Vienna – Stuff I Ate

Vienna Pastries

November 29, 2022Tagged cafes, desserts, dining, pastry, travel, ViennaLeave a comment

Apple strudel

Cardinal cake

Dobos torte

Here are a few more photos from Vienna. Even though we weren’t allowed to eat inside restuarants thanks to having Covid, many of Vienna’s cafes have outdoor seating, and the weather was agreeable while we were there, so we did get to go to a couple of cafes.

You undoubtedly know apple strudel, and this was a very good example of one. The filling is not unbearably sweet, which was appreciated. When I was in cooking school we did strudel, and I know what a pain it is to get the dough right.

The cardinal cake was a delightful surprise. The cake itself is extremely light. It’s a combo of yellw and white cake. Then there is a thick layer of patisserie creme, and a layer of raspberry jam (the red color of which is how it gets its name), then a final layer of yellow cake on the bottom. On this particular one, the jam layer was not spread all the way across the cake, but that helped to make a nice pocket of jam in the slice.

Dobos torte is thin layers of cake interspersed with thin layers of chocolate ganache and topped with a layer of crispy caramel. Decadent does not bgin to describe it. I had this with a melange coffee — the Viennese specialty coffee that is basically cafe au lait topped with a helthy dollop of whipped cream. TBH, it was all a bit much, but that didn’t stop me from eating and drinking all of it.

Breakfasts in Vienna

November 2, 2022Tagged Breakfast, dining, ViennaLeave a comment

Top – sunnyside eggs with ham and rye toast. Bottom – soft-boiled egg with ham and cheese, rolls, jam

The weather for our week in Vienna was pleasant and mild, so that gave us the oppotunity to have breakfast in a couple of cafes near out hotel that had outdoow seating.

The top photo is from a cafe called Ulrich (named for St. Ulrich’s Church right next door). Ham and eggs, Austrian style, with delicious country ham (which you can see barely peeking out from under the eggs). I also had a latte there that was probably the best latte I have ever had in my life. So I had a second one.

The next day, we had breakfast at Cafe Adlerhof, just up the street. I had this pretty typical European-style breakfast plate of ham and cheese with a soft-boiled egg and some rolls. i used one of the rolls to dip into the egg, though some toast might have been better, and then had butter and strawberry jam on the other (which, again, I probably would have preferred toast). I had a cafe mocha which was not especially mocha-y, and a latte that was okay but not as good as the one down the street at Ulrich.

Room Service

November 2, 2022Tagged Cheese, dining, flammenkuchen, room service, ViennaLeave a comment

Top – Flammenkuchen with prosciutto. Bottom – cheese tray with fruit and hummus

Though our Vienna hotel did not have a restaurant or kitchen of its own, they still managed to put together some very nice boards for us to enjoy for the couple of days we were stuck in our room.

Flammenkuchen is a pizza-like flatbread that originates from Alsace and southwestern Germany. The crust is crisp and very thin, but not cracker-like, and the toppings vary. There used to be a lovely restaurant in Cambridge called Sandrines that did a variety of flammenkuchen, and there was a caramelized onion and blue cheese one I loved. This one had prosciutto and melted cheese. It looks bigger in the photo than it really was. There was just enough for one person.

The cheese board was lovely to look at as well as yummy. It featured Muenster, Brie, a thinly-sliced smoked cheese that might have een Gouda but I am not sure, and an intensely black-peppered goat cheese.

They also provided us with breakfast a few times. We had some little croissants with different jams (raspberry, strawberry, apricot, and an excellent orange one), toasted brown bread, and coffee.

The hotel staff were very accomodating and concerned for our well-being the whole time, which really took the sting off being sick on vacation. We gave them a thank-you gift when we were on our way out, and I thought the front desk person was going to cry, she was so appreciative.

Dinner 10/15/22

October 15, 2022Tagged dining, Dinner, travel, ViennaLeave a comment

Cafe Ansari,Vienna

First night in Vienna. We didn’t really get any sleep on the plane, but we did crash for the afternoon once we got into our hotel room so we would have enough energy to go out to dinner.

Cafe Ansari is a Georgian restaurant,recommended to me by my friend who lives here. We’ve never had Georgian cuisine before, so it seemed like a good adventure. Our goal is to not just have schnitzel all week,but to try a bit of whatever Vienna has to offer. Tomorrow night we’re going to a traditional Viennese place that specializes in those sorts of dishes.

It’s a cool,wet evening,but there were people dining outside. Luckily we were sealed inside. The atmosphere was warm and friendly.

Baba ghannoush, purple carrot,and sweet potato with sheep cheese spreads

We started with khatchapuri, which is a soft pita style bread stuffed with cheese ,sort of like a Middle Eastern quesadilla. With that, we also had a trio of spreads – a baba ghannoush, sweet potato with sheep cheese, and a purple carrot hummus. They were all delicious, but the sweet potato one was the best of the three.

Broiled eggplant with administration paste and mango yogurt sauce

Bridget chose this eggplant dish. As a non meat eater, traditional Viennese cuisine is not her thing, so I was glad this place had entree choices that were up her alley.

I had chachapuli, which is a braise of lamb,with quince slices and served with a side of buttery mashed turnip. The fruit really cut the richness of the braised lamb,and it was perfect for an October evening.

Destination: Vienna

October 11, 2022Tagged Austria, dining, food tours, travel, vacation, ViennaLeave a comment

I wantd to mention that my wife and I are going to Vienna for a week. We’re leaving Friday night and will be back the following Saturday. We’ve got a food tour booked, and dinner reservations at a number of different restaurants, so please stop by to see all the adventures in one of the greatest foodie destinations in the world. I am very excited to be traveling internationally again. Hopefully we won’t get the ‘vid while we’re there!