A huge vegan street food fair is coming to Manchester this month, bringing together some of the region’s most mouthwatering traders for a weekend.
Taking place at the popular Green Quarter street food hub Grub, plant-based foodies can tuck into a range of different vegan treats ranging from tacos and kebabs to sugary sweet bakes, pizzas and more.
With the date set for the last weekend of January, the festival will run for three days: starting at 5pm on Friday 27 January and continuing until 6pm on Sunday 29 January.
Those heading down can expect to find a number of street food delights, including vegan dumplings made with non-traditional fillings from recent Ancoats General Store pop-up trader, Desert Island Dumplings.
Image: Desert Island DUmplings
Image: Seitan’s Kebab
Known for serving a quirky range of dumplings stuffed with salt and pepper chickn, smoky cheez pizza, hoisin mock duck and cheezeburger, the menu here also features stacks of hash browns, chips and drunken noodles.
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And that’s not all. If you’re lucky, you might also get your hands on some sweet dumplings – with previous favourites including lemon drizzle and Lotus banoffee (and served with a sweet dip, no less). Dumplings can be mixed and matched, too, so you can get a little taste of everything.
Elsewhere, you’ll find woodfired Neapolitan-style pizzas from Lancashire favourite Marley’s Pizza and a host of Mexican tacos from Nina’s Taco Truck, who will also be serving new dishes like nachos, ‘El Jefe’ burrito, and dirty fries topped with the likes of cheese sauce, jalapeno, red cabbage, crispy onions and chipotle mayo.
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There’ll also be sweet treats from Drizzle City Bakes, known for creating fun bakes like red velvet and Oreo cupcakes, lemon and raspberry drizzle and rocky roads, plus more from That Vegan Bakery.
‘Manchester’s favourite’ vegan food fair is returning to GRUB this month / Credit: GRUB
And last but not least, Seitan’s Kebab will also be in attendance across the weekend serving up unique vegan takes on everyone’s late-night takeaway favourite, with the option of loaded fries on the side.
Drinks-wise, expect to find a fully vegan bar offering wine, cocktails, spirits, soft drinks and beer from local breweries, plus hot drinks from Alchemic Coffee’s pop-up garden bar featuring speciality teas, coffees, espresso martinis, mulled wine and hot chocolate. You can also expect music, vibes and lovely times.
Kicking off from 5pm on Friday 27 January, the vegan food festival at Grub will run from 5-10pm the first night, then all day on Saturday from 12-10pm. Its final day will be Sunday 29 January, with traders in situ from 12-6pm.
Feature image – Grub / Desert Island Dumplings
Eats
Society is offering Mancs a chance to win free dinner and drinks if they share their best breakup texts
Danny Jones
Ever hoped that a crushing breakup text from a few years back would one day come in handy and bring you some joy?
Well, you’re in luck because that day is almost here.
Popular Manchester city centre food and drink venue, Society, is putting itself out there for all those who have been ghosted, left on read, or just plain dumped this Valentine’s Day with an exciting trade: some of your romantic moments for free scran and drinks.
That’s right, Society are inviting foodies from all over Greater Manchester to share their best (or worst) breakup texts to be in with a chance of winning dinner and drinks at the food hall along with a plus one of your choice – be a bit of a gamble if they picked them in some kind weird blind date situation.
Breakup texts finally making us feel good. (Credit: Society)
With reports finding that as many as 45% of breakups take place just before the 14 February – as partners look to avoid pricey dinners and gifts – and up to 88% of these happening over a mere text, Society is stepping in to provide solace for the those on the wrong side of the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ text.
So how does it work? Well, it’s all rather simple: submit a memorable breakup text that you’ve received to be in with a chance of winning a free Valentine’s dinner and drinks at Society for you and your equally lucky plus one.
Texts can be submitted via Society’s Instagram, TikTok DMs, or by email; you can enter from Monday, 3 February until Tuesday 11 Feb 2025.
The team will then choose the most iconic/unbelievable/heartbreaking/downright hilarious entries to win prizes from the on-site food traders and bar team, and, with your consent, may even share some of the best to their social media channels.
The food and drinks selection and Society is top-notch, so that’s a good start. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Now, before you get all panicked that you have to air your dirty laundry, don’t worry: all entries will remain anonymous unless you say otherwise.
Best of luck to all those submitting their breakup text entries and we sincerely hope we get to see a corker or two.
Love you, Society – you’re one of the most stable relationships in our lives x
New Manchester restaurant ‘couldn’t be happier’ after ALREADY receiving glowing national review
Daisy Jackson
Stow in Manchester is already making waves beyond the city, just weeks after it opened, receiving a glowing review in The Sunday Times.
The new restaurant on Bridge Street is a cosy space with a ‘supercool bar’ in front and a white-bricked dining room out back.
And what sets it apart from the others is that everything – desserts, breads, meat and more – is cooked over fire. No ovens, no hobs.
It’s this theatrical element that’s earned it its first (and surely not last) glowing review in a national title, impressing restaurant critic Charlotte Ivers in a dazzling review in The Sunday Times.
She raved about Stow’s potatoes, particularly, but also about the cosy restaurant’s service, theatre, decor, atmosphere, and basically everything they touched.
In the column, she said: “Particularly good restaurants make you feel as if you are at the centre of the world when you walk in… Stow is one of these restaurants.”
The Sunday Times piece continued to say that Matt Nellany and Jamie Pickles are creating food that is ‘far more exciting’ than their roots, down the road at much-loved Northern Quarter bar Trof.
She heaped praise on their milk bread, served with salty onion butter, the ricotta and beetroots which are roasted overnight on the embers of that huge grill, and the pork and fennel sausage with creme fraiche and tomato sauce.
The review then added that she will think of the ratte potatoes, topped with fat slices of garlic and shavings of Corra Linn cheese, ‘on my deathbed’.
Since the review went to print, Stow has said: “This day goes down as a big one for the Stow team – we couldn’t be any happier.”
Congratulations to the whole team. If you haven’t checked Stow out yet, make sure you do HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
20th January 2023 
