Uther D.'s
Best Worst Food in Wellington
- 13Hell Pizza Cuba StTe AroIt may be hideously greasy, their advertising may be at best repellent and at worst unentertainingly evil, but there’s something vile-ly satisfying about a shameful late night pizza from hell. If you’re going to wreck your body, might feel as guilty as possible while doing it.
- 21Burger Wisconsin BrooklynBrooklynIt’s locally-owned and they employ a lot of students, so morally they should be good but the amount of delicious lard they’re shoving into my veins makes them a little more questionable. Doesn’t stop me loving every bite though.
- 35Pizza KingTe AroAll you need to know about this place is that deliver when everyone else is closed and their delivery drivers are really good at not looking like they’re judging you when bringing you noms at 3am.
- 42It feels odd to include sushi, otherwise far from a worst food, on this list but we are so lucky to live in a city where we can barely move for excellent, artisan sushi and St Pierre’s sterile but filling, cookie cutter city-dominating sushi, earns itself a place on this list not by being horrible but by simply lagging behind its competition but still being so wonderfully eatable. There is something about it that makes me okay with ticking only Want to Eat, rather than both Want to Eat and Be Good, on my food requirement list.
Uther D.'s
Best Places to Argue With Yourself
- 115Wellington WaterfrontWellington CentralSometimes you need a good talking to and sometimes the person that needs to do that talking is, well, yourself. It doesn’t have to be out loud, of course, that would be crazy. But once in a while everyone needs a little time out, take a bit of a walk and sort things out. The Waterfront is the best place, I’ve found, to just have a dawdle and solve your life woes in your head. On a nice day the gentle woosh and wash of the sea has meditative effects and helps you slowly pick apart the knots of the your worries. I do it about once a week, but that probably says a lot more about me than about what healthy mental health practice is.
- 218Enigma CafeTe AroThere’s something about the eclectic, barely holding itself together aesthetic that seems to exist to just encourage reflection. There’s nothing like a long black and a long night of the soul to make a visit to Enigma really memorable.
- 32Playmarket IncTe AroBecause writing’s a play the only way to argue with yourself publicly, right? Right? Well… I think I’m funny.
- 42The Warehouse Lyall BayLyall BayStay with me on this one. There is something oddly cathartic about the contained vast open space of this converted airplane hanger. The cold neon lights and the very muchness of everything there is incredibly good at putting things into perspective. Everything seems a little better, a little further away, a little less pressing, when you’re browsing nothings in a giant Warehouse. And, hey, you might come away with a four dollar pair of track pants. So. Score.
Uther D.'s
The Best Places I've Convinced People To Kiss Me (So I Presume They Might Work For You Too)
- 116Mount VictoriaWellington CentralThe lookout at the top of Mount Vic is a great place to cuddle up close to escape the gusting wind. The view is, of course, totally worth it but a visit up there is also good for getting a little close to the objects of your affections.
- 221Havana BarTe AroHavana is full of wonderful little intimate nooks and crannies that are very good at being private enough for some affection but public enough that its not weird or copping-off-behind-the-bike-sheds-y. Just wait for a night without a live band as the levels tend to be a little too loud for comfort.
- 34Penthouse Cinema & CafeBrooklynI don’t know what it is about the back rows at the Penthouse but whenever I take a date there I end up not remembering much of the movie. If you know what I mean.
- 43Lady Norwood Rose GardenThorndonThere’s something so wonderfully serene about the rose garden. It’s perfect for gentle walks with loved ones and gentle smooches on benches next to the duck pond. Living in Wellington for a while its easy to start to forget just how wonderful some of the more visitable, more touristy parts of this fine city are.
Uther D.'s
The Best Places to See Theatre That Aren't "Proper" Theatres
- 110Paramount CinemaTe AroEvery friday night at the Paramount cinema, hip, young, local improv company Playshop take over one of the Paramount’s small round-the-back cinemas and fill it with an hour of hilarity. It’s always funny and lively, and because its improv it’s a new show every week. It’s a great way to start a fun night on the town.
