Tag: local

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Miami River, an afternoon

The Miami River

Mouth of the River
The mouth of the Miami River

Draining, barely draining, from within South Florida’s Everglades, the Miami River forms near Miami Airport.  The river trickles east six miles through downtown Miami.  Flowing into Biscayne Bay, the Miami is a natural river, once home-ground to Tequesta Indians.

Shellfish were the Tequesta’s food of choice on date night.  Not clams, oysters or conch – of which there was plenty along the Miami River, rather turtle and snail.

In the 1890’s Florida was invaded by the railroad.  The Miami was dredged, bridged, commercialized and, by the 1950’s, polluted – all the way to its mouth; Biscayne Bay. The Tequesta were history.

Why this place appeals to me

Escape from downtown Miami’s touristy Bayside Market is an easy walk South through Bayfront Park.  Pick up the Miami Riverwalk.  Keep heading South, Miami Riverwalk curves west along the bank of the Miami River.  At the mouth of the Miami commercial ocean-going vessels destined for Caribbean Islands are being towed into Biscayne Bay, then released and trusted to self-navigate

The Miami River serves as the North border to Miami’s “Financial District,” Brickell Avenue.  South Florida wannabee financiers dubbed Brickell Avenue “Wall Street South.”  It’s not.  It is “South America Wealth North.” Spanish is the preferred tongue along Brickell Ave.  Spanish is often the sole language spoken by cabbies and UBER pilots.

Upriver the Miami brushes the North boundary of Little Havana.  From Brickell Ave it’s a 10-minute car trip to the music of Calle Ocho.

How Far Down the Block, or River?  

It’s Saturday 1 pm.  Time-out – Il Gabbiano (the Seagull) at the mouth of the Miami River is a worthy option.  But we’re going local, Down The Block. Or rather, Up The River.

Lunch is an old-school Miami mainstay, Garcia’s Seafood. A 1.5-mile stroll up the Miami River from Biscayne Bay.  After lunch, next door to Garcia’s a relative newcomer to the Miami’s dining scene awaits; Kiki on the River.

Why you might be nearby?

Garcia’s Seafood

A.  Absorbing the all-day music thumping from within Ball & Chain in Little Havana.

B.  Confirming payment on an undisclosed South American business transaction at Banco do Brasil Americas, 1221 Brickell Ave. office.

C.  Gaging behavior at Miami’s new hot spot along the river, Riverside, 120,000-square-feet of hedonism.

D. Brickell City Centre; landlord to SAKS, TED Baker, Coach and their retail cousins has occupied your morning. The North/South sidewalk along S. Miami Avenue, leads you 500 feet north towards the Miami River.

Lesser Known Facts   

The Miami is a River of Exports; 75 percent of the cargo floating downriver is tagged for foreign shores.

The goods are being transported to the Caribbean; the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Bahamas. Only shallow draft commercial vessels can navigate the Miami River. Shallow draft is required to slip-in, dock and tie-up in many Caribbean harbors.

Local Recommendation    

Garcia’s Seafood smells a bit fishy.  Comforting since the patio seats are right on the river.

On the deck at Garcia’s Seafood

The seafood market, as you step through the front door, stuns with a selection of shiny claws and colorful creatures with fins.

Former guests and the Garcia Family are celebrated with pictures nearly every wall.

The downstairs/outdoor seating area, just behind the fish market, features wooden picnic tables, properly aged. Upstairs is only slightly more refined.

“My father, when he got here from Cuba, he didn’t know anything other than fishing,” explains the current Garcia overseer.  GOOD START.  The Garcia’s contract their own fleet of fishing boats.  Thus, FRESH is the seafood in both the market and the restaurant.

Garcia’s Seafood on the Miami River

Settle your tab at Garcia’s Seafood.  Out the front door, 200 feet north on the bank of the Miami River lies Kiki on the River.

Kiki On The River

Kiki parties all-day on Sunday – a tribute to the Sunday Soiree at Miami Beach’s Raleigh Hotel back in the day. Kiki’s isn’t priced as a “local hangout” – their signature cocktails cost $17.

