Day 11: What We’re Eating and Drinking

August 21, 2017

Sometimes life is just incredibly hard – not only do we have to eat all of this incredible food, but we have to write about it too...

What Chris has been eating and drinking

In between all of the burgers, oysters (go shell out for mouth-watering oysters and beers at Oysters on Marion while you still can) and meals (Shepherd’s Number of the Feast was sinfully good) I managed to squeeze in a few cocktails. Hanging Ditch’s Gustav’s Golden Ale was a great pre-dinner drink – light but full of flavour, refreshing but sprightly. It might look like a tall glass of frothy beer, but it’s actually a summery concoction of pineapple rum, fresh apple juice, and a Werther’s Original and tonka bean syrup. And seeing as we can’t get enough of them right now, this drink comes with a mini burger for good measure.

and Georgia...

I must reiterate that Number of the Feast was one of the most fun and delicious meals I’ve ever had. There are still two tables available, and I strongly recommend getting five friends together and nabbing those spots. You will not regret it.

If you can’t commit to this epic six-course dinner, then chase down the Sixes Pie Cart for lunch. The steak, stout and aged cheddar pie was super tasty, and I chased it up with a salted caramel doughnut that was so rich it had to be shared – it was a two-course carb spectacular that did not disappoint.

What Georgia hears is good

Why make your own boring breakfast when you could get some of Wellington’s top chefs to make it for you? You’ve only for four more days of the Toast pop-up – if you haven’t made it down to Midland Park yet, hurry.
Hillside Kitchen burger – I got sick of everyone telling me how amazing this burger is, so have made a booking to have it for myself on Saturday. Super excited to try the Momofuku-inspired sriracha-and-coffee-infused redeye mayo.
Ortega Festival Dish – Ortega is a natural choice for a slightly swanky but still super fun night out in Wellington. Folk are singing the praises of every course in their Dine Wellington dinner menu, but I hear the Festival Dish of market fish with fennel and mascarpone risotto is particularly excellent.
Logan Brown burger – For lovers of hella rich food, Logan Brown’s burger is a take on the classic steak dish Tournedos Rossini, with a beef patty, duck pate and shallot jam in a brioche bun. If you’re feeling particularly baller, there’s also the option of adding freshly-shaved black truffle for an extra $25.
One80 – My intel suggests that this burger is ranking very highly. One80 generally serve up Indian-inspired fare, but their Scottish burger includes a ‘secret recipe’ lamb haggis patty with whiskey-tomato glaze in an oat bun with ‘tatties and neeps’ – that’s potatoes and swedes to you.
Don’t forget to rate every cocktail, Festival Dish and burger you eat. Not only do you get to help decide the winners, but you also go in the draw to win some damn good prizes. You’ve got until midnight on Thursday the 24th to cast your votes, and on Friday morning we’ll be announcing the finalists in each category right here on the blog.

Hillside's Smokoccino burger - photo from @hillside_nz Instagram

What’s coming up and Georgia is looking forward to

Virtual Dining – There are still some sessions available at Thistle Inn’s Virtual Dining, up until this Saturday. The folk over at Idealog and Newshub are both fans of this event, so you’re in good company.
WBC Community Hall - If you're looking for something to liven up your Monday and Tuesday nights, the WBC Community Hall still has tickets available for a few sittings.
Feast Your Eyes - City of Gold - The man himself, Jonathan Gold, is in the house. On Wednesday night he'll be hosting a screening of the doco about his culinary adventures, City of Gold, accompanied by a couple of courses of street food and followed by a Q&A with Jonathan. This is a pretty amazing opportunity to hear from one of the most influential minds in food today.
Food Truck Rally - The rally is popping up around the Wellington region, in Kāpiti tonight, the CBD on Wednesday, Porirua on Thursday and Upper Hutt on Sunday. You can get a sneaky look at the trucks' schedules on the event listing.
Tiny Portions - This teeny tiny exhibition starts tomorrow, and I can't wait to see how artist Rose Young has interpreted an array of iconic Welly dishes. The full line-up has finally been revealed, and includes Capitol's crumbed lambs' livers, Rams' chilli oil dumplings and Tommy Millions' margherita pizza to name a few. To kick things off, there's a free talk from Ruth Pretty at 12.30pm tomorrow about our city's weird and wonderful culinary history.
Rimutaka Prison Gate Pop Up - This is a chance for folk who weren't drawn from the ballot to get their Prison Gate to Plate kick. For just $15 you can get a delicious lunch that has three components - a 'main', a salad and a little sweet treat - while helping to support this awesome initiative to teach prisoners hospitality skills.