Best of Auckland 2007
Metro’s annual pointer to the very best of the city.
PEOPLE
Auckland Man of the Year
John Banks, Mayor of Auckland. The Comeback Kid. Sure, Metro outlined the case against him before his defeat in 2004 but three years on, the people have spoken and who are we to disagree? Banksie claimed to be a changed man and — as only Sir Dove-Myer Robinson had done before — came back from defeat to reclaim the mayoral chains. Immediately on the front foot, he declared that Auckland’s ratepayers wouldn’t be paying $50 million towards the Eden Park upgrade. Nor, if he has his way, will they bankroll that over-the-top revamp of Maungawhau-Mt Eden. Fair enough. John Banks, your task, should you choose to accept it, is to do three more years without making us hate you all over again.
Auckland Woman of the Year
Cheryl West. Okay, we know Cheryl isn’t, you know, a real person. But as far as we’re concerned the Outrageous Fortune character, played by Robyn Malcolm, proves there is such a thing as Westie Civilisation. She’s the unpretentious, stoic linchpin of a typical dysfunctional Auckland family. She’s been cheated on and survived. Tough and self-reliant, she’s a great expression of Auckland independence. And yes, she still looks sizzling in a pair of jeans. What can we say but: Westside Forever!
Sexiest Auckland Woman of the Year
Emily Barclay, actor. Young, gifted… and hot! We already knew the 23-year-old could act — that was made clear by her performance in In My Father’s Den. But who knew she could (as the Sydney Sun-Herald put it) ooze sexuality? That’s exactly what she did as the outrageous, murderous suburban bitch Katrina in the Aussie-made thriller Suburban Mayhem, a role that won her the best actress gong at the Australian Film Institute Awards. We don’t even care that she was born in Britain. Or that she appeared in an animal rights calendar. Or that she’s a vegan. Actually, knowing that somehow makes even tofu
seem just a little bit sexier…
Sexiest Auckland Man of the Year
Troy Flavell, rugby player. Yeah, we know there’s a fad going for slim-hipped metrosexual-type guys who defoliate (or whatever it is they do) and everything, but when it comes to sexiness, we’re looking for a man’s man. A man with a little presence. A man who can take care of business. Troy Flavell. He’s a big one. Got arms like thighs, thighs like tree trunks and a head like an Easter Island statue. On a rugby paddock he’s kind of terrifying. Off-field, when he cracks that mile-wide smile, talks about his family and says things that show he’s got rugby in perspective, he pushes all the right buttons. A thinking woman’s gladiator.
Philanthropist of the Year
Steve Williams. New Zealand’s most famous beast of burden — oh all right then, caddie — donated “at least” $1 million to the Starship Foundation so the kids’ hospital can rebuild its oncology and haematology wards. Nice.
FOOD AND DRINK
Best Pizza
Non Solo Pizza (259 Parnell Rd, Parnell, ph 379-5358). Many of the best pizzas in town are available as takeouts from sit-down restaurants, and they usually cost no more than those from the gourmet competitors. Try NSP’s Prosciutto Crudo e Rucola, which has prosciutto, parmesan and rocket added after cooking. Everything from the base up has to be spot-on for that to work — and it does.
Best Sandwich
Banh Mi Bale (215 Dominion Rd, ph 630-3288). France meets Southeast Asia in lunchtime heaven. Banh mi are Vietnamese sandwiches made from a lightly toasted baguette stuffed with homemade pâté (or chicken marinated in lemongrass, charcoal-grilled pork balls or several other options), with coriander and salad vegetables lightly flavoured with rice vinegar, a dash of fish sauce and sweet chilli. Light, fresh, sharp, superb.
Best Fish and Chips
Ponsonby Fresh Fish and Chip Co (127 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, ph 378-7885). How good is this? We bought much of the food for this category on a single evening, starting in Ponsonby. Over two hours later, the fish and the chips were near cold but still tasted better than everything else we tried. The fish (tarakihi) was superbly fresh and the batter light and crisp. The chips were light and fluffy. And even though it’s Ponsonby, it’s astonishingly cheap.
Best Cakes
Pyrénées (756 New North Rd, Mt Albert, ph 846-8561). We’ve had it with cake shops and their serried ranks of baked heaviness. This little French deli makes coeurs d’amour — small and heart-shaped, with a soft chocolate centre. You heat them up, cut them open and swoon. There are chocolate cakes with such a crusty shell and fluffy insides our tasters judged them the best single cake in the city. And tarts, finger-lickingly good croissants madames, and the very epitome of subtle culinary elegance: madeleines.
Best Sausage
Little Boys Pork Fennel and Sage. Every good butcher sells good sausages, and so do the delis, the specialist stores, even the supermarkets. Fennel is in fashion, and we especially like these skinny sausages from Little Boys for their wide availability and moreishly sweet combination of herbs, spices and tasty pork. And the name, of course.
Best Beer
Epic Pale Ale. Yes, when we can we get to Galbraith’s Ale House (2 Mt Eden Rd, Mt Eden, ph 379-3557) for a pint or two of Keith Galbraith’s outstanding real ale, but when we’re in need of a sixer for a social occasion or some quality deck-time at home, the beer of choice is Auckland’s own Epic, a New World-style pale ale made with large quantities of American-grown Cascade hops. Think citrus aromas and a powerful mouthful of hoppy flavours. Delicious. We hear that brewer Luke Nicholas (now operating independently of the Cock & Bull and Steam Brewing group) has plans for an Epic lager. We’re booking some special deck-time in expectation.
