We ordered the Confit Pork Belly and the dinner meat pie (there are several varieties, including vegetarian, but we chose lamb). The Confit Pork Belly was rich and had a meatball like texture and was served with mashed potatoes. The meat pie is an iconic food in New Zealand (and Australia) and are hand-sized (like this one was). According to Wikipedia, the average Kiwi consumes 15 meat pies per year. Traditional meat pies are known for their low nutritional value and quality, in fact, “former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr launched a Childhood obesity Summit in 2002 where he told participants that feeding children a diet of meat pies, sausage rolls and chiko rolls was akin to child cruelty” (Australian & New Zealand Meat Pie). However, Cassatt’s ingredients tasted high quality and the meat pie was served with a fresh salad and chutney, rather than gravy. Meat pies are so integral to New Zealand culture that there is even an annual meat pie contest, judged by celebrities:

In New Zealand an annual pie competition is held since 1997, the Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards aims to recognise the best pie manufacturers in New Zealand and assisting them in producing award-winning pies and continuing to help foster and encourage developments within this category of baking.

[There are] 11 categories – mince and gravy; chicken and vegetables; gourmet meat; bacon and egg; gourmet fruit; steak, vegetable and gravy; steak and cheese; vegetarian; mince and cheese; seafood and commercial wholesale pies. The pies were judged on presentation, the pastry on the top and bottom, the filling and the profile.

We finished the meal with tea and pavlova. The tea, disappointingly, was a standard bag of Stash tea. The pavlova tasted delicious and appeared quite legitimate, served with kiwi, strawberry, and blueberry on top along with raspberry syrup. The pavlova is purported to have been in invented in New Zealand and is named after the ballerina, Anna Pavlova. The Pavlova:

is made by beating egg whites (and sometimes salt) to a very stiff consistency before folding in caster sugar, white vinegar, cornstarch, and sometimes vanilla, and slow-baking the mixture to create the meringue. This makes the outside of the pavlova a crisp crunchy shell, while the interior remains soft and moist. The pavlova’s internal consistency is thus completely different from that normally associated with meringue, having more of a soft marshmallow texture.

A Pavlova is traditionally decorated with a topping of whipped cream and fresh fruit of sweet/tart flavours, such as strawberries and kiwifruit, or passionfruit and banana or berries and peach slices. Raspberry is a popular topping in the United Kingdom, with the tartness of raspberries contrasting with the sweetness of sugar. Factory-made pavlovas can be purchased at supermarkets and decorated as desired. A commercial product is available that includes pre-mixed ingredients for baking the meringue shell, requiring only the addition of water and sugar.

The secondary influence in New Zealand cuisine, which was not available at Cassatt’s, is Maori cuisine. This style of cuisine is called Hāngi. Newzealand.com describes this cuisine:

Another style of all-year-round outdoor cooking is the traditional Maori hangi (pronounced hung-ee), cooked underground on hot coals, usually prepared for special occasions. It includes a vegetable called the kumara (sweet potato, pronounced ‘koo-murra’) in its feast, along with chicken, pork, lamb, potatoes and other vegetables. The smoky flavour of the hangi is delicious and an essential culinary experience while in New Zealand. Several tourist locations, including Rotorua in the North Island, put down hangis for groups of visitors. A deep hole is dug in the ground, lined with red-hot stones and covered with vegetation. The food is then placed on top. The whole oven is sprinkled with water and sealed with more vegetation. The hole is then filled with earth and left to steam for several hours. Traditionally, men dig and prepare the hole, and women prepare the food to go in it. All members of an extended family (whanau) help out for such a feast. The occasion is relaxed, friendly and fun, with people often eating the meal under a marquee.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any restaurants in the D.C. area that offer this style of New Zealand cuisine we could find.

Total: $33.34, excluding tax and tip (two entrees, one tea, one dessert)