Kiki on the River, dining area

Kiki’s allows a lenient outdoor smoking policy, perhaps defined as “South American.”  At the riverside bar, a slick-dressed, russet-skin fellow has a lady on each arm.  All three smoking cigars.

Eight elegant Spanish nymphs, each wearing white, chatter in Spanish around a square table.  Their apparel du jour, head-turning suggestions from the pages of Vogue.  Each top designed with a cleavage-relief plunge.  I wanted to wait their table.  

Next to me, at Kiki’s bar, the woman said, “You’re staring at that table.”
“I’m not staring,” I replied, keeping my focus on the group of eight, “I’m ogling. Ogling is a higher form of observation.”

The woman winks at a 50-ish man seated around the L corner of Kiki’s bar. He dressed French Resistance-style, sporting a European two-day growth. The man speaks sottovoce into his cell phone

Something for Nothing  

   

1.  A Spanish language lesson Spanish with your UBER pilot.

2.  Miami’s free transportation: 1) Metromover, 2) City of Miami Trolley

3.  The pedestrian walking path that circumnavigates Brickell Key. South on Brickell Avenue from the Miami River, turn left (East) onto Brickell Key Drive.  On the east side of the 200-foot causeway bridge over Biscayne Bay, step down to the shoreside footpath.  If a walking loop of Brickell Key (or several) induce thirst, repair to the outdoor deck of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, or the patio at Brasserie Brickell Key.

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Europe Vienna; 7 Stern Brau beerhall

Vienna, Austria: 7 Stern Brau; a microbrewery and eating place in Spittelberg

Vienna, Austria
7 Stern Brau, a microbrewery and eating place in Spittelberg
Siebensterngasse 19, Vienna, Austria

Microbreweries in Vienna are called Gasthausbrauereien. Gasthausbrau’s feature Zwicklbier; an unfiltered beer, clouded, no preservatives.

The barman stood behind a series of beer taps, drawing a liter. I took a stool at the bar, my preferred dining seat. Nobody else was at the bar, but the dining tables in 7 Stern Brau were filled.

“You speak English?” I asked.
“Of course I do, I’m Alexander,” he stretched his hand across the bar.
“Describe your Wiener Helles beer?”
“Blond, unfiltered, no preservatives,” Alexander said.
Blond, a little dirty and no make-up, my type, “I’ll take one.”

Over Alexander’s head, above the beer taps (bierschenke), stacked upside down and ready to pour, were 10 bottles of Austrian Schnapps; each graded at 35% alcohol. A different fruit appeared on each label.

7 Stern, brau, Vienna, Austria, spittelberg, ratskeller, local, hidden, restaurant, bar, cheap meals, beer, potato, salad, schnapps, price, tom lane, dine, food, microbrewery, garden, purity
“Of course I speak English.”

“Alex,” I asked, “what is the true flavor used for schnapps, real Austrian schnapps.”
“Apple,” he said. The schnapps arrived next, before dinner.

The bar waitress appeared with a Vienna smile; she set a menu on the bar.

“Do you speak English?” I asked.
“Of course I do,” she said.
“I’m Tom, what’s your name?”
“Alexandra,” she said.
“Of course it is,” I replied.

Why this place appeals to me
A food critic once observed that the quality of the food declines as you rise and improves as you descend. I.E. have a drink at the restaurant in the sky, eat in a ratskeller. I descended ten steps to enter 7 Stern Brau.

7 Stern, brau, Vienna, Austria, spittelberg, ratskeller, local, hidden, restaurant, bar, cheap meals, beer, potato, salad, schnapps, price, tom lane, dine, food, microbrewery, garden, purity
Beer Garden at 7 Stern Brau

The sign outside read BIERGARTEN, but the ten steps down? Copper kettles gleamed from behind the bar. Walking through 7 Stern, a rear door led up ten steps to a courtyard with trees, tables and local beer drinkers.

