Fruitiness

Well, according to all the purveyors of doom and gloom, after this weekend Summer will be gone and Autumn upon us. Now I don't believe this for a second. In my opinion it's still Summer until it stops being typically warm and, well, summery and Labor Weekend has not a thing to do with this.

It is at this time of year that nostalgic New Englanders (ie all of them) begin to wax lyrical about their favorite time of year, "Fall". They speak of such things as the innocent joys of apple picking - and here I must pause momentarily for a rant.

For those of you in the rest of the world, people in New England actually pay orchards to let them pick the apples... Yes, I do mean that instead of the orchards paying workers to pick the apples, otherwise sane and savvy people pay the orchards for the "pleasure" of being manual laborers. It makes no sense!

OK, rant complete (on that topic at least). So with fruit on my mind I bring you my list of most nostalgia inducing, most missed, and just plain yummiest fruit from home. In no particular order...

1. Feijoas
2. Cape Gooseberries

3. Passionfruit
4. Rhubarb

5. Tamarillos
6. Hmm, did I say Feijoas already :)

Mmmm, fruit...

Demolished for a motorway bypass.

I loved the house I lived in for six years while at uni, but I'll be the first to admit it was not pretty. So it was probably a good choice from a PR perspective to demolish it first. It made it look like they were doing the community a service rather than carving a community in two.

Construction on the motorway bypass that had been fought since the 60's was kicked off in late 2004 with the demolition of 323 Willis St.

A girl was there to chain herself to the bulldozer - I always said I'd lie in front of the bulldozers if the time came, but I'd been in Boston for 3 years by then.

Food, glorious food - Wellington, NZ

In my Internet wanderings I came across the blog of a couple from San Francisco (in the US) who were moving to Wellington (in New Zealand). Turns out their new apartment will be not that far from my old place, so I just couldn't help put my 2 cents in & comment on how much I miss the food & the coffee. Well, I was asked for my recommendations, so here's a selection of some of my favorites...

WARNING: It's been 5 years & a month (almost) since I came to the States, so the opinions I am about to espouse may be horribly outdated, or just plain wrong by now.

Logan Brown, corner of Cuba & Vivian St's.
Loved Logan Brown. Not somewhere I went all that often as a poor student, but the food was heaven.


Matterhorn, 106 Cuba Mall.
Was a great place to go any time of the day or night. Good food, a big wine selection, ditto for the cocktails, live music, & a lively night out.



Tupelo, 6 Edward St.
This you might need a little help to find. I think it's technically a bar, but has good food as well as a good selection of drinks. The service and the decor give a cosy & intimate to the place.

A Sampling of Malaysian...
Satay Village, 58 Ghuznee St (just round the corner from Cuba Mall).
Cheap and yummy Malaysian food. their Chicken Rendang was always a favorite of mine, & Roti Chanai.

If you want to see your roti being hand tossed & cooked all in front of you, which is pretty impressive, Roti Chanai on Victoria St between Dixon & Manners St's is the place to go.

Kopi, 106 Willis St, also has some very good Malaysian eats, it's a bit more expensive but you don't have to BYO.

A few Cafes
Midnight Espresso, 178 Cuba St - An iconic Wellington cafe, for the coffee, the hot chocolate, & all the yummy goodies they have up at the counter.

Krazy Lounge, Cuba St - I particularly remember liking their brunch a fair bit.

Clark's Cafe in the Wellington Public Library - I don't specifically remember the coffee or the food, but it was a nice place to sit and start a book you just borrowed or gaze out at Civic Square.

Nikau Gallery Cafe, at the Art Gallery, Civic Square - Good food, nice surroundings & reasonable prices considering. Outdoor dining available.


There are sooo many good cafes, & restaurants, not to mention the bars, try them all!