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COLUMN
 Saturday Night Fever
The plan on Wednesday night was to see the opening of the Shadrack
Affair at the Baxter. But, as they say, even the best laid plans can
go to waste. I pitch up at Linda's (on time) only to be greeted by three
hysterical housemates. Apparently there's a man-eating rat the size of a
rottweiler in one of the bedrooms. Since I'm a man I'm supposed to sort it
out. Yes, I agree, their logic was staggering. I saunter into the bedroom.
No rottweiler-sized rat. Not even a Pekinese-sized rat. What I did find was
a little frightened field mouse, barely the size of my thumb. So I scoop
the poor sod up, set him free and wash my hands. We're good to go and
still on time. Turning up DeWaal Drive we hit bumper to bumper traffic
from town. It seems some bloke further up decided to do cartwheels with
his taxi. Sweet.
We hit the Baxter a minute late and find the foyer is still full of
people. This does not seem right. Turns out they overbooked. We graciously
agree to come and see it another night. We even more graciously allow the
Baxter marketing manager to ply us with booze for the rest of the evening.
Yes, I know. I'm a swell guy. We get home about two hours later than we
would have, had we seen the show. Life's funny in that way, isn't it.
On Saturday night best behaviour was required for dinner at the
Azure restaurant at the Twelve Apostles Hotel. The kind folk at Manley
Communications had invited us to come and watch their new music line-up. I
get the best seat in the house. Not facing the ocean, but facing a very,
very extensive wine collection. Hmm, just thinking about it now brings a
smile to my lips. For starters I had a peppadew and butternut tart which
was absolutely superb. So good that I even ate the cucumber garnishing.
And I don't do cucumber. Mind you, Lufthansa, oddly enough, serves a
pretty damn good cucumber and cheese sandwich, but that's another story.
The main course was veal medallions, which was, well, average. That was
followed by cheesecake, which was decidedly above average. A very
nice touch in the menu is that each section is split up into local and
international dishes.
Now about their new music line-up. (Drum roll please) Jenie Oliver is
a jewel. She has an amazing voice and an unbelievable range. Sitting in
that restaurant it was hard to believe it wasn't Norah Jones performing
and I know - I've been giving her CD a lot of airtime recently. What
really surprised me though was when she sang a song by rock group
Evanesence with the same aplomb. Jenie was also open to playing requests,
which were performed extremely well. If you're looking for a romantic,
upmarket venue with great food, service and music, Azure is definitely
worth considering. But be warned, you're going to take a hit in the
wallet!
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