Best Breakfast
Baghdad Eggs at Season (118 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, ph 378-7979). The world is full of breakfast eggs but they’re almost always Benedict, Florentine, scrambled or omelette. Season’s owner/chef, Cameron Lawless, cooks his with a rich stew of lentils, cumin, lemon, tomatoes and coriander, and the result is a taste revelation.
Best Lunch
Prego (226 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, ph 376-3095). An oldie and still an exceptional goodie. The service is enter-tainingly sharp, the food always good and the hubbub of happy people puts a great gloss on a long sunny afternoon.
Best Tapas
Bellota (SkyCity Centre, 91 Federal St, City, ph 363-6301). Six different sorts of olives and all manner of sausages. Bruschetta with mushrooms marinated in truffle oil on a bed of chickpea and tapenade. Bone marrow with Manchego cheese. Scallops on a gorgeous cauliflower purée with grated chorizo. And little balls of deep-fried goats’ cheese, drizzled with honey and slivers of toasted almond, that could be the best thing you pop in your mouth all year.
Best Anniversary Dinner Date
Totó Restaurant (51-53 Nelson St, City, ph 302-2665). We love it when there’s something extra. At Gina’s they bellow street songs from the kitchen. At Orbit on top of the Sky Tower, you go round twice with the glittering city spread below. At Mollies, they sing arias in a setting of ornate, sophisticated hilarity. And at our favourite, Totó, on Thursdays and Saturdays, they do “live opera” with such sentimental gusto you really could be sitting in a trattoria in the world’s favourite country.
Best Food Cooked at the Table
Mr Yung’s Steamboat (248a Dominion Rd, ph 638-6458). There’s a real steamboat: a soup-filled copper moat suspended around a funnel filled with hot coals. You select your fish, meat and vegetables from trolleys, pop them in the soup and add sauces of choice. The spiciness, like the ingredients, is in your control. Open until 2am daily, and it costs just $18.80 for all you can eat.
Best Pho
Mekong (Ponsonby International Foodhall, 106 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby). A good pho captures the essence of all that is wonderful about Vietnamese cooking. Our favourite version of this traditional beef noodle soup, flavoured with cinnamon, star anise, ginger and other spices, decorated with spring onion, coriander and other herbs, is at Mekong.
Best Chawarma
Middle east cafe (23a Wellesley St, City, ph 379-4843). Chawarma is a toasted pita bun filled with spiced lamb from the spit, and salad. They’re good at Fatima’s and several other Middle Eastern food outlets, but outstanding at the Middle East Cafe. The secret is in the sauce.
Best Food hall
Food Alley (9-11 Albert St, City). Every time we go to the Ponsonby International Foodhall we find something new and exciting, but the best foodhall in the city is still in Albert St. We think Aneka Rasa Indonesia (try the sop buntot, or oxtail soup), is the pick of the bunch at Food Alley, but virtually every stall offers dishes against which all other cheap Asian joints in town have to measure themselves.
Best Cheap Restaurant (not in a food hall)
KK Malaysian (463a Manukau Rd, Epsom, ph 630-3555). Just up from the Greenlane intersection, this tiny joint is beloved of aficionados, and with good reason. The sambal dishes are pungent and savoury, the standards such as rendang and laksa are definitive, and most of the prices are low, low, low. Sadly, you can’t walk to it from Queen St, and you have to book.
Best Bread Shop
Wild Wheat (811 Mt Eden Rd, Mt Eden, ph 631-7012). Crusty walnut rolls with a gorgeous airy centre. Sourdough loaves big on chewiness and taste. This is bread at its magnificent best, and if you can’t get to Mt Eden, try asking your local deli to stock it. Several around town do.
Best Deli
Dida’s Food Store (54 Jervois Rd, Herne Bay, ph 361-6157). A decent deli should have lots of products from local artisan producers; imports to transport you far away; surprises; delicious prepared foods you can’t get anywhere else; top-of-the-line exotics and affordable specials; fabulous bread; good coffee; something to eat right there and a nice place to eat it; and knowledgeable, personable staff. Dida’s has it all.
Best Greengrocer
Avondale Market (Avondale Racecourse, Ash St, Avondale). The quality is great, the range is fantastic and the prices are unbelievable. And shopping here is so much fun. Buy what you need, and try something completely new every week of the year. Sunday mornings only.
Best Fish Shop
Auckland Fish Market (22 Jellicoe St, Viaduct). It’s not quite the only game in town, but with two big fish retailers and several other operations on the premises, the Fish Market offers more variety, more consistent quality and more informed advice than any other fish outlet in town.
Best Butcher
Westmere Butchery (131 West End Rd, Westmere, ph 376-5954). This shop gets so busy at weekends it’s hard to squeeze your way in. With good reason. The cuts are good — and done to order if you want — there are lots of smallgoods, the service is boisterously friendly, the pork and chicken are free-range and — rare among good butchers — the prices are low.
Best Wine Store
Caro’s (114 St Georges Bay Rd, Parnell, ph 377-9974). They’ve got so many unusual stock lines here that browsing is a genuine pleasure. The staff know their stuff and are happy to help. You can spend the inheritance, but there are always remarkable sub-$15 bargains, and many more in between. Even the website is terrific.
