Wellington on a Plate Week One
Tuesday Lunch: Juniper Restaurant and Bar | Parmesan Chicken Burger Rating: 9/10
Parmesan-crumbed chicken breast with coleslaw, tomato, cucumber, avocado, Kapiti camembert, bacon and chilli-coriander aioli, with French fries
This was my first burger this week. A great start to the event too. I hadn't been to Juniper since it first opened way back when. The decor had changed since I last went. I definitely would recommend them for a large work lunch (which is why we were there with about 15 others!) The chicken was succulent and crispy and complemented well with the cheese. A bit of a mess to eat by hand but I managed to do that without too much damage considering it came served a little on the lopsided side - the bun slid off at one stage! The portion was more than satisfying. I had to leave a few chips on the late at the end and really wanted an afternoon siesta to go with it. I went as a work lunch and almost 3/4 of the table ordered the burger and had a great time.
Wednesday Lunch: The Backbencher Pub and Café | T. Mallard's Open Burger Rating: 8/10
Venison and beef patty with bacon, mushroom caps, grilled tomato Kapiti Kikorangi blue cheese aioli on toasted Pandoro focaccia, with chips
This was huge and messy due to the open nature of the burger. I was bemoaning the lack of flavour just before I took a bite of the patty. It was moist, rich and delicious. The hand cut potato skins were crispy with a rich aioli and made a nice accompaniment to the burger which was more of an open sandwich than burger. I managed to cut the roof of my mouth on the focaccia unfortunately.
Dinner: Floriditas
Three courses plus two glasses of Wellington regional wine for $70 Starter Pear, Bracadale Ohau hazelnuts, shaved fennel, dill and watercress salad or Roasted balsamic Horowhenua beetroot and green split pea, toasted fennel seed pâté and grilled Floriditas Bakery flatbread
I chose the terrine which was kinda bland really. They didn't provide enough pieces of flatbread to offset the terrine which was a nice dark toasted contrast. My flatmate chose the salad which was sweet, tasty and fresh.
Main Crumbed Harrington’s Eco Pork, chop with a potato, watercress and rosemary salad
I'm pretty sure we had the beef fillet which wasn't listed on the menu on the site. It wasn't too bad. A tad bland compared to the Amora fillet.
Dessert Baked Zany Zeus vanilla ricotta with caramelised pears and gingerbread crumbs
This was pretty bland as well. I didn't finish all of the dessert cos I was pretty full by then. The only good bit was the one half of a pear that was rich, sweet, moist and tasty. We had 2 glasses of elderflower soda as an alternative to the wine. The restaurant offered us a small plate of a wide selection of warmed foreign olives to start the evening. We were not impressed at being charged $8 for the privilege!
Thursday The General Practitioner | Prime Pâté Patty Rating: 8/10
Prime Star Wairarapa beef and bacon patty with chicken liver pate and red wine shallots , with shoestring fries and truffled mayonnaise (The General Practitioner's take on Escoffier's famous steak Rossini)
Almost didn't get a table for dinner at 6pm cos the pub was already very busy. This was a really yummy burger. The pate was obviously hand made and melted into a saucy burger condiment. The french fries were yum.
Friday Logan Brown - Fawn and Fungi Burger Rating 9/10
Venison patty with portabello Parkvale mushroom, cheese, sour cherry relish and rocket in a sourdough bun, with Wagyu fat potato chunks
This was probably the smallest burger I've had so far. Small but perfect in every little way. The 3 pieces of cherry were dark, rich and smooth. The potato cubes were delish but came in a small bowl. The aioli was really rich and flavourful. I made that comment to the waitress who then offered to provide me with more but I was too full and had to sadly decline the pleasure! Because Logan Brown seat you at the bar for the burger I couldn't resist the chance to try an elderflower based cocktail. A little strong on the alcohol but then again I've never liked that too much but it was an interesting cocktail. Almost a little too dry for my tastes since I like very sweet fruity cocktails.
Parmesan-crumbed chicken breast with coleslaw, tomato, cucumber, avocado, Kapiti camembert, bacon and chilli-coriander aioli, with French fries
This was my first burger this week. A great start to the event too. I hadn't been to Juniper since it first opened way back when. The decor had changed since I last went. I definitely would recommend them for a large work lunch (which is why we were there with about 15 others!) The chicken was succulent and crispy and complemented well with the cheese. A bit of a mess to eat by hand but I managed to do that without too much damage considering it came served a little on the lopsided side - the bun slid off at one stage! The portion was more than satisfying. I had to leave a few chips on the late at the end and really wanted an afternoon siesta to go with it. I went as a work lunch and almost 3/4 of the table ordered the burger and had a great time.
Wednesday Lunch: The Backbencher Pub and Café | T. Mallard's Open Burger Rating: 8/10
Venison and beef patty with bacon, mushroom caps, grilled tomato Kapiti Kikorangi blue cheese aioli on toasted Pandoro focaccia, with chips
This was huge and messy due to the open nature of the burger. I was bemoaning the lack of flavour just before I took a bite of the patty. It was moist, rich and delicious. The hand cut potato skins were crispy with a rich aioli and made a nice accompaniment to the burger which was more of an open sandwich than burger. I managed to cut the roof of my mouth on the focaccia unfortunately.
Dinner: Floriditas
Three courses plus two glasses of Wellington regional wine for $70 Starter Pear, Bracadale Ohau hazelnuts, shaved fennel, dill and watercress salad or Roasted balsamic Horowhenua beetroot and green split pea, toasted fennel seed pâté and grilled Floriditas Bakery flatbread
I chose the terrine which was kinda bland really. They didn't provide enough pieces of flatbread to offset the terrine which was a nice dark toasted contrast. My flatmate chose the salad which was sweet, tasty and fresh.
Main Crumbed Harrington’s Eco Pork, chop with a potato, watercress and rosemary salad
I'm pretty sure we had the beef fillet which wasn't listed on the menu on the site. It wasn't too bad. A tad bland compared to the Amora fillet.
Dessert Baked Zany Zeus vanilla ricotta with caramelised pears and gingerbread crumbs
This was pretty bland as well. I didn't finish all of the dessert cos I was pretty full by then. The only good bit was the one half of a pear that was rich, sweet, moist and tasty. We had 2 glasses of elderflower soda as an alternative to the wine. The restaurant offered us a small plate of a wide selection of warmed foreign olives to start the evening. We were not impressed at being charged $8 for the privilege!
Thursday The General Practitioner | Prime Pâté Patty Rating: 8/10
Prime Star Wairarapa beef and bacon patty with chicken liver pate and red wine shallots , with shoestring fries and truffled mayonnaise (The General Practitioner's take on Escoffier's famous steak Rossini)
Almost didn't get a table for dinner at 6pm cos the pub was already very busy. This was a really yummy burger. The pate was obviously hand made and melted into a saucy burger condiment. The french fries were yum.
Friday Logan Brown - Fawn and Fungi Burger Rating 9/10
Venison patty with portabello Parkvale mushroom, cheese, sour cherry relish and rocket in a sourdough bun, with Wagyu fat potato chunks
This was probably the smallest burger I've had so far. Small but perfect in every little way. The 3 pieces of cherry were dark, rich and smooth. The potato cubes were delish but came in a small bowl. The aioli was really rich and flavourful. I made that comment to the waitress who then offered to provide me with more but I was too full and had to sadly decline the pleasure! Because Logan Brown seat you at the bar for the burger I couldn't resist the chance to try an elderflower based cocktail. A little strong on the alcohol but then again I've never liked that too much but it was an interesting cocktail. Almost a little too dry for my tastes since I like very sweet fruity cocktails.