How Far Down the Block?
Spittelberg is a six-block neighborhood just north of Vienna’s inner ring. It is served by the Volkstheater subway stop. The cobblestone streets of Spittelburg will thrill the shopper traveling with you. [mappress mapid=”13″]

7 Stern Brau lies on the edge of Spittlebug. Gasthoff and restaurants, tables set with white linen and flickering candles on outdoor terraces, were mostly empty on a Monday evening in May. 7 Stern Brau was buzzing; filled with Viennese chattering in German. Real Austrian food was being served at prices well below those at the vacant tables of their nearby competitors.

Why you might be nearby? The Museums, the Austrian Folk Theater and Vienna’s English Theater.

Lesser Known Facts
Viennese have great pride in the quality of their water.

7 Stern, brau, Vienna, Austria, spittelberg, ratskeller, local, hidden, restaurant, bar, cheap meals, beer, potato, salad, schnapps, price, tom lane, dine, food, microbrewery, garden, purity
Schnapps, ready to pour, click for a closer look

“You don’t need to order bottle water in Vienna,” Willy, barman at Hansy Gasthoff said. The Hansy is across town from 7 Stern Brau, just outside the Praterstern subway stop.
“I never do when beer is an option,” I said.
“No, I mean when you want water,” Willy said, “Vienna water is pure, from the mountains.”

Water flows into Vienna from springs in the Lower Austrian Alps, reaching the Austrian capital 36 hours later; no pumps and under strict regulations. Vienna has declared their water White Gold and placed it under the protection of the Austrian constitution. In 1998, the Vienna Water Line Hiking Path opened following the water route from the mountains into Vienna! The head of the hiking path can be reached by public transportation for a leisurely walk back into Vienna . . . for a beer.

Local Recommendation
Drink Green; this concept can be overdone. Pesticides have allowed the US to feed the world, but that’s another tale. The Reinheitsgebot, the German beer purity law, ensures that beer made only from barley, hops, water, and yeast – no preservatives – can be brewed and consumed on site in Vienna

7 Stern, brau, Vienna, Austria, spittelberg, ratskeller, local, hidden, restaurant, bar, cheap meals, beer, potato, salad, schnapps, price, tom lane, dine, food, microbrewery, garden, purity
Alexander drawing an unfiltered beer

Ask for a Weiner Helles; a 4.6% alcohol, unfiltered beer without preservatives. 7 Stern’s head brewer is a Slovak; from the land that gives us Czech Budweiser and Urquell.

Eat local; sample the German Potato Salad (kartoffsalat), Cabbage Salad (krautsalat) and Wiener Schnitzel

Something for Nothing
Roam the cobblestone streets of Spittelberg; potentially a free stroll. The shops, alternative restaurants will keep you busy for hours.

Categories
Europe Florence; Oltrarno enoteca favorites Italy

Florence, Italy: Enoteca Pitti Gola; food and wine in the Oltrarno

Pitti, gola, enoteca, florence, italy, oltrarno, wine, local, hidden, ponte, vecchio, dine, food, meals, tom lane, Italian, tasting
View of Pitti Palace from the terrace of Enoteca Pitti Gola

Florence, Italy
Enoteca Pitti Gola, food and wine in the Oltrarno
Piazza de Pitti 16

“Hey, you’re back,” Zeno called from behind his bar as I entered Pitti Gola.
“Back for a glass of Italian wine,”  I said, “You choose.”
“Ciao, you’re back,” Edoardo, Zeno’s older brother, popped up the stairway leading from the cellar of Pitti Gola.
“You need some of my money,”  I said, “I read the Italian economy struggles.”
Edoardo shrugged, “Maybe some places in Italy are struggling, we are doing OK.”

Why this place appeals to me.
On 2008 New Year’s Eve Edoardo, Manuele and Zeno purchased the Enoteca. In February 2009 I spent three weeks in Florence. The guys were all single then, they are all married now. Edoardo and Zeno are brothers, Manuele is a longtime friend.

The three owners are serious about their wine. I’m half-serious; serious about sipping, preferring wines at half price.

