KEY POINTS:
Marc Ellis happily played delivery boy for his company Charlie's latest drink, dropping some old-fashioned sodas in to the Herald for The Dish to try. Points for effort, but we can't help thinking that with the plethora of products on the market these days, the battle is as much for supermarket chiller space as taste. But Charlie's has a nice back story and the lemonade recipe is based on one Marc's mother used to make. The five flavours are additive-free pure fruit juice and sparkling water. We weren't so keen on the cranberry, but pomegranate is a new twist and lemon, clementine and grapefruit are all nicely refreshing.
Tinny option
Whitestone's award winning Windsor Blue cheese is available in a tin, great for gift-giving. The tin contains a generous 300g wedge and is designed to keep the cheese moist in the fridge and contain odours. Its base also doubles as a serving platter. Available from leading supermarkets, at a recommended price of $25.
Wild on
If you're heading to the Bay of Plenty for a wild time, then Mount Maunganui restaurant Mount Bistro is the place to go. It was last week named overall winner for best beer and wild food in the country in the annual Monteith's Beer and Wild Food Challenge. Seafood is a key part of the bistro's menu. One of its winning dishes, Sword and Sauce-ry combined skewered crayfish, swordfish, scallop and prawns flambeed with horopito lime vodka and matched with Monteith's Radler. The second dish, A Knight's Fare, was duck confit with purple kumara, cranberry, crystal quail and watercress, matched with Monteith's Celtic.
Chef and owner Stephen Barry started his cooking career at his parents' restaurant in Melbourne and says he was thrilled to win against nine other regional champs. The dishes' future on the menu will depend on its success over the next month or so.
Red ahead
The Nourish Group is spreading its net further, taking over landmark Wellington restaurant and bar Pravda. The company behind Euro, the Jervois Steak House and Princes Wharf bars Pasha and the Green Room already runs Shed Five in the capital.
Craft oil
Olive oil aficionados are becoming as discerning as wine drinkers and increasingly asking how their oils are made and from what type of olives. Case Gilbert Olive Press, a small family business in Kerikeri, cold presses its oil in small batches, a technique that dates back to Roman and Greek times. Much olive oil nowdays is produced in quantity by a centrifuge-type process rather than a true cold press.
Case Gilbert's main outlet is from a stall at the Kerikeri Farmers' Market, and via mail order, www.casegilbert-olivepress.co.nz
Off-the-ball action
42 Below's Paris bar is offering disconsolate tourists a place to enjoy a taste of home, with top New Zealand musicians playing until the Rugby World Cup winds up. The likes of Hollie Smith are on the menu as are the distinctive flavoured vodkas, including manuka honey, feijoa and kiwifruit. 42 @ Iguana, an established cocktail bar, is in the Bastille district and while the aim was celebration, not commiseration, the Kiwi spirit will still flow.
Spritzer for spring
Sola is a new release from Lion Nathan, a wine spritzer infused with sparkling water and available in three flavours: Apple & Feijoa, Pink Grapefruit and Sangria. Spritzers are growing in popularity overseas, but are new to the New Zealand market. They can be drunk straight from the chilled bottle, or served over ice for a long, cool drink. Priced at $10.99 a pack, you can find Sola at Liquor King and other outlets.
