August 10, 2005
Taste Otago: Dunedin Wine & Food Expo
My mother and I recently attended the Taste Otago Wine & Food Expo hosted in the Edgar Centre on Sunday, July 31st. The following is the organisers' description of the event:
Taste Otago will comprise of an integrated mix of the best taste sensations that the industry has to offer. The sky’s the limit and there are no restrictions as to what stallholders choose to offer. The event aims to be fresh, fun and vibrant and focuses on all things related to the wine and food industry.
People who love eating, drinking, cooking and entertaining should attend the event, as well as other businesses and individuals from the wine and food industry.
Sounds great no?
No. What a dreadful disappointment. We paid 30$ to enter the expo, and discovered that the fee essentially entitled us to nothing. You are expected to pay the entrance fee, and then must additionally pay for every taste of wine and nibble of cheese. I would have expected that the fee would have covered a meagre sip or two of wine.
Considering this was a food and wine expo, there was a distinct lack of food on offer. Little India, which I find somewhat overrated, provided the only dedicated food stall. The exhibitors there were in no way representative of the food industry in Otago. In fact, were I not aware of all the excellent restaurants in Dunedin, my impression would have been that Otago hasn't a food industry of any sort.
I certainly won't waste my money on this event in the future. I should have used the money to take my mother to Plato or Bell Pepper Blues for lunch.
Posted by kitsune at 06:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 28, 2005
Viva Zapata! Review
Viva Zapata!My wife and I have cooked Mexican food at home for many years, and have often lamented the lack of a Mexican restaurant in Dunedin. I grew up in Los Angeles, and understandably get the occasional craving for a good enchilada.
Fortunately my family have all become very fond of Mexican food, and the kids don't even complain much about grinding up rice in the morter and pestle for horchata. My wife, being the excellent cook that she is, makes the best damned flan I've had anywhere (sorry Mom, yours is a very close second, and you've got a bit of an edge with your pecan pie).
Naturally, we were very excited to discover that a new Mexican restaurant, Viva Zapata, had recently opened and we rushed there for lunch today.
Viva Zapata's location, while close to the University, is just outside the busy part of town and I sincerely hope this doesn't hurt their business. Maybe tequila swilling students (they have an impressive selection of agave beverages) will make up for the loss of foot traffic.
The decor was bright, cheerful, and appropriately Mexican with Diego Rivera prints and arts & crafts nicknacks on the walls. We were the only customers for lunch, which suits me fine, but our waitress did mention that it gets livelier in the evenings.
The menu was a little disappointing, with fairly predictable offerings and a lot of what I would consider snack foods (quesadillas, tacos) available as mains. I ordered the chicken mole which appeared to be the only plato fuerta, and my wife had the chicken enchiladas.
We started the meal with a bowl of tortilla chips, guacamole, bean dip, and red salsa. The chips were excellent - I haven't had real tortilla chips since moving to New Zealand and it was a treat. The dips were all fine, but a little uninspired. The salsa was fresh, but very mild and lacking character. In fact, mildness seemed to characterise the whole meal unfortunately. I would like to have been able to specify the amount of chilli in my meal. I'll post my favourite salsa recipe later - orange, tomatillio, and habanero salsa.. it's a blinder.
Our meals arrived shortly after, accompanied by kidney beans and red rice. A typical mole is stew like, and tends to have a somewhat viscous soupy quality, but mine was a bit dry and pasty. It was tasty despite this, and my wife's enchilada in adobo sauce was good too. We were both a bit disappointed that the enchiladas were made with flour tortillas; they really are better with corn.
All in all, we had a great time at Viva Zapata. The staff were friendly, and the meals were large and reasonably priced. We'll certainly return, and it would be a good place to take children for lunch. There's a lot of room for improvement however, and I'd like to see a bit more variation and creativity in their menu. Well done Viva Zapata for bringing my favourite cuisine to wee Dun'edin.
Posted by kitsune at 07:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack