Plant Blazed – I’m Flipping Amazed.

Since becoming a pescatarian, I find myself obsessing over the taste of tempeh, the savour of seitan, and the sheer variety of meals you can make from plant-based meat alternatives – don’t even get me started on the power of the humble pea. But I find that a lot of restaurants and cafes don’t experiment with these incredible ingredients, are still stuck in the ‘oh we’ll chuck a mushroom risotto on the menu for the vegetarians’ mindset. But thank god that in Wellington, we have an abundance of vegans and vegetarians who have entered the food scene themselves and made it their goal to feed us plant-based people some seriously tasty vegetarian food. The forerunner in this operation? Plant Blazed, of course.

For those of you who don’t know about Plant Blazed, it’s a little pop-up caravan parked behind the famous Recycle Boutique, which serves up some big boy burgers, hefty hotdogs, and succulent salads. The catch? It’s all vegetarian. They say never to judge a book by its cover – and this saying is way too accurate when you arrive at plant blazed. The boys at Plant Blazed are beard-bearing, heavy metal blaring burger addicts, who love to create flamin’ hot sauces. When you imagine this, you’d think they whip up classic American BBQ beef burgers and fat Chicago dogs right? Wrong. These boys are here to break the stereotype and bring only delicious plant-based burgers to the streets of Wellington. So now we know who Plant Blazed is and what they do, let’s sink our teeth into the burger breakdown.

Luckily, I had just smashed out a 2 hour walk before coming here, so eating a carbalicious burger was no issue to me. After glazing at their menu, I thought to myself “f**k, this all looks delicious” (shout out to my man Action Bronson for that quote). It’s true though, all the combinations of their burgers sounded too sensational – who knew a veggie burger could have somebody in such a conundrum?? At last, I ordered their Laverne Cox, whilst my partner went for their Crying Nut burger. We also ordered a few chips, because whats a burger without a side of chips?

When my burger hit the table, it was quite literally bulging out of its little box (which was compostable – woop!), and I could JUST about get my mouth around it (get your mind OUT of the gutter, please). I’ve never tried seitan before, but holy sh**, it kicks southern fried chicken’s ass! This seitan patty combined with layers of slaw, corn, and pineapple, all smothered in a peri peri sauce made for a burger that slays all other burgers of Wellington. I’m lowkey gutted I gave half to my partner, because I could’ve smashed the whole thing. However, that being said, I tried half of the Crying Nut burger – a tower of fried tofu, kimchi, gherkins, toasted sesame seeds, and dragon mayo – which tasted like a flipping boss bao bun, but in burger form. I cannot express just how incredible the tofu tasted, and how perfectly it was cooked. At last, the chips. Honestly, pretty average – I reckon they could’ve been fried just a little bit crispier – but one of the lads let us try his homemade hot sauce with our fries, and ho-damn that sauce saved the day. It was spicy, sweet, sour, salty, and deffo lit a little fire in your throat.

If you’ve made it past my ramble – well done – it’s not judgement time. This burger feast is up there with one of the best I’ve ever had, and I can’t express my sheer happiness that it’s all vegetarian and vegan! The burgers were absolutely faultless, and I now see why they have so many raving reviews – I reckon they’ve even converted some meat eaters out there! The chips were a little average, but hey, they’re not famous for their fries, are they? The lads were super social, and you could just feel their passion when they yarned about their craft. The location is perfect being tucked away behind one of Wellington’s busiest streets, and I love how they don’t boast about themselves – they rely on word of mouth, and the words that are being said about these burgers are nothing but positive! Plant Blazed, you really exceeded my expectations, and I’m gonna have to award you a 9.5/10. The chips could be better, but don’t ever change anything to your burgers. I’ll be back.

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Jano Bistro – No Words

Damn guys – I don’t know if it’s just me, or has Wellington really stepped up their food game this year or what?? For years and years, I’ve been walking up and down Willis Street on the hike to Pipitea Campus or work, and every time I mustered up the energy to sit through a 2-hour lecture or a shift serving breakfast to groups of Contiki kids, I made sure I walked past the cute little villa next to The Bresolin. Back then, I never knew what Jano Bistro was, what it offered, and even if it served up food! But after last Saturday night, I now know it’s the home of inspiration culinary invention in the city of Wellington.

After finding out what Jano was actually all about, reading their insanely positive reviews, and peeking into their windows to see immaculate plates of food being served to flavour-seekers, I knew I had to come here. And you bet when my sister suggested we save up and finally take on Jano by force, I said yes before she could even finish asking the question. So last weekend, that’s what we did. And just like a new mum with baby pics, I’m showing photos of Jano’s meals to everybody who probably don’t care.

Okay, enough rambling about distant memories and pointless backstories – let’s talk about food. I’ll break it down for you course by course, just so you can get the real, in-depth lowdown of the dishes and their flavour profile. So, sit back with a cuppa and a snack, because I’m about to take you on a degustation journey.

Course 1: Amuse Bouche. Upon arriving and firmly letting the waiter know that we will DEFINITELY be ordering the wine matches with our 4-course degustation, we were surprised with a little pre-meal snack; a chickpea tostada with a courgette and tomato topping, and a kumura crisp topped with a parsnip cream and butternut squash ceviche. Although the size of a small biteful, these tasters packed a punch when it came to flavours. The tostada reminded me of a bite of ratatouille and brought a light and fresh flavour to my palette, whereas the Kumura crisp was heartier, richer, and induced memories of roasted winter vegetables. I would have never of thought that something so small could transport me to distant memories, but there you have it. Our degustation was off to a cracking start!

Course 2: ‘Hangi-style’ potato, oyster mushrooms, onions, sour dough bread. Whatever you picture when you read that dish summary, you’re wrong. When the plate was placed in front of us, I think every one of our expressions mirrored sheer surprise as we looked down onto this blob of potato cream topped with onion powder & sourdough croutons, that masked a collection of sautéed onions and mushrooms sitting in a pool of thick and velvety soup. I’ve never tried a Hangi potato in my life, but I’m gonna be bold and say no matter what type or how this potato was made, it’s the best flipping tattie I’ve ever had in my life. Ever. This potato paired with the sweet and umami onions and mushrooms, with a little crunch from the perfectly toasted croutons? Genius. It was French Onion Soup on steroids – no wait scratch that, it was French onion soup on ecstasy. Every bite was heaven, and I had to stop myself from licking the plate (I would’ve done if the waiter wasn’t watching, believe you me!).

Course 3: Sprouted buckwheat tart, butternut, celery, pumpkin seeds, truffle. After reading this courses summary, we all came to an agreement that we might be expecting a sort-of quiche-like affair, but with a little added Jano-pzazz. Instead we got served this incredible crunchy tuile ring, filled with layers of al dente sprouted buckwheat, a creamy butternut, celery, and salmon filling, with pops of truffle and nutty pumpkin seeds. I can only sum this meal up as the best fish pie I have ever damn tasted – and this girl LOVES a fish pie. The beautifully presented tart (that we were advised to smash with our spoon to eat – love the drama!) deceived us into thinking it was going to be mellow and light on the flavour, but in reality, is was punchy, rich, creamy, and above all, damn delectable.

Course 4: Celeriac, foraged herbs, ‘fishless’ soup. I had now clicked onto what Jano is best known for – deception. Basically, forget everything you know about what food looks or tastes like, because what they’re going to serve you will be the complete opposite of what you had imagined. Since the boyfriend and I are pescatarian, we opted for the fish course, whereas my sis is pretty much a carnivore, so of course she went for the beef cheek. I honestly never knew that celeriac could taste so incredible in so many different ways. We have ceviche, we had rotini, we had puree, we had soup, we had freeze dried, we had crisps. Every single variation of celeriac gave a different depth of flavour, and when paired with the meaty fish and pop of fresh pineapple –each mouthful was a culinary blessing.

Course 5: Chocolate, cinnamon, mandarin, meringue. You’d have thought we would be full by now, but no, there is ALWAYS room for dessert. At least in my tummy there is. Yet again, the meal description was super vague, and the suspense had us on the edge of our seat. But just like every other meal, we were hit with a wave of shock, curiosity, awe and excitement once we saw what were about to tuck into. Our plate was graced with a long rectangle of layered dark chocolate ganache and sablet biscuit, coated in a ruby chocolate glaze, with segments of mandarin, candied peel, chocolate twigs and scorched meringue shards, paired with a cinnamon crumb and cinnamon ice cream. Now it sounds like a lot, and I know people always bang on about how ‘Less is more” – but with this dish? More is more, trust me. Every single element of the dish complimented each other perfectly, and each brought either a sweet, salty, spicy, sour, and rich flavour to the dish which when tried together on one forkful, made for a flavour experience that was quite unreal.

Course 6: There’s a course 6?? We thought it was sadly over when our dessert plates were taken away, but little did we know that it wasn’t quite over yet. Suddenly, our wonderful sommelier sauntered up from the kitchen holding a plate of what I can only describe as the most beautiful and perfect macarons I’ve ever seen. Two little jade-green puffs of airy feijoa flavored macaron sandwiched together with a beautiful white chocolate ganache – nobody could resist a taste of these! The muted flavours were the perfect post-dessert petit fours, not too sickly sweet or tangy, and the perfect accompaniment to the last droplets of our dessert wine.

