Level three bringing us the best takeaways ever
By Jo Elwin
People have happily been reunited with their favourite coffee to go and I have to admit I’ve had a couple myself, but it’s the fact that someone else can cook my dinner that has me loving level three. The amazing teams at Central Otago’s restaurants, pubs, cafes and gourmet food stores have been working hard to set themselves up to feed us within very strict parameters and it feels good to be able to get out and support them. It does require pre-ordering and in some cases the downloading of apps but, who cares when it means you don’t have to cook. Here’s a wee selection of what has initially wet my appetite in the locations that I will be moving around in through level three.
Wanaka
Kika
Hello fried chicken, we have missed you, so top of this bubble’s takeaway list is a bucket of Kika’s fried chicken with mash, gravy and slaw – great eating at $40 for two.
Also on the takeaway menu are Te Mana lamb shoulder, whole fish with mussels and buttermilk sauce and a moussaka of baked eggplant with lentil, pumpkin and tomato ragu. Plus sides (chicken, fried potatoes, roast cauliflower, miso kumara and salad) and desserts.
For something more interactive, the Just Feed Me Box is a pickup, or have it delivered, four-course box of prepped ingredients with easy instructions to heat and serve at home. $45 per person.
Bonus! Every order during level three receive a 15 per cent discount code for some bevvies from Ground Up Brewing.
The Morsel food truck will be parked up at Rhyme & Reason on Gordon Road, Wednesday to Sunday from 4.30pm to 7.30pm for pickup of pre-ordered meals.
Kate and Eliot are planning to change the menu each week and are kicking things off with curry week (I can tell you that Eliot, with his Fijian background, sure knows how to make a tasty curry). There’s a beef, potato and black pepper curry ($17), a beetroot and coconut curry ($17) and a classic tomato and vegetable dhal ($8). Curries come in individual portions with rice and pickle and there’s a freebie paratha with every curry. Order extra paratha, poppadoms, pickle and sambal and you’re going to want some pakoras too.
On the website, there’s a click and collect button for a refreshing Rhyme & Reason brew or two.
Sunday dinner is firmly in the hands of the Bistro Gentil team. They are spit-roasting Te Mana lamb and serving it with potato gratin, steamed greens, salsa verde and lamb jus. Included in the $45 per person meal is sticky date pudding with toffee sauce. Not included is a bottle of Maude pinot noir but, when you can order Maude wine at the same time you’ll kick yourself if you don’t.
Med Market and Raspberry Creek Catering have teamed up to make small batch frozen dinners that can be ordered at the Med Market online store (which they’ve made a great job of BTW) and delivered to your door. I’m liking the creamy fish and prawn pie with free range eggs, peas and potato and cheese topping. The portions are generous, so the $32 two-serving would serve four in my home, and the $50 four-serving would do six.
Bonus! For every meal sold, Mediterranean Market allocate funds to Food for Love’s free meal initiative for those in need.
Arrowtown
Akarua for dinner is something I’ve been after for a while, so there’s a little something to thank Covid-19 for. The takeaway menu is available daily between midday and 6.30pm and it will change weekly. Week one’s slow-cooked lamb shoulder shepherds pie ($28 for two) cassoulet of confit duck ($30 for two) and almond skordalia, charred brussels sprouts, honey and thyme yams and carrots ($23 for two) have my attention. There’s a selection of sides, including and $8 loaf of Tuscany bread, (yay, I can stop making bread now), desserts and a kids menu. Look out for weekly specials on Akarua wines to collect at the same time.
Who wouldn’t want Chef of the Year, Vaughan Maybee, to make them pie?! On the Amisfield takeaway menu are manuka smoked Bluff blue cod pie; autumn vegetable ratatouille and goats’ cheese pie; and wild fallow deer, caramelised onions, Amisfield pinot noir and black truffle pie. All $40 for the most gourmet two-person pie you’ll ever find. You’ll also find a braised Cardrona lamb quarter, beef Wellington and lots of tempting sides. Add a wild apple and horopito crumble for dessert and a freshly-baked sourdough, baguette, or fermented beer grain bread and you’ve got toast and sandos sorted for the next day
Bannockburn/Cromwell
The Bannockburn Hotel Wine Country Restaurant and Bar
We call it the pub, others the Bannockburn Hotel Wine Country Restaurant and Bar, either way it’s as local as it gets for me and Anna and Andy are meeting our level three wine and dine needs. Andy has been perfecting pizza during lockdown and the takeaway menu has a list of five, plus a pizza bread. There are sandwiches (pulled pork) and burgers (hello crispy buttermilk fried chicken) and larger meals include Spanish meatballs, fish and chips, a beef ragu – or mushroom ragu if you’d rather hold off on the meat and a very tasty three cheese cauliflower cheese with roast potato and minted peas.
Order a selection of smaller bites if you’re in a grazing kind of mood and I’ve just been informed that pies are coming!
Yay for the off-licence, there is a rather tempting beverage list to order from too.
The window at The Kitchen Cromwell is open Monday to Friday 6am until midday (extended from 10am because the people are loving it) for coffee and a selection of bites (bacon butties, muffins, scones, muesli yoghurt fruit cups, slices …) to take the edge off the morning. But it’s the Friday and Saturday burgers that are bringing something different here. Open from 4.30pm until 8pm, they have it covered – from a Kiwi burger to a Tex-Mex pulled pork and all under $10. Add cheese, add bacon, make the bun gluten free. Fries with that? No problem, have a milkshake too.
Yes, Taco Tuesdays are still are thing during level three at Amigos. They’re $5 all day (open midday until 3pm and 5.30pm until 8.30pm) and it’s still the best value meal I can find in this town. There’s a lot more on the menu which runs across the Wanaka and Alexandra restaurants too. Top tip! Leave the other half at home to make margaritas while you collect the dinner.
Amando is at the stove Thursday, Friday and Saturday making pizza, pasta, gnocchi and risotto. Add chips, pizza bread, salad and chocolate cake or gelato for dessert. Top tip! Order a couple of cinnamon scrolls for breakfast the next day.