I am a bit of a snob. There, I said it. I'm not necessarily proud of it, but it's probably true. The more mainstream a band gets, the less I'm inclined to like them. I got considerably less enthused about seeing Slumdog Millionaire when it won all those Academy Awards. By the time the Fat Duck was a staple on the corporate entertainment circuit, it had lost all its appeal to me. Thus I'd decided well in advance that I really couldn't be arsed with Sale St.
News of Sale St had reached us by the time we arrived in Auckland in January, and mentions of it have kept cropping up since then, generally in explanations of hangovers, 'what a great place' and so on. When we decided to meet for lunch there, I was in two minds about what to expect. It's a big place, with lots of different faces - a bar, a cafe, a restaurant, a brewery, a live music venue, serving bar food, pizzas, brunch... and this often spells A V O I D. Over-egging a proposition usually leads to chaos, and those many things done half-heartedly. I'd rather see one thing done well, than be subjected to a hospitality version of a Swiss army knife.
The multi-function aspect to Sale St isn't immediately apparent, which in my book is a good thing, managing to feel intimate whilst actually being pretty big. It reminded me a lot of Cargo, back in London, but smarter, with better food, and less full of children. It's laid-back to the point of being fully reclined, with service attaining that beautiful level of appearing off-hand and lazy, but in reality being highly efficient and attentive. Offering sunblock to those sitting outside is a nice touch that's all too rare in New Zealand.
The brewery itself turns out some interesting stuff. Asking about the local brews produced a few samples and a helpful chat through them - the summer ale in particular is a peculiarly good one, with flavours of ginger and honey making an excellent food beer. The Ponsonby Gold, being less unique, is a much better session beer, smooth and full-flavoured. The wine list is worth a look, too - and better still, your waiter will probably know their way around it, too - how often can you say that??
On the food front, the brunch menu is pretty average in content, but the bar menu is where the kitchen seems to come to life a bit. It's refreshingly simple, showing a reliance on quality ingredients and cooking skill, rather than the overload of flavours New Zealand restaurants seem to love. Chilli salted squid was tender and judiciously flavoured, with some excellent nuoc cham on the side. Fries were spot on, crisp and fluffy inside, a massive portion with a good helping of harissa mayo.
The pizzas look good too, despite an odd pricing policy putting them at $22, way more than anything else on the bar menu. They are a healthy 12" though, and the toppings look fresh, well-matched and believably Italian for the most part. No pineapple in sight - grown-ups and anyone who's ever been to Italy will be pleased. The coffee was good, not great, serving a relatively bitter roast which would appeal to some palates but definitely not all.
So on the whole, I'd been prepared to be disappointed, but it's actually a great venue - and we're looking forward to going back, either for lunch or for drinks, or perhaps both... I guess the beauty of Sale St is that you could conceivably stay there from breakfast til closing time, and provided you changes seats a few times, it wouldn't get boring.
And on my opening point - I stand corrected. This once.
Sale St Brewery
7 Sale Street
Freemans Bay
Auckland
+64 (0) 9 307 8148
http://www.salest.co.nz
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Soljans Café, Kumeu
Some years ago, back in the UK, I worked in marketing for one of the UK's largest independent wine retailers. As part of the job, the occasional perk included trips to wineries around the world. Almost invariably, the following rule applied: the more expensive / flash / pretentious the restaurant, the more bland / boring / overpriced the wine. I don't mean to be overly judgemental here, but it does make sense - there's not a lot of money in wine, so if serving pretend haute cuisine to tourists makes more of it, more effort should be expended in that direction. If the wine suffers as a result, so be it.
This, it has to be said, is a viewpoint borne mainly of European vineyards, and my experience in New Zealand has been slightly better, if not entirely different. The food at Mills Reef, for example, is excellent, and the wine is well above average. The food at Black Barn is terrific, and the wine is similarly great. Soljans also proves me wrong, being entirely average on both counts.
