TWO GASTRO PUBS - TWO STORIES

We have been to two very different Wellington pubs in the last week or so. One in Lambton Quay on the site of the old Paris and New Orleans now reincarnated as Keenans and the other is 3C down Chews Lane off Willis St.

One a very fine example of a good gastro pub - the other is crap.

The good one is 3C. The food is great, well cooked and reasonably priced. the wine list is fulsome and bar staff attentive and knowledgeable and the place fair bulges with sweaty Bettys and hard on Harry's on a Friday night. Its a fine example of its kind.

Keenans is everything you dont want in a gastro pub. Surly waitresses, food that is so bad that you will talk about it for weeks and its not cheap and has a skinny wine list to boot.

Keenans has a really good spot. It should be the place people go to do the " off the radar" or " fireside chats" that are a feature of Wellingtons public service and political scene.

But the lunch we had there started off with a waitress not bringing us menus or wine lists for about 10 minutes. Nor any water.

And there was no fish and two other dishes were off the menu.

The steak my mate had was, in her words " perfect if you wanted to skate on it all the way to Hamilton". It really was a a piece of rubber masquarding as beef.

I ordered a small Antipasto plate for $15 and a side of fries We got an odd plate of not very nice cold stuff and mounds of bread.

" Breads nice" said my mate...

Everything had a supermarket look about it and when the waitress went to pour the wine she sloshed it into the glass filling it three quarters full. Then stood back like she was expecting us to taste it.

Then she screwed the cap back before realising that she hadn't poured the next glass. Duh.

The chips were good as was the bread but for an antipasto plate, a steak sandwich and a $38 bottle of wine, you want more than just good bread and chips.

So if you want a cold beer and chips down the parliament end of the town - it could fit the bill -thats if you can get past the grumpy waitress.

Our advice is stretch it out and walk down to Willis St and enjoy the superb service and excellent and well priced food at 3C.

JUST DRINKIN AND EATIN ...

The Beaujolais orphans have found a new home.. We are all in heaven. It's little, out of the way ( so the boss will have a bloody hard job finding you, unless you are of course with the boss), a bit smoky, foods better than good and wont break the bank, wine list is great, its warm, stylish and comfy...We have made it ours.

So for all of the out of towners who are missing the " Boj" email us and we will let you know where to go....

We also had occasion to dine at the splendid Foxglove the other nite... We had been invited to the opening but sadly were in the Wairarapa. The guys who own Foxglove also own the Matterhorn and its clear they know what they are doing. They have turned a cold, uninviting, badly run barn of a pub called the Loaded Hog - that was legend for its crap food, into what we think will become a very popular top end restaurant. It is all class and no pretensions.

We had the duck - sticky, salty and delightful moist and melty it was. (gosh that almost sounds rude). We love the decor - a bank of ferns grace the wall at the entrance. The little cosy Window on the Waterfront dining room is fab. It really is a great addition to the Wellington Harbour eateries. We will be back .

We have also heard that the Dockside has undergone a bit of a facelift. We haven't been there for months because we decided that the food was mediocre and didn't match the exorbitant prices. And apparently there has been some sort of change in ownership.

We also note that some of the prices have been reduced.

So we will be off to have a visit soon to see if it has improved.

We are also pleased to report that the Green Parrot food is still pretty damn good. Mind you after a great night of carousing one wonders if it is possible to be a good judge of the quality of the nosh. But the flounder was a stunner - well we think it was.

And the place is always spotless - including the toilets. We like that in a restaurant. Well BustedBlonde did.....

BEAUJOLAIS UPDATE

Well we have been in mourning over the loss of our favourite Wine Bar Beaujolais  and its impending closure. Rent appeared to be an issue.  We facedbooked Lloyd Morrison yesterday asking him if he owned the building - he doesn't and he says that there is a fair chance that his companies may be looking for other premises in the near future. Infratil bought Shell's retail business in NZ.
Apparently the building is owned by Heritage Properties.

AHH WHAT MASTERY

We went to a superb event tonight. It was a birthday party.. Bril it was... There was a low brow affair over at Dockside and some Totty do at the other end of Shed Five but it was the Green Room that was the place to be seen. Wall to wall blondes and a peppering of politicos and diplomats. Power was the perfume. Everyone was gold elite..

And the queen of PR and schmoozing, the luscious LM, was the goddess of good times we happily paid homage to.

We were her servants and waited and feted her as was fitting for the queen of plonk and prawns. As this picture shows our Indigo Lord of Blogs himself was happy to ensure that she was kept perfectly coiffured.

The great mystery of the night is how did he gain such expertise in perfectly applying lip gloss?

BUSTEDBLONDE DOES POLLYANNA

As much as bloody old curmudgeon Alf Grumble MP , the member for Ekatahuna ( his nickname is "wee willy" by the way) would have you believe, we are not a doom spewing dame like Cassandra

He has his cravat in a knot over our concerns about the economy.

Reckons we are too negative. But does appreciate our breasts. He is not alone in appreciating our assets. He calls BB a lass but well, as we have lost all our wisdom teeth and a back bicuspid chewing on one too many birdy heads, it is fair to say we are fortyish and fab, buxom and bodacious, wrinkly and reckless but alas a lass no more.

So "wee Willy" Grumbleguts - here is our list of things to be pleased about.

• We are fit and well endowed.

• Paula Bennett is shaping up to be an inspiration for all who come from struggle street.

• Judith Collins looks like she has full control of her police portfolio

• Georgina te HeuHeu has employed some thinking women's crumpet as her advisor - and he is smart as well.

• We have some lovely new clients.

• We like Tim Grosers approach - he has his guitar strumming fingers on the pulse.

• We have tended to reserve our judgement on McCully - but bugger us, he is rising to the occasion and considering the Mculliavelli is not that tall that's a bit of rising.

• Wellingtons Restaurants have improved their service as they have to look after their customers more.
• And best of all there is a wine glut - that means we can drink more for less!!

BEAUJOLAIS DAY A WINNER

Many of the prawns enjoy a tipple and one of the favourite haunts in Wellington is Beaujolais.

Its a litttle wine bar tucked under the top steps on Woodward St. Some of us were there yesterday as its Beaujolais Day. The celebration of the first of the Beaujolias made from the Gamay Noir grape.

In many ways its not the greatest red wine. But its a hell of a good day.
This year Pete and Debs put on a lovely degustation menu, which considering the Boj kitchen is the size of a royal albert side plate was a stirling effort.

First up was a lovely demi tasse cup of roasted capsicum salmon and caviar soup. Next up was a fantastic tasing plate of little meaty morsels. then a palate cleanser and on to the main course - a wonderful duck , orange and kumara salad.
Pete and Steve entertain the diners

It was superb. the duck was divine. there was then a stunning little interlude of pear and white balsamic dipping sauce, followed by a washed rind cheese then profiteroles.
It was a splendid lunch and great atmosphere.

It was also great to see Janet Grey and Steve Morris from Copita helping out. Janet was cooking up a storm on the BBQ dishing up some very popular duck sausages.
Its a great place, great atmosphere, a excellent place to hide( its well known as the place to take your mistress) and Pete and Debs know their wine and food.