Viva's annual takeout awards

Photo / Babiche Martens

We all know nothing beats a good home-cooked meal, but sometimes the rest of life just gets in the way and it's easier to let someone else do the cooking. Bless them! For the 2009 annual Viva Takeout Awards, our team has been furiously eating its way around town. And while we all have our favourite locals, we're delighted to have discovered some less than predictable new options.

The ultimate health kick

The prize for helping make one feel virtuous and vibrantly healthy goes to The Juicery in the city. Nicholas Buck set up this juice bar just under a year ago, after deciding that a career as a lawyer wasn't for him. Passionate about sport and health, he's quietly revolutionising office workers' take on the coffee break - now it's a juice break. All his juices and smoothies are made from 100 per cent fresh fruit and vegetables. And, unlike some juice bars, he doesn't use bottled juices or preservatives. He's a one-man-band, and everything is made as you wait to ensure it's fresh and flavoursome.

Top-selling juices ($5/$6.50) include orange or apple with carrot and ginger or detoxing beetroot mixes. The Berry Smoothie ($6/$7) with four types of berries, banana yoghurt and honey is a hit as is the Body Builder with whey protein, hempseeds, banana, yoghurt and honey.

But top of our list is the Bircher Muesli ($6) - a great way to start the day - which is made with rolled oats, super-nutritious wholegrains, ground flaxseed, dried fruit, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, orange juice and Nic's homemade Greek yoghurt. If you want to customise anything, Nic is always open to ideas and offers extras such as soy or rice milk, whey protein, manuka honey, flaxeseed, spirulina and wheatgrass.

* 72 Albert St, City, ph (09) 901 5098. thejuicery.co.nz. Open Mon-Fri 7.30am-4.30pm, Sat 10am-2pm.

Middle eastern hit

When you're serious about food, as we are here at Viva, sometimes you have to bend the rules a little to get what you want - the best. Now Ima & Ibn's on Fort St isn't a takeaway bar. Not at all. It's a restaurant and hot spot for those in the know who like Middle Eastern food. It's just we love their falafels. And, fortunately, the good people at Ima's will do their delicious falafels as a takeout option. (Although when you look through the menu, you may be tempted to sit down and try something else.)

Yael Shochat is the driving force behind Ima's and prides herself on using the very best and freshest ingredients. The falafels come in pita pockets and Yael makes these everyday; using Italian 00 flour, no less (this is superfine flour, for those who don't know such things.)

"Pitas, like French bread, have no fat in them," explains Yael.

"So they don't last a day. They don't even last half a day."

For the lunchtime rush, Yael and her team roll the pita out at 11am, and put them in the oven at 11.50am - to ensure they are at their very best.

"In Israel if someone sees a hot falafel that's been sitting on the counter for less than a minute, they'll says 'It's not fresh enough! I want one straight out of the pan'."

This is all part of Yael's secret to having the best falafels in town.

"The chickpeas are soaked, then ground, then fried. You can never use cooked chickpeas."

The recipe includes loads of coriander, cumin and onion. The falafels are served in the pita, with hummus (made daily, of course), salad and Zhoug or Yememite chilli which is made with coriander, cardamom, garlic and chilli. If your tastebuds aren't tingling right now, there's something wrong with you. $12.50.

* 57 Fort St, City, ph (09) 300 7252. Open for breakfast and lunch Mon-Sat, dinner Wed-Sat. ima-ibn.co.nz.

Looking for mister goodburger

There was much debate and much loyalty when it came to who does the best burger in town. So, this year we broke it down into two categories - those for carnivores and those for vegetarians. The winner of the meat category goes to Murder Burger thanks to originality.

Yep, next time you fancy a bite to eat, take a walk on the wild side and try their new Ostrich Burger. Well, they're not actually wild, the ostrich meat comes from a free-range farm near Rotorua where, apparently, the owner is said to have a psychic connection with his giant birds and feeds them, amongst other things, alfalfa sprouts and insects. Too much information? Well, the good news is ostrich meat is lean and high in iron and, incredibly tender.

We also love the delicious dark plum sauce it is served with. Not cheap at $16.50, but worth a try. The Ostrich Burger comes hot on the tail of the Roo Burger which is another carnivore's delight made of 100 per cent prime kangaroo steak.

* Murder Burgers, cnr McKelvie St & Ponsonby Rd, ph (09) 550 5500. Mon-Thurs & Sun 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm.

For vegetarians or those on a health kick, Burgerfuel gets the winning vote. For an international chain, its burgers taste near as dammit to home-made; there's a huge choice in flavours and sizes, and for vegos the range includes three full-sized vege-burgers as well as a low-carb wrap, the child-sized Eighth Pounder, and in the lightweight range, the Beetnik ticks all the boxes for Kiwi beetroot lovers. Sides include Motobites (who thinks up all these names?): mini pumpkin and ginger patties with a choice of dip.

