BEAUJOLAIS BESTIES

Today  we returned to an old haunt  for lunch -  the Wellesley.  It is with out a doubt one of the most beautiful olde world hotels of NZ.  The soft scent of good cigars and old spice ooze from  its dark panelled oak walls  .
A  forever stilled bisons head hangs  over an old wood smoke drenched fireplace. A  baby grand piano sits on black and white checkerboard tiles in   the Hotel lobby waiting for musical fingers to make the keys dance.

  We dined  at a table in the corner of the bar. It seats a spreaded ten or an intimate dozen.
The old McGinnity Restaurant was once draped in starchy  white linen redolent of the sumptuous leisurely  privileged age of last century .  

Now it is a renamed bistro style café - 1815.  It is not well patronised, probably because few people realise it has been opened again post earthquake repairs needed to shore up its weak brick bones.  

A chef came up to the bar and we  all in unison squealed with glee. Chef Anton from our beloved heady days at the now defunct Beaujolais wine bar  in Woodward St was master of the 1815 kitchen.  

Recently lunch in many establishements has become tiresome as plates are over dressed with  all manner of flowers.  Moleculargastrofuckery abounds in the trendiest of food dens. But  I don't want flowers with my meat and I don't want to drink from a jam jar..
And that's the reason we squealed  when we saw  Anton  as he does real food  real good. His plates do not need to be dressed. The substance of the food he cooks with love  is enough get the mouth waters streaming.
The menu was basic  as it appears the hotel is hampered by the last of the earthquake repairs .We opted for a tasty  haloumi and tomato bruschetta to start . We fought over the last one. It was seasoned well  and flavours balanced to perfection.
Then we opted for Chef Antons most popular Beaujolais Dish. A steak sandwich with béarnaise  sauce and chips. It is as wonderful as it is simple. The meat was tender, rocket crunchy and the chips crispy. It took us back to the days where and when deals were done , politicians rolled, rumours started, lies told, truths sacrificed, affairs begun and finished, $1000 bottles of wine savoured over endless afternoon hours and Stump jump red quaffed in the time  it took to ring parliaments bells.

And on that steak were no flowers, no microgastrofuckery  no silly plastic syringes- just good meat, good salad and good chips - food in no need of frippery.

The service was impeccable, the surroundings welcoming and company was just grand. And we welcome back Anton, a man that knows good food don't need no frills. I do hope Anton enters Wellingtononaplate  

A GRANDE FEAST

The Sydney Morning Herald has asked a few notable foodies what they would prepare if they had $1000 to spend.

For us it would be an intimate dinner for 4.

There would be Cloudy Bay Pelorous bubbles to start

Bluff oysters with Paulownia Rose

Sauted baby paua with a grassy Olssens Gewurztraminer

Lobster Thermadore with Wooing tree Blondie

And for dessert poached pluots with creme fraiche with schoc chilli chocolate shavings and a nice Forrests The Doctors Nobile Chenin Blanc

For a Wild Food alternative

A starter of Pan Fried Blue cod livers on Vogels 12 grain. Trinity Hill Viognier

Wild fallow deer back steaks with Huakararo Maori potatoes and sauteed puha -Te Motu Dunleavy 2005 Cab blend

And for dessert freshly picked blackberry shortcake with titoki infused icecream with a Seresin late harvest riesling

Nothing too fussy..

DONT SQUASH THIS BUG

There has been an increased debate around animal welfare in the past few years and its all good. Apart from one species. The Crayfish. When you come from a fishing family thats been in the business for 6 generations in New Zealand, you can become anaethetised to killing fish.

Our crayfish or rock lobsters, normally came home in a sack , were chucked in the cool of the wash house tub and then the water of a big mush pot was ready for them when it reached a rolling boil. You quickly dumped them in and jammed the lid on quick as they didn't seem to like the hot water very much.

And in the days of tailing at sea - the body was severed from the head. Probably the worst way to kill them as the bodies remained active for quite some time.

As knowledge increased iki-ing became the done thing. A slice into the body that basically munched the very small brain. Then into boiling water.

So all good - And we see that the BSA has not upheld a complaint that came out of Master chef when a young aspiring chef dunked her cray into boiling water to kill it.

And frankly if its been chilled down long enough and the water is on a good rolling boil - there is little movement from the crayfish.

Now, we iki most fish these days- it stops them wriggling and means you get less spikes in your hands and it has the added benefit of them dying very quickly.

But occasionally we need a reality check - you see the crayfish has quite a close terrestial relative.

And we wonder just who among animal activists is going to go into bat for the extremely common slater or wood lice.

So why should the crayfish warrant more sympathy than a slater?

Personally we tend to ignore slaters, irritating and frikking ugly they may be but they are pretty harmless. And they tend to turn bad shit into good shit.

However if they really annoy us we just squash them - sort of a mega iki.

Works fine for us.

And for the record - one of the most viewed blogs on roarprawn, its about crayfish how to cook it and eat it naked.

And the best wine to go with crayfish?? That simple - any damn fine champagne will do especially the great NZ bubbles we have on offer these days - like the Le Brun Number 1