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New Zealand: Restaurants
Apr. 2nd, 2007 10:09 pmEating all one's meals in restaurants for three weeks is a good way to eat too much. We learned to avoid dessert, and to either skip appetizers ("entrées", that is -- see below) altogether or just split one. We also started, about halfway through, making a practice of trying to keep lunch down to a quick sandwich.
Menu terminology wasn't a big problem. I did have to get used to remembering that the US is the only place in the world where "entrée" means "main course", and I have no idea how that came about. So, yes, "entrées" are appetizers; the big things are called "mains". It wasn't hard for me to figure out that "capsicums" are bell peppers. I eventually learned that what I consider a cup of coffee is a "long black".
Lamb, of course, shows up everywhere, in a variety of guises. It's hard to go wrong ordering lamb in New Zealand. (Although seeing "lamb rump" on menus took a little getting used to.) Likewise seafood -- I mean, there's nowhere in the whole country that's very far from the ocean. A particular specialty is the Green-lipped Mussel, so called because there's a green stripe all along the outer edge of the shell. They're enormous -- the shells are 8-10 cm long -- and extremely flavorful. I had a bowlful of them (about two dozen, I think) in a somewhat spicy broth for dinner in Nelson, and apart from the bread provided to soak up the broth it was really all the food I needed, and then some. Heavenly.
A glass of wine with dinner every night is a very civilized way to live. Most restaurants had a reasonable selection of fairly nice New Zealand wines by the glass. (Twice we had lunch at wineries, where there's an even larger selection.) Although everyone seems to think that sauvignon blanc is the New Zealand wine, we found some very nice chardonnays as well, and some very drinkable pinot noirs.
Prices were actually fairly moderate for the type of place we were eating. It can be confusing when a country's currency has the same name and symbol as the one you're used to, but it's actually different. So one might get a bit of a shock at a main for $30, until one remembers two things: (1) that's really US$21, and (2) it's actually how much you're going to pay, since it includes taxes and restaurant personnel don't expect tips. (There was a note on every menu that a 15% service charge would be added on all public holidays; this is apparently mandated by law, and I assume it's to compensate employees for having to work on said holidays. There were no public holidays during our stay.)
And then there was Taste.
Menu terminology wasn't a big problem. I did have to get used to remembering that the US is the only place in the world where "entrée" means "main course", and I have no idea how that came about. So, yes, "entrées" are appetizers; the big things are called "mains". It wasn't hard for me to figure out that "capsicums" are bell peppers. I eventually learned that what I consider a cup of coffee is a "long black".
Lamb, of course, shows up everywhere, in a variety of guises. It's hard to go wrong ordering lamb in New Zealand. (Although seeing "lamb rump" on menus took a little getting used to.) Likewise seafood -- I mean, there's nowhere in the whole country that's very far from the ocean. A particular specialty is the Green-lipped Mussel, so called because there's a green stripe all along the outer edge of the shell. They're enormous -- the shells are 8-10 cm long -- and extremely flavorful. I had a bowlful of them (about two dozen, I think) in a somewhat spicy broth for dinner in Nelson, and apart from the bread provided to soak up the broth it was really all the food I needed, and then some. Heavenly.
A glass of wine with dinner every night is a very civilized way to live. Most restaurants had a reasonable selection of fairly nice New Zealand wines by the glass. (Twice we had lunch at wineries, where there's an even larger selection.) Although everyone seems to think that sauvignon blanc is the New Zealand wine, we found some very nice chardonnays as well, and some very drinkable pinot noirs.
Prices were actually fairly moderate for the type of place we were eating. It can be confusing when a country's currency has the same name and symbol as the one you're used to, but it's actually different. So one might get a bit of a shock at a main for $30, until one remembers two things: (1) that's really US$21, and (2) it's actually how much you're going to pay, since it includes taxes and restaurant personnel don't expect tips. (There was a note on every menu that a 15% service charge would be added on all public holidays; this is apparently mandated by law, and I assume it's to compensate employees for having to work on said holidays. There were no public holidays during our stay.)
And then there was Taste.
