the wellingtonista -

Molesworthy updates

Joanna — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:26:25 +0800

Item! The next Cellar-vate dinner, which we have drooled about before is on July 9, featuring Ngawaka wines, and it costs $40. Give the lovely Rebecca a call to reserve your tickets.

Item! The supercute Green Land Cafe under the Ministry for the Environment on Kate Sheppard Place is running a competition to win a bottle of the famous olive oil grown on Mt. Vic. Buy a coffee, pick an number and go into the draw. Actually, don't, because it's a gorgeous green virgin, and I wants it. So back off! Also, how lovely are the staff there? They totally buttered my scone for me, if you know what I mean. And of course what I mean is I think it's part of their waste reduction responsibilities.

Item! It's not near Molesworth Street, but it's just as bleak - Stanley Road on the corner of Victoria Street and Willeston is running Happy Hour from 4pm-6pm, with all kinds of beers (Corona etc) for just $3.50. It's not a particularly cosy spot, but hey, given how dry this part of town is, consider it a good oasis to stop at while you cross the desert of Willis Quarter.

What do I expect from: Espressoholic?

The Masked Barfly — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:33:22 +0800

An order of 15 coffees is a lot. I know that. But when I go into a cafe, such as Espressoholic on Courtenay Place, this is not the exchange I expect.

Me: ...long list of coffees...
Espressoholic Person: That's a lot, that'll take [the two baristas] ages to do.
Me: (in my head) Yes but I will pay you money in exchange for these good and services.
Me: (in reality) Oh well I can go to another place if it's a problem...
E-hole: No. It's just...(mutter mutter)

As time goes by a queue forms behind me, because it does take a long time to make 15 coffees (a fact which I aware of before making my order). Do the staff maybe take orders so that these poor folk don't have to stand and wait? Nope. Obviously I'm the asshole holding up the line with my unreasonable demands for coffee in a coffee shop.

So the order was completed and the various coffee types pointed out.

E-Hole: ...and that's the long black
Me: Sorry, I ordered two long blacks
E-Hole: No I just made one.
Me: (pause for thought) ok.

I paid and left.

And finally E-holic, I can do without the sneering too, thanks.

Mystery bar!

The Masked Barfly — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:20:28 +0800

Yes, I know it's an old concept, but I couldn't resist. Also, this isn't so much a bar as a café, though it does sell wine. And it feels more like being in a friend's living room, if you had a friend with lots of sexy mid-Twentieth-Century furniture and nice views.

Rather a nice place to sit in the sunshine (presuming you can do so without freezing your antennae off) at the weekend and watch the world go by. But where is it?

CaféNet for your iPod

Alan — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:34:45 +0800

We like CaféNet at the Wellingtonista, yes we do. But it's not always an unqualified feeling. Mostly it works well once you find a hotspot - and more arrive all the time. But sometimes, and with some devices, things aren't so rosy.

At this Wellingtonista's risk of sounding like a spoiled geek whose new toy won't do what it says on the box, it seems that iPods Touch and iPhones don't always have an easy time connecting to CaféNet. And it's not just this writer's experience - others have noticed it too.

More after the jump...

Eva Dixon's to get the boot from the Zoo

noizyboy — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:21:04 +0800

The DomPost reports that Eva Dixon's Cafe is being given the old heave-ho from Wellington Zoo. The contract for the running of the Zoo's cafe came up last October, and, as co-owner John Heald said...

We were under the impression it wouldn't have been a problem and were waiting for the paperwork to come through ...

But no! The Zoo weighed up their options, and have decided to go with ~~faceless, characterless~~ corporate catering outfit Spotless.

Says Karen Fifield, chief executive of the Zoo...

We wanted to make a commercial decision which was going to result in value for the zoo.

Given that Eva's is 'predominantly family-run and locally owned', and Spotless, well, aren't (and hardly have a, err, 'spotless' reputation with regards to treating their staff well), it might be argued that the Zoo is flying in the face of one of their own stated goals, which is to "generate lasting community support by raising the profile of the Zoo and making the Zoo relevant to all Wellingtonians." (Admittedly, it does fulfill their goal of increasing "...financial sustainability by increasing revenue...").

Whatever the case, if you'd like to vent your opinion on this particular issue to someone who has some sway in the Zoo's affairs, drop Celia Wade-Brown a line - she's the WCC Councillor in charge of the Zoo Trust.

Entertainment Book Review: Roxy Cafe

Hadyn — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:48:06 +0800

Yep, I'm ~~stealing~~ using Jo's idea. Roxy Cafe is in The Book on a coupon, dig it out now and put it in your wallet.

Usually when I talk to people about Roxy Cafe the first thing they ask is "Where's that?". The answer is "Where the Purple Onion and that Argentinian Cafe used to be, just past the new gay bar".

You probably don't know it because it just looks like like any old generic cafe that you find up and down this country selling watery lattes and stale carrot cake, meaning you've just walked on by.

However, it seems that you would be wrong to think that. Read on after the jump.

Entertainment Book review: Medina

Joanna — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 08:08:41 +0800

Once again, I had left my book at home somewhere, so it was another gold card restaurant that was needed. Since my other sister decided to gatecrash our party, a total discount venue, rather than a two-for-one mains was desireable. And because it was cold and I was lazy and didn't feel like walking anywhere, somewhere on the bus route home was needed - preferably somewhere that I could get a big plate of heartiness at. Medina was decided upon, as it seems to have beaten the curse that made other restaurants in its location at 18 Cambridge Terrace close down very rapidly. The review is after the jump.

Overheard in Wellington

Hadyn — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:05:03 +0800

From "Lunch at Parsons"

A frustrated waiter: "I've lost my long black man"

A white man puts up his hand.

Waiter: "You're not long black. And if you do that again you will be flat white"

Ah, coffee humour

Kai in our puku

Joanna — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 08:47:28 +0800

Recently we asked you where the best places to eat on Lambton Quay are, and naturally, the internet word-of-mouth answered: Kapai Salads in Lambton Square.

There's plenty of reasons to love Kapai, including:

Whānau: Everyone knows someone who knows the owners, hence the mass emails and bulletin board postings about the shop.
Mata: Your salad will be freshly made right in front of you, and you will get to choose the ingrediants yourself. No droopy lettuce and skankyass grated cheese here, no no.
Taiao: The soup is served in bowls made out of bread, while salads are served in potatopaks (which you probably wouldn't want to eat, although technically they're safe enough to), minimising environmental damage. Plus, the coffee's fair trade.

We'd like them to offer lists of available ingrediants and make it a little clearer which are the gourmet ones that'll set you back an extra $1.50, but when you can get a rocquette, falafel and feta salad with aioli in less than five minutes and feel good about doing it, you'll definitely be going back.

Eating outside my comfort box (heh)

Joanna — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:25:55 +0800

Everyone knows that large corporations eat puppies, but what do the people who work for large corporations eat for lunch?

The Wellingtonista is closing down its Courtenay Place branch on Friday and is opening up in mid Lambton Quay instead. After a year and a half down this way, we'd just finally got the good people at Sahara Kebabs to know that we like just a few onions and garlic yoghurt, tahini and hot chilli on our (mixed vegetarian, mujaver and falafel only) kebabs. Where are we going to eat now?