They also have a range of specials. At time of testing the latest was the delicious Mushroom Manifold, featuring marinated field mushrooms and parmesan. The salad bits of the burgers are generous and fresh, it's never a problem to customise, and a shout-out to the staff at Burgerfuel Glenfield who are always friendly, even when it's crazy. Yum. Something for everyone.

Finger licking fish and chips

Described as a seafood delicatessen, The Fishmonger offers a great selection of takeaways as well as an incredible takeout salad selection to make up a complete meal. The store itself is clean and free of the "vat smell" that can make you think twice about ordering fish 'n chips.

Fresh fillets of snapper, tarakihi, gurnard and blue cod (when available) can be selected from the cabinet and pricing is set, based on each piece weighing in at 100-110g.

Fish is offered cooked in batter, panko crumbed, grilled with lemon, New Orleans blackened or with a Mediterranean rub.

The batter and crumb versions both formed a light and crispy encasements for the fish and had a very low "grease factor". The chips were large, chunky and golden. The fish was incredibly fresh, even when one of our visits fell on a Monday, which traditionally is a day to avoid purchasing fish, due to supply.

We liked that it is still a bit old school with orders being wrapped in newsprint instead of the cardboard boxes that some of the more pricey places favour. Plenty of lemon wedges are included with every order, as well as sachets of salt and pepper so that you can season according to your own taste.

From the menu: gurnard battered $5.80, snapper crumbed $7.90, tarakihi battered $5.80, small chips $3.

* 16 Polygon Rd, St Heliers, ph (09) 575 0537, thefishmonger.co.nz. Open Mon-Sat 10am-9pm , Sun 11am-9pm, (The Fishmonger has four locations in Auckland.)

An extremely close runner-up was Marsic Brothers in Glen Innes. Established in 1967 this family know what they're doing. Battered fresh fish fillets (they have their own boats), charged by weight and hand-cut chips proved to be a tasty lunch. The potato fritters are the genuine article, with slices of quality potato as opposed to those reconstituted potato cakes. We only wish they'd open a bit later to satisfy our late dinner habits.

Cost: one piece each snapper, tarakihi, 3 scallops, 3 oysters, potato fritters $30.80.

* 47 Mayfair Pl, Glen Innes, ph (09) 528 9556. Open Mon-Fri 6am-6.30pm. Sat until 2pm.

Mexican magic

Hidden away in a little set of suburban shops on Marua Rd is the best Mexican food in Auckland - with the strangest opening hours. Run by the affable husband and wife team Maria de la Macorra and Jose Carlos, Mexican Specialities only opens for lunch three days a week (Thursday and Friday, 11am-3pm, and Saturday 11am-4pm).

It is one of those places you stumble across but don't want to share with people in case it becomes too popular, thereby ruining its humble charm. But we're sick of the wham-bam Mexican fast food joints that employ sullen teenagers or play skateboarding videos and play trance music.

Plus the food at Mexican Specialties is simply too divine not to acknowledge: corn chips are freshly made every morning, the spicy crispy chicken taco and spicy shrimp taco are the best we've ever tasted and the chilli chocolate skulls are spicy and only $1 each. Their hot chocolate, made from a special recipe, is good enough in itself to warrant the drive out to the suburbs of Ellerslie. Maria and Jose often change the menu, meaning there's usually something new to try.

Good value too: $9 for a hearty chicken taco or tostada, $10 for a enchilada (both chicken and vege options) or $17 for an "executive lunch" - that's beef, salad and a drink.

Don't expect anything fancy - the table and chairs are rickety with plastic tablecloths, but it all adds to the charm of the place. As do the array of Mexican nick-nacks, from Guadalupe figures to Mexican jewellery to a wall of crosses and crucifixes. You can take meals away, but why would you when you're surrounded by all of that colour and Mexican charm?

* 92 Marua Rd, Ellerslie, Ph (09) 580 2497. Open Thurs & Friday 11am-3pm; Sat 10-4pm.

Special mention must also be given to Kingsland's El Camino for their south of the border offerings.They offer cheap takeaway Sundays where delicious enchiladas, quesadillas and burritos are $12 each.

* El Camino, 480 New North Rd, Kingsland, ph (09) 815 1025. Open Wed to Friday 4pm until late; Sat-Sun 3pm until late.

Bagel beauties

Sheinkin is a busy, buzzy little cafe tucked away in Lorne St. Its flavours are Israeli/Mediterranean but it's so much more than chopped liver, though that is delicious. Great breakfasts, light meals, good salads, and a goodly amount of bagels and baked goods to take away. Sheinkin's Moroccan Chicken Bagel wins the vote for being the most delicious bagel in the world, without a doubt: chicken in a mysterious Middle Eastern-y spice mix (there's fennel seed or aniseed or something similar in there) and red cabbage coleslaw on a lightly toasted-to-chewy-perfection bagel: sounds simple but the flavours meld together magnificently. Not the tidiest lunch to eat, you have to watch out for the drips of pink mayonnaise, but worth it, oh, so worth it.