- 212BATS TheatreMount VictoriaNo! Wait! I’m talking about the Understudy (or the Pit, depending on where BATS is when’re reading this) the bar that’s attached to BATS. Beyond being one of the best drinking holes in the central city, these intimate little sipperys often are home to intimate, charming performances - sometimes bands, sometimes burlesque, sometimes stand up comedy. Always worth a warming look.
- 31Whitireia New Zealand: Wellington Performing Arts Centre may be a bit of a cheat but how many shows have you gone to see there? The standard of work is much higher than you think it would be. They may be running or more passion than talent but that’s, more often than not, more than enough to get a fun hour or so. This is also the homebase of the amazing should-be-a-local-institution Long Cloud Youth Theatre.
- 41Same deal as Whiteria, really. Except the acting is better, the shows are longer and its a bit harder to get there. But the trip is almost always worth the trip.
Uther D.'s
Places To Find The Next Big Thing
- 16The Aro Street Video ShopAro ValleyIt is always so hard to know what the next big thing is. What the next bit of culture everyone will be raving about will be. What will everyone be watching? Or reading? It’s so easy to feel like you’ve fallen behind and that you’ll never catch up to the cool kids. But there are a few places you can probe to try and keep yourself ahead of the curve. Aro Street Video Shop is the place to start any search for what everyone will be talking about next year. The staff are up on all the latest info and will turn you on to all the films and TV any sensibly culturally aware person should be devouring gleefully.
- 27Graphic ComicsTe AroIt may come as a bit of a shock but a lot of the films and TV you like these days didn’t originate in those media. They started as comics. And not just the obvious ones like the AVENGERS. From the WALKING DEAD on up, most of the hot new things are comics first. So, where better than feel the pulse of all that hot, bubbling future culture than at Wellington’s best comic book destination Graphic. Don’t let the somewhat grizzly exterior (and interior if I’m honest) dissuade you, the people are friend and the wares are good. Always worth a visit.
- 37Graphic ComicsTe AroIt may come as a bit of a shock but a lot of the films and TV you like these days didn’t originate in those media. They started as comics. And not just the obvious ones like the AVENGERS. From the WALKING DEAD on up, most of the hot new things are comics first. So, where better than feel the pulse of all that hot, bubbling future culture than at Wellington’s best comic book destination Graphic. Don’t let the somewhat grizzly exterior (and interior if I’m honest) dissuade you, the people are friend and the wares are good. Always worth a visit.
- 43The Children's Book ShopKilbirnieAnd the things you like that didn’t start as comics, probably started as young adult novels, so head on down to the Children’s Book Shop to find out what films for kids you will not be embarrassed to love as adult you’ll be raving about next year. Also, fads aside, the Children’s Book Shop is great.
- 513Slow Boat Records ShopTe AroSlow Boat is the place to find out what you’ll be listening to this time next year. Find any opportunity to quiz the staff on what they’re listening to and loving, because in a few months you’ll be doing the same.
Uther D.'s
Date Night for the Cultural Elite on a Budget
- 114OmbraTe AroThe only thing better than the food at Ombra is how good it looks to be seen going there. It’s the cheap side of classy and the classy side of cheap. And the sharing of the food allows many opportunities for eyes to meet during conversations of cultured things like Kieslovski’s DEKALOG or which one out of FRIENDS you are.
- 22Downstage Theatre TrustTe AroDepending on the show, it’s often not too much of a wallet stretch to get into whatever the latest, mind warping bit of theatre culture playing at Downstage. The good thing about the kind of show that Downstage programmes is that love it or hate it, there’ll always be lots to talk about as you play footsie over coffee afterwards.
- 30Empire CinemaIsland BayIf you’re not into theatre (though how you can call yourself the cultural elite and not like theatre I can’t fathom…) then you can pop over to the charming Empire cinema for the latest in movies that make you go ‘hmmmm.’