best meal in New Zealand

Just back from Washington DC, and given a Sunday night alone at home while Conrad is till there, it's opportunity for me to finish blogging the vacation. Really, was it almost a month ago that we RETURNED?

[sigh]

I wish we were back there. Ah for that elusive lottery win.

On a night where dinner is, well, not blog-worthy (don't ask), let me go ahead and tell you about the best meal we had in New Zealand: Pacifica, in Napier, April 8.

We learned of Pacifica at our motel when we checked in, and not long after dropping off our bags, we were walking by the restaurant, poking inside the open door, and asking for a reservation. A good number of hours later we were sitting at the wee bar. I had a glass of a sparkling NZ wine and Conrad had a martini. We had no idea of what lay ahead.

You know how it is when you get one of those menus that has loads of appealing options? Exactly like that. When we got to the table, we found ourselves struggling a little to decide. Once we did, we challenged (nicely) our waiter to bring us glasses of wine with each course that would be local (if possible) and good matches. That man did very well by us, and especially given how he wrote down the wines for us. Here we go:

We shared the half dozen freshly shucked te Matuku oysters and had the Esk Valley Chenin Blanc 2007 (Hawkes Bay). Dion will read this and be a little horrified to learn this, but we liked these oysters more than the bluff oysters. The presentation on a bed of salt was lovely.

Conrad had the yellowfin tuna sashimi, New Zealand pure wasabi, pineapple and wasabi foam. With this he enjoyed the Alan McCorkindale Pinot Gris (Waipara).

I had the home made brawn, French Ossetra sturgeon caviar, and parmesan crusted quail egg. As I get older, I love eggs all the more. With this I had the Dog Point Pinot Noir 2006 (Marlborough). How funny that he got the white and I got the red, but we liked our wines fine.

Conrad had the whole baked garlic-infused flounder, tempura prawns, steamed curly kale. The kitchen deboned it for him, and the dish was substantial. Continuing his white trend, he had the Sacred Hill Rifleman Chardonnay (Hawkes Bay). If memory serves me correctly, he liked it so much, he ordered it the next night again.

My main was pan roasted veal loin, tempura rabbit livers, bone marrow sauce. A meaty dish paired with the Unison Syrah (Hawkes Bay).

Oh, and we shared buttered green beans.

The hostess, one half of the husband-wife team who own the place (he is the chef) came to see about dessert for us, and we declined - satisfied with what we'd had. Instead, we asked for a reservation the next night and the same waiter. Back we strolled to the hotel and fell into a contented sleep.

Conrad now says that is the second best meal he's ever had.

We didn't take many photos the next night, and we didn't care. I can't tell you all the wines, alas, though we had a good time with more fun pairings.
We again started with a sip at the bar before heading to a table and were thrilled that the same waiter was taking care of us. Few photos, but I can tell you what we had:

Oysters again, this time presented on micro-greens.
Pork fillet served pink, confit pork belly, apple terrine, watercress jus.
Crispy skin snapper fillet, snapper head ravioli, thickened fish jus.

Did we have dessert? More wine? Cheese? I can't recall that. The smaller meal is only a reflection of a day spent wine tasting, I can avow. The food was once again excellent, and we had nice little chats with the waiter and the owner about the business and the upcoming long weekend. Before we left, the hostess introduced us to her husband, the chef, and we were glad to thank him for such fine food.

So there you have it. We dined so well in the country, but this was the most special somehow. We'll happily recommend it to others, and we hope we may one day go back.

Custom House dinner

Conrad is away, and for the most part, I'm being reclusive. Time at home, spent quietly alone. It's not a bad thing.

Wednesday night, though, I did get out of the house for a good dinner with a friend from grad school. Deanna was in town, on a work trip that is seeing her through a few major US cities. Conrad and I had shared a meal with her in Paris a few years back, and now that she was on her first time in Chicago, she returned the favour. Over a few hours at Custom House, we caught up. An enjoyable time, most of all for the company. The food, however, did it's part, too.

I'd only been to Custom House once before, not long after it opened (I think) and for brunch. I had been curious about it for dinner, in fact, and with Deanna's hotel within walking distance of the restaurant, it was convenient to meet there.

I don't have full menu descriptions, just a rough idea of what we had.

My dinner: veal cheeks served with a marrow bruschetta. I've long liked marrow, in fact, though I seldom have it. This was deliciously nutty in flavour.

We shared side dishes: a squash puree and a potato and sheep's milk cheese gratin. Behind those two dishes you can see Deanna's dinner of rabbit.

I liked dessert more than dinner, though dinner was fine. Deanna had a gingerbread, which the waiter advised us had some real kick to it. It tasted fine, but it was not so strong as he seemed to think. My dessert was a frozen honey custard (lovely!) with caramelized onion cake. Think zucchini bread, but made with caramelized onions, and light and spongy. I could definitely taste the onion, but it melded well with the custard and sauce. Good stuff.

So add Custom House to the list of places to go back to and try more things. Meaty meals to be had there - no bad thing. In the meantime, Deanna should be winding down her trip in San Francisco before heading back to Paris. I hope she's enjoying the west coast and dining well there!