Ein kleiner Vienna Bericht

As a prologue, Lonely Planet's Vienna guide turned out to be an excellent resource for our eating tastes and needs, altho far less so for cultural touring. (For that turn to the DK Vienna guide. I'm not usually fond of these glitzy showpieces--and their eating recommendations are usually 20 years out-of-date--but the Viennese version was eminently practical and enlightening, one of the best city guides we've ever used for cultural/historical sights.)

Anyway, in keeping with the guidebook motif, I'll break this down into categories:

Cafes: We hit many of the usual suspects (Central, Landtmann, Tirolerhof, Museum, etc.) with no disappointments, altho we were surprised by the high quality of the museum cafes, in particular, the one in the Kunsthistorische and certainly the Freud Cafe, adjacent altho not connected to its eponymous museum. This latter cafe had one of the cozier ambiences that we encountered in the city (almost like a Fench tea salon) and an Einspaenner with perhaps the thickest schlag in the city.

Wine Bars/Buffets: Wine bars are always good light alternatives for those with less tolerance for successive rich, dumpling-hearty meals. We found good examples (one or two glasses of wine, antipasti/salami/cheese plates) at Julius Meinl's Wine Bar (Graben 9) and one of the many Wein & Co's scattered about town. Incidentally, we took beer with most of our meals--you could hardly go wrong there--but when we ordered wine we found the recommended local pinot noirs to have a high quality/value ratio. Highly recommended for light lunch/snacking--with its unique array of open faced-finger sandwichs and REALLY small beers is Trzesniewski (Dorotheergasse 1). Believe me, you'll find nothing close to this place in Chicago. (Zum Schwarzen Kameel is the high-end version, but we never made it there.)

Beisln: The best of the lot for us were Beim Czaak (Postgasse 15--do all Viennese demand their liver cooked through? because my requests for rare were routinely ignored, altho here the rich, fruity sauce made up for the meat's dryness; the stuffed wiener schnitzel was also a favorite); Augustinerkeller (Augustinerstrasse 1--if you like your pork shanks with plenty of crackle you won't be disappointed here), and our favorite, Wickerl Gasthaus (Porzellangasse 24a). It's difficult to make recommendations for the latter, since we ordered almost exclusively from the specialties, which change daily, but the most memorable dishes were the Wildschweinfleisch (several versions), and some wonderfully tender veal medallions (rare!), all swimming in rich mushroom sauces. A friendly neighborhood restaurant the likes of which we'd very much like to have in our own neighborhood.

Restaurants: Also in Alsergrund was our favorite, Stomach (Seegasse 26). It was as warm and welcoming as Wickerl, with a memorable wild garlic cream soup, a wonderful mussel ravioli in lobster sauce, lambchops (rare!) simmered in a wild garlic sauce, and a topfelknodel, whose lightness makes the translation of "apple dumpling" a misnomer. Our special occasion restaurant was Oesterreicher im Mak and it started out well enough with a tasty parsley root soup (sprinkled generously with trout caviar) and their duck breast/pate melange. I ordered my Tafelspitz (which I enjoyed immensely) from the traditional menu and my wife ordered her pork tenderloin from the nontraditional side (altho it turned out to be a pretty traditional schnitzel); at that point we were, along with several other tables nearby, abandoned. Completely and utterly. As if we (or the staff) had been struck by that plague that occasionally visits Vienna. We eventually managed to round up a check and depart, sans coffee, sans dessert, sans digestif, and sans any auf wiedersehens from anyone, which is prophetic since we are unlikely to return. We found solace, tho, back at Wickerl with several welcoming grappas and nussschnaps.

But, in general, for us a wonderful culinary adventure, experiencing a cuisine which used to be very common in Chicago, but in passing years, has been more and more difficult to find.

P.S.: Naschtmarkt: Many stalls were still closed on the cold, windy, early Monday morning we attended, but we recommend a stop at Gegenbau, where the artisanal oils are EV and the vinegars come in many ages and flavors. We walked away with a 10-year-old balsamic with a remarkable woody flavor and one that, hopefully, (considering its price) will last us into the next decade.

Boy, I can almost taste the tafelspitz -- or, to be more precise, the wonderful sauces that came with it. Thanks for the reminder of how much fun Vienna is. Well, of course, there's the art, music, and history, too. But I did have a good time at the wineries, restaurants, and cafes, not to mention the naschmarkt, and I really appreciate the mini-tour.

We're in Vienna this week. Food has varied in quality, based on how tired we are and willing to find good, versus conveniently located.

Our first night I had a Tafelspitz at a cafe just down the street from our vacation-phase hotel at the corner of Maria Hilf Gasse and Neubaugurtel: if it wasn't for the potato cakes (not sure if that's even authentic, nor the al-dente frozen peas and carrots over the top of the steak) and the chive and apple/horseradish sauces, it would have been pretty mediocre. MrsF had a very good Cordon Bleu, though.