Best Gourmet Food Emporium (equal)
Nosh (133 Apirana Ave, Glen Innes, ph 521-1115) and Farro Fresh (80 Lunn Ave, Mt Wellington, ph 570-7071). Both offer a great range of local and imported foods and have great specials too (on recent visits, we found $20 legs of lamb at Farro and two chips of strawberries for $4 at Nosh). Nosh has separate producers trading under one roof, so the service is a little better; Farro is a single integrated store, so it offers more competing brands of products like meat and bread.
Best Weekend Market
La Cigale (69 St Georges Bay Rd, Parnell, ph 366-9361). There are weekend markets, some of them genuine farmers’ markets, everywhere from Coatesville to Drury, Alexandra Park to Oratia. We love them. But Parnell’s boutique operation is still the best, with a splendid lineup of local (often organic) and artisanal foods and French imports. And paella. Now also operating on Wednesday afternoons.
Best Development in Auckland Food
Elliott Stables (Elliott St, City). Sometimes, the CBD takes a great step forward. Tucked in behind Smith & Caughey, this clutch of artisan food retailers includes in its lineup bread, sausages, ice cream, tea, wine, whisky, sushi and one of the most charming little cafes in town. The boutique shops are still being tenanted, but we love it already.
NIGHTLIFE
Best local bar
Garnet (129 West End Rd, Westmere, ph 376-3590). Garnet is one of those places where it would be possible for a local to look around and say, “I know everyone in this room”. Or if you don’t yet, you will soon. It feels established, with its wood-panelled walls, stained-glass windows and dark-red carpet, despite opening just a couple of years ago. The wine list is great; so’s the food.
Best wine bar
Wine Loft (67 Shortland St, City, ph 379-5070). Even though the extensive wine list might be intimidating, the bar itself certainly isn’t. Those large, squishy sofas are the perfect comfy spot in which to recline while choosing your tipple. Add one of the infamous tasting platters and you’ve got the makings of a superb Friday night.
Best cocktail
Mea Culpa (175 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, ph 376-4460). We love the imaginative list here, especially the Miyagi mule. A variation on the classic Moscow mule, this concoction of Zubrowka bison-grass vodka, wasabi, lime juice, simple syrup, ginger beer and a succulent slice of cucumber is just right for summer. Savour the sweetness, then chomp on the cucumber as the wasabi comes into play. Yum.
Best bar to take an out-of-towner
shanghai lil’s (133 Franklin Rd, Freemans Bay, ph 360-8081). Shanghai lil’s has to win the gong for best first impression. And middle-distance impression. And long-term impression. This bar just gets better and better. The fat Buddhas, Chinese vases and throne-like chairs make you feel as though you’ve snuck into an antique shop-cum-art gallery for a party with 40 of your coolest mates.
Best room with a view
vertigo, mercure hotel (8 Customs St East, city, ph 302-9424). It’s a bit of a throwback to the nineties (think stucco ceilings, migraine-inducing carpet, fully upholstered lounge chairs), but it’s a rare thing to be up at eye level with the city’s “skyscrapers”. Check out what they’re doing over at the Metropolis, or look down the length of Queen St and — who would have thought? — find it looking strangely glamorous.
Best Pub
Galbraith’s Alehouse (2 Mt Eden Rd, Mt Eden, ph 379-3557). How could it be anything but Galbraith’s? The ex-library has continued to be a temple for higher education, offering both novices and experts important life lessons in the art of beer.
Best pub for a smoker
The Kingslander (470 New North Rd, Kingsland, ph 849-5777). There are a lot of good reasons to go to this place: the poker, the salsa, the quiz nights and the enormous TV screens to watch the footy. But for smokers, the real allure is the second-floor balcony where you can sit and drink a cool one, enjoy views of Mt Eden and the ’burbs beyond — and smoke your lungs out.
Best bar for a first date
Bellota (91 Federal St, City, ph 363-6301). With cosy booths, low light and a lively atmosphere to fill the silence between all those searching questions, Bellota is an ideal venue for a first date. Turn tapas into a meal if it’s all going well, or scarper and try your luck at the casino upstairs instead.
Best martini
Bonita (242 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, ph 376-5670). The ideal pairing of gin and vermouth in the city is elusive. Bonita nails it. Crisp and pungent, the sharpness of the Tanqueray gin is just tempered by the vermouth (Bombay Sapphire and South also available if you so wish). Served in a chilled glass with three plump tasty olives from Bonita’s tapas menu. Just one gripe tarnished its perfection: a superfluous straw, which we promptly discarded.
Special mention to dark and tiny Mo’s (cnr Wolfe and Federal Sts, City, ph 366-6066) on the lower west side where you can wrap your lips around a robust, tangy tipple. The extra zing comes from the Tanqueray 10 gin, which is distilled with whole grapefruit, lemons and limes.
KIDS
Best clothing store
Trelise Cooper Kids (Nuffield St, Newmarket, ph 984-6301). We’re not sure if we should be advocating spending upwards of $200 on a four-year-old’s dress, but if you can, this is the place to do it. It’s a little girl’s palace, with a princess-like dressing table, a train set made of lollies, and four themed dressing rooms.
