Do you know of a good place I should be checking out? Email peter.calder
@heraldonsunday.co.nz
At the most enduring fine-dining restaurant in town, the menu advises that all prices are "excl GST". Nothing wrong with that, even if the Commerce Commission says it is "best practice" to list prices with GST included. But I fancy that Tony Astle, the ageless owner and chef,
is making a point: he wants the amount he's charging to be clearly marked off from the amount the Government expects him to collect on its behalf.
Even without GST, Antoines' prices are steep: entrees nudge $30, mains are $40 plus - tax extra. But look at it this way: people are happy to pay between $28 and $33 for second-rate mains, and an extra $8 or $9 for a bowl of steamed broccoli and carrots. If they weren't, most restaurants in town would be dark and shuttered. So $40 plus tax for a sublime experience with veges thrown in is not out of order.
I chose from the "nostalgia menu" a Caesar salad because the dish is so often done badly and I knew it would be done right here. It was - almost: the romaine leaves were young, small and sweet; the dressing a perfect balance of astringency and creaminess; the anchovies generous and of good quality. The soft-boiled egg, cold and still in its shell was the only false note.
The Blonde's favourite food, raw mozzarella, came with tomatoes of commendable succulence, as well as prawns and basil: simple, attractively assembled, impressive.
It's worth adding that Astle's dishes are not miniature sculptures, but meals to get your teeth into. The Blonde's snapper was two big fillets and my succulent ox tongue and crisp-crusted veal sweetbreads, braised in madeira, made an equally hearty feed, particularly with the accompanying vegetables - a delicate but tasty potato gratin and a neatly sliced and lightly sauced stalk of broccoli.
Our waiter was a fussy Gallic sort who hovered, waiting for me to drain my aperitif glass of gewurz and seemed a bit scandalised that I wanted to keep it as well as the pinot I'd ordered with the tongue.
We finished neither main dish because we had dessert to attend to: a heart-breakingly fine chocolate souffle and a spicy compote of apples marinated in Calvados, topped with an airy meringue of surpassing lightness.
Yes it was $250 but it was a class act. And when I think of the bad meals I've paid $180 for, I think it was money well spent.
Antoines
333 Parnell Rd
Parnell, Auckland,
Ph: 379 8756
Website: www.antoinesrestaurant.co.nz
Lunch Wednesday-Friday, noon-2pm; dinner six days from 6pm.
Wine list: Wonderful, though not a lot of by-the-glass choice.
Vegetarians: An entree and a main.
Watch out for: The GST.
Sound check: Subdued.
Bottom line: Every meal should be like this.
-Detours, HoS
