Tara and I walked down to the habour in Auckland through a cool drizzle. We went by the wharf passing a couple of nice restaurants in each direction. We made our way to the bars and restaurants by the Hilton. Tara (never-met-a-stranger) inquired of two locals where was a good place to eat. Their first and primary recommendation was Euro. The bill of fare posted outside was promising. Despite no reservations we were able to be seated although the table was needed in ninety minutes. If it ever takes me ninety minutes to eat, well I guess I'll be back to eating strained prunes by then.
Our server was very attentive and helpful, as well as very British in his speech. We started with warm bread, nice enough in itself, but made wonderful with a butter-mushroom-truffle spread. Tara had prawns which were seasoned and breaded as well as I have ever tasted (she shared one) and I had a truffle-cauliflower soup which was much nicer than it probably sounds to most. Tara had rotisserie chicken and cole slaw, while I chose lamb on chick peas in a barbeque sauce. The recommended Syrah was quite good. I fear I did not note whether it was domestic or not. Tara apologised for not remembering our server's name at which point he gave it- for the first time. "Well, there you are". We Americans can be a bit familiar. No room for desert, but we could not have picked a nicer place for our first meal in New Zealand. Food and service were impeccable. Next time I will call ahead for reservations and allow time and room for desert.
I considered going next to a nearby comedy club and calibrating my sense of humour in this culture, but we decided rest and a little time catching up on the internet would be more reasonable after a long trip and some residual sleep deficit. We rested well, although briefly awakened as Auckland's downtown reverberated between two and three a.m. with the revelries of Kiwis anticipating the World Cup in four days with New Zealand's All Black facing off in the finals against France.
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