In case you hadn’t noticed, the University of Salford are doing some very exciting things at the moment. With their new Mediacity:uk presence sharing a building with ITV and being near the BBC, their media students are going to have some great opportunities.

This Saturday (November 12) will see Lowry’s painting of Piccadilly Gardens from 1954 brought to life in 2011. How the hell would they do this, you ask?

Well, a digital projection in Piccadilly Gardens will project the movements of passersby into a screen where special motion capture technology will transfer their movements to Lowry characters. People will be able to stand in front of the screen and see themselves depicted as a Lowry painting character.

Over at Mediacity:uk, visitors will be able to see the entire painting re-created with Piccadilly Gardens and the characters, with movements taken from real-time shoppers and passersby.

Lowry didn’t paint many recognisable Manchester or Salford landmarks – many of his paintings were composite, or of places that don’t exist anymore – so this is a really interesting painting. Not sure what Lowry himself would have made of the Communist-looking concrete Piccadilly Gardens of today.

This innovative stunt is just one part a showcase of digital art and technology at the university’s Mediacity building, called Believe. It sounds like there’s loads of cool stuff going on there this weekend.

You can visit the university’s onsite TV studios and virtually star in an adventure with BBC’s Dinosaur Planet and then download the clip to keep forever. In the building’s ground floor exhibition space guests can have a go at some fun digital video games on iPad-like touchscreen tables, while a dazzling 7m x 3m video wall with the world’s best resolution will show impressive film and animation.

Called Believe, the event is free of charge and is open from 10.30am-5.30pm on Saturday, November 12 at the University of Salford, MediaCityUK, Salford, M50 2HE.

Visit www.salford.ac.uk/believe for more information.

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It couldn’t have worked out better. We had nothing planned, and it was a mild November day with searing blue skies and a low afternoon sun.

Scanning through my Twitter feed on Sunday morning, I noticed a tweet about Castlefield Artisan Market, which is on the cobbles under the viaduct near Dukes 92.

With a great mix of food, vintage stalls and craft, this was the best market I’ve been to in a long time. Jazz was blasted out across the cobbles, with a troupe of dancers, doing a ridiculously cool dance routine. The upbeat music gave the event a really lovely atmosphere and gave everyone a smile on their face.

We stocked up on salt marsh lamb from Cockerham in Lancashire, as well as speciality sausages, cakes and delicacies from Taste of Anatolia, among many other delicious items.

This is exactly what Manchester has needed for many years, and I can’t understand why the council hasn’t been able to organise something like this. Although saying that, the best events come from innovative individuals doing something they’re passionate about. And in true Manchester fashion, this isn’t just any old farmers’ market – it’s so much more than that.

Castlefield Artisan Market will take place every first Sunday of the month, from 10am to 4pm. The next event is December 4 and there is a special Christmas market on December 23.

Come along and show your support.

Surburban Series plates by Lisa Mouncey, from Broadstone Mill

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copyright Edge Street Events

Yes, festival season is upon us. Autumn in Manchester sees Manchester Food and Drink Festival, Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Buy Art Fair, Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester Science Festival. I think that’s it. Did I miss any off?

The Food and Drink Festival is looking mighty fine so far this year, so here’s my highlights.

Mr Manchester Is Ace always goes to the whisky festival with his friends, and I usually leave the area until he’s been decontaminated. The Lowry Hotel is hosting for the first time this year – they won’t know what’s hit it.

This year I’m going to the Third Big Indie Wine Festival at the People’s History Museum for a sensible evening discussing the merits of old world vs new world, and assessing the acidity, aroma and structure of some fine vinos. OR I’m going to go and swig as much wine as I can with my mates and get dizzy.

Some of the independent wine stores involving in showcasing their grapes are: Reserve Wines, Harvey Nichols, Hanging Ditch, The Vineyard and Origin Wine.

Other attention grabbers from the 2011 line-up involves the man himself, Mr Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall who will be giving a talk and cookery demonstration on Friday, October 14 at 1pm.

I love his whimsical olde English programmes where he jauntily whips up a feast for some village folk using berries he’s plucked from the hedgerows, a hand-reared salmon and some home-churned butter. I wonder what he’ll make of Manchester?

MFDF is also having a Best of British street food at the festival hub, which reflects the latest trend in gastronomy. Although I think perhaps that street food is at its best in parts of Asia, when you fear for your health (or guts) while simultaneously wondering what the hell you’re eating. Although you can, if you want, replicate that fear by purchasing a hot dog a 3am from a stall in the city centre.

