with chorizo and a horseradish and beetroot salsa. This last dish didn't quite work for me as a combination, delicious as all the individual components were, but the chips were very good and more than enough for two to share.

For dessert I had one of the boozy shakes (Salted Karamel - so thick the straw stood up, good flavour although could stand a boozier hit) whilst my friend eschewed something sweet in favour of a stormingly good Old Fashioned from the cocktail menu. We both very much liked Yard and Coop - some people will complain about the lack of variety on the menu but that misses the point really, and there is a whole range of interesting sides available to pimp up your chicken. The staff were lovely, seeming genuinely keen to share their thoughts and advice on the menu; prices seem reasonable at £6 for a basket of chicken; and the place had a very cheery buzz about it indeed. A promising addition to the Northern Quarter then - all I need to do is start carrying my own plate in my handbag and I reckon lunch next time will be pretty much perfect.

- Yard and Coop is at 23-37 Edge Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester M4 1HW. We were not asked to pay for our food or drink but both enjoyed it and would return as paying customers at the shake of a hen's tail.

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.

Italy in Manchester: Dinner at Salvi's and Exciting Plans for new Corn Exchange Venue

At the risk of prompting sarcastic mimes of sorrowful violin playing, I'm not going away this summer. I just can't afford it this year, and must remain stoic whilst being simultaneously taunted almost hourly by various friends posting photos of themselves enjoying their first airport pint of the day on social media. So it was an absolute pleasure to be transported to Italy for a couple of precious hours last week for an event at Salvi's, that estimable deli and restaurant that does such a good job of bringing some Mediterranean sunshine to our sometimes rather grey Mancunian climes.

The event was to unveil Salvi's expansion plans - the original Salvi's Mozzarella Bar in the Corn Exchange will be back bigger and even better when the development re-opens at the end of August, with their original outdoor spot overlooking Exchange Square extended to 40 covers and a huge new deli space downstairs. This is exciting news for anyone who has experienced the delights that owner Maurizio sources from his native Naples and surrounding areas - the new deli space promises joints of cured Italian hams, an entire counter of Italian cheeses (including the splendid Mozzarella made by Maurizio's brother Emiliano), a wide range of anti pasti, Italian wines and plenty of other goodies (although this is, of course, bad news for anyone prone to greed when in close contact with any or all of these items).

Last week's event was a typically Salvi's affair, with the whole clan on hand to celebrate the expansion of this friendly, family-run business - although I must remember that my Italian is not good enough to converse with Maurizio's lovely mum, especially after several glasses of a very good Primitivo. There was also a giant (and delicious) mortadella on show (which prompted much witty, sophisticated talk of big sausages, are you just pleased to see me etc etc), an impressive display of cutting a whole wheel of Parmesan, and the chance to try some of Salvi's excellent pizzas and pasta dishes (my favourite being a quite extraordinary bowl of truffly, mushroomy joy). The new Salvi's Corn Exchange will offer far more seating than previously, with an open kitchen and a much bigger dining area; there will also be - gasp - a Wine Room and a Mozzarella Room, both offering tasting sessions as well as being available for private hire (although, presumably, they will not welcome someone who actually wishes to move in to one of these premises).

Not everyone is thrilled with some of the businesses that plan to open in the Corn Exchange, but I've not spoken to a single person who has anything bad to say about Salvi's or who isn't genuinely delighted at the thought of them reopening their original outpost. I will be there, and I will be taking a *very* large shopping bag with me...

- Salvi's Cucina is currently open at 19 John Dalton Street; the new Salvi's Mozzarella Bar will be at Unit 22b The Corn Exchange, and will be open 10am-11pm every day. I was invited to this event and was given complimentary food and drink but that has not affected the ludicrously high regard in which I already held Salvi's.

Cheshire Cookery School: Paella, Tapas and, erm, Balls

Despite appearances, most evenings I do actually stay in and cook. This is both for pleasure (in the preparation and the eating) and necessity - my shameful propensity for greed when eating out renders it imperative that I cook properly, from scratch, with healthy ingredients when at home, lest I end up the size of a bungalow or small country. Despite this, I'd never actually been on a cookery course until a couple of weeks ago; I'm not entirely sure why, but I think I was worried that it would all be pretty intimidating, with knife-wielding experts doing that showy-off cheffy thing with their onion chopping and then triumphantly presenting their plated-up works of art to a terrifying, Masterchef-style judge whilst I was still haplessly trying to find my ingredients in the fridge.

