Since I am not working right now, I have turned my attention to cooking and eating and I am getting really good at the latter.
Great eating makes a city and I have never visited anywhere without researching the hell out of the best places to eat and drink first. I am the idiot waiting on hold to make reservations and aware of all of the rules around bookings; taking the very last table at 10 pm or eating at the bar; I am the one who knows about seasonal menus, top 10 lists, must tries in my city and any city I have ever visited. That’s me. We all have a thing, right?
Auckland has totally delivered and some on the foodie front. Here are some of my favorites:
The French Café
This was my first real crush in NZ and proved Auckland was just the right amount of cosmopolitan for me. It is on most eating lists for the city and was recently named 4th in the world by…well….TripAdvisor…but still. And it is on the 1000 Places to Eat Before you Die list as well. Anyway…the cuisine is precise and decidedly Kiwi, using farm to table as a guiding principle in their menu development; highly seasonal and gorgeously presented. Feast for the eyes among other senses. I loved eating here and we are booked to go again in December when my sister arrives. Can’t. Wait.
Ebisu
Also a favorite on top restos to eat in Auckland lists, Dave and the girls love this place but I am not really drinking the kool-aid on this one. It is good enough contemporary Japanese food but it isn’t mind blowing. I like my mind blown when I eat out. That said, we did run into the Madden Brothers there. It has become a bit of a place to be seen which kills me because we go with our kids.
Mexico
Part of this is pure nostalgia. Some friends and I used to have nights out in Toronto where the theme was Mexican food. We tried them all and were light headed more than once on margheritas and/or mojitos and/or sangria. So I can’t eat Mexican food without thinking of some of my favorite peeps and feeling that need to get light-headed. That said, this is fabulous modern Mexican food with an NZ spin – using local ingredients and some unique South Pacific flavours. Ambience is great and they always have a sangria special that plays on the seasons. Yumba.
The Depot
We hit The Depot our first time through Auckland in January and have been back a few times since the move. Smack in the middle of Federal Street which has become a bit of a food hub, the after work crowd is just about as cool as it gets in Auckland. Of course, we go a little later, with our kids in tow, and tuck into the sharing plates menu with a lot of zeal. We have tried most of it and retry favorites each time. I just love this place – its tall stools and rustic high tops; raw bar and wine list. Love. It.
Gusto
I almost never crave Italian food ENOUGH to go out for it because some of my very favorite people in the world are Italian and are the very best cooks ever. I am spoiled when it comes to Italian flavours just from the richness of the company I keep and save for Sotto Sotto in Toronto, I have never eaten an Italian meal out that…you got it…..blew my mind. So when my husband announced he was surprising me with a chef’s table meal at Auckland’s Gusto, a Sean Connelly restaurant in Sky City, I pretended I was excited when I was actually gutted. “Who goes OUT for Italian when we have Antonietta D’Aversa and Rosie Bussoli in our lives?” But I was BLOW. AWAY. At Gusto. The service was unreal and provided all of the ‘how to’ around the dish preparation because in addition to being a really good eater (I hate to brag), I love to cook. I took notes that night. Total nerd.
Now, I should really get back to design as my ass will not forgive the kg I have put on as a result of my cooking and eating obsession. Maybe that should be my new years’ resolution.