I also love the idea of the Nominee Trail, which will be taking a group of food-lovers round a selection of the award nominees for best bar, best restaurant and best newcomer to decide for yourself who is the fairest of them all. Except will you remember them all when you’ve had a drink at each?

Other festival highlights include band Elbow’s new bitter, in partnership with Robinsons, to celebrate the launch of their new album, Manchester Chocolate Festival on October 8 and the tempting sounding Spirit and Cocktail Trail.

Manchester Food and Drink Festival takes place from October 7-17, with the main festival hub being at Albert Square again.

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Dunham Massey is definitely the most visited place by the Family Hughes this summer. Having purchased our family-friendly National Trust membership just before I dropped, this pram-friendly park is now a much-loved favourite because it’s only about 25 minutes from our house in South Manchester.

With wide gravel paths, this gorgeous 300-acre deer park is just the right size for a stroll before you’re ready for an ice cream. The deer are really used to visitors so happily graze right near the paths, and you can get a real close up view.

I also saw a sign for night walks called Dunham After Dark, where you go on a guided tour at night time to see bats, owls and other nocturnal animals. I thought this sounded amazing.

However, I must admit that it’s not just Dunham Massey, nor the Cheshire Farm ice cream that’s the favourite part of the daytrip.

It’s Little Heath Farm Shop which we discovered tucked away behind the Axe and Cleaver pub (also well worth a visit). Run by an incredibly friendly family, they sell their own Aberdeen Angus and Hereford Beef, which is all reared on their farm “at nature’s pace”, as they put it.

Every time we go out for a stroll, we stop off here and buy enough to fill our freezer for the next month. The beef has a beautifully deep mature flavour and is really good value compared to some farmers markets.

Yesterday, we had a beef brisket simmering in its own juices in our well-used slow cooker, which after a good eight hours, had a mouthwateringly tender texture that just flaked apart at the sight of a fork.

Our other faves include the mince, which stays lovely and firm when cooked, unlike the sludgy stuff you buy from supermarkets.

The shop also sells free-range pork, sausages, gammon, lamb, and when in season, Dunham Massey venison. The fruit and veg is all good quality local produce, and sourced from local farms if they don’t grow it themselves.

This is a genuine farm shop that sells proper farm-grown food, unlike many of the so-called farm shops across Cheshire, which bizarrely stock pineapples and peaches and other stuff that’s clearly not grown in the UK, nevermind nearby.

Dunham Massey

Directions to Dunham Massey

Little Heath Farm Shop

Directions to Little Heath Farm Shop

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Seeing as Australasia is the latest must-go restaurant in town we decided to check it out. Situated underneath the new Armani store, just off Deansgate, Australasia occupies what used to be the MEN basement, I believe.

Clearly a lot of attention has been given into making a basement seem, well, un-basement like. White floors, walls and furniture make it seem like you are sitting in a conservatory, with light just bouncing here, there and everywhere.

Our Australian wine waiter instantly impressed us by giving us a iPad to browse through the impressive wine menu. I was happy with a glass of the cheapest fizz (Thomas Mitchell Brut, Semillon, Trebbiano from Australia, £5.50) and across the table a Brazilian Pinot Grigio Riesling (£24.50 a bottle) was a good choice.

The menu takes in sushi, small Asian plates, big soups and main meals. However, it didn’t quite seem to gel together as much as it could do, perhaps because the influences are taken from such a huge continent.

For example, we ordered the Pork belly with pineapple curry (£14.50), but there was no rice on the menu. Chips or sweet potato mash were the only carbs on offer, which doesn’t seem very Asian – perhaps this is the Australian part of the cuisine?

However, that was the only slight criticism I can think of and every course had an amazing level of detail and flavour. The pineapple curry was beautifully made, with fruity highlights and small crunchy chunks of pork belly artfully arranged down the side.

My Ocean trout fillet (£18.50) came with a foam (which I scraped off) and was surrounded by a pretty arrangement of pancetta, mushrooms, caramelised onion and Maderian shallots. The rich, deep flavours of the mushroom and onion juices really highlighted the delicate fish beautifully.

We had started with a fantastically put together sushi and sashimi platter (£19.50). Generous portions of sashimi – including tuna and salmon – was served simply with California rolls and other sushi. There’s something about sashimi which makes you eat it slowly and respectfully, absorbing all the flavours.

Although the first two courses were amazing, it was the creative desserts (all £7) that really stood out. Tiny tasty sensations were plated together to form a sensational experience. Even on a terrible photo taken with my camera phone, how amazing do they look?

My pineapple-themed dessert involved passionfruit marshmallow which was a world away from marshmallow sweets and had the texture of what you think a cloud would feel like. Alongside this were pineapple parcels filled with a tangy sherbety pineapple puree, while a cool fresh pineapple sorbet pulled the trio together.

