WOAP2015: Tequila Joe's
Where? Tequila Joe's (Wellington CBD, Wellington, New Zealand) Map Menu
When? Wednesday August 26, 2015
Who? Jordan, Damon, Tim
Food Style? Mexican
We actually tried to go the Bresolin for their burger on Wednesday night, but they were so packed that they pretty much snubbed us and told us the wait time would be two hours. We left.
Tequila Joe's has never really been on my radar, but something about them piqued my interest. Dale and Christine have mentioned that they're quite fond of their chicken wings, and they weren't too far away, so the four of us headed there for a feed. The restaurant is filled to capacity, but we squeeze in at the end of the bar, awkwardly in the thoroughfare between the kitchen and the dining area. Fortunately, another group leaves so we relocate to a less busy spot.
Even though it's Wellington on a Plate, many of the patrons are here for the All You Can Eat Wings Wednesday. They also do Taco Tuesdays and Every Third Food Item Free Thursdays! We're here for their burger, but it's also on their Dine menu, so we opt for that instead.
Entree: Grilled Mexican sweet corn
With cumin-limegarlic mayonnaise and Zany Zeus chilli feta
Wow. It had that classic streetfood vibe to it - simple but bursting with amazing flavours, the first bite was full of sweetness, it was juicy and tangy and delicious. After I had devoured the corn, I was scooping up the bits of feta that had escaped my mouth the first time. It was so good. Probably the best entree I've had in this year's Wellington on a Plate. I was so surprised and impressed, excellent start!
Burger: Rancho Chicken Dipper
Pillow battered 4S chicken with Zany Zeus ricotta, peach mayonnaise and tomato in an Acme & Co oil roll, with ranch tortilla chips
By itself, the burger seemed to lack something. Though the chicken was succulent and juicy with a wonderful crispy and tasty batter, there was not much else to it. However, this is the "Rancho Chicken Dipper" burger, so following those instructions and dipping the burger into the sauce really brought everything together quite nicely. Not sure where the tortilla chips went though. And I still don't know what 4S chicken is. Nevertheless, pleasantly surprised! I gave them an eight out of ten.
Dessert: Mexican custard flan
With agave caramel sauce and whipped cream
I love flan. The first time I had flan was in San Francisco 2011, when I was helping to set up a project with Crowdstar. They got catered lunches every day, and for Cinqo de Mayo, they served a stunning buffet of Mexican food, with flan for dessert. It was amazing. This flan hit the spot too. It was pretty solid but magnificently smooth, and it felt like melting caramel butter in your mouth. The orange took the edge off the sweetness ever so slightly, which suited me perfectly. A fantastic dessert.
Very impressed by the food at Tequila Joe's. It's nice to be surprised like this - the sweetcorn was so memorable and full of classic Mexican flavours. I must try their Wednesday Wings sometime.
Posted by Jeremy at 1:04am on Tuesday September 8, 2015 :: 0 comments :: 