„There are no hipsters in Vienna.” That is what my friend’s response was to my
question how cool and trendy Vienna, Austria can be. And, I think this is actually pretty
accurate. It is not a hip place. It is a fairly conservative city where
everybody knows everybody, and everybody is pretty much happy with the way
things are. There are no hipsters to be
seen, indeed, on the streets of Vienna.
However, it appears that a lot of people seem to be comfortable with a
look not dissimilar to the one sported some time ago and now by the frontmen of
Modern Talking. Yet, do not let this boring and provincial feel discourage
you. It is a beautiful city, with a
number of the must-eat-at restaurants. I
mean what would the world be like without the wiener schnitzel or
tafelspitz. And, the best are served in
Vienna at a restaurant of a familiar-sounding name “Plachutta”. One actually stumbles all the time on the
Polish sounding names here; a reminder that a big chunk of Poland for many
years was a part of a liberal (for those years) Austro-Hungarian empire. At Plachutta, you will find the best
tafelspitz (http://www.plachutta.at/en/tafelspitz/)
and wiener schnitzel anywhere, in my humble opinion. The tafelspitz is truly awesome. The broth delicious. The bone marrow spread on a
delicately-grilled bread heavenly. The
beef truly delicate, and … healthy. Yes,
boiled beef, while usually inedible and tasteless, is the healthiest way of
consuming your daily fill of proteins, iron, etc. At Plachutta, the beef has a wonderful taste
and is truly delicious, with huge portions that would put many American
eateries to shame ;)
On the other end of the spectrum,
you have happening / modern places like The Dining Room, or the first one that
is recommended and apparently mandatory: Steirereck, located in a park in a
center of Vienna, with a more casual Meierei, on the floor below. At Steirereck, I would recommend a tasting
menu, with their excellent selection of the much under-appreciated and truly
good Austrian wines. At Meierei, a la
carte will do, with special emphasis on the fantastic selection of cheeses they
have.
There are of course, other places
that should not be missed, such as the Huth restaurants, on the street right
behind the Bristol hotel. They have a
choice of a good Austrian food restaurant, really good pasta at their Italian
place, and an interesting twist on the common / community table at their
big-table restaurant. Of course, it
would not be wise to miss such Austrian classics as Zum Schwarzen Kameel, which
aside from serving their legendary sandwiches, offers, in their restaurant
section, a truly outstanding and classic Vienese fare, with an outstanding
service to match.
The place often skipped by the
tourists, and the one not shared by the locals readily is Meinl am Graben, at
the Julius Meinl store at the crown of Grabenstrasse, with a perfect view of it
to boot. The food is truly delicate and
modern, with wine that includes several vintages of, for instance, Penfolds
Grange Shiraz, or 1961 Chateau Lynch Bages - Grand Cru Classé. We have selected the tasting menu, with the
recommended wines, and were truly blow away.
To sum up: yes, my friend is right:
Vienna is not the most happening and hip place on Earth, but it has enough nineteen-century
charm and good gastronomy, to make us happy at the end of a few-day visit
there.