Similarly amazing was a Chocolate pave, with a tiny but perfectly made blobs of sour cherry thick jelly, Griottine cherries and a very delicate miso ice cream. Both desserts were surprisingly light and crafted so delicately and so impressive looking I kept showing the photos to people.

The attention to detail across the whole restaurant – food, wine, decor, waiting staff – was truly exemplary and Australasia has already made a great impression on Manchester, and this new kid on the block seems to have been welcomed with opened arms.

The bill came to around £90, which actually isn’t that bad when you see how much food we ate and were drinking glasses of wine instead of picking a bottle.

Apologies for the terrible quality of the photos. I hadn’t intended to write about this so had to take them with my mobile phone.

www.australasia.uk.com

Directions to Australasia

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Long Causeway Farm Shop is situated up near Burnley and is run by the three former owners of That Cafe in Levenshulme, which sadly for M19 closed last year. The trio now work on their smallholding, and sell their produce at farmers’ markers and at their own farm shop once a month.

We regularly used to go to Ashton Farmers’ Market (last Sunday of every month) and know exactly how good their little tartlets and cakes are (see above photo). So we decided to go and visit their smallholding, and made it just before it closed at 2pm. Luckily they hadn’t sold out of those tartlets so good we’d driven 35 miles to buy some.

The haddock chowder tart (all tarts are £1.40) was delicious with a spicy kick of chilli livening up the smoked fish, and came with a sprinkling of crunchy cheese on top. Long Causeway Farm’s own lamb was shredded and baked to perfection in another tart, and given a topping of minted mushy peas. Next up (hey, we were hungry) was the king of the crop – the pork, sage and apple, which tasted like really juicy stuffing with a sweet slice of apple across the top. All truly amazing and worth the journey.

We also bought a heavenly pear and almond tart (£1.40), which had the most perfect crunch to the pastry, plus a bag of their home-reared lamb and pork, and a jar of bursting-with-freshness pesto (£3). A loaf of caramelised onion and walnut bread (£1.50) is everything bread should be: crusty on the outside and bouncy and full of flavour on the inside.

All the produce from Long Causeway is incredibly reasonably priced considering it is all homegrown and lovingly baked.

We’d envisaged a lovely day out in the countryside but didn’t really find much to inspire us around Burnley, ending up at Hollingworth Lake in Rochdale for ice-cream.

If you appreciate good well-looked after meat, make the effort to source some from Long Causeway  - it’s worth the effort.

www.longcauseway.co.uk
Directions to Long Causeway

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Now I spend most of my life at my own little home sweet home looking after Little Mr Manchester Is Ace, how strange that my first blog post back would be about a new cafe called Home Sweet Home.

I’d been told about a new dessert bar on Edge Street but when I went for a stroll down the hipster street in the Northern Quarter, I could see no such thing.

I did find a cute new cafe so summoned the other half @oscillatestudio to come and have lunch with me.

But it turned out that I was actually in the right place – for Home Sweet Home is a cafe with a hefty focus on desserts. They shouldn’t be so shy about those amazing cakes I saw in the fridge – I’d have put a big notice on the window that said ‘We sell amazing cakes.’

Inside is a light and airy cafe, with reclaimed wooden doors forming the counters and quirky pictures on the wall. The overall look is kitsch English cafe with a splash of American diner thrown in there. Very Northern Quarter.

The lunch menu is massively appealing with a wide range of sandwiches, toasties, salads and their special chilli which is served in a large hollowed out bread roll. They also do snazzy milkshakes that are all the rage these days, plus I spotted a retro ice cream float on the menu.

I think this must be one of the best salad menus I’ve seen in Manchester, with a mouthwatering selection of filling salads. The Club salad (£5.50) was a heady mix of mixed leaves, roast chicken, smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, cucumber, tomato, beetroot, chopped egg and spiced mustard mayonnaise. Who needs bread when you’ve got all that?

The cajun chicken, chorizo and jalapeno sandwich on multi-seed bread (£4.40) was a delicious doorstopper of a butty, with the chillis packing a right spicy punch.

The service here was exemplary, with the very friendly waitress coming straight over to take our order. Besides, paying lots of compliments about my gorgeous baby always wins me over.

Once I’d eyed up the cakes as I paid the bill, I couldn’t walk out without taking a chocolate brownie with me – and it was worth it. A gooey rich chocolatey inside contrasted with a crunch on the outside.

Next time I’m trying the triple berry layer cake.