And that’s that! A pretty wild, magical and exciting culinary experience, huh? We came away with our tummies full, our words a little slurry, and our minds enlightened to what incredible food inventions our palettes were exposed to over 6 courses. The 4 Courses, plus wine matches, and some sneaky Amuse Bouches and Petit Fours, came to $125 pp. Now, that’s probably the most I’ve spent on a meal individually, but I hope after reading over each course, you can agree with me when I say it was worth it. I’ve already mentioned that the food was impeccable, but the service and location was just second to none. Our sommelier was also incredible, and he went over and beyond to cater to our non-alcoholic friend – offering some of their never-before-tried house-made lemonade (which was BEAUTIFUL), so that they could feel a little classy too. Our waitress did an excellent job of making sure we were all catered for, and even showed us how to properly eat the tart so we could add a little childlike excitement to our meal. Dining in Jano felt just like a dinner with friends and family, which is something most fine-dining restaurants can find hard to emulate. Don’t get me wrong, I love a super smart black-tie restaurant, but there’s something about Jano’s humble abode that lifts my heart. I don’t think you’ll be surprised when I give this place a 10/10 on the CCL scale. It honestly blew all of my expectations, and I can’t wait for anybody reading this review, to go and try it themselves.

Boquita – Wellington’s Plant-Based Mexican Maverick

I’ve been walking up and down the Kent Terrace laneway for months on end, only ever soaking up the sights of car dealership after car dealership – until one day, and petite little precinct popped up out of nowhere which instantly caught my attention. When I approached this new establishment, the smells instantly warmed up my body and made me crave whatever was cookin’ up inside there. Being the nosy parker, I am, I had a glance through the window to see what could possibly be creating such a serendipitous smell, and that’s when I found Boquita.

From that moment onwards, I would risk looking like an Olympic power walker marching down Kent Terrace just get another sneak peek into Boquita to see what marvelous Mexican meals they were concocting. This restaurant quickly became known as the pioneer of Mexican cuisine within Wellington central, with their parent restaurant, La Boca Loca, equally taking the outer suburbs of Miramar and beyond by storm. After near-criminally stalking their Insta feed, I decided that enough was enough – I needed to ditch the supermarket shop and instead blow my paycheck on a proper authentic feast. So, a few weekends ago, that’s what I did. And it was mind-blowing.

Me and the boyf. Arrived at Boquita with our tummies empty and my wallet ready to drop some fat cash on tacos. This place is pretty snug and always heaving with hungry peeps, so we had a little wait on our hands for seats and food – but believe me when I say the wait was totally worth it. So now that we’ve set the scene for the night, let’s talk taco.

To kick off our feast and tease our appetites, we ordered their daily special which was a Mexican take on thick and crunchy loaded fries, with 2 variations of creamy hummus and a dollop of refried beans taking the place of your average T-sauce. This was the perfect little starter to snack on whilst we were hungrily waiting for the main event – but it also teased our tummies as the combination of flavours in those little fried patatas were immense, and they disappeared in minutes, leaving us even thirstier for tacos. After what felt like hours (we literally didn’t eat all day just to appreciate the meal more and eat double our weight in tacos) – the plates hit our tables, revealing 3 of the most beautiful tacos I’ve ever seen. After ravishing the plate with our eyes, we tucked on in.

I started off with their spicy scrambled tofu taco, whose fiery heat warmed my body in the right places and got my taste-buds craving more. The next I devoured was their chipotle tempeh taco, whose combination of flavours danced the salsa on my tongue and took the meaning of taste to a new level. I was filling up at this point, but I had one more to go and I wasn’t about to go and commit a food felony – so I ignored the slight overeating tummy cramps and hit that last taco, which was a beautiful combo of rich refried beans and lentils that was perfectly complimented by the fresh slaw and tangy tomatoes. If you asked what my fav taco was, I couldn’t tell you. Each one brought a different and foreign flavour to my palette and took me on a new flavour journey that I never wanted to end.

This place exceeded all expectations I had for it, and I can’t thank the owners and chefs enough for bringing us something so authentic, communal, and special to the Wellingtons Mexican food scene. Sitting and dining in this place felt like you were eating at somebody’s house, the long sharing tables and open kitchen creates a vibrant social atmosphere where strangers became firm friends over the course of meal. If Boquita is the start of Wellington’s new food scene, Imma need to get a bigger scale because this place absolute smashed it! I can’t award anything lower than a 10/10 for this place, but I know they definitely deserve higher. Everything was perfect, and it goes to show that even the humblest of places that don’t stay with the grain or follow those nasty food fads, really do make waves in the food scene and provide us with innovative dishes that quickly become all-time favorites.

If you’re reading this and haven’t yet been to Boquita – what are you waiting for?? Whether you have cash in the bank or deep in the reds, the extra splashing out to get a taste of the food here is worth every penny.