Well, I've been on two courses now thanks to Cheshire Cookery School in Altrincham, and obviously they aren't like that at all. The first of these was a full-day course called "Forgotten Cuts of Meat" that I won in a Twitter competition run by Taste Today; its name, coupled with the fact that our genial guide for the day was Robert Owen Brown, formerly of the Mark Addy and never one to hold back when it comes to persuading people to put unusual animal parts in their mouths, made it fairly clear that this was to be an offal-based extravaganza - confirmed by the enormous bag of lamb testicles that greeted me on my arrival at the school. This was certainly a case of being thrown in at the deep end - Rob preferred to just get on with cooking rather than have us watch him demonstrate any of the dishes, and within minutes we were each rustling up our own terrine of Lavender Scented Duck Liver Pâté with Honey Roast Pear (which we took home), swiftly followed by Roast Bone Marrow with Parsley & Caper Salad (which we had for lunch with a glass of wine), Lambs Fry with Nut Butter (which we had for tea, with more wine) and Madeira Tripe (there is not enough wine in ALL THE WORLD to persuade me to eat tripe, so I gave mine to chef to take home for his tea - the sauce was delicious though). It was a splendid day with one of my very favourite chefs (and people), and I went home tired and happy even if my hair did smell really quite unpleasantly of tripe.

Apparently my behaviour had indeed been satisfactory (I had been tempted to throw testicles at chef, but had nobly desisted), for I was invited back the following week to a shorter evening class - the three hour Tapas and Paella course, this time hosted by experienced chef Kurt Thomas. This was a bigger class, with sixteen of us divided up to work in pairs, and far more demonstration of the recipes and processes involved; indeed, the first dish - chorizo in red wine - was cooked purely for demonstration purposes, although we did get to eat it afterwards (I will pass over the undignified scrummage that took place at this point in proceedings). Kurt then showed us how to make a Spanish tortilla with onions and potato and a tomato salsa followed by chicken and chorizo paella, before letting us loose on our own workstations. I was lucky enough to be working with Claire Thomas of Good Egg Foodie blogging renown, and we turned out to make a pretty good team, working with professionalism and efficiency (as is clearly seen in at least one of the photos below).

The food we dished up tasted pretty good too - our tortilla had a surprising amount of flavour for such a simple dish, and our paella both looked and tasted quite impressive (if we do say so ourselves) when we sat down to snarf it with a well-earned glass of red. Once again, there was plenty to bring home as well (where the leftovers met with great approval from an impartial judge). In some ways, this class was more manageable - three hours is a nice length of time, although I would have preferred slightly less time watching demonstrations and more time cooking, and perhaps a wider variety of dishes to make. It certainly wasn't as stretching as the full day offal course, but Kurt makes for a very entertaining and knowledgeable guide (there was some particularly useful stuff on knife skills), so it was no less enjoyable - just different.

The facilities at Cheshire Cookery School are stunning, with plenty of workspace, enviably sharp knives and swanky high-tech appliances, and the people who run it are just lovely - essentially they will have a laugh and a chat with you whilst also surreptitiously clearing up your workspace with you, thereby setting impossibly high standards for any future suitors. I'll be quite honest - I wouldn't have booked a course had I not had the chance to try one first, as full day courses are £150 and half day ones £75, which I think is a lot to pay if you're uncertain whether you'll enjoy something. I can categorically say though that the courses are great fun and offer good value for money, so much so that I have already selected at least one more I want to go on in the next couple of months as a paying customer. Masterchef, watch out - I'm newly enthusiastic in a kitchen AND I can now do that cheffy chopping thing with an onion.

- The Cheshire Cookery School is at LM Business Park, Norman Road, Altrincham WA14 4EP; 0161 928 5120. They run corporate events as well as a wide range of cookery courses, and also do gift vouchers (which I'll be hinting at pretty strongly come Christmas).