Go and pay a visit to this cafe on Edge Street or follow them on Twitter @maltshakelover or visit their website: http://cheeseburgertoastie.co.uk/.

Directions to Home Sweet Home.

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Having spent the past year being pregnant and feeling rather sick, and then having a baby meant I could just about function, work and earn a crust. Besides, it’s not very fair to review restaurants when you’re suffering from pregnancy sickness.

But now I feel like I’ve (almost) got used to this parenthood lark and young Mr Manchester Is Ace is almost four months old it’s quite nice to have an outlet to write about my favourite city.

There might be some more family friendly posts, and less late nights, but that’s fine with me. Hope you enjoy.

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Bar manager of the Piccadilly Lounge Thomas Ebs was a superb tutor, and was patient as we went from being attentive, to attacking the canapes with gusto and then as the pure liquor took hold, just shouting over him and each other. He taught us all the tricks of the trade, like counting out the measurements, shaking the cocktail shaker without throwing it all over your customers and how to look smooth while your doing it. He would not, however, let us juggle with the bottles like Tom Cruise and Brian Brown. Perhaps for the best.

It was universally decided that I should drink the ‘Carrie’ cocktail – hopefully because I’m a writer and not because I have a long face.

The ‘Miranda’ was my favourite, with a clean taste of Grey Goose vodka, and for a true redhead style, flavoured with watermelon, rose syrup and Kaffir lime leaves (as seen above). Mmm glug glug.

The ‘Samantha’ was my afore-mentioned favourite cocktail ever – with a layered taste of rich cherry and basil, with Wisniowka cherry vodka, lemon and cranberry juice. Most of the vodka ended up on the counter, after one of the friends didn’t quite master the pouring technique, so it was more of a cherry soft drink. I’ve been told not to bring her again.

The ‘Charlotte’ was far from being an innocent drink, but it was pretty straight up. The pineapple and cardamom infused cachaca was blended with lime wedges, fresh pineapple and cane sugar for a strong but tasty short cocktail. All the cocktails are £6.95 if these photos tempt you for a’ Sex and the City Inn’ evening – and the bonus is myself and my friends will NOT be making them for you.

The cocktail events are great for groups of friends, and it’s not often you’re allowed behind the bar to try making your own drinks. The Blue Bar is one of my favourite secret bars in Manchester (not a secret anymore though), and it’s nice to have a civilised drink while your make-up’s still on straight.

The Sex and the City cocktail masterclass is available at the City Inn until July 11 and is £30 per person (for at least four people) and involves two cocktails each and canapes. To book a master class call the Manchester hotel on 0161 242 1000 and quote ‘SATC master class’.

www.cityinn.com

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Anyway, we were there and we were hungry AND they had a two courses for £12.95 offer on. The modern British menu definitely tempted our tastebuds so onwards we went. Showing its raw original brick arches to their full potential, the decor was understated, with a clean finish. So far, so good.

I got a severe case of food envy throughout the meal, with the other half’s dishes being much more appetising than mine. His starter of chicken liver pate was rich and smooth, and came with shallots to pile on the pate, a balsamic drizzle and locally baked bread. Look – he’d even started eating it before I took a photo.

My smoked salmon and sesame seed fishcakes were rightly tasty, but came with a mere drizzle of sweet green chilli dip. It was far from being a dip, and could have just been a damp plate – and actually didn’t taste of green chilli at all. Sweet red chilli sauce is sooo over, so a green chilli relish would have been a wonderful accompaniment but this thin drizzle just didn’t deliver.

I ordered the chorizo and artichoke risotto for my main course but was brought the pea risotto and then had to sit meal-less for another seven minutes while they re-cooked my order. Perhaps I should have stuck with the pea because the chorizo was just too salty and overpowering to go with the soft gooey rice, and I ended up leaving most of it. The artichokes were beautiful, but risotto is such a delicate dish it doesn’t need that big wallop of flavour from the chorizo.

Opposite, a tender lamb shank with thick chunky gravy and mash was a massive success. It was the small details – the bits of garlic in the gravy, the chopped greens in the mash, the crisped skin on the lamb – that really made it.

As restaurant urban myth has it, Mondays aren’t a good day to eat out because this is when the head chef has the day off. However, we’re still paying customers and there weren’t that many people eating for them to make mistakes and be all rushed. The main menu (not the offer we had) was quite expensive so I wouldn’t have been happy to pay top whack for the inconsistent level of food.

Too full for desserts – even for creme brulee – we strolled back through Castlefield to catch the last of the rays.

Choice Restaurant, Castle Quay, Manchester, M15 4NT
T: 0161 833 3400
W: www.choicebarandrestaurant.co.uk

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