Saturday lunch is prime time for winery restaurants, most of them not opening for dinner. As such, Soljans was packed, and we were fortunate to get an outside table - inside looking, sounding and feeling like a school cafeteria. A delightful view of the car park and SH16 was spoilt only slightly by a few well-manicured vines. The menu is an interesting read, with more ingredients per dish than I have in my pantry at home, and the wine list is comprehensive, covering all the usual suspects at very reasonably ($8-9 a glass) prices.
I put myself in the hands of whoever wrote the menu, going for the recommended Pinot Gris with my Croatian salt and pepper lignja (squid), and yes, it was a pleasant glass of wine which would be perfect for someone who didn't really like Pinot Gris. No real varietal character, some fruit salad flavours and a twinge of acidity. To their credit, the bar served it at precisely the right temperature, rather than chilled to within an inch of its life.
Food-wise, my squid was excellently cooked, not rubbery in the slightest, and the spiced coating, despite there being a ton of competing flavours in there, actually worked quite well. Roughly ground spices meant for a fairly gritty mouthful though, and the heaps of dry spice did detract from the tenderness of the squid. A bit of sauce, whether integrated or to the side, would have helped here. Accompanying salad was fine, simple and fresh-tasting.
A quick straw poll around the table had similar results - all good, not great, satisfactory, not thrilling. At around $30 per head, I reckon that's about right, too. On the whole, we'd come out here to get out of the city a bit, to meet up for Saturday lunch and do the social thing, and to that end it served its purpose well. If you're visiting this winery expecting great wine or top notch cuisine though, you might well be a little disappointed.
Soljans Café
366 State Highway 16
Kumeu
Auckland
+64 (9) 4125858
This, it has to be said, is a viewpoint borne mainly of European vineyards, and my experience in New Zealand has been slightly better, if not entirely different. The food at Mills Reef, for example, is excellent, and the wine is well above average. The food at Black Barn is terrific, and the wine is similarly great. Soljans also proves me wrong, being entirely average on both counts.
Saturday lunch is prime time for winery restaurants, most of them not opening for dinner. As such, Soljans was packed, and we were fortunate to get an outside table - inside looking, sounding and feeling like a school cafeteria. A delightful view of the car park and SH16 was spoilt only slightly by a few well-manicured vines. The menu is an interesting read, with more ingredients per dish than I have in my pantry at home, and the wine list is comprehensive, covering all the usual suspects at very reasonably ($8-9 a glass) prices.
I put myself in the hands of whoever wrote the menu, going for the recommended Pinot Gris with my Croatian salt and pepper lignja (squid), and yes, it was a pleasant glass of wine which would be perfect for someone who didn't really like Pinot Gris. No real varietal character, some fruit salad flavours and a twinge of acidity. To their credit, the bar served it at precisely the right temperature, rather than chilled to within an inch of its life.
Food-wise, my squid was excellently cooked, not rubbery in the slightest, and the spiced coating, despite there being a ton of competing flavours in there, actually worked quite well. Roughly ground spices meant for a fairly gritty mouthful though, and the heaps of dry spice did detract from the tenderness of the squid. A bit of sauce, whether integrated or to the side, would have helped here. Accompanying salad was fine, simple and fresh-tasting.
A quick straw poll around the table had similar results - all good, not great, satisfactory, not thrilling. At around $30 per head, I reckon that's about right, too. On the whole, we'd come out here to get out of the city a bit, to meet up for Saturday lunch and do the social thing, and to that end it served its purpose well. If you're visiting this winery expecting great wine or top notch cuisine though, you might well be a little disappointed.
Soljans Café
366 State Highway 16
Kumeu
Auckland
+64 (9) 4125858
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Sierra, Mission Bay
If there's one thing New Zealand does exceptionally well with a remarkable degree of consistency, it's cafés. This is something the UK struggles with, even in these enlightened times. Every time I've visited New Zealand, and on numerous occasions since we've moved here, I've been impressed by the average standard - from the quality of the coffee (except in Esquires, always excellent) to the muffins, sandwiches and larger plates, you're almost always in good hands.