Pitti Gola is not Off The Map. This enoteca has been discovered. The ambience is low key; casual wear works. The wine is delivered in high style. Describe to the guys what you like to sip and let them choose. They pour the wine, describe the grape, the location of the vineyard and what’s happening in Italy.

Pitti, gola, enoteca, florence, italy, oltrarno, wine, local, hidden, ponte, vecchio, dine, food, meals, tom lane, Italian, tasting
The Pitti Gola crew, click here

Pitti Gola serves Tuscan bites and plates. The outdoor patio seats 8-10, inside is seating for 6-8. The small cellar can accommodate a party of 10-12. Zeno loves to talk wine, when he leads dinner conversation in the cellar, time flies.

How Far Down the Block?
Cross the Ponte Vecchio on foot, south into the Oltrarno; leaving the throngs of tourists behind you. It is a direct 250 meter stroll directly south, towards the Pitti Palace. The shops along Via De Gucciardini will thrill those who believe Black Friday is their day. [mappress mapid=”12″]

Bus D, a Florence short bus, stops directly in front of Pitti Palace, and Pitti Gola. Bus D runs from the Santa Maria Novella train station (the main station) along the entire Oltrarno, from Ponte Vespucci to a terminus at Piazza Ravenna.

Why you might be nearby?
Theorem #1 – You’re touring the Vasari Corridor, yawning, looking out an ancient porthole and realize you’ve crossed the Arno and are now free to roam about. Look for a secret escape; Dan Brown in his novel, Dante’s Inferno, described where the hidden escape from the Pitti Palace is located. Brown didn’t reference it, but by my calculations the escape is within 75 meters of Pitti Gola’s wine sanctuary.

Theorem #2 – Your in line at the Pitti Palace; an hour from gaining entrance. Across the street, under the street side awnings of a small enoteca, people are chattering, laughing. You make a choice; wine trumps art.

Lesser Known Facts
Once across the Ponte Vecchio and into the Oltrarno, the two block walk south to Pitti Gola on Via De Gucciardini is a fascinating shopping street. High quality wares, presented with an absence of name brands and absence of name brand prices. If your partner is chirping about shopping time sacrificed while you pursue an afternoon glass of Italian wine, common ground can be achieved in this neighborhood.

Pitti, gola, enoteca, florence, italy, oltrarno, wine, local, hidden, ponte, vecchio, dine, food, meals, tom lane, Italian, tasting
Soil from the vineyard

Within Enoteca Pitti Gola, wine fills the walls. Alongside the wine bottles, small glass vessels hold soil samples from the Tuscan vineyards where the grapes grow. Down the block from Enoteca Pitti Gola, the guys maintain a wine cellar. Zeno ran to his wine cellar to retrieve a special wine.

“You need more space,” I said.
Zeno replied, “I share my space with the wine, the wine is what is important.”

Local Recommendation
The Boboli Gardens, behind the Pitti Palace, directly across the street from Pitti Palace, might be the nicest outdoor meander in Florence.

Pitti, gola, enoteca, florence, italy, oltrarno, wine, local, hidden, ponte, vecchio, dine, food, meals, tom lane, Italian, tasting
Zeno behind the bar at Enoteca Pitti Gola

Something for Nothing
Once inside Boboli Gardens, access the adjacent Bardini Gardens from an unadvertised gate in the high NE Boboli corner. Boboli has the best sculpture and foliage, Bardini has spectacular views over Florence. Take Dante’s Inferno and read the passage where Robert Langdon and Sienna Brooks scale the Boboli walls at night, using the garden to avoid their pursuers

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Europe Italy Siena; dine & dance

Siena, Italy: I Terzi, a local enoteca

I Terzi, siena, italy, tuscany, enoteca, wine bar, restaurant, local, hidden, bar, food, chianti, tom lane

Siena, Italy: I Terzi, a local enoteca
Via dei Termini 7, Siena, Italy

An enoteca features wine. Many Italian enotecas have introduced food to accompany their wine. Often the wine touted by the enoteca has been pressed in the surrounding hills; and the accompanying food harvested from the same local region.