Best baby-friendly cafe
Ark Cafe (347 Manukau Rd, Epsom, ph 631-0011). They’ve got all the essentials covered at ark: plenty of parking out the back, enough room by the fire for a coffee group of seven to simultaneously rock their mountain buggies, a red mini for toddlers to climb in, and a menu just for kids.
Best toyshop
Mainly Toys (539 Mt Eden Rd, Mt Eden, ph 630-6318). This store reminds us of the days when getting a new toy was a treat, not just an irritation for mothers with limited storage space. Everything is decent quality, has an ostensible educational purpose, and much of it is New Zealand-made.
Best bookshop
Children’s Bookshop (cnr of Jervois and St Marys Rds, Ponsonby, ph 376-7283). If only all school libraries were as pretty as this. Picture books are generously displayed so you can actually see the covers, there’s a miniature chair for miniature readers, and even a train set for children who’d rather turn books into car ramps.
Best place to buy a buggy
Kiwibaby (cnr of Dominion and Mt Albert Rds, Mt Roskill, ph 620-6460). Check out the range of buggies available at one of the large baby chains, then pop over to Kiwibaby in Mt Roskill and get them to order in what you want at a whopping discount. Their in-store range is pretty small, but they’ll order anything and ship it to you free of charge.
Best thrill
Tree Adventures (Boundary Rd, Woodhill Forest, ph 0800 tarzan). With most school playgrounds now providing a safer experience than reading a book (remember the asphalt under the jungle gyms at your primary school?), Tree Adventures offers a hint of danger and a lot more fun. The high wires and platforms strung between the trees are up to eight metres above ground, though with the compulsory fitted harness and helmet, the kids should make it home relatively unscathed.
FASHION
Best fashion tycoon
Karen Walker. Is she the bionic woman? It seems every minute Walker’s scheming another inspired addition to her global fashion empire, be it designer jandals, a shop in Taipei, swish Swannies, teaming up with Australian retail giant Myer, writing for her übercool travel website (she has time to holiday?) or presenting another show at New York Fashion Week that sends critics fawning. All that, and her first bub is due about now. Rumours of a new baby line are unfounded — but we say watch this space.
Best fashion designer
Zambesi. Approaching the big 3-0 and churning out womenswear and menswear with a melancholic sophisticated beauty that feels fresher than their whippersnapper counterparts in the rag trade. We attribute this to Zambesi’s remaining unflinchingly immune to international fads. Fabulous.
Best breakthrough fashion designer
Jaeha Alex Kim. Jaeha obviously appreciates our city’s fickle climate, having debuted straight from AUT with sexy yet practical raincoats that were promptly snapped up by buyers from drizzly Melbourne. The 21-year-old’s follow-up, a full collection at this year’s fashion week of draped knits and lavish gowns, cemented his hip-young-thing status.
Best shoe designer
Kathryn Wilson. We welcomed the bleak winter purely because it gave us the opportunity to wear Wilson’s boots, which come in way too many tempting designs — slouchy, mod cowgirl, knee-high or ankle. Now summer’s here we’re feeling dainty in her beautifully balanced peep-toe heels. And she’s proven her cobbler mettle on the catwalk, creating covetable two-tone patent leather Oxfords for the Hailwood show.
Best online shopping for local designer wear
General Cucumber (www.generalcucumber.com). Bookmark this. A shortcut to in-season garb from Zambesi, Cybèle, Deadly Ponies, Nom D, Jimmy D, Lonely Hearts Club and Jaeha with useful garment descriptions, styling suggestions and the inspiration for each range like Lonely Hearts’ latest, “based on nuclear disarmament and the denunciation of war”.
Best new store
Made and Stockroom (30-32 Customs St East, City, Ph 366-1693). When Made moved in to Britomart we finally got a sense of what a stylish new centre of the city this area could become. There’s heritage charm in the exposed brick arches, polished floorboards and luxurious velvet chaise longue. We love the gorgeous frocks by Maw and Karen Walker as well as the oversized handbags by Luella. Walk through to the bolthole Stockroom for more funky street style but the look is still polished with a mix of international and local labels including Marc Jacobs, Vans and Huffer.
Best place to buy shoes
Ashley Ardrey (42C High St, City, ph 309-1955). Lacroix sweetie, Lacroix. And Sergio Rossi, Robert Clergerie, Givenchy and Celine. For the lauded names of fancy footwear creators look no further. They import adventurous designs that are more feet-mounted sculptures than anything else.
Best Sneaker Shop
Qubic (154 Broadway, Newmarket, ph 520-1685). This new shop and art gallery is so street its owners are called UHF, stompa and Joddity. They’re the folk behind the online sneaker-freak forum solejam.com and have brought the brands that everyone’s talking about into the store — JB Classics, DC, Nike, adidas, New Balance and Vans. You can even paint them with unique designs under the owners’ enthusiastic tuition at one of Qubic’s customising workshops.
Best place to buy $700 jeans
Fabric (5 High St, City, ph 366-4528). There are blogs that document sightings of the sort of jeans you find at Fabric. The it-girl, rockstar labels Superfine, Ksubi and Sass & Bide are all here. Our favourite pair looks as though it has been dipped in silver, and judging from the price tag it may well have.
Best place to buy $50 jeans
Lee Outlet Store (4 Brown St, Ponsonby, ph 360-4105). Stacks of discounted jeans for girls and guys neatly organised by size so that within a few minutes of concerted fossicking you are likely to find something in the desired wash and cut that fits. Brands include Lee, Wrangler, Hard Yakka and Golf Punk.