Sierra is a cookie-cutter modern New Zealand café, all clean, white lines and classic brunch-style menu. The coffee is slightly above average, the food definitely in the top quartile, with the missus' pancakes fluffy and light, with a healthy serving of lean bacon and plenty of fruit and syrup. My grill was excellently cooked throughout, with superbly rich creamed field mushrooms in addition to the usual suspects. One criticism I do have is the way they add in unadvertised ingredients - the sausages for example were actually kranskys, those little Polish sausages which I love, but not for breakfast. A difference which was worth mentioning, I think. Also with the kumara mixed in with the sautéed potatoes - I'm a fan of kumara in general, but it's a very different flavour to potato and thus shouldn't be snuck into a well-worn formula like breakfast without mentioning it on the menu.
Service was pleasant and efficient, portions were on the large side, prices were reasonable given the location, and that'll do me, thank you very much. A great place for brunch.
Sierra Café
2/33 Tamaki Drive
Mission Bay
Auckland
+64 (9) 521 0818
Sierra is a cookie-cutter modern New Zealand café, all clean, white lines and classic brunch-style menu. The coffee is slightly above average, the food definitely in the top quartile, with the missus' pancakes fluffy and light, with a healthy serving of lean bacon and plenty of fruit and syrup. My grill was excellently cooked throughout, with superbly rich creamed field mushrooms in addition to the usual suspects. One criticism I do have is the way they add in unadvertised ingredients - the sausages for example were actually kranskys, those little Polish sausages which I love, but not for breakfast. A difference which was worth mentioning, I think. Also with the kumara mixed in with the sautéed potatoes - I'm a fan of kumara in general, but it's a very different flavour to potato and thus shouldn't be snuck into a well-worn formula like breakfast without mentioning it on the menu.
Service was pleasant and efficient, portions were on the large side, prices were reasonable given the location, and that'll do me, thank you very much. A great place for brunch.
Sierra Café
2/33 Tamaki Drive
Mission Bay
Auckland
+64 (9) 521 0818
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Deve Brasserie, Kingsland
I can see problems with this place. I really wanted to dislike it, purely so I'd never be the one saying "shall we go to Deve?", or "I'd highly recommend Deve". Because, you see, I've no idea how to pronounce it. Deeeeeve? Dev-ay? Dave? Neither really sounds quite right, somehow.
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to get over it, because Deve is really very good (see, it's easier when you write it...). Sunday lunch here provided a startlingly good salade Niçoise, a fat slab of fresh tuna perfectly seared and rosy pink (though warm) inside, and all the attendant bits (olives, green beans, red onion, new potatoes, semi-soft boiled eggs, salad leaves) all in good order. Purists (bores) will harp on about true Niçoise only ever featuring canned tuna, but for my part I much prefer fresh, if it's decent quality and well cooked, as this was.
Very prettily presented it was too, and well-matched with a glass of Mount Dottrel rosé, whose tart strawberry flavours balanced the fattiness of the tuna and the salad dressing nicely. To be honest, the only thing about it that wasn't spot on was the service, which I'm never really that fussed about but here it did grate a little bit, probably because hard work and talent in the kitchen were being blunted by a lack of thought front-of-house. Simple things, like why would you come to take a table's order when the whole party's not there (my other half having nipped across the road for a paper)? And my personal most-hated waiter slip-up, taking away one diner's empty plate whilst the other one is still eating? So rude, so low-rent and the perfect way to spoil an otherwise great lunch.
As for the name, the staff themselves didn't know how to pronouce it. Apparently everyone says it slightly differently. Either way, get yourself down to 'that Brasserie just by Kingsland train station' and you won't be disappointed, especially if someone has a quiet word with the staff in the meantime.