Outside I Terzi at 8:15 pm one guy sat at the deserted table on the terrace; the temperature was 50 degrees. His wife and two teenage daughters were inspecting the menu posted outside the entrance. He called,

“Have you been to this place before?” It was almost dark, he wore a ski parka.
“No,” I said, “but those I trust recommend I Terzi over some of the more highly touted ristorante that surround Piazza del Campo and the Duomo.”
“OK, sounds like an endorsement.” Charles, an attorney from NY City gathered his clan, “We’ve only got one night in Siena,” he said as they entered I Terzi.

Why this place appeals to me

Michele, one of two partners in I Terzi, hails from Bari, in the south of Italy on the Adriatic coast. Michele’s grey hair flowed over his ears. He and his partner, Sergio, launched the enoteca in 1995; they added food in 2001. The marble counter at the entrance serves as both the welcome/reservation counter and as the carving board for the huge Bistecca Fiorentina.

Michele and his partner, Sergio, seem to know each guest arriving at I Terzi. Michele recognized me from my earlier visit to reserve a seat. As Michele conversed at a nearby table, he caught me eavesdropping. He turned to me,

“We attended university together,” he said.

I Terzi, siena, italy, tuscany, enoteca, wine bar, restaurant, local, hidden, bar, food, chianti, tom lane
Your table at I Terzi

The wife of Michele’s longtime friend tossed me the look (lo sguardo) indicating she had been the audience for their remembrances before.

How Far Down the Block?
Via Banche di Sopra is the north route, leading to Piazza del Campo from the train station and the bus station. I Terzi lies east and downhill, one block from Via Banchi di Sopra.  [mappress mapid=”10″]

To reach I Terzi visit Nannini at Via Banchi di Sopra 24, departing the front door go straight(east), one block, down the alley Vicolo Beato Pier Pettinaio, turn left on Via dei Termine – you have arrived.

Why you might be nearby?
Siena evolved from the convergence of three ridges leading to the city center; the Piazza del Campo. I Terzi refers to the three ridges that carve Siena into thirds. Each of the three ridges is served by a main thoroughfare. From the north, visitors arriving by bus and train walk along Via Banchi di Sopra towards the center of Siena. Eventually you’ll find yourself amongst these throngs tramping towards the Piazza del Campo.

Lesser Known Facts
I Terzi’s building once known as Torre Rossa, housed Siena’s Ballanti family.

I Terzi, siena, italy, tuscany, enoteca, wine bar, restaurant, local, hidden, bar, food, chianti, tom lane
Wine decorates the dining room at I Terzi

Local Recommendation
I Terzi revises their menu every 15 days. Each day the enoteca offers five starters (antipasti), five first courses (primi) and five main courses (Secondi). Black Cabbage soup (cavalo nero) is a specialty.

Siena lies within Tuscany, and the wine choices cover some of Italy’s best. Chianti wine, produced in the region immediately north of Siena, is frequently dismissed by Americans.

The Chianti is defined by Florence on the north and Siena on the south. Vino della casa, the house wine, is usually Chianti in Siena. It is local, it is pure; relatively free of preservatives, and the first sip is hard to believe. Local fattoria, a country wine merchant, distinguish the fermentation/aging processes as Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Reserva.

The house wine usually has a story; a relative from the country who produces the wine that arrives in a large glass flask (fiascha) ready for delivery directly to your table. The second time you order wine at I Terzi, ask Michele or Sergio to guide you through their selection of 1800 bottles.

Something for Nothing
Take an after dinner stroll through the cafes and lights of Piazza del Campo, host of the twice annual Palio di Siena; a horse race contested by the 17 neighborhoods (contrada) of Siena. Piazza del Campo is only 200 meters from the entrance of I Terzi.

