Two Whakatāne hospitality teams have been taken over by The Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover, bringing two delicious specialty toasted sandwiches to town – the “Red Eye Reuben” and “The Cheeky Cow”.

Robert Harris and Mata Brewery have taken on the toastie challenge with popular and mouthwatering results.

Every entry in the Toastie Takeover must incorporate McClure’s Pickles.

Whakatāne Robert Harris owner Richard Sharp said the cafe was excited to get behind the Toastie Takeover, especially after looking for an opportunity to bring the Reuben Sandwich to its menu after seeing it at a trade show.

“It was a combination of us seeing the product at a tradeshow we went to, and the Robert Harris head office creating the product,” Mr Sharp said.

The “Red Eye Reuben” is a Robert Harris twist on the classic Reuben sandwich. It includes the basics like pastrami, pickles, cheese and saukraut, but also includes a signature Robert Harris sauce created for the sandwich. One ingredient in this sauce is an espresso shot from the Robert Harris Cafe blend.

“That’s where the “red eye” part of the name comes from, it comes with a small caffeine hit,” Mr Sharp said.

Mr Sharp said there was “a lot going on” in the different flavours, but they worked well together.

Although this sandwich is technically available at Robert Harris Cafes across New Zealand, Whakatāne’s iteration has proved the most popular.

“It’s been really popular; we are leading the Robert Harris network in sales,” he said.

“I don’t know if we’re promoting it more or talking about it more enthusiastically.”

He said the $14.50 price point was another drawcard.

“Getting a specialty toasted sandwich for less than $15 is attractive to a lot of people.”

He said the popularity of the sandwich has the team considering keeping it on the menu.

“I think we will continue it; it has been a hit.”

Mata Brewery's Mama Gs have presented “The Cheeky Cow”, with the combined efforts of Chef Basil Yacob and owner/operator Gloria Viitakangas.

“Basil came up with the idea to use beef cheeks, and to be honest I’d never had beef cheeks in my life,” Mrs Viitakangas said.

After some trials, we settled on first smoking the beef cheeks then finishing with a part braise in our Dark Knight beer. Mustard used on the toastie is made from a family recipe, and a beer and honey glaze, again using The Dark Knight beer.

Other fillings are a freshly grated melty two-cheese blend, roasted red peppers, McClure's bread and butter pickles, then topped with a small handful of rocket.

The toastie is sandwiched together with a specially made artisan rye sourdough beer bread baked using the Dark Knight beer.

“It’s made the traditional way of making toasties – all done on a grill,” Mrs Viitakangas said.

She said challenges facing the ambitious sandwich included the need to smoke the meat outside. We need to time the cooking to the weather, which hasn't been so kind of late.

“It’s a bit of fun, and people who've tried it seem to be loving it. I think it’s got a good balance of flavours. Soft smoky meat, cheesey goodness, a touch of malty sweetness, salty, peppery, a wee bit of heat, and crunch then the light crispyness from the buttery, toasted bread.

If you feel inclined, the "Cheeky Cow" is recommended to match with The Dark Knight beer.

Toastie Review:

Beacon reporter and Robert Harris/Mata Brewery regular Alisha McLennan has a taste of both Toastie Takeover entries in the Eastern Bay.

Red Eye Reuben - Robert Harris

The Reuben Red Eye simulated the feeling of trying cheese toasties for the first time as a child – knowing your life had changed forever, but this time with an upgrade.

I had the Red Eye Reuben at approximately 9.45am on a Monday with a sweet chai latte. Using cutlery, my first bite included only the sourdough, pastrami and cheese, and was more than satisfied by the basics. Once I dug deeper into the sandwich – the real magic happened.

I do not like pickles, evidenced by a lifetime of pulling gherkins out of Big Macs, but owner Richard Sharp assured me the flavour combination would work.

In this Reuben Red Eye, something changed in me. Maybe it was the specialty sauce infused with an espresso shot, or the flavour of the pastrami, or the fact that I was getting to eat toasties for work, but the pickles were my favourite part of the sandwich.

Not long after I started eating, I became unable to distinguish the separate flavours – all I knew was that this was top-tier cheese toastie.

I have to recommend the Reuben Red Eye as the perfect lunch – it surpassed my expectations while remaining within the nostalgic boundaries of a classic toastie. And at $14.50, it’s certainly more affordable than most of my cafe orders.

I will absolutely be returning to Robert Harris for the Red Eye Reuben – I think it would pair nicely with my go-to mango iced tea.

The Cheeky Cow

I’d never really associated a toastie with the word “gourmet”, but Mata Brewery decided to test that theory.

I had The Cheeky Cow at around 2pm on a Saturday, alternating between The Dark Knight beer for the “full experience” and a Rewind alcoholic lemonade as a backup (at the young age of 25, I have yet to enjoy the taste of beer).

Chef Gloria Viitakangasdid not lie about the perfect crunch – the first bite had everything in it. The mustard pickle combo turned me into someone who enjoys mustard and pickles. The roasted capsicums and cheese were tasty; the meat was beautiful and sort of melted in your mouth, thanks to the genius of Chef Basil.

Artisan bread is always a good thing, but this really did feel custom-made for this toastie. Every facet of the sandwich was complementary and might have sent me to heaven (Disclaimer: I was drinking on the job so there may be risk of slight hyperbole).

The most shocking factor for me was after eating this sandwich, Dark Knight beer tasted good. Maybe the alcohol pairing really does matter.

The toastie is $29 or $35 with a glass of Dark Knight. While this may feel steep at the counter, all my guilt was alleviated at the first bite.

I’d recommend The Cheeky Cow for a gourmet night out, or as a first date if you want to stress test someone under potentially messy eating conditions. That way, if they fail, at least you've guaranteed yourself a gourmet feed.

Make sure to try out Whakatāne’s toastie entries and get your Toastie Takeover votes in before August.