Schnitzelwirt Schmidt The Joint Neubaugasse 52 1070 Wien +43 1/5233771 http://www.frommers.com/destinations/vienna/N8195.html Cliff Alter Schwede! This place was by far, the best value in terms of cost per gram of food served. The place itself was kind of attractively gritty, in that upon entering, you knew immediately (apart from the name of the joint) that it was not in competition with Café Central. I went with the Garlic Schnitzel, Carolyn had the traditional Schnitzel Wiener Art, and Max went haute couture with his Pariser Schnitzel. Sarah’s was another order of magnitude cooler though, and she’ll tell you about it herself below. Alas, we have only our full-bellied memories of hers; we somehow neglected to photograph it for posterity. Sarah Ok, Cliff covered everything above perfectly. Which allows me all kind of room to wax rhapsodic about my metric buttload of Schnitzel. It was a Schnitzel Cordon Bleu – with ham and cheese. First off, the thing was hanging off both sides of the plate! and it was heavy, to boot. I know this because we ended up taking three quarters of it home and it turned into breakfast for me the following morning and lunch for both Cliff and I that afternoon!! A Schnitzel (for those who don’t know already) is a pounded cutlet of veal or pork (generally) that is then washed in egg and breaded and pan-fried. Because of this, it’s usually pretty thin – say half an inch cooked. This creature that I ordered was easily a little over an inch thick. Why? Because of the stack of ham – equal in thickness to the schnitzel itself – adorning it! The most important part, of course, is not its size or weight, but that it was delicious. So much so that I was able to keep eating it for the next two meals! Here’s the most unbelievable part. Three of us had beers, we all ordered a full-size meal, we all took home leftovers and we spent less than 10€ per person!! In a city where everything seems a little expensive, if not blatantly overpriced, this place is a fantastic value.
Gulaschmuseum The Joint Schulerstraße 20 1010 Wien Austria Cliff We had some great gulash! We ordered off the upper end of the menu and still got away for less than €14. I got the pork gulash labeled “spicy” — and they weren’t kidding. It was a pleasant burn, with plenty of paprika. The Bratkartoffeln were just “Ore Ida,” if you know what I mean. Sarah Weird place, but again, Frommer’s comes through. Honestly, due to my lackluster German skills (or ignorance of Viennese vocabulary), I don’t even know what meat I had, but I think it was either Elk or Venison. Either way, what a fun way to taste the Hungarian influence of the old Austro-Hungarian empire! I had a traditional gulash with a dark rich sauce, packed with paprika – although I think mine was sweet paprika as opposed to Cliff’s hot stuff. It came with more of my beloved Semmelknödel and a small tossed salad. Service was a little indifferent, but everything came out in a timely manner and the price was really reasonable. It’s kind of tucked away in a small side street just down the way from the cathedral, but it’s very much worth seeking out.
Café Central The Joint Herrengasse 14 Wien http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caf%C3%A9_Central Cliff Thanks, Wikipedia. What a swell place! I felt way underdressed here, but in any outfit lacking an umbrella with a duck’s head on the handle and an overcoat and a bowler, I suppose that feeling is natural. We tried to take some pictures of the interior, but Wikipedia’s done a better job (and their images are licensed for distribution…love that). Aside from the decor, and the history, which you can read about at Wikipedia, we ordered (on our first visit) einen Verlängerten and einen Mohren im Hemd (shown at right, click for details). Sarah Welcome to our all-Frommer’s vacation! I swear, the Vienna section of the Frommer’s Austria is impeccable! Although they’ve rarely led us astray, they were unbelievably on the mark for every recommendation in this section. Vienna is famous for its cafés and confections, and this place is like a textbook example of what Viennese café culture was all about at the end of the nineteenth century. The decor is incredibly elegant, but I only felt underdressed until our wonderfully formal, kind and patient waiter attended to us. We both had the same thing (Mohr im Hemd and a Verlängerten) on our first visit and we were so impressed that we got Carolyn and Max to pop in here for a coffee on our last day in Vienna. On the second visit, Cliff had a Marzipan ‘Potato’ (yellow cake inside a marzipan shell, dusted with cocoa powder to simulate ‘dirt’) and I took a chance on a slice of Altenberg cake (chocolatey, creamy, cakey love). It’s a little pricey, but isn’t a slice of sweet creamy history worth it?