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Europe Florence; Oltrarno enoteca favorites Italy

Florence, Italy: La Fiaschetteria; a local wine sipping place

La Fiaschetteria, Florence, Italy, oltrarno, fiaschetteria, drink, local, hidden, undiscovered, bar, tom lane, river, Italian, artesian, wine, bridge, pitti, language, English

Florence, Italy
La Fiaschetteria: a local wine sipping place
Via de Serragli 47r, across the Arno River, the Oltrarno

After dark in April 2013, in the Oltrarno section of Florence, Italy, four blocks south of the Arno River, I’m saying goodbye at La Fiaschetteria.

(Translated from Italian)
“Arrivaderci Luca, see you next year. Each April, for five years, I drink your wine here at Fiaschetteria. We speak in Italian only. You say no English is spoken at La Fiaschetteria. Study while I’m gone. Next April we’ll speak English. Ciao Luca.” The next day I would travel home to Michigan.

One year later, April 2014, at the front entrance of La Fiaschetteria in the Oltrarno of Florence.

(Translated from Italian)
“Ciao Luca, it’s me, Tom. It’s been a year, I return to speak English with you my old friend.”
In English, I continue, “Have you been studying English the past year?”
Luca says in Italian, “No Tom, non ho studiato Inglese. Parliamo quest’anno in Italiano.”

The Oltrarno of Florence for centuries has been home to the artesians of Tuscany; cobblers, frame-makers, artists, jewelry-makers, lace-makers and musicians.

La Fiaschetteria, Florence, Italy, oltrarno, fiaschetteria, drink, local, hidden, undiscovered, bar, tom lane, river, Italian, artesian, wine, bridge, pitti, language, English
La Fiaschetteria is well stocked

Craftsmen and bohemians are served by several trattorias, bars, and just one fiaschetteria. Local residents arrive at La Fiaschetteria each evening to chat and fill their empty wine bottles.

Why this place appeals to me
“At La Fiaschetteria we only speak Italian,” Luca has been telling me for six years. His small fiaschetteria holds only 8-10 people inside. Luca’s patrons flow out the door and into Via de Serragli. There are no other Americans to be found amongst the 7 pm crowd. Luca’s customers, locals who live in the Oltrarno, across the Arno River, hear Luca proclaim that again this year we will be speaking in Italian, seize the opportunity to improve their English. Assisted by wine, we begin to communicate.

La Fiaschetteria, Florence, Italy, oltrarno, fiaschetteria, drink, local, hidden, undiscovered, bar, tom lane, river, Italian, artesian, wine, bridge, pitti, language, English
Looking in from Via de’ Serragli

A woman enters La Fiaschetteria with an empty wine bottle, hands it to Luca and says, “Rosso di Montalcino; riempirlo e un bicchiere.” Luca pours her a glass of wine from the spigot, exchanges the glass for her bottle, places her empty bottle under the tap and fills it with red wine. Her bottle is quickly corked with a barely noticeable press hidden behind the counter. Luca returns her bottle, full of Tuscan red wine and says, “Tre euro.” Translation four dollars.

How Far Down the Block?
Cross the Arno River on the Ponte alla Carraia (the Carraia bridge) heading south, leaving the Duomo and Piazza Repubblica behind. Walk directly ahead (south) 400 meters. One block from the bridge the street becomes Via de Serragli. [mappress mapid=”11″]

Why you might be nearby?
a) You’re in line at the Pitti Palace facing a one-hour wait outside the main gate. It’s getting late in the afternoon. La Fiaschetteria is four blocks away, b) Your wife, tired from shopping, is napping. You’re not tired.

Lesser Known Facts
La Fiaschetteria came to life in 1947 from the ashes of World War II. Luca’s father, with a hand from his grandfather, began serving Florentines. In Florence’s Oltrarno a post war fiaschetteria provided bulk wine for local folks to carry home, a glass at the counter, a place to chatter, smoke and imagine a better world.

