The sky and the sea meets at Federal St., or at least that’s what I announce, securing my status as a purveyor of lame puns and dad jokes. We are standing beneath Auckland’s most famous landmark, the 328-metre Sky Tower, after all, and about to enter an oyster bar.
Geddit? I plea. Not even crickets answer.
Ah well, time to fill our bellies with some grub then.
There are grilled Coromandel mussels with Salash chorizo, garlic and tarragon and wood-roasted free-range chicken with Israeli couscous, aubergine and yoghurt. The carnivore meets locavore Meat Board impresses — a selection of pig head croquettes, wild rabbit rillettes, Waikanae salami and beef bresaola served with a cherry relish and fig-and-fennel crostini.
But everyone is here for the oysters, shucked to order right in front of us so we know they’re fresh. We enjoy Kiwa flat oysters from Marlborough; these are creamy and sweet, with a steely finish.
How often is it that flavour notes are also a prelude to the night to come?