Cafe Adventures; Luke's Kitchen

If you’ve spent anytime around the Coromandel coast of New Zealand (and if you haven’t you really are missing out) then you most probably have heard of Luke’s Kitchen. But considering I have spent every summer at Whangapoua since the age of 5, it’s a wonder that it was only a year ago I discovered this infamous pizza shack just 30mins drive away in the little village of Kuaotunu.

Starting from a small casual pizza restaurant run by a bloke called Luke, it quickly gained a stellar reputation, with crows of sunburned surfers and starving beach goers lining up for a coveted surfboard table or driftwood bench.

The menu is simple, light, and utterly delicious with a pick of 5 different pizzas that are a far cry from the old Hawaiian, meat-lovers, vegetarian you’d expect to find. Instead prepare to be wooed by a selection of pizzas like the Pacific Chix, a wood-fired crust topped with coconut marinated chicken, zucchini, onion, preserved lime and coriander. Or my personal favorite, the BlackJack, with toppings like ham, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, capsicum and red onion.

 While their pizzas are most definitely the main event at Luke’s kitchen that’s not to say they don’t offer some of the most delicious salads, fresh seafood and chips. In particular I’m talking about their kumara chips. Now I’ve tried a lot of different sweet potato fries in my time, but none yet have been able to compare in the slightest with those served in this little beach town. Crunchy, salty, sweet, it's worth the 3-hour drive from Auckland alone.

With piping hot pizzas being shoveled from the open wood-fire oven to hungrily waiting tables faster than you can open your ice cold beer, it’s sure to become a solid favorite with any who visit.

Cafe Adventures; BurgerBurger

Another weekend, another new restaurant to try out and today’s review is of the new Ponsonby institutions, the infamous BurgerBurger.

In the last year there seems to be a lot of new burger joints around (no complaints here) so you will understand how seriously good this place is when I say that it may possibly serve the best burgers I have yet to enjoy, elbowing aside competitors such as Better Burger, Pinky’s and Burgerfuel.

You see the mark of a great burger is complex, with a number of different elements all having to be of the highest standard to ensure tasty success. You’ve got your freshly baked soft brioche bun slathered in good ol’ tomato sauce and mustard, a thick patty of tender succulent beef, a touch of crunchy salad and the traditional slice of salty pickle to seal the deal. Add a side of their mind-blowing potato skins and you have yourself a damn good Friday evening.

Side Note: If you manage to endure the 10 minutes to find a park and 60minute wait for a table and still have the nerve to disrepect this establishment by ordering their bunless lettuce leaf burger in an attempt to ‘cut calories’ or maintain some diet plan, I will judge you. Don’t be that person with the lettuce leaf ‘burger’. You don’t want to be that person.

So stop salivating at your computer screen and get your ass to BurgerBurger.

Almond Chocolate Coconut Bars (Vegan)

I’m going to get straight to the point. Peanut butter. Chocolate. Caramel.

Not only is this the most delicious vegan, healthy dessert. Ohhhh no no no, this is much better than that.

This is one of the best, delicious desserts I have ever made in all my years of cooking. “The best”. I know it’s a bit of a statement but creamy, crunchy and the perfect combination of salty and sweet this recipe deserves the every superlative in the book.

 So let me take a moment and break it down for you.

One perfectly proportioned slab of base formed from a mixture of warm earthy oats, crushed almonds bound together with dates soaked in coconut milk so sweet it would make your heart sing.

Next the filling, creamy peanut butter sprinkled with crispy rice cereal and softened to perfection with a touch of coconut oil. Possibly one of the reasons I was tempted to re-name this recipe “Dessert Slab of the Gods”.

Finally, because salty sweet peanut butter and a moist caramel date base is not nearly decadent enough for me, we are going to seal the deal with a layer of dark chocolate so soft and bittersweet it would make a grown man cry pure tears of joy. 

So now that you are appropriately drooling and attempting to lick your screen I’ll reveal the recipe, which is from the amazing healthy blogger none other than “Oh She Glows” with link here.

I made these for my brother and sister’s friends while they went to the beach house for the weekend and it was gone within the first 2 hours. Even better, not a one of them realized it was vegan and free of any refined sugars or saturated fats!