La Fiaschetteria, Florence, Italy, oltrarno, fiaschetteria, drink, local, hidden, undiscovered, bar, tom lane, river, Italian, artesian, wine, bridge, pitti, language, English
Only Italian spoken

The great Florence flood of 1966 damaged all Florence. Water stood knee-deep in La Fiaschetteria. After Luca’s father died, his mother, Vittoria, ran La Fiaschetteria. In 1985, Luca, then 27 took over. He expanded the Tuscan wine selection stocked by La Fiaschetteria, stabilized the small interior and carried forward the Oltrarno tradition.

Local Recommendation
Luca shuts down the lights around 9:30 – 10 pm. Stop before dinner.

As La Fiaschetteria closes, consider Ristorante Al Tranvai, a small Oltrarno legend, located on Piazza Torquato Tasso just three blocks away.

Something for Nothing
Italian Language lessons; local Italians congregating at La Fiaschetteria from 5-9 pm plunge into conversation with limited English. An American guest can plunge right back with limited Italian. Add wine and everyone is fluent; no charge.

Maybe Next Year
Filli, blond, buxom and smiling stood alongside the counter as Luca poured the evening’s final glass of wine. It was 10 pm, La Fiaschetteria was closing.

(translated from Italian)
Filli said, “Luca and I will marry in May. We honeymoon in London.”
“But, Luca doesn’t speak English!” I said, “How will he manage in London?”
Filli replied, “Luca will learn English, so will I.”
Luca grinned as he wiped down his bar, ”Si, Tom, next year we will speak in English, Ciao, Tom. Ci vediamo”
“Ciao Luca, next year,” I said and waved goodbye to Luca and Filli.

La Fiaschetteria, Florence, Italy, oltrarno, fiaschetteria, drink, local, hidden, undiscovered, bar, tom lane, river, Italian, artesian, wine, bridge, pitti, language, English
The crowd at La Fiaschetteria flows into Via de’ Serragli

Categories
New Zealand Russell; old hotel, older drinking club

Russell, New Zealand: RUSSELL BOATING CLUB; a drinking place from another time

Russell Boating Club; a drinking place from another time located in Russell, New Zealand, Matauwhi Bay, the Bay of Islands

What Appeals?   The deck hangs over the bay, the bar offers a decent choice of booze and a satisfying selection of New Zealand beer. But, at the Russell Boating Club, it’s the characters.

Russell Boating Club, Drinking restricted
Drinking Restricted Rule not enforced

When locals tell a good story, the main characters often do the telling.  Sometimes in a really local place, you step inside their community.

In France refugees from the 1960’s are known as soixante neuf’s – sixty-niners.  One foot stuck in 1969, the rest of their self dealing with 2014.  These entertaining peeps are defined by what they are not; they are not fat, not well groomed, not impressed by wealth and not subject to silly drug laws.  They are the same entertaining folks we hung with in college … 69’ers in the Bay of Islands had found each other at the RBC at 5 pm on January 23, 2014.

On the deck outside the Russell Boating Club a slender man with gray hair, trimmed brush cut style, aged skin and an ear-ring sits on the bench of a picnic table.  He leads the dialogue with eight of his sailor/drinkers – all wearing colorless jackets and faded Bermudas. Two beers rest in front of the speaker; one finished, the other half drained.  This is their community.

How Far Down the Block?   Four blocks from the base of the pier in Russell, New Zealand.  The pier is Russell’s hub.  Follow Matauwhi Road out of town, when the road turns left, continue straight on.

Why you might be nearby?   A) You are staying at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel and you want to go local. B) While sailing New Zealand’s Bay of Islands a cyclone strikes; you need the protection of a Hurricane Hole. Matauwhi Bay is your refuge.

Russell Boating Club, Dinghy Dock
Dinghy dock
Russell Boat Club

Lesser Known Facts:   The sole display of social stratification within the RBC community is revealed at the dinghy dock.  Twenty dinghies are tied up at the Russell Boating Club; ten dinghies are powered by a small outboard motor, the other ten rowed in. Those rowing have to time their return trip based on the in/out flow of the 11 foot tide.

Standing at the bar, Ida Bircher, bartender, responded to her customer, “If you want help, don’t ask my husband.”  Community advice.