* Sheinkin Cafe, 3 Lorne Street, City, ph 09 303 4301.

Asian sandwich

Not a huge category, this one, but the winner is the Ga Xa Nuong, also known as the Lemongrass Chicken Roll, from Banh Mi Bale in the city. Fresh fresh fresh, in that French-meets-Asian way that is characteristic of Vietnamese cuisine. Deliciously marinated chicken partnered with carrot, cucumber and coriander and - interestingly, but it works - pate, with a touch of house mayonnaise in a French roll that is neither too large nor too small for lunchtime, but crunches satisfyingly and leaves you with generous crumbs to pick at throughout the afternoon. There's also a range of other delicious fillings and an extensive menu of Vietnamese specialities.

* 6-8 Lorne St, City, Ph (09) 377 3288.

Sushi so good

For an easy but stylish Japanese meal that is a step up from buying pre-made boxes of the seaweed-and-rice-rolls from the ever-increasing number of food halls around Auckland, Hayashi Restaurant in Birkenhead is perfect.

The takeaway menu offers a variety of sushi, sashimi and tempura along with combination options of meat or fish with rice and side dishes. The sushi is super-fresh, made to order by Hayashi owner Michael Lim as you wait - or orders can be phoned in - and in a relatively quick time despite being very busy on a Friday night.

A Hayashi special is the crunch roll sushi, described as an "inside out prawn tempura roll sushi with tempura crunch, topped with wasabi caviar, green seaweed powder and sauce". This is interesting, but the best sushi are the more standard options - chicken teriyaki, salmon and avocado and prawn tempura.

The chicken tatsuta age (deep-fried chicken marinated in a special sauce) was similarly tasty. A friend reports being unable to go past Hayashi's chicken teriyaki, saying it has just the right amount of teriyaki sauce.

* 261 Hinemoa St, Birkenhead, ph (09) 418 3011. Mon - Wed & Sat, Thu-Fri 11.30am-10pm.

Perfect pizza

Giampiero De Falco's pizza bases are everything a pizza base should be - lovely and light with that slight crispiness on the outside. But he's keeping schtum on exactly how he makes them. What he can tell us is that he uses the best ingredients available to him, including imported Italian flour, and leaves the dough enough proving time to achieve that all-important lightness. The rest is top secret. What isn't secret is just how fabulous his pizzas taste.

De Falco has owned Al Volo, at the top of Mt Eden Rd, for five years. Originally from Naples, the "home of pizza", he's taken all the very best principles of Neapolitan pizza making and transported them here; his wood-fired oven is even imported from Italy. The effort is worth it.

In answer to what makes his pizzas so great (aside from those delicious bases), De Falco says, "In Naples we do not believe in too much topping, so that you don't have a war of flavours and so it will cook properly". He's certainly doing something right.

Prices range from $18 for a simple margherita to $27 for a mouth-watering Al Volo special with buffalo mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, roquette and extra virgin olive oil.

The premises have just acquired a liquor licence so you can eat in. Or now that the evenings are getting warmer, head up Mt Eden to scoff your authentic piece of Italy. A clear winner.

* Al Volo, 27 Mt Eden Rd, ph (09) 302 2500, Tue-Thurs & Sun 5pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-11pm alvolo.co.nz.

For something a little bit different, we have to give mention to the newest pizza-makers on the block - Sal's Authentic New York Pizza. A hole in the wall establishment, this place is worth a go for the novelty factor alone of their truly enormous whole pizzas ($24-$32 or $5 by the slice). Eyes boggled as we carried our mammoth meatball pizza back to the office. An excellent way to feed a crowd. Five toppings to pick from, and all cheesy, greasy and delicious.

* 4A Commerce St, City, ph (09) 379 7257, Mon-Thurs 12pm-11:00pm, Fri & Sat 12pm-late, Sun 5pm-11pm.

One-stop deli

If our records are right, Ripe Deli on Richmond Rd has been a winner ever since the Viva Takeout Awards were first established. So, if you haven't been here yet - what's stopping you? From the minute you walk through the door you are tempted by fresh, delicious fare created by owner Ange Redfern and her team.

Pastries, home-made muesli and fruit salad if you're looking for breakfast; the tastiest sausage rolls, biscuits and slices if you want morning tea (but be warned the sausage rolls and pies sell out fast); for lunch the salads are crisp, healthy and innovative, plus there's an ever-changing choice of delicious items such as slices of peppered eye fillet, fresh salmon, courgette and feta risotto cakes and more.

At the end of the day there are the fantastic TV dinners - so delicious you can pretend you've been slaving over the stove for hours.

* 172 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn, ph (09) 360 6159. Open Mon-Fri 7am-7pm, Sat 7.30am-3.30 pm, Sun 8am-3pm.