Yes, you read correctly, Geraldine. And for those keeping score, this will be the third mention of Geraldine’s culinary scene in 1964 (Al’s Hot Pepper Sauce, The Running Duck Cafe). For those traveling between the Queenstown Lakes District and the East Coast, Geraldine (population 2,800) is the spot for a snack, a meal or a night out on the town.
I arrived in Geraldine exhausted, having worked a 60-hour work week. I felt like I’d had a meeting with every business in every town on the road from Dunedin to Christchurch. I just wanted to eat and fall asleep, but it was five o’clock in the afternoon and everything was closed. Then the staff at the Royal India turned that lovely sign to ‘OPEN’.
The Royal India was quiet, it was five o’clock after-all, and I sat myself at a two-top in the window. It had not even been set yet. I was tired, my face sagged like a middle-age Jabba the Hutt, my eyes were too blurry to read the menu, and even if I could, my brain was done making decisions for the week.
“Do you see something you like?” the waiter asked.
“I don’t know,” was all I could mumble.
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My resting- sag-face must have told him I needed help. He took my menu without asking, and said:
“You need the goat.”
Only people who have been grinding it out at the same job for a lifetime, possibly for generations, can speak with this level of authority. They speak in a way that lets you relax, the tone tells you they know more about this subject than you ever will, so just shut up and do what they tell you. I love these people, they make life easy.
I can’t remember how it was cooked, and it might have been the special of the day, but I can tell you that he was 100% correct. I did need the goat. It was tender, with a complex, unique flavour that I struggle to describe properly. This is not the take-out curry you’re picking up at the mall on your lunch break. Show some respect. You need to be seated for this delicacy.
With a drink menu to rival a big-city hipster cocktail bar, The Royal India has your libation covered, too. And, for a truly Geraldine experience, I’d highly recommend the velvety Humdinger Gin to go along with your meal (another Geraldine gem, the Humdinger Distillery is located a few metres down the road). Gin goes with Indian, trust me.
On your next trip through Geraldine, stop at the Royal India. Order the goat. Tell them 1964 sent you.
NATHAN WEATHINGTON