Ida, an Irish rover, sailed into Matauwhi Bay and the Russell Boating Club two years ago from Fort Lauderdale by way of Australia.  Ida controls how quickly beer is served. When asked to repeat her name, she said, “Ida. Like in Ida good time.”

Local Recommendation    Meals are served at the RBC on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.  The price is a fraction of nearby alternatives.

A dinghy carrying eight was being rowed towards the RBC dinghy dock; the boat rode low in the water.  As the overloaded dinghy approached a hunched senior sailor, doing the South Pacific on a 24-foot vessel, scurried to help.  After a successful disembarkation, he passed by and whispered, “I’d rather assist on the dinghy dock than have to jump in.” Community wisdom.

Something for Nothing:   A) Feel young again at the Russell Boating Club without the cost of drugs. On this Wednesday eve in January 2014, the youngest person in the RBC was 51 years. B) Parking is free; either at the dinghy dock or in the lot for autos.

Categories
New Zealand Russell; old hotel, older drinking club

Russell, New Zealand; The Duke of Marlborough Hotel & Restaurant

The Duke of Marlborough; a hotel and restaurant in Russell, New Zealand                 

Throwback hotels with a bar full of stories grab me. The Duke’s history is the history of New Zealand; a well-kept wooden hotel, serving New Zealand food on their harbor-view porch. Located two steps from the base of Russell’s pier in the Bay of Islands, thirst is soon solved.

The Duke lies four hours north of Auckland by car; only a cyclone blocked the path. In the Atlantic basin, a tropical cyclone is known as a hurricane, after the ancient Central American deity of wind, Huracan. In the Northwest Pacific Ocean windstorms exceeding 74 MPH are called typhoons. In New Zealand cyclones are just cyclones.

Tropical Cyclone June arrived in Auckland the day after the 6.3 Wine Trail earthquake rattled me awake from an afternoon nap.

Waterspouts and low vertical wind shear are side effects of tropical cyclones; glad to be driving, not flying, to Russell.  Rain from the Cyclone June will be intense, but the 80 MPH winds should blow all rain right off the windshield.

How Far Down the Block?  The easy route north from Auckland international airport is Highway 1, with a final jog down Highway 11.  Two options will conclude the trip; either a car ferry from Opua with a final 8 mile drive into Russell, or continue north on Hwy 11 to Pahia, park the car and grab the people ferry for at 15 minute voyage to the pier in the center of Russell. The Duke of Marlborough lies at the base of the pier, along the Strand.[mappress mapid=”2″]

Russell is the quiet, proper, and affluent alternative to nearby summer holiday destinations.  In the 1830’s it was New Zealand’s epicenter for prostitution, whaling and the first Christian church.

Why you might be nearby? A) You’re meeting your sailboat for the late January Regatta in Bay of Islands; B) take an overnight break on your drive to 90 mile beach in the far north of New Zealand.

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The Pier
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If you’re staying at Eagles Nest where, rooms start at NZ$2,300/night and need a real people fix, The Duke is a five block walk down Tapeka Road. Don’t be conspicuous.

Lesser Known Facts:  The Duke was the first establishment licensed to sell alcohol beverages in New Zealand; however, not having a license did not deter competitors in 1840.  In 1840’s Russell was known as the Hell Hole of the Pacific. The Duke of Marlborough was called Johnny Johnston’s Grog Shop

Local Recommendation:  Reserve a table on the porch overlooking the Strand for dinner; consider the Fish & Chips – the Duke turns this peasant dish into fine dining.

Cocktail hour take a bottle of NZ wine, drive the eponymous road to Long Beach – less than a mile from your room at the Duke.  Be couth, bring a take-away cup and sip from a bench on the grass strand along the shore of Oneroa Bay.

Russell, 7 am
Russell at 7 am

Something for Nothing:  In the early morning hike (known as a tramp in New Zealand) to Tapeka Point overlooking the Bay of Islands.  You can shorten your tramp by driving to the end of Tapeka Road, park the car and tramp the final 800 meters to the point.