Food, glorious food!

The weekend just past was very pleasant and included several opportunities for food and drink.  Friday, Tara and I went to Invercargill's Speights Ale House.  They have several varieties of brew on tap at their location at
38 Dee St Inivercargill.  I tried Summit (light, all natural ingredients), Traverse (low carb) and Distinction (malt ale).  Tara had ribs and I had a vegetarian stack.  Portions were generous and the food was tasty.  There was a pleasant ambiance- loved the door to the cooler and wood beams.  Service was very courteous and fairly prompt.

For more info: http://www.speights.co.nz 


Weather predictions were on the rainy side, so we hedged our bets and drove to Queenstown Saturday, only 2 1/2 hours to the north.  Queenstown  is beautiful, with a lake surrounded by mountains. It has numerous stores and restaurants and is a playground for adrenaline junkies with hang gliding, jet boats, parasailing and the home of bungy jumping nearby.  Our second order of business, after checking our gear at a hotel, was to go to one of the pizzarias recommended upon check-in.  Winnies had wood-fired ovens and delicious thin crust pizza reminiscent of pizza in Chicago.  A glass of Montieth's original went quite well. 


We found a British candy store and got several treats.  The grandchildren would love the place!  It was only the second time I've had jelly babies of Dr.Who (fourth doctor, Tom Baker) fame. www.remarkablesweetshop.co.nz

For supper we went to the Flame restaurant.  Their smaller sirloin was tender and tasty (medium rare).  Tara had chicken with servings enough for then and for us to share the next day.  Fortunately we had a kitchenette in our room.  New Zealand servings of chips (aka french fries) are typically enough for two and always well prepared.  A reprise of Speights Summit went well with supper.


Sunday started with yummy leftovers (really).  After church we decided to fast until after a jet boat ride.  One hour skipping along the lake and river at up to 60 kph did not work up an appetite, but at least it did not kill it.  The ride was great fun.  The skies were blue, the sun was warm and the air was pleasantly cool and crisp.
www.kjet.co.nz

Three more stops and then we would end our weekend adventure.  We went to a travel office and booked two of our next weekend trips (for Stewart Island and Milford Sound).  Then off for a second pizza, this time at The Cow.  We sat by a warm wood fireplace which was welcome in the cool indoors.  The pizza was wonderful.  I ate the eleven inch personal pizza with no leftovers accompanied by Monteith's Celtic Red.  Tara had spaghetti, which she enjoyed.  Finally back to a mall where I saw an establishment which keeps eighty varieties of wine chilled for tasting 1,2, or 4 ounces at a time.  You get a glass and a card to dispense wines which are priced by the serving size and cost of the bottle.  I selected a Chardonnay, a Riesling and a Pinot Noir for a wine and cheese drop-in later this week.


We were tired and happy on our return.  One of our physician neighbours invited us over for supper- a tasty home-prepared Thai meal.