For a while now, the Arndale's food market has been the place to unearth more than a few secret gems of the Manchester food scene. It's also got a bit of everything.
Dunkin Burgers These are burgers with a Manc swagger. The Ian Brown of burgers, you might say, but served up without the additional conspiracy theories. The USP here, as the name implies, is a pot of dunkable gravy accompanying each burger. It doesn’t bring much to the party - the burgers are good enough without it, and essentially, it’s just thick chip shop gravy. A proper meat sauce might be a different matter, like you'd get with a 'French dip' sandwich.
Cafe Greco One thing that hit me as I walked past the stall of Cafe Greco is the sheer size of their sandwiches. Like something even the BFG might have difficulty finishing off, there are choices from Ham and Cheese, Halloumi, salami and everything in between. For £5.90, I went for the Fried Chicken sandwich which was grilled right in front of me. Smothered in thick mozzarella cheese, it was a gooey treat that hit the lunchtime spot just right.
Kokob An Italian serving Ethiopian food? It’s certainly different. For their Italian offerings, there’s pasta from £5 - £7.50 based on how hungry you are. I ordered the ‘pollo e peperoni’ but ended up getting something completely different: grilled chicken pasta with peppers and onions. There was a lovely chargrilled barbeque taste to the meat and was quite nice overall - but could have done with some sauce. The Ethiopian dishes, on the other hand, were superb.
Takoyaki Master These Japanese takoyaki - somewhere between a pancake and a dumpling - are DELICIOUS and I'm not about to apologise for the use of caps either. They're also a joy to watch being made too. The batter is poured into a special mould, before the filling is dropped on top and the dumpling is then flipped round to make a neat ball.
Just Natas If you’ve room for desert then definitely head to Just Natas. Serving up little Portugese custard tarts, with cinnamon sprinkled over the top if you want it, it’s a treat that leaves you feeling all warm inside. It’s my new favourite and I can’t wait to enjoy them again in the autumn with a cup of coffee. You can get one nata for £2, 3 for £5 or 6 for £10. It's tempting to even shell out on 16 for £25...