Best T-shirt
Richard…son (279 Parnell Rd, Parnell, ph 337-0033). Slap-bang in the middle of the well-to-do Parnell Strip is a charming touch of whimsy. The brainchild of photographer-cum-model-cum-graphic designer Stephen Richardson, these tees have bold pop-culture prints with a tinge of French retro.
Best flashy jewellery
Pascale Bruni from Hartfield (327 Parnell Rd, Parnell, ph 373-2472). This year we’ve been struck by the ostentatiously dazzling jewels designed by modern maestro Pascale Bruni. Wearing one of his enormous diamond pave rings is like having the Milky Way on your finger.
Best Kiwiana Jewellery
Georgina Baker (www.georginabaker.co.nz) has been into the family silver, chopped the heads off spoons and created elegant earrings from the handles. Ingenious. She also transforms kitsch souvenir teaspoons into funky pins, necklaces and cufflinks.
Best Jewellery Guaranteed Not to Contain Blood Diamonds
Trade Aid shops in Auckland City, Henderson, Takapuna, Ponsonby and Manukau have colourful chunky costume jewellery from Nepal, India, Tanzania and Kenya perfect for livening up a tank top or cocktail dress.
Best Pyjamas
Peter Alexander (43 High St, City, ph 307-8261). The Australian pyjama king has come to town with a flagship store on High St filled with sloopy pants and cotton singlets perfect for lolling about on those long summer evenings, or mornings, or even the whole day.
Best Sunglasses
Kate Sylvester made her first foray into sunglasses this year and the collection has Mrs Sly’s trademark ladylike poise with a cheeky twist, like a screen siren kicking up her heels on the Riviera. The classic shapes come in fancy colours such as two-toned clear and black, transparent scarlet or bone and silver.
Best Handbags
Deadly Ponies. Local duo Katie Smith and Liam Bowden twist butter-soft leather and squidgy suede into beautiful bags trimmed with attitude, such as a scarf printed with a skeleton hand or a brass bone on a chain. Great names too — Mr Flopalopagus, Mr Foldabackabit and Mr Stuffintye. Available from Miss Crabb (41 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, ph 361-3322) and Superette (Nuffield St, Newmarket, ph 966-0440).
Best Corporate Wear — Men
Working Style (1 Chancery Lane, City, ph 358-3010). Corporate gents of our acquaintance swear by the authoritative advice and attentive service they get at Working Style, particularly rating the way those good-looking suits stand up to the rigours of a bustling cars-planes-and-boardrooms kind of business whirl. We also like the classic business shirts, cut exactly to your measure-ments from Egyptian cotton woven in Italy.
Best Corporate Wear — Women
Docherty Wilkins (www.dochertywilkins.com, ph 815-7044). Heather Docherty made her debut with the label Docherty Wilkins at fashion week only a year ago after doing hard yards in the cutting rooms of Ashley Fogel here and Topshop overseas. Now she’s showing her prowess with tailored womenswear that’s original and appropriate for the boardroom.
Best Cut-Price Suits
Satori Clone (Shop 524, Dress Smart, 151 Arthur St, Onehunga, ph 634-9311). A good choice for the young professional on the up. Friendly staff are on hand to help with that elusive complementary shirt-tie one-two, and there are great special deals.
Best Cut-Price Designer Wear
Tatty’s (159 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, ph 376-2761). Much more fun and satisfying than Trade Me, at Tatty’s you can forage through a large selection of secondhand designer wear and actually try it on for size. The prices are a bit steeper than you’ll pay at most other clothing-recycling shops but the range of garments and accessories is huge and the stock is well laundered.
Best Frocks to Upstage the Bride
Muse (11 Teed St, Newmarket, ph 520-2911). There is an elegant soirée of mannequins in the window of Muse and quite rightly so: the dresses are too gorgeous to be hidden away on coat hangers. Textured, tailored, vivid, sparkly or slinky, there is an option for every dress-up occasion made by designers known for their glamorous touch, including Wayne Cooper and expat Rebecca Taylor. The only boutique in town to stock the iconic wrap from fashion doyenne Diane von Furstenberg.
SHOPS
Best garden centre
Kings Plant Barn, Remuera (236 Orakei Rd, ph 524-9400). For thriving plants and plenty of ideas on how to use them. Displays demonstrate what plant combinations work best or which pot will suit your new bromeliad. There are plenty of unusual edibles too, though you’ll have to wait eight years or so for that pine-nut tree to fruit. Good cafe, especially the courtyard overlooking Hobson Bay.
Best place to hire a costume when the dress code on your invitation reads: be fabulous
first scene (597 new north rd, kingsland, ph 815-7230). A costume shop that doesn’t make you sneeze, or gag, is a wonderful thing. Everything at First Scene, from the 200 wedding dresses to the school uniforms, smells fresh and recently cleaned. They also do a good line in slip-on elf ears, vampire teeth and — upstairs in the prop warehouse — severed limbs and coffins.
Best bookshop
Unity (19 High St, City, ph 307-0731). It may be a tenth the size of the blockbuster bookstores, but somehow Unity seems to have more of the stuff we actually want. And it makes no bones about using every available space —big books are handily turned into stands for smaller books. During the busy lunch hour the store is packed with silent readers, all of whom will be ignored unless they actually want something. We like this.
