We headed over to Leeds on a sunny Saturday afternoon, and spotting that the food traders were pretty much all new to us (whilst Sheffield has a thriving street food scene, it's generally the same names cropping up event after event) we decided to pay EatNorth a visit.
First up, the venue. North Brewing Co is a brilliant set up for events such as this. Having recently added a second unit to their production facility which provides much needed storage, the taproom is spacious without being unwelcomingly cavernous, there's a nice shiny brew kit to drool over and a good amount of outdoor space.
We grabbed a couple of beers to start with - Piñata pale ale (4.5), which with mango and guava was delicately fruity without being overwhelmingly perfumed, and North's recent charity collaboration with Denmark's Dry & Bitter, #NB20, a slightly hazy 7% IPA with a decent whack of tropical flavours and an upfront hop bitterness (read more about North's charity project to celebrate their 20th anniversary here).
Onto the food! We went for the classic halloumi fries from East Midlands based Dukkah, who provide an entirely vegetarian menu. Now I guess halloumi fries are a bit of a trendy concept at the moment but these guys are clearly working for flavour rather than fashion. The fries themselves were nice (it's deep fried cheese at the end of the day, what's not to like?) but it was the toppings that made this dish special - fresh pomegranate seeds, a mint tzatziki sauce and a chilli and pistachio dukkha spice mix coating worked together in fragrant harmony.
We also sampled the crispy king prawns coated in panko breadcrumbs from Tikk's Thai Kitchen, which were served with sriracha fries and a sweet chilli dipping sauce. We've had the satay from these guys before and it's superb, and the prawns did not disappoint given our high expectations. Plump and juicy with just the right amount of crispy coating, and the fries were eye-wateringly spicy in a good way (we had also added extra chilli).
As well as a couple more street food traders, Smak! serving Polish sausages and Oh My Glaze providing chicken wraps and wings, there was a vegan cake stall from Nicely Kitchen and Rabbit Coffee serving hot drinks and espresso martinis, which looked and smelled amazing. So a good selection all round we reckon.
The atmosphere as a whole was brilliant; relaxed, bustling without being packed, and with a DJ playing dub tunes which completely befitted the sunny afternoon. A table outside was stocked with all manner of useful things from suncream to doggy treats, totally indicative of the thought and effort that's clearly gone into arranging this weekly event. Good vibes all round and an event we'd definitely recommend.
Cheers,
Laura & Jim
