Wellington on a Plate 2013 Wrap-up
Sunday September 8, 2013
Yes, I realise that Wellington on a Plate finished two weeks ago, but I've been busy and/or tired and lazy! So to recap, Wellington on a Plate runs for 17 days in August, and is a celebration of Wellington's finest food establishments and the amazing produce and ingredients that they source from around the region. Restaurants and cafes join in by offering a special set meal or degustation during this festival, or they may opt to enter the burger competition with an exquisite burger of their creation, and a Garage Project beer to match. I have been to a few Wellington on a Plate meals in previous years, but this year I decided to hit it hard. Here are some quick fire stats:
Number of Burgers Consumed: 11
Number of Oysters Consumed: 18
Dined with: 19 different people in total
Best Burger: Hummingbird's Craydaddy Crayfish Burger
Best Meal: Logan Brown
Worst Burger: Crazy Horse's Kimchi Burger
Worst Meal: Martin Bosley
Total Money Spent: $635.60
Level of Happiness: Highest it's ever been
A full set of photographic documentation and verdicts on each dish can be found on my Wellington on a Plate album on Facebook. Many thanks to each of my friends who shared these delicious experiences with me; good food must always be matched with good company!
I was impressed by the dinners I had at Ortega and Logan Brown. It was my second time at Ortega and first time at Logan Brown, and though several people had extolled the quality of the food at Logan Brown, my own dining experience there exceeded my expectations. Definitely the most outstanding meal I've had this year - on par with the amazing degustation I had at Tatsumi in Newmarket, Auckland last Labour Weekend. I knew what to expect from Ortega so there were no surprises that the quality of the meal and the freshness of the seafood were top notch. The biggest disappointment was Martin Bosley's - small portions, average quality, and unreasonably expensive - everything I find frustrating about fine dining. For such a celebrated chef, I think he could do much, much better.
Burger Rating List (Mouseover for burger descriptions!):
- Hummingbird's Craydaddy Burger: 10/10
- Duke Carvell's Flocking to the Duke's Harem Burger: 9.5/10
- The Grill at the Amora's Classic Sunday Roast Lamb Burger: 9/10
- Ti Kouka's All About Longbush Pork Burger: 8.5/10
- The Larder's Dough and Deer Burger: 8.5/10
- El Matador's Che's Chevito Burger: 8/10
- Little Beer Quarter's Burg-As Bro Burger: 8/10
- Vivant!'s Elementary, My Deer Watson Burger: 8/10
- Atlanta's Ring of Fire Burger: 6.5/10
- Crazy Horse's Kimchi Burger: 2/10
Apart from the meals and burgers, there was also the Oyster Saloon, a caravan in the carpark right by Duke Carvell's on Cuba Street and Swan Lane, where they served freshly shucked oysters on a quaint egg carton - au naturel or beer battered to your liking. I love oysters so much, and hands down the winner of the five varieties I got to try were the sumptuous Stewart Island variety - gorgeously large and creamy, and all the characteristic sweet and salty flavours of the sea that every fresh oyster should have. Also, there was the Moore Wilson's Taste Street Night Market, filled with stalls selling bisques, chowders, sliders, sandwiches, grilled meats, ice cream, chocolates and more. It was fantastically busy, with thousands of people crammed into the upper level carpark at Moore Wilson's. Winner on the night was the Zany Zeus Grilled Haloumi Sandwich, hot off the barbeque and drizzled with fresh lemon juice - yummo!
A thoroughly enjoyable 17 days of decadence.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:42am on Sunday September 8, 2013 :: 0 comments :: 