Deve Brasserie
460 New North Road
Kingsland
Auckland
(09) 846 9997
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to get over it, because Deve is really very good (see, it's easier when you write it...). Sunday lunch here provided a startlingly good salade Niçoise, a fat slab of fresh tuna perfectly seared and rosy pink (though warm) inside, and all the attendant bits (olives, green beans, red onion, new potatoes, semi-soft boiled eggs, salad leaves) all in good order. Purists (bores) will harp on about true Niçoise only ever featuring canned tuna, but for my part I much prefer fresh, if it's decent quality and well cooked, as this was.
Very prettily presented it was too, and well-matched with a glass of Mount Dottrel rosé, whose tart strawberry flavours balanced the fattiness of the tuna and the salad dressing nicely. To be honest, the only thing about it that wasn't spot on was the service, which I'm never really that fussed about but here it did grate a little bit, probably because hard work and talent in the kitchen were being blunted by a lack of thought front-of-house. Simple things, like why would you come to take a table's order when the whole party's not there (my other half having nipped across the road for a paper)? And my personal most-hated waiter slip-up, taking away one diner's empty plate whilst the other one is still eating? So rude, so low-rent and the perfect way to spoil an otherwise great lunch.
As for the name, the staff themselves didn't know how to pronouce it. Apparently everyone says it slightly differently. Either way, get yourself down to 'that Brasserie just by Kingsland train station' and you won't be disappointed, especially if someone has a quiet word with the staff in the meantime.
Deve Brasserie
460 New North Road
Kingsland
Auckland
(09) 846 9997
The Fridge, Kingsland
In the window of the Fridge, a small cafe nestled in Kingsland's little villagey-type main street, you can see all you need to know about this place. To the right of the door, there's a pie cabinet. In that cabinet, there are pies. Heavy, packed full of filling, with well-raised crusts and generally taunting every passer-by.
True, they're $6 apiece, which puts them firmly at the upper end of the pie spectrum. But for this, less than you'll pay for a beer across the road in Neighbourhood, you can get a truly stunning bit of food. I have yet to be tempted to stray from their terrific Mince & Cheese, the cheese in this case being oozing mozzarella, the mince seasoned to perfection and richly flavoured, almost like a bolognese. Not a bit of gristle, jelly or suspiciously glutinous sauce to be seen. This is a handmade pie, made by skilled hands which genuinely care.
If there's a better pie in Auckland, I've not had it yet.
The Fridge
507 New North Road
Kingsland
Auckland
(09) 845 5321
True, they're $6 apiece, which puts them firmly at the upper end of the pie spectrum. But for this, less than you'll pay for a beer across the road in Neighbourhood, you can get a truly stunning bit of food. I have yet to be tempted to stray from their terrific Mince & Cheese, the cheese in this case being oozing mozzarella, the mince seasoned to perfection and richly flavoured, almost like a bolognese. Not a bit of gristle, jelly or suspiciously glutinous sauce to be seen. This is a handmade pie, made by skilled hands which genuinely care.
If there's a better pie in Auckland, I've not had it yet.
The Fridge
507 New North Road
Kingsland
Auckland
(09) 845 5321
Gourmet Pizza Kitchen (GPK), Ponsonby
Everyone has a personal bugbear of one kind or another. My other half, for example, becomes incandescent with rage when the venetian blinds are closed the wrong way up. For my part, I have many of these little foibles, and most of them about food. As a reader of this blog, you'll become intimately acquainted with them as time goes by. The one I'd like to focus on today is the shocking, widespread misuse in New Zealand of the word 'Gourmet'.
It's almost as if there's another meaning to it here. Collins Essential English dictionary defines 'gourmet' with the following meaning: "an expert on good food and drink". Here, however, it seems to mean "Beware: this restaurant/food brand is more expensive than it deserves to be, and justifies the expense through the expansive addition of ingredients not commonly found in this cuisine." Hence 'Gourmet' Pies being anything other than the basic fillings. 'Gourmet' pizza often featuring jams, fruit, sweet chilli sauce and so on. I've come to hate and distrust the word - rarely have I seen anything labelled as 'gourmet' at all likely to be ordered by anyone even remotely deserving of the description themselves.
