Can you hear me getting bigger?!

I went to dinner with the boys last night. They chose a spot that I would have walked by without noticing; there was a sandwich board with the name Matterhorn on the sidewalk. I walked down a narrow hallway that led into the main restaurant. The space was surprisingly spacious, had a ski lodge feeling to it, and a real fire crackling. http://www.matterhorn.co.nz/about

I started with the Venison tartare (pickled radish, nashi [asian pear], yuzu [type of sour, citrus fruit] and wasabi). I’ve only had venison chili and was expecting a touch of gaminess to it, it had zilch. It was deeericious. The only complaint I had was echoed by a co-worker who said the portion wasn’t enough to satisfy his cat.

For dinner, I figured I had to try some New Zealand lamb; I ordered the

‘The Whole Lamb’ with goat yogurt and crushed peas. Not quite sure what parts I ate, but parts are parts, and since I slapped the yogurt on everything, it was fantastic.

For wine, I had the Lindis River Central Otago NZ Pinot Noir 2007 (Central Otago wine region is the most southerly wine producing region in the world). I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it to the Central Otago vineyard, but hopefully some weekend, I'll be able to knock out the Marlborough vineyard (3 hr ferry ride from Wellington). 

This morning, my tour guide, Stuart (client), no, tour guide is not code for anything. The guy doesn’t seem to be that busy, and is nice enough to tell me things about the city (e.g., where to get the best mussels). I asked him the best place to get raw oysters, and he asked if I could run out for a bit. He took me to a local seafood place to try and buy Bluff oysters. Sadly, due to the bad weather in the south island, a shipment won't be coming in this week. Instead, he picked up marinated mussels for a snack. I like vinegary things, so I loved the mussels. Just in case I don’t have enough iron in my system, I also had mussels for lunch. This time, they were grilled with wilted spinach, bacon and cheese at this great Belgium restaurant. http://www.leuven.co.nz/nz/

It’s not all just fun and mussels though, but for the most part, I've got a great set up; apartment gets cleaned on a weekly basis, hours aren't hideously long, the client and co-workers are nice, and in case my boss ever reads this, I'm actually learning a lot :) 

Ok, one more food thing to wrap this up...this is an example of how nice kiwis are. Tonight, I went to a restaurant close to my apartment, and asked if I could place a take out order ("take away" here). The server said, "no", but that she'd check with the chef. She came back and said that since I live so close, he said I could just take the plate with me and return it whenever. 

Besides the random Michael Hutchence picture in the bar (a la photo), and eclectic music selection (e.g., Tony Bennett, Peter, Bjorn & John, Hall & Oates), I'll definitely go back to the spot.