Welcome to clipboard, a weekly newsletter about good shit in Tāmaki Makaurau, by me, Reilly Hodson. This week: I’m catching up for lost time by pulling together some short reviews on things I’ve experienced recently. If you enjoy clipboard, please share it with your mates! The more the merrier.
5 reviews
It’s been a while. How are you feeling? It’s been quite a time for me to take a semi-hiatus from weekly newsletter writing: we’ve got a new Covid (sub?)variant, a Tiny Desk Concert from Usher, a new The 1975 album on the way, along with a new British PM. Everything continues to just happen all the time!
In recognition of a month-ish of disrupted programming, this is going to be a slightly bigger clipboard than usual, with 5 mini reviews of stuff that’s been going on in my life. Without further ado, clipboard presents: 5 reviews.
ortega fish shack
I was in Wellington last weekend for the 80th birthday of my grandpa. In a minor miracle, we managed to bring together the 15 members of his whānau for a weekend which included 2 dinners, a lunch, any number of bottles of wine and three straight days of good weather in Wellington in July.
By far the highlight was our dinner at Ortega Fish Shack. One of the things I love about so many restaurants and cafes in Wellington is that they feel lived in: they’ve been around for a while, with systems that work really well, delicious food and excellent service. While the excitement of the Auckland food scene can be intoxicating, with a new opening on every corner, there’s something so comforting about going somewhere and trusting innately that everything is going to come off without a hitch.
Ortega Fish Shack is such a restaurant - we sat in the private dining room, which we shared with another group of 15ish people, upstairs from an absolutely rammed floor. On top of that, we had a bunch of dietary requirements, some underraged teenagers who wanted to slyly order a cocktail, and we kept swapping seats through the night. Despite that, everyone received exactly what they ordered, without an ounce of drama, and they all loved it.
Having worked in restaurants for about 6 years, pulling that off is nothing short of remarkable. Add that to some of the most delicious food I’ve eaten this year (including perhaps the best ceviche dish I have ever eaten, and I’ve had plenty), and you get an absolutely ringing endorsement. I’d recommend it for a huge, tricky family, for date night, or a messy night with old friends, everything.
love island
When my partner and I caught Covid, we didn’t go halves on it - we were properly bedridden for a full week, with no physical or mental capacity to do anything more than mindlessly consume content. Enter Love Island, a TV show perfectly engineered for that kind of situation.
Love Island is a fascinating social experiment, where a rotating cast of traditionally attractive, heterosexual British people live in a villa together and decide who they want to “get to know,” “crack on with,” or just “test themselves with.” What makes Love Island so interesting to me is that it’s all happening in real time, so when a new person shows up, they’ve already been watching from the outside. Also, these people are all so calculating: they know that a star run on Love Island will lead to a new career as an influencer, so they’re playing to the cameras and the audience at home.
This season has been packed with drama, and recently, a fascinating insight into the dirty pack mentality of men who have grown used to being chased by women without needing to put effort into their relationships. It’s laugh out loud funny and sickening in equal measure, and I can’t look away. If you want to chat Love Island, hit me up! I’m full of thoughts.
my new thom morison jumper
I turned 24 last weekend, and I have found an excellent unintended consequence of this newsletter is that the quality of presents I get has improved dramatically. By far the best present I got this year was this jacquard sweater from Thom Morison.
Everything Thom Morison touches turns to gold, and this jumper is no different. Knitted in a double layer pattern out of merino, it’s deceptively warm, and the fit is bang on. Wearing this jumper feels as comfortable as putting on a vintage Champion crewneck, but you could easily wear it with a suit to a fancy event, or with jeans to a smart casual office. The perfect winter garment, in my opinion.
Thom’s clothes don’t come cheap, but I’ve never regretted a dollar spent on his clothing. This is timeless clothing that will last a lifetime if you treat it right, made locally with an absolute dedication to quality. Worth saving for.
almighty active soft drink
One thing I don’t like admitting is a crippling addiction to sugary food and drink, and vanilla coke is my #1 weakness. It’s a habit that has zero redeeming qualities for my body or the environment, but I’m hooked on the ability to effectively inject caffeine and sugar right into my bloodstream when I need a pick me up.
As part of my ongoing journey of self-improvement, this is a habit I recognise I need to wean myself off of, and I think I’ve found part of the solution. Almighty Active is a new product from Almighty Drinks, a local company making canned juices and sugar free flavoured soda water. They have excellent branding, and now they have an option with added caffeine.
I tried the apple flavour this week from their pop up free vending machine, and it’s pretty much what it says on the tin: soda water with apple flavour and added caffeine. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, you’ll like this drink. I’m interested to see if I can trick my brain into drinking it instead of the stuff that will rot my teeth, while still feeling like I’m having a little treat. If I was in charge of my office fridge, it would be full of this, and Boss Coffee.
making coffee at home
Since moving to Mt Albert, the one thing I’ve been missing is a truly excellent cafe within a 10 minute walk. I work from home 2 days a week, and my workday routine relies on a little black coffee after clearing my emails in the morning.
Another of my excellent birthday gifts was a proper electric burr coffee grinder (this one, if you’re looking). That means I can grind my beans fresh before making a little Aeropress or V60 brew, which honestly makes all the difference. Sure, you can buy pre-ground beans, but if you care about how your coffee tastes, you really shouldn’t.
Making coffee at home is excellent - makes weekends and mornings at homes much nicer. Thumbs up for a soothing morning routine.
clips
🧦 My favourite t-shirt brand, Buddy, now makes socks, with their signature hemp-cotton blend. They look excellent, at a good price point, and hemp is a great material for socks because it’s temperature regulating and odor repellent.
🧦 Still on hemp-cotton socks, Checks Downtown now carries the full range from Japanese brand Mauna Kea. Checks boss Jordan has assured me these are by far his favourite socks on the market, and he’s tried them all.
👔 I’m an obsessive about the shifting dress code for “professional” men, and I loved this article about the death of ties as part of the uniform of a certain type of guy, and how to wear the no-tie look without looking weird and uncomfortable.
💡 The Spinoff’s Toby Morris on New Zealand’s best logos is typically excellent.
🚀 Skyworld is getting a makeover! Long live the rocket lift.
🧤 I’m intrigued by the Instagram account for Base Weight, which appears to be preparing a drop of curated vintage gorpcore goods? Keep an eye out on 16/7.
That’s all for clipboard this week, thanks for reading! I’ll be back here on next Sunday at 7am, and in the meantime you can keep in touch on Instagram or via email. Have a great week!