Which is why I think that, despite being known more as 'GPK' recently, the Gourmet Pizza Kitchen needs to change its name.
I have to confess, given the existence of that hated word on on the signage outside, I sat down to eat here with all the enthusiasm of a turkey being led to the Christmas dinner table. One sweep of the menu, however, showed my prejudice to be unfounded in this case - a set of tremendous-sounding pizzas, with the sort of toppings that actually worked together! What a relief! No bizarre pairings of lime-marinated chicken with peaches here, oh no. Agonising though the decision was, I went for a Sicilian-sounding beast of a pizza, with salami, anchovies, capers and so on, and I was not disappointed.
The base, and the sauce were I think what made it. The former was crisp, light and supple, soaking up just enough of the richly herbed, long-reduced sauce, but without disintegrating. The toppings were sparingly used, their quality showing through in bold, assertive flavours without the need to be loaded on. I should apologise to my dining companions at this point: I was silent from the moment this arrived in front of me to the last mouthful. Can't talk: eating.
The only thing, in fact, that could distract me from the task in hand was a great glass of Gewurztraminer (from precisely where I forget, save that it was local-ish), crisp and floral to combat the afternoon heat, powerfully flavoured enough to accompany the pizza. What a lunch.
So there you have it - a terrific pizza, beating all others New Zealand has come up with so far hands down. But guys, that word just makes you sound like every other illiterate also-ran in the phone book.
Gourmet Pizza Kitchen (GPK)
262 Ponsonby Road
Ponsonby
Auckland
(09) 360 1113
It's almost as if there's another meaning to it here. Collins Essential English dictionary defines 'gourmet' with the following meaning: "an expert on good food and drink". Here, however, it seems to mean "Beware: this restaurant/food brand is more expensive than it deserves to be, and justifies the expense through the expansive addition of ingredients not commonly found in this cuisine." Hence 'Gourmet' Pies being anything other than the basic fillings. 'Gourmet' pizza often featuring jams, fruit, sweet chilli sauce and so on. I've come to hate and distrust the word - rarely have I seen anything labelled as 'gourmet' at all likely to be ordered by anyone even remotely deserving of the description themselves.
Which is why I think that, despite being known more as 'GPK' recently, the Gourmet Pizza Kitchen needs to change its name.
I have to confess, given the existence of that hated word on on the signage outside, I sat down to eat here with all the enthusiasm of a turkey being led to the Christmas dinner table. One sweep of the menu, however, showed my prejudice to be unfounded in this case - a set of tremendous-sounding pizzas, with the sort of toppings that actually worked together! What a relief! No bizarre pairings of lime-marinated chicken with peaches here, oh no. Agonising though the decision was, I went for a Sicilian-sounding beast of a pizza, with salami, anchovies, capers and so on, and I was not disappointed.
The base, and the sauce were I think what made it. The former was crisp, light and supple, soaking up just enough of the richly herbed, long-reduced sauce, but without disintegrating. The toppings were sparingly used, their quality showing through in bold, assertive flavours without the need to be loaded on. I should apologise to my dining companions at this point: I was silent from the moment this arrived in front of me to the last mouthful. Can't talk: eating.
The only thing, in fact, that could distract me from the task in hand was a great glass of Gewurztraminer (from precisely where I forget, save that it was local-ish), crisp and floral to combat the afternoon heat, powerfully flavoured enough to accompany the pizza. What a lunch.
So there you have it - a terrific pizza, beating all others New Zealand has come up with so far hands down. But guys, that word just makes you sound like every other illiterate also-ran in the phone book.
