[See all Notional Significance posts] The path bends with the motorway, peeling away from the hills, presenting a widescreen panorama of residential Thorndon. I can see what remains of the gullies into which the highway has wedged itself: from the all-but-vanished Honeyman’s Gully (once a duelling ground for lawyers, then filled in for the less […]
[See all Notional Significance posts] The path sidles away from the road. To my left, and indeed to almost everyone’s left, is Wellington’s radical headquarters, 128 Abel Smith St. It’s well over three years since the shattering dawn when police smashed down the door, seeking evidence of so-called “terror camps”, but the Urewera 18 are […]
On Thursday I took a step back in time to the early 1930s and entered the Roxy Cinema. Dan will, I’m sure, tell you more later about just what sort of cinema the Roxy is. For those who can’t wait it’s the first purpose-built 3D cinema in the country, with the best technology out there. […]
This is a cheeky post but it involves a heap of Wellingtonians so bear with me. Thanks to Air NZ, it’s possible to visit Wellingtonian Bret McKenzie and funny man Hamish Blake on the set of Two Little Boys, Rob Sarkies latest feature, currently being shot in Invercargill. It’s a very rare chance to come […]
On Monday night my sister and I went to our first Wellington on a Plate event – the way sold-out (they added a couple more sessions even) Cupcakes and Cocktails at Martha’s Pantry. Given that neither of us is a slouch in the kitchen or bar, we weren’t sure how much we’d actually learn from the event, but since cupcakes and cocktails are two of our favourite things, we thought we’d give it a go. And when we walked in the door and saw that the McKenzie brothers were doing the mixing, we knew we were in safe hands.
I figure I’ll do this post basically just a series of cupcake porn photos. You don’t mind, do you? Good.
This was what was waiting for each of us at the tables – sandwiches to nibble on, cupcakes, icing and the cupcake recipe. We were also given Winter Pimms Punch to drink.
We had a couple of demonstrations about different ways to pipe, and were let loose on our own cocktails.
You can see here that we had varying techniques and levels of success with that.
Then, before too much icing could accidently end up in our mouths, Justin McKenzie, wearing one blue glove that was kind of creepy let us in on the magic formula for cocktails: two parts strong, one part sweet, one part sour. It’s so simple, I wasted all that money in Hooch and Hawthorne and Cuckoo for nothing!
It may not be what we were expecting from a "West Hollywood lounge experience", but all that money certainly has ensured that Foxglove is a vastly more impressive visual experience than the ol’ Loaded Hog. But a bar is not just about the pretty, so how does it stack up? See what the ‘fly thinks after the jump.
We’d been wondering for a while where our other favourite McKenzie brother has been at because we haven’t seen him behind the bar at Hooch or Hawthorn for ages, but of course we kept forgetting to ask, because naturally we were too busy asking for another drink.
Well, it turns out that Justin has been working as 42Below’s vodka professor (we hope this means he gets a cap and gown) and he’s been rather busy today with the regional finals of the Cocktail World Cup. The three bartenders who’ll be representing New Zealand will be Auckland’s James Goggin from Racket and our own Josh Crawford from Hooch and Calum Chadwick from the Matterhorn.
As usual, there’s all kinds of fun and games in Queenstown around the event, but since we’re the Wellingtonista probably the bit that you’re interested in is that the grand finale is happening in Wellington on March 27, featuring the world’s best bartenders and (I’m going to quote the press release here) "New Zealand’s best rock group ‘Midnight Youth’", and probably quite a few splashes of vodka as well. And we’ve got a double pass to give away to it!
Along with the invited VIPS, 42BELOW is offering a select number of people the chance to attend the Grand Final Shake off as vodka groupies. Tickets are being sold for $42, which includes four cocktails, food and entertainment so get in quick for a chance to party with New Zealand’s best music and with the world’s best bartenders.
Those of you who follow us on Twitter might have noticed a reoccuring hash tag yesterday of "cockchamp".
This was, of course, us reporting live and on the sport from the New Zealand heat of the Havana Club Cocktail Grand Prix held at Betty’s. Ten of the best bartenders from around the country battled it out for the chance to represent NZ at the world wide finale in Havana next May.
You may already know that Clare Harlick from the Matterhorn won, but what went on at the competition and at the VIP after-party? Read on!
Voting in the Fourth Annual Wellingtonista Awards is open from December 1-15. Then come find out the results at our Awards Night at Mighty Mighty on December 17!
To vote, visit this page.
It doesn’t matter how good the food is at a restaurant or how comfortable a bar’s stools are if the staff scowl at you and dump your order down grumpily in front of you. What makes us loyal customers is the interaction with the people on the other side of the customer, and these men and women are the shining stars in their field. Being served by them really does make the day better.