Best spa
The Beauty Connection (1/188 Broadway, Newmarket, ph 520-6948). This is the place to come for serious beauty treatments. Rather than pour money into flounces and frills, owner Leanne Dore invests in top-notch products and equipment. Your partner may actually notice the difference.
Best supermarket
New World Victoria Park (2 College Hill, Freemans Bay, ph 307-8400). For a mid-week dinner-party shopping expedition, New World Victoria Park is most likely to have everything you’ll need. Saveur duck? Check. Omaha organic blueberries? Check. Mas Portell white truffle-infused olive oil? check. Top it off with a six-pack of boutique beer and it’ll look as though you’ve been scouring the gourmet food emporiums all weekend. Don’t try to slip anything through their new self-checkout, though — the bags sit on a sneaky weight-sensitive area to detect any difference between what’s scanned and what’s packed.
Best shopping precinct
high st. We love the heritage buildings, cubbyhole cafes and narrow alleyways of high st. And it’s still the best place for fashion, both for men and women.
Best magazine shop
magazzino ponsonby (123 ponsonby rd, ponsonby, ph 376-6933). At magazzino you’ll find stacks of crisp, new magazines properly arranged so you can find what you want. And you know you won’t accidentally walk away with last month’s Vanity Fair — the international magazines here are actually current. There’s a smattering of international papers too. A four-day-old Sunday Times from the UK is yours for $27.
Best drycleaners
regal drycleaners (402 broadway, newmarket, ph 520-6040). In a city where drycleaners often over-press clothes to within a thread of their lives, Regal Drycleaners can be trusted to treat your most precious purchases with respect. Don’t be surprised if a fallen hem or missing button is secretly mended at no extra cost.
MEDIA
Best News Presenter
You’ve got to be able to look directly into the camera, deliver the words with the right emphasis, not betray emotion or opinion and yet not be cold. You can’t fluff the difficult names or the live crosses. Then you’ve got to be able to do the jokey stuff at the end. Plus, you can’t have an annoying haircut, or an air of smugness. It’s a tough job being an autocue reader and no one is doing it better than TV3’s Hilary Barry. If anyone is worthy of a Judy Bailey salary it’s her.
Best Radio Host
The exemplary management at Newstalk ZB this year anointed Mike Hosking as heir apparent to Paul Holmes. Smart move. He’s vastly improved on his old Nat Radio days — smart and researched and often downright hilarious. Holmes is still firing but we can’t help looking forward to the changeover.
Best TV Channel
Maybe because the staff have a clear goal that isn’t about making money, Maori TV seems to keep going from strength to strength. Its core mission may be to foster te reo, but it is smartly positioning itself as the public service broadcaster for everyone, which it may find even easier once it launches its second channel next year with 100 per cent Maori language content.
Best Evening News
In television, style is always going to share equal billing with content, and when it comes to style TV3 still has it over TVNZ. Hilary Barry, alongside the comfortable-in-his-skin Mike McRoberts, offers a more relaxing watch. Over on TVNZ they still look as though they’re sitting on pine cones. Or have swallowed one.
Best Weekend Paper
Partly because it isn’t overburdened with advertising and is printed on crisper whiter paper, the Sunday Star-Times delivers a more attractive and cohesive package than its main rivals, who seem to be struggling to keep the ads apart and the ink on the paper. Yes, looks do matter. The Star-Times’ front page can descend into tabloid territory (oh, the demands of a competitive newsstand) but it has a fine stable of investigative feature writers who go beyond the obvious follow-ups, and a well-balanced range of columnists who understand what a column is.
Best Business Paper
Being a business town means that no fewer than three weekly business papers are published in Auckland (we’re including the Herald’s The Business section on Fridays). The gong goes to the oldest and only one that’s locally owned: National Business Review. Yes, it has its weak spots, but it has the respect of the business community which, in our random sample, rated it well ahead of its rivals.
Best Broadcaster With the Initials PH
Unlike the previous holder of this title, this year’s winner, Paul Henry, doesn’t seem to suffer from the burden of wanting to be liked. And that’s why we like him. Yes, he was mean to Kay Gregory. And his wit can be too sharp for non-morning people. Which begs the question whether Breakfast is the right vehicle for the talented Mr Henry. Perhaps a late-evening news/satire show would be a better showcase… Go on, TVNZ, give us something to smile about before bed.
Best Website
If you want to know what’s going on, it’s hard to go past the Herald’s website. You know at least it’s a credible Auckland-based news source and livelier than the paper itself. Relatively free of the unedited blogging from the overly conceited, which is what so many local websites seem to be full of.
Best Advertising Billboard
No, you can’t go and look at it to see for yourselves because it blew up. On Sunday July 22. And that was the best thing about it. The exploding billboard in Nelson St was designed by advertising agency Colenso BBDO for client Deadline Couriers. And to think the council wanted to ban this sort of thing. Where’s their sense of fun?
Best Radio Station
It’s still hard to beat Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report if you want to start the day knowing what’s going on in the world, but after 9am we too often find ourselves reaching for the dial and moving it slightly south on to Radio Live. Yes, we know it’s talkback. But they’ve got a strong lineup of hosts who haven’t been on radio since it was invented.
Best Local Television Programme
Now into its fourth series, bro’Town is not only a local survivor but it’s selling internationally as well. It succeeds where most local comedy fails: it’s actually funny.