Gourmet Pizza Kitchen (GPK)
262 Ponsonby Road
Ponsonby
Auckland
(09) 360 1113
Handmade Burgers, Kingsland
Two things immediately stand out about Handmade Burgers. Firstly, there's a kind of drive-thru arrangement on the forecourt, so I think in the mornings you can, er, drive through it and pick up a coffee on the way. Nice idea, not sure about it in practice. Secondly, the look and feel of it is nicely styled, but possibly in the way grown-ups think is down with the 'youth'. Being more the former than the latter, it's hard for me to judge.
Anyway, all in all it looks pretty quirky, in a good way. Seems cool enough.
The menu, though, is a bit of a challenge. There's a train of thought somewhere in the catering industry which seems to think that a dish is not a dish until it has at least 15 components all screaming for attention, and unfortunately Handmade Burgers ploughs this field like you would not believe. The descriptions sound innocuous enough, until you read the small print that explains that when they say 'salad', they mean red onion, spring onion, capsicum, cucumber, tomato, and a ton of iceberg lettuce. Too much, guys, especially when you seem incapable of removing any of these bits when asked.
My other problem with Handmade is simpler. Every single burger on their menu comes with plum sauce. Seriously. Plum sauce. So your basic cheeseburger comes with plum sauce by default. I tried this, just for fun, and it turns out it's not actually the tangy plum sauce as you'd find in a Chinese supermarket, but more like a sickly sweet kind of jam. JAM. On my cheeseburger.
A daring, forward thinking new taste sensation? No, vile. Utterly, utterly vile.
This was a shame, because the burger itself (or patty, if you like) was actually pretty good. Overcooked for my taste, but far from ruined, and still showing loads of flavour and decent quality beef too. The bun was as it should be - soft, white, sesame seeds, simple.
So on the whole, Handmade Burgers is a bit of a saddening experience. Buried in here somewhere are the makings of a great burger bar - good basic building blocks, some great sounding burger combinations, but it's ruined by crap, over-fussy salad garnishes and that bloody jam they insist on putting on everything. I will be going again, but I'll be ordering more carefully next time, and if the grill monkey even looks at that jam pot...
Handmade Burgers
455 New North Road,
Kingsland
Auckland
(09) 849 4590
Anyway, all in all it looks pretty quirky, in a good way. Seems cool enough.
The menu, though, is a bit of a challenge. There's a train of thought somewhere in the catering industry which seems to think that a dish is not a dish until it has at least 15 components all screaming for attention, and unfortunately Handmade Burgers ploughs this field like you would not believe. The descriptions sound innocuous enough, until you read the small print that explains that when they say 'salad', they mean red onion, spring onion, capsicum, cucumber, tomato, and a ton of iceberg lettuce. Too much, guys, especially when you seem incapable of removing any of these bits when asked.
My other problem with Handmade is simpler. Every single burger on their menu comes with plum sauce. Seriously. Plum sauce. So your basic cheeseburger comes with plum sauce by default. I tried this, just for fun, and it turns out it's not actually the tangy plum sauce as you'd find in a Chinese supermarket, but more like a sickly sweet kind of jam. JAM. On my cheeseburger.
A daring, forward thinking new taste sensation? No, vile. Utterly, utterly vile.
This was a shame, because the burger itself (or patty, if you like) was actually pretty good. Overcooked for my taste, but far from ruined, and still showing loads of flavour and decent quality beef too. The bun was as it should be - soft, white, sesame seeds, simple.
So on the whole, Handmade Burgers is a bit of a saddening experience. Buried in here somewhere are the makings of a great burger bar - good basic building blocks, some great sounding burger combinations, but it's ruined by crap, over-fussy salad garnishes and that bloody jam they insist on putting on everything. I will be going again, but I'll be ordering more carefully next time, and if the grill monkey even looks at that jam pot...
Handmade Burgers
455 New North Road,
Kingsland
Auckland
(09) 849 4590
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