Who (or what) is The Masked Barfly? Maybe the primly pinstriped connoisseur sipping Viognier at Arbitrageur? The earnest beer geek debating Saaz hops and top-fermented ales at Bar Edward? What about the tight-panted hipster knocking back deeply ironic cask wine at Mighty Mighty? Or perhaps all of the above and more?
We at the Wellingtonista have never been shy about our love for the delicious demon drink, but now we can introduce to you our newest and most disreputable writer: The Masked Barfly. She, he or it (it’s hard to tell with invertebrates, especially when they are inveterate inebriates) will be brought in as a specialist correspondent to bring you the latest hospitality news, the hottest drinking tips and the most salacious gossip that the libel laws will allow.
The fly has eclectic tastes, so expect everything from decadent new cocktails to cheep beer nights, with even the odd morsel of food and coffee info thrown in. It will be buzzing around the city, bringing the news on boozing in the ‘burbs as well as the fleshpots of Courtenay & Cuba. And of course if you have tips to share, or vile unsubstantiated rumours to spread, send them our way and we’ll make sure it gets to our new correspondent.
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.
…there’s a bar in Cuba Mall. Okay, so that doesn’t swing quite as well as the original, but those with a longing for outrageous costumes and hard drinking, but who can’t stomach the Sevens, ought to know that it’s Tiki Bar weekend at Matterhorn.
That’s right: you have one more night to savour concoctions based on classics by Trader Vic and Beachbum Berry; bar staff dressed as Hawaiian deities; bubbling cauldrons of lethally refreshing punch; and some of the cheesiest slices of lounge exotica ever committed to vinyl.
This is in the vein of The Wellingtonista Bar Fly-les, but I thought I’d give it another name since it’s about food & coffee as well as drink.
Can anybody help me locate a decent coffee in Newtown during these interminable public holidays? Peoples’ is shut until Monday, as is the café at the Med. The only option I have located thus far is Eva Dixon’s at the Zoo (which was a lovely walk in the sun) but resulted in a small latté in a large takeaway cup topped by prodigious amounts of froth, cost me $5.20 including the surcharge, and tasted like filth.
So, tomorrow I need a better option. Any ideas?
UPDATE: Thanks to the helpful comments I headed north today to find that The Ballroom, The Recovery Room and Pranah are all closed (which I suspected after having the same problems last Easter). And I did feel fairly strange prowling the corridors of the hospital looking for the Fuel kiosk which was also closed.
So, I’m off to the movies at Island Bay where, hopefully, the Empire can serve me up a brew before Alvin and The Chipmunks.
A different long weekend away provides another opportunity to reexamine the age-old battle. After our first chapter, Secret Agent Robyn came down from Auckland to check out our city. This is her report…
Getting there: The airport bus runs past my place every 20 minutes. I waited for 30 minutes, but there was no sign of the bus. I started to panic and called a taxi. $50 later I was at the airport, but too late for check-in. Oh no! But fate smiled upon me — due to ‘weather’ in Wellington, the plane was late, so they could check me in after all. In Wellington, the taxi to my hotel was cheap, but slow in a way that proves the bypass was a dumb idea. Wellington wins this one for delaying my flight.
A long weekend away provides the perfect opportunity to re-examine the age-old battle. In our first chapter, our agent goes to Auckland. In our next chapter, an enemy agent will come here…
Airport access: Getting to Wellington Airport, from Thorndon via a quick stop in Hataitai to pick up my suitcase took less than half an hour, and the only cost was some grovelling to my mother. Getting to the CBD of Auckland via a shuttle took an hour and cost $26 – that’s 15 minutes longer than the actual flight, and only $13 less than the ticket. Wellington 1, Auckland 0.
Airports: Wellington airport has only one terminal, which is blissfully fast food chain-free and it’s a sexy big space. You can get Fuel coffee, and Wishbone food (which caters to a wide range of dietary requirements) but it’s loud and bustly, and the stools they have at counters are shiny metal and you slip off them. Meanwhile, Auckland Airport may have Burger King and MacDonalds, but they also have a juice bar with those posh award-winning recoverable design style chairs. A tie.
In the corner office of our wonderful Ivory Tower (literally now, thanks Noizy for shelling out for that rebuild) we look down upon the seething populace of Wellington that we love so dear and think to ourselves: if only…if only they were as perfect as we are. At which point it’s time for our 11am massage and manicure.
This time gave us the chance to construct a short list of establishments around Wellington that could be better if only they changed some things.
What they have going for them: Fantastic daytime sun, great city views, really good fish & chips, and a BYO license.
What they need to change: The décor! Plain white walls and concrete floors alone do not add up to stylish minimalism: that requires elegant proportions and exquisite detailing, whereas this place just looks cheap and unfinished. The chairs were salvaged from the bargain bin at Warehouse Stationery, and the only attempts at actual design (model ships and some blue downlights) make it look tawdry and twee. Either get in a proper interior designer or drop the prices and be a plain old chippie.
more after the jump..
Two challenges for today.
1. We’ve started work on planning the Second Annual Wellingtonista Awards for Excellence in the field of Achievement, and so we’d like your feedback on how the awards for you last year, what you liked, what you didn’t like, and what we should change.
2. We’re lazy, so come up with a plan to answer this for a friend who’s planning a trip to Wellington:
i want to go somewhere and drink cocktails. and i want tasty cafes for lunches and at least one reasonably nice restaurant, and maybe a nice but cheap one too.
This newbie member of the Wellingtonista was beaten to punch when it came to reporting on the glad-wrapping record attempt at the Mighty Mighty. However I thought I would add my two cents worth about the night and the overall friendliness of the Mighty Mighty for the female solo traveler.
First off, why was I heading into the night to be mummified in the first place? Well sometimes you have the kind of week where you wish that someone would render you mostly immobile by glad-wrapping your arms to the side of your body. While this does present technical difficulties when it comes to drinking beer, it does keep your hands off the keyboard for awhile! The experience reminded me somewhat of Tokyo morning rush hour trains, the term "sushi zume" packed like sushi seemed pretty apt as the final circular wrap was made around 41(?) people. The chances of being groped were about the same (you might be surprised how creative some people can be even with their hands firmly wrapped to themselves) but there were fewer suits and more hippies and smiles on this love train. Oh and free jagermeister.