Second night, we had Italian, also close to the hotel: Azzurro, just off the Neubaugurtel a block south of Baumgasse. Very good pastas, moderate prices.

Third day, we stopped in at the Cafe Mozart around lunchtime, home of the Sachertorte... and had a Mozarttorte instead: Chocolate and pistachio trumps apricot. Very good coffee, rather pricey. We wandered through the naschmarkt after this, but weren't hungry enough to stop for a bite... may go back on Saturday. We ended up at Cafe Gutenburg near Stephenplatz -- very good food. I had a cream of garlic soup and goulash, MrsF had a French Onion and uh, I forget.

Fourth day, dinner was near the conference-phase hotel: Salm Brau, at 8 Rennweg. Outstanding and moderately priced. I didn't love the Beer Spread on Toast (I think it was ham-based), but the pumpkin soup was very good, with toasted pumpkin seeds. Their "pan" dishes are a good value: huge servings of (for MrsF) spaetzle with cheese and bacon, or venison and boar stew.

Everything here is rather expensive -- moreso than Barcelona last year. And as usual, if only I could get someone to pour from a pitcher of water instead of a 250ml bottle for 2-3 Euros, I'd be a lot happier. After walking around the city all day, I'm parched.

JoelF wrote:venison and boar stew.

I had a very tasty venison stew
at Griechenbeisel - believe it had
stewed prunes and cherries,
sounds weird, but it was delicious:

A couple more Vienna notes:

Etap is a bit more upscale Turkish restaurant (most are just doner kebab-type fast food) just a block or so from the Opera House. Had some great lamb dishes there: Adana Yogurtlu was a ground lamb kebab over torn bread, yogurt, tomato sauce and butter with lots and lots of garlic. Pirzola was grilled lamb chops over very tasty pilaf. Moderate prices for Vienna.
Operngasse 14/1, 1010 Wien
Tel 43(0) 1 586 21 40

Danieli is a wonderful Italian place. While tourists around us ordered spaghetti bolognese and pizzas, we had a wonderful risotto with treviso, figs and gorgonzola, and a pork medallions with more gorgonzola and gnocchi.
Himmelpfortgasse 3, Wien 1
Tel 0043 (0)1 513 79 13
www.danieli.at

Schnitzelwirt is a definite destination, would be a GNR in Chicago. Hubcap-sized schnitzel at low prices (E6.80 for an unnacompanied Wiener Schnitzel, 10-something with a bunch of salads and potatoes, called the "Hamburger Schnitzel"). Perfectly seasoned, perfectly crispy, more than you could expect to eat in a sitting (they provide plastic bags and waxed paper to every table take them home).
Neubaugasse 52, 1070 Wien
Tel 0043 (0)1 523 3771

What is it about European pork? Between Barcelona's Bellota and whatever they're using in Vienna, it's a different taste profile from the grain-fed, lean, fast-grown piggie we get here. There's a toasty, dark flavor to every piece of pork I've had there, whether it's cured, stewed, sauteed or schitzelated. I think I'm going to have to buy less meat, but better stuff from now on -- it's worth it. Otherwise, you're just feeding the beast with shmoo.

Viennese Coffee? Just about made me a regular coffee drinker. Not every cup I had was smooth and rich (the cafe by the Schottenkirche served a pretty nasty brew), but most of the Viener Melange (half hot milk) was a delight.

We enjoyed the Naschmarkt quite a bit. So much so, that after our initial afternoon stroll through it and snack, we returned for breakfast and another stroll a day later.











We sampled several of the flavored vinegars at Gegenbauer:



Wound up purchasing two. I think the Lemongrass Vinegar will be great in Thai-style cucumber salad.



We had an afternoon snack at Umarfisch that was fantastic. My photo of the tuna tartare was terribly out-of-focus. Here's the other appetizer - grilled calamari. The pool of garlic at the top of the plate was addictive.



Breakfast at "Naschmarkt Deli"

For me, Yogurt with fresh fruit, berries, and muesli (it was on the bottom.)



Jonathan's "Ham & Eggs."

Oooh, I'm envious. Vienna is one of my favorite cities in the entire world, but I've only been able to go there a couple of times, and I've never yet been to the Naschtsmarkt. I'll be saving this thread for future reference if the lucky travel winds someday carry me that way again.

Yeah, the Naschmarkt is very photogenic:

LynnB, great pics, especially of the market. And the breakfast shots bring to mind the diversity of that meal in Europe. If you stay at a hotel catering to an international clientele you'll come across things like fish soup and cold noodles alongside the quark, soft-boiled eggs, cheese and bread at the buffet. It appears that there is jackfruit in the front row at the fruit counter of the market. I saw some recently in the Dekalb Farmers Market outside Atlanta, too. Is this Jamaican import about to become the new fruit foodie fad?