BEST MEAL I'VE HAD IN VIENNA
That's a strong statement, but I'm sure this was the best meal I've had in the last 3 weeks (Slovakia for 3 weeks, Vienna the past 4 days...and I've eaten some great food).
At first I was a little worried they didn't have an English menu, and my wife who speaks German had a little trouble translating most of the menu. The waiter was happy to translate the menu for me and this eased the experience.
We started with breaded fried chicken livers with fresh greens and large beans that was in a vinaigrette. It was a well-balanced dish with each ingredient complementing all the others. DELICIOUS.
I ordered pork cheeks with smashed leeks (or something similar) with a rich sauce. First things first, it was awesome. There were 3 large pork cheek medallions and they were extremely tender -- the butter knife slid right thru them. The smashed leek-something reminded me of mashed potatoes. And the sauce tied it all together and was the right balance not to get overwhelming even towards the end of the dish. Oh and almost forgot, the dish also came with fried mini potato wedges, extra crispy on the outside, steamy and soft on the inside. This was the perfect vehicle for the gravy, meat, and potato-leek stuff. AMAZING.
My wife got duck breasts atop vegetables in a curry sauce. The duck breasts were meaty and cooked perfectly. The sauce was great and went great with those fried potatoes from the other dish.
We both finished everything on our plates and were stuffed but I knew by the food we already ate, desserts would be just as good. Again, the waiter translated the dessert menu. Each one seemed original and intriguing but I decided on getting one to-go...giving us a good 45 mins to make room while heading back to our hotel.
I decided on these raviolis, filled with plum jam, covered in crumb, with plenty of plums in sauce on the side. Dessert did not disappoint. There were 3 decent sized raviolis and a trough of plums in sauce. The jam inside the raviolis was sweet and thick enough to not drip out when cut. The star of the dish was the plums in sauce. Slightly sweet and tart, it complemented the ravioli, jam, and crumb perfectly. (Honestly, I could use a jar of those plums).
This entire meal was excellent. The worst part about it was the non-alcohol beer I accidentally ordered.
TL;DR (Too Long;Didn't Read): Yum, yum, yum! One of the best meals I've had in Vienna. Quality menu and ingredients. I would (and may still) return for a second meal!! read more