Best Television Sports Presenter
When TV3’s entire sports news department relocated to Paris for the ill-fated World Cup, they left a woman behind to mind the store. And what a good decision that was for Emma Keeling. She made the sports news fun and didn’t seem overburdened by a sense of her own importance. We think it’s time she moved into the big league, fulltime.
OUTDOORS
Best Picnic Spot
In 1965, Wenderholm became our original regional park. Forty years on, its charms have only grown more beautiful. Its white beach and lapping waves, grand pohutukawa, bush walks, birdlife and handsome Couldrey House homestead help to make it the most idyllic spot for a picnic.
Best West Coast Beach
Te Henga/Bethells Beach. Big, wild surf in rough weather, hissing breakers to cool you off on a hot day and bush pressing right up to the sand. The archetypal west coast beach.
Best East Coast Beach
Long Bay. The complete east coast package with enough sand for everyone, safe swimming, good facilities (including showers, changing sheds, a restaurant and kiosk), historical sites and a jolly fine coastal walkway.
Best Swimming Spot
Parnell Baths. No chemicals, fresh air, sunshine and the tide’s always in. Close enough for city workers to churn out a few lengths at lunchtime.
Best View from a Volcano
Rangitoto Island. Bugger the Sky Tower, Auckland’s iconic island is the best way to see the region on a cracking summer’s day. Comes with a bonus boat trip and terrific climb to the summit.
Best Train Ride
Glenbrook Vintage Railway. The smell of burning coal, the hiss of steam and the blokes dressed in 19th-century railway kit make this one of the few enjoyable railway experiences in Auckland. The 12km journey is open to visitors most Sundays over summer and autumn. Not just for trainspotters.
Best Place to Walk A Dog
Waiatarua Reserve (98 Abbotts Way, Remuera, just near the Remuera Golf Course). Big and well grassed and good paths for when the weather goes pear-shaped, this off-the-leash dog reserve has a wetland at its centre and a swimming hole for the pooches too.
ARTS, CULTURE AND ARCHITECTURE
Best Venue
Kings Arms (59 France St, Newton, ph 373-3240). The advent of the MP3 player means the power of radio and record giants has waned, but far from killing the rock star, as industry doomsayers predicted, it’s helped to bring music to the people. The proof is here at the good ol’ KA, regularly packed with audiences for local and international indie acts playing damn good music. Rock on.
Best 12,000-Seat Venue
Vector Arena (Mahuhu Cres, City, ph 358-1250). It was a long time coming but finally the curtain rose on the beleaguered Vector Arena. Despite early niggles with acoustics, the stadium has put Auckland firmly on the megastars’ t our schedule.
Best Underground Venue
The Wine Cellar (downstairs in St Kevin’s Arcade, 183 Karangahape Rd, Newton, ph 377-8293). You just never know what to expect in this gloriously dingy lair. The performance space out back is furnished with school-hall pews, car seats and saggy couches and those behind the microphone are just as eclectic.
Best New Building
Colin McCahon Artists’ Residence (Otitori Bay Rd, French Bay, Titirangi). It started from a rough Colin McCahon sketch of a box on a steep slope surrounded by towering tree trunks — and that’s exactly how it turned out. Pete Bossley’s interpretation of McCahon’s dream house is faithful to the artist’s vision, in harmony with the delicate kauri forest that surrounds it, a comfortable and practical residence for the contemporary artists who are fortunate enough to work there, and melds well with McCahon’s very modest cottage next door.
Best Architectural Addition to an Auckland Icon
Atrium at Auckland Museum (The Domain, Parnell). There was a fiddly condition to building in the courtyard of Auckland Museum: don’t touch the sides of the heritage building. This required some creative construction thinking such as using cranes to lift excavating machinery over the walls and required $113 million to get the job done. Mission accomplished. The suspended kava bowl-inspired addition that houses an education centre is a stunning shape juxtaposed with the severe lines of the existing building, and the function centre beneath the undulating dome has incredible 360-degree views of the city.
Best Public Sculpture
Tiki Wananga (2006) by Dion Hitchens and Charles Koroneho (Onehunga Library). Three large forms based on tiki wananga or knowledge sticks hang above the library foyer, a fitting concept for a place of learning. Hitchens and Koroneho have lashed aluminium sticks with iridescent fibre optic cable using Maori techniques in an intriguing mix of tradition and modernity.
Best Movie Theatre
Hoyts Sylvia Park (286 Mt Wellington Highway, Mt Wellington, ph 573-9000). Since the Rialto was exposed for screening blown-up DVDs and other multiplexes’ projection standards left us praying to the movie gods for focus, we’ve been heading to the monstrous Sylvia Park for a complete cinema experience. Spread your legs out and you won’t even kick the seat in front, the screens are all decent size and there is no lingering odour of stale popcorn and BO.
Best Cultural Event
AK07. Auckland is often lambasted for its rambling and disparate nature but there was a palpable uni-fication of city spirit when thousands converged on the Domain for French pyrotechnicians Groupe F’s explosive launch to AK07. The sparkle remained all festival with an expansive programme of music, theatre, dance and visual arts. Metrolive reviewer Gilbert Wong’s pick was the ambitious production Penumbra, which he described as “a beguiling Technicolor, widescreen theatre experience”.
