Gables Restaurant The Gables Arcade High Street Rangiora Phone 6220 B.Y.O.

Press, 14 July 1982, Page 25

Gables Restaurant The Gables Arcade High Street Rangiora Phone 6220 B.Y.O.

(Bv

HANS PETROVIC)

One of the problems when venturing from the bigger city into the country areas frequently is finding a place where you can feel confident of getting a quality meal. This is not to imply that country fare is sub-standard by any means. For, besides the übiquitous burger bars and fish shops, you can always rest assured of finding a small restaurant or pub providing a solid, if somewhat conservative, meal. The kind of establishment I am looking for is the one that extends itself beyond a hearty serving of roast hogget and green peas (or fish on Friday), and also offers more than the standard fare of the local steak house. Akaroa. for example, is no longer the last resort, but one of the first to go to for a good repast during a day's outing. Relatively cheap seafood is available at a number of places, as are varieties of haute cuisine Continental cooking. On the other hand, when dining out in Greymouth, I still feel safest-with a good T-bone steak. It seems that all touches of exotic food left there with the last of the Chinese community. Returning a little closer to home. I am' happy to announce the discovery of the Gables Restaurant at Rangiora. It has been there for several months now but this was my first opportunity to visit it. The first impression on walking into the upstairs premises was of a sizeable (seating about 100) but cosy place where one could relax for a meal in dimmed surroundings. For lunch, the menu was not quite as extensive as one might expect at a place lauded as Rangiora's tdp eatery. However, I am sure it makes quite an impressive list for the good townsfolk on special occasions and for the Friday visitors to town for the w’eek-end shopping. All the prices were reasonable. starting with the freshmade soup ($1.50)., and the two entrees, shrimp cocktail and chicken liver pate ($2.30). Both the world-wise gen-tleman-who accompanied me (a resident of Rangiora) and I opted for the shrimp cocktail.. which was served in sufficiently large helpings to give neither of us anything to grumble about. While considering what to order for the main course we. appraised the surroundings: agreeing on the comfortable atmosphere; attractive, red tablecloths; the small, out-door-looking windows through which you can not see the country vista; and, on the other side, the large, indoor windows) which provide a good view of the rest of the first floor of the Gables Arcade. The chalkedmp main courses for the day were crumbed scallops ($5.50),

crumbed mussels ($3.75). crumbed groper ($3.75). chicken with chasseur sauce ($3.75). Hawaiian ham ($4 25) and Wiener schnitzel ($4.25). My companion chose the scallops while I ordered the groper. Again, we both received generous offerings - the scallops served a-la-usual. and the crumbed fish in several pieces shaped more like banana fritters than cutlets. The accompanying salad with both was also plentiful, fresh and varied. We washed down our meal with a very pleasant Corban's claret (1980). purchased for about $5.50 at the Bacchus Wine -shop, only a few doors away from Gables Arcade in High Street. Rangiora's one and only wine shop. Bacchus offers a comprehensive range and must have been greatly assisted by the arrival of the Gables Restaurant on the local scene. (At this point it is usually pointed out to me that it is not the "done thing" to drink red wine with fish. May I only say that both the wine and food tasted excellent and complemented each other very well. I have come to the conclusion that the people who quibble about this point usually are the type who still eat their peas off a knife, and their ice-cream with both a spoon and fork). Anyway, after our main meal, we felt sufficiently replete to content ourselves with the percolated coffee (60c) and skipped the dessert (fruit salad, ice cream sundae, pavlova, gateau, all at $1.90).

■ The meal, including the wine, cost us just over $2O, and we both agreed it was well worth' the price. Next time. I hope to visit the Gables for dinner, for which the interesting a-la-carte menu does extend to such things as frogslegs and snails.