Vinnies, Herne Bay

By EWAN McDONALD for viva

Lord, we should know how the trilogy plays out by now. In Part I the good friends form a fellowship and set out on a quest.

They are showered with honours, golden plates and silver napkin rings. In the second chapter they leave the safety of their village to conquer distant shires. Now the cycle must be completed: in Part III the original friends return to Middle Earth (okay, Herne Bay) and reclaim their precious.

This is the saga of Prue Barton and David Griffiths, who founded the inimitable Vinnies 14 years ago, and left two years ago to open Terroir vineyard restaurant at the Craggy Range winery in Hawkes Bay. During that time they lived at Te Awanga, a village in the lee of gannet heaven at Cape Kidnappers.

In June, Terroir was voted one of the world's top dozen wine-dining experiences by the UK publication, Wine International. Google it and you will find a lot of people with nice things to say about the restaurant, starting with R. W. Apple of the New York Times.

Although they installed a general manager and executive chef (Michael Meredith, now at The Grove in St Patrick's Square), Barton and Griffiths never really left Vinnies, returning often to check on their offspring.

Now they are back in residence, they won't really leave Terroir, either. They remain consultants and Barton will be returning to the other H. Bay in a week or so to host and oversee a special wedding.

There are other trips in the offing, too.

Griffiths has been asked to present a menu of Vinnies dishes as a guest chef at Tonci Farac's Wildfire restaurant on Sydney's Circular Quay next month. Chef and his Terroir team recently won a New Zealand-wide cook-off sponsored by Delmaine, the food importers, and Callebaut, the Belgian chocolatiers, so the couple are off to Europe in March for a couple of weeks, "feasting and gathering new wine and menu ideas", as Barton puts it.

So, what does all this mean for what corporate-speak types like to call the core business, Vinnies?

Says Barton: "Our time away in Hawkes Bay was rejuvenating. It was fantastic being involved with Terroir at Craggy Range right from the beginning and to see its growth and development over the two-year period."

And now you're back in the big smoke?

"We want to re-establish our 'Sommelier Series' at Vinnies. This is a monthly wine-tasting group that we host in the Kahikatea Room [the restaurant's private dining-room which has hosted Bill Clinton, among others].

"Each month we choose a particular theme and match food and wine around that idea. I invite a different leading wine person to host each session. It is structured casually as a tasting menu so that people can split off home afterwards or perhaps stay on and linger and join the restaurant for the rest of the evening.

"To carry on with this wine and food matching theme, we will also be hosting Wine Makers' Dinners." There is one planned for November 11 with Ata Rangi.

Food and wine matching has been Vinnies' intellectual property for more than a decade. From the early 90s they have featured degustation menus that match wines and foods from around the world as a part of the menu, running alongside the current menu. Each is designed to create a seasonal twist: recently the theme was Children of the Rhone, food and wine from southern France starring Griffiths' exuberant take on cassoulet and a licorice brulee with poached figs.

"We always match the wines with the menu and bring in personal experiences to give this section a lively and honest feel. Our set menu at the moment is called A Slice of Italy and features four Italian wines with an Italian-themed menu.

"I thought I would call the next menu Bay to Bay - from Hawkes Bay to Herne Bay - and feature wines from Craggy Range and Hawkes Bay with fresh new seasonal produce. After two years at Craggy Range, David has sourced new suppliers and contacts in the Bay so it will be a good time to develop those contacts."

When we visited Vinnies last year we felt it was a little too well-behaved (though how we could have thought that about a place where Bill Clinton ate ... ) and lacked the Barton-Griffiths touch.

Last week, with the owner greeting guests and being welcomed home by regulars, normal - oh, all right, exceptional - service had been resumed.

"As with all restaurants, being there is everything," said Barton some weeks ago when she announced that she and Griffiths were returning. Damn right.

Vinnies

166 Jervois Rd, Herne Bay

Ph 376 5597

Vinnies

Open: Mon-Sat from 6.30pm

Owners: Prue Barton, David Griffiths

Executive chef: David Griffiths

Head chef: Michael Choi

Maitre d': Prue Barton

Food: Contemporary with classic French overtones

On the menu: Homemade paua sausage with kumara miso mash, wasabi roe and soy glaze $25

Sauteed king prawns with celeriac puree, Waikanae crab and corn baklava $19

Braised ox cheek wrapped in prosciutto with ceps, broad beans and potato gnocchi $34

Pavlova with mango and lemon verbena and a medley of winter fruits $16


Vegetarian: Two entrees, one main on menus

Wine list: "This is a large document which may take a few minutes to download"

Smoking: Outside

Noise: St Germain et ses buddies

Parking: Boulevard Jervois

Disabled access / toilets: Street entry, narrow doors and halls to facilities

Bottom line: Unique and memorable

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