Best Actress(es)
The quartet of Jacque Drew, Madeleine Sami, Alison Bruce and Michelle Langstone as the ex-girlfriends of Guy in Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s) at the Silo. Sami sizzles as the sex-crazed seductress, Drew twangs the heart strings with her life half-lived, Bruce is supercharged as the conflicted married older woman and Langstone seethes with barely restrained fire and dignity as the pretty twin. The moment they slink on stage, Guy is done for.
Best Emerging Actress
Morgana O’Reilly. Exceptional as the boozy, disenchanted, agoraphobic actress in The Bar at the End of the World. We’re sure her future won’t be a case of life imitating art.
Best Actor
Robbie Magasiva as Gary in My Name is Gary Cooper. Finally dispensing with the hunk-with-the-heart shtick he has been saddled with, Magasiva played a twisted, complex character. He showed how to captivate a crowd without uttering a word, and that’s not just because he spent most of the play wearing barely a stitch.
Best set designer
Tracy Grant Lord for The Crucible. Lord created an oppressive, threatening world with ingenious angles and lighting on a seemingly simple set that grew in complexity with the play. Dangling trees became gallows and a slanted support post transformed into an awry crucifix. A spot-on rendering of the psychological through the physical.
Best Arts Institution
Silo Theatre (Lower Greys Ave, City, ph 366-0339).Celebrating a decade this year, Silo has overcome long odds to last this long. The theatre is so tiny the actors have literally nowhere to hide and hushed scenes are punctured by raucous laughing from the comedy club upstairs. By the final curtain (well, curtain call, there isn’t room for an actual curtain) sweat is dripping off the unventilated walls. Yet the punters keep rolling in the door. Highlights in the slate for 2007 have been Lobby Hero, Some Girl(s) and ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore.
Best Inspirational Event
Pecha Kucha (Www.pechakucha.co.nz). Pecha Kucha nights started in Tokyo and have spread to 70 cities worldwide. The structure goes like this: creative types, usually designers, photographers, architects or artists, give brief presentations of 20 slides for 20 seconds per slide about a topic of their choosing. That’s a total of six minutes 40 seconds per speaker. With up to 14 presenters in a night there’s bound to be something to spark your own creativity, even if it’s going home thinking, “I could do better”.
Best Band
The Mint Chicks. We knew this band was destined for greatness when they literally brought the roof down at the St James in July 2006. The following month, the four experimental art rockers stuck their no-wave finger right up the mainstream and put out Crazy? Yes. Dumb? No, an album full of weird radio-unfriendly tracks. One year later they have three Tuis, been covered by Anika Moa and had airplay on 91ZM. The exposure has freaked them out a little bit so brothers Ruben and Kody Nielson and drummer Paul Roper are off to Portland, Oregon, to become under-ground again as a three-piece. Bassist Michael Logie has quit the band to stay home. Whatever happens, The Chicks will never have a year like 2007 again.
Best Singer/Songwriter
SJD. With his fourth album release, SJD is building a quiet monument to thoughtful harmonies and sublime production. Playing an ephemeral mix of soul, electronica and pop, Sean Donnelly has been described as an impressionist painter working with sound. Since coming out of the studio more and collaborating with a collective of talented musicians, he has transformed his sound and live show into something richly organic.
Best Breakthrough Band
White Birds and Lemons. Barely out of Takapuna Grammar, this four-piece has been impressing gig-goers with their brand of 1970s-inspired songwriting, tight musicianship and sheer commitment on stage. With hook-laden songs influenced by (in their words) “jeff, jimi, janis, john, jim, jimmy”, a deal with Liberation Music and a lead singer with the chops to pull off epic power ballads such as “Stella”, these guys will go far.
SPORT
Best Sports Team
At least Auckland rugbyheads had something to celebrate. The Auckland rugby team ended the year as Ranfurly Shield holders and Air New Zealand Cup winners — and were the first team in 17 years to win the national competition without dropping a game.
Best Coach
It hasn’t all been flash for Pat Lam. His Auckland side didn’t make it past the semis in 2006 and they were seventh in the national comp the year he was appointed, 2004. However, Lam proved he was the man this year, coaching the side to an Air New Zealand Cup win by making sure defensive nous was added to the attacking flair.
Most Exciting Sportsman
After a good strong first A1GP season, 24-year-old Jonny Reid and Black Beauty are again pressing hard in the early stages of the 2007-2008 series. Go, Jonny, go!
Most Exciting Sportswoman
Valerie Vili is the champion of the world! Well she is in women’s shot-put after throwing a massive 20.54m at the world champs, the best throw in the world this year. A springboard for the Beijing Olympics? We hope so.
Best Sports Venue
Now the Ericsson sponsorship is over and we can call it Mt Smart Stadium (Beasley Ave, Penrose) again, it feels even better to be there. Especially when the Warriors played as well as they did (mostly) this year. Who knows, maybe they’ll go all the way next year… (Um, don’t we say that every year?)
Best School for Sport
Mt Albert Grammar School (Alberton Ave, Mt Albert, ph 846-2044). It’s pretty tough to win a top trophy in any sport in Auckland. This year, MAGS did it in three — the big winter three. In soccer, the boys’ 1st XI won their fourth premier competition in a row. In netball, the premier team went unbeaten through the season and won their competition. And in rugby, the boys’ 1st XV also won the premier competition.Metro’s annual pointer to the very best of the city.