Gothenburg

Centrally located on Hood St, near Victoria, Gothenburg feels like a restaurant.  It has, however, one of the nicest beer lists I have seen; one which puts most bars to shame.  It also runs a good line in tapas, which means that overall, the place lends itself to extended snacking with delicious drinks.

I need to come back here and explore the beers far more than I have yet done.  But my initial impressions of price and service were that both are good.

A St Feuillien Blonde. Light in colour, nicely aromatic, wee bit of a punch at 7.5%.  When you on't want to launch straight into the big Belgians, this is a refreshing alternative.

Calamari, aioli. Crisp, lightly spiced calamari, tasty aioli, well presented.

Edamame. Exactly the thing for snacking with a beer.

I will be coming back here as well.  Lots of things to try from their menus.

Gothenburg
15 Hood St, Hamilton Central
07 834 3562
http://www.gothenburg.co.nz

New Blog.

http://hamiltonfood.blogspot.co.nz/

Mavis & Co.

Just a brief stop in for coffee and a scone. I will want to come back and try more things here because the food all looks exceptional. The scone I had was bacon, chive and ... cheese of some sort. It was really good. Soft and fluffy, nice flavours, well heated with good butter.

The coffee, when it came was good. But oh man it took a while. Over 20 minutes. Sure the place was full, but they might have mentioned it would take this long. Scone was a distant memory by the time coffee happened.

I think, coffee-wise, Mavis & Co. is a victim of its own success.  They need another coffee-machine, but they need more space to do that.  I can handle the wait for the tastiness of their food though, and will happily be coming back.


Mavis & Co.
475 Grey St, Hamilton East
(07) 856 8715
http://www.mavis.co.nz/

Babaganush

First night in Hamilton. Fresh off the plane (and a shuttle van trip from Auckland airport).  Staying in a hotel on Grey St, the manager recommends Babaganush for a nice, easy meal.

The restaurant feels comfortable. Quite open plan, and the music is loud, but not overbearing.  Service is friendly and efficient.  I park myself with kindle at a small table, and order some sparkling water. (I know... rebellious)

Quite hungry, which turns out to be a good thing, as I need to try a range of things.  I start with Haloumi entrée, followed by a mixed Iskender.

The haloumi is nicely browned and wonderfully squeaky. Salad on the side is tasty.  I would have preferred more garlic in the yoghurt, or less of the yoghurt, but that was a minor concern. ($11)

Garlic and chilli sauce on the iskender.  Rice is nicely flavoured, and the meat works well with the sauces.  Without them, it would I think have been under-spiced for my taste.  Big serving at a good price for restaurant Turkish. ($18.5)

The restaurant is not too busy, which is nice, so I can sit and read without feeling guilty about taking up their space.  After doing this for a while, I notice that they offer a walnut baklava.  I guess I should try it, right?  (For the public good).  Nice, but different.  All things considered, I think I prefer  more traditional baklava.  This version is healthier than most, I imagine, but that isn't really what I am looking for in baklava.  Not bad, however.  ($12)

I will be going back here.  There are a bunch of things on the menu that I want to try.  Once my partner gets into the country, I will bring her with me.  Easier to sample a range of things when there is more than one person ordering.

Babaganush

379-381 Grey St, Hamilton East

(07) 856 3588

http://www.babaganush.co.nz/index.html

Beginnings

Back in New Zealand after 6+ years abroad.  New city, new job.  As yet, no household.  It is all waiting for a boat.  What to do?  Cooking is hard without my kitchen (I will get a bigger one yet, don't you worry).  I don't really know which places are good in Hamilton, and the internet is terribly lacking in this regard.  Menumania, menus.co.nz, and eatout.co.nz  all seem... incomplete.  Perhaps I can help.  It will not happen all at once, but over time, we will see.

Changes

I have moved back to New Zealand, taken up a new job, and am busy trying to adjust to it all.  I anticipate doing a lot less cooking for the short term future, and I have noticed a lack of good restaurant reviews local to Hamilton, where I have just started work.  This combination suggests a new plan to me.  I will start a new blog, one with restaurant/product reviews as well as the occasional recipe.  Details to come.  This will remain, but not be updated after the aforementioned details.