Restaurant Steirereck – Vienna, Austria

Introduction

Today I continue with my second gastronomic experience in Vienna, the first being in the Restaurant Vestibuel, reported a couple of days ago.

After a rather long meeting and under very wet conditions I found myself in the comfort and warmth of the Steirereck Restaurant in the middle of Stadtpark in Vienna.I selected it after reading the Michelin Red Guide, which has awarded two stars to the restaurant and is overall very enthusiastic about he place.inside

I will start with the food, and finish with the wines.

Part I: The Food

troutThe first bite came compliments of the chef. Trout with onion and yellow ginger. Succulent and full of aromas, a nice way to start the meal.

oysterGillardeau Oysters with buttermilk, glass pasta and pea shoots. This is the first dish in the 5-course set menu of the chef. The dish evolves around the oysters and magnifies their taste and flavors. A subtle and discrete dish.

oxheartBraised “Oxheart” Carrot with fillet, milt and marrow from Styrian beef. When I first read the menu, I thought that this was the heat of the ox! Wrong! Oxheart is a type of carrot, named so because its shape is like the heart of the ox! The braised carrot was served on top of raw Styrian beef fillet sliced paper-thin, and topped with a very light vinaigrette with marrow. The sticks you see on top are a type of rich bread with majoram.

breamGilt Head Bream and Moscardini, with black radish, rocket and parsley. The fish was pan fried to perfection, its fresh firm and juicy. And -as always- the skin was the best bite of all! The bream was served on top of a angel pasta bed and was accompanied by one moscardino in vinaigrette, and paper-thin black radish, which was delicious! I must say that I somehow lost the flavors of the moscardini, this iwas rather neutralized. But if you exclude that, everything else in the dish was perfect.

pheasantPheasant breast with chevril root, chanterelle mushrooms and yellow dates. What a wonderful dish! The breast was cooked to perfection, succulent, full of flavours, accompanied by the mushrooms and the dates. But the real taste booster was at the bottom. The skin of the bird was served with a semi sweet and savoury sauce, and this made the difference!

cheese

Cheese selected from a trolley with 60 different cheeses from Europe (mainly France and Italy). My only comment on the cheese is that next time I visit the restaurant, I will ask to have a five course cheese menu!

Part II: The Wines

I now come to the wines of the evening (wine maker, grape, year):

wine

1. Prager, Gruener Veltliner, 2008. Very young, fresh, a superb introduction to the menu.

2. Hiedler, Riesling, 2008.

3. Emmerich Knoll, Riesling Kellerberg, 2007, Smaragd. A knock-out! ? Never had a riesling like this, and I have already had quite many!  Intense fruity aroma, pepper aftertaste, full body! It stood up to the strongest and most mature cheeses like the best brunello! Totally unbelievable!

Epilogue

Value for money: We were a party of three, and the bill for all of this, which lasted exactly 4 hours with immaculate service, was 140 EURO per person.

Style of cooking: This is the type of cooking that builds on the tradition, but is not blinded by it. Especially in the oxheart dish, I felt that all the centuries of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, were somehow encapsulated in the dish. Hegel would be very proud of this dish, as it more or less excemplifies his concept of history as eternal progress through time.

P.S. At the time of the visit, the restaurant was recommended by the Michelin Red Guide as “two stars”.

Restaurant Cilantro, Arles, Provence, France

Today I continue with a restaurant review from Provence, the picturesque town of Arles.  I want to share with you my experience from the Restaurant Cilantro, a stone’s throw from the famous Roman Arena of the town.

Συνεχιζω σημερα το οδοιπορικο στην Προβηγγια, και την ομορφη πολη της Αρλ, με την επισκεψη μου στο Εστιατοριο Κολιανδρος που ειναι διπλα στην διασημη Ρωμαϊκη Αρενα της πολης.

IMG_0067

The young talented chef Jerome Laurent comes from 6 generations of professionals in the hospitality trades. In 2004, he has decided to open Cilantro in his home town of Arles.

Ο νεος και ταλαντουχος σεφ Ζερομ Λωραν προερχεται απο 6 γενιες επαγγελματιων σε ξενοδοχεια και εστιατορια. Το 2004 αποφασισε να ανοιξει στην γενεθλια πολη του Αρλ το εστιατοριο του.

entranceThis looks like a house entrance, and it is. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of Jerome’s family home.

Η εισοδος στο εστιατοριο, που στεγαζεται στο πατρικο σπιτι του σεφ.

The decor is minimal but quite pleasant, and the staff polite and effective.

amuse

Olive paste and chorizo to wet the appetite.

Παστα ελιας με σαλαμι πικαντικο

scallopsCaramelized scallops served in a foamy bath of aromatic stuff.

Χτενια καραμελωμενα σερβιρισμενα σε ενα αρωματικο αφρο απο βοτανα και μυρωδικα.

artichoke_creamArtichoke cream with black truffle.

Κρεμα αγγιναρας με μαυρη τρουφα.

sweetbreads And now we come to the revelation of the meal, the absolute creation of Nature and the Chef: ” Veal Sweetbreads with artichokes, black truffles and mashed potatoes”.

Το απολυτο αριστουργημα της βραδιας, μοσχαρισια γλυκαδια με αγγιναρες, πουρε πατατας και μαυρη τρουφα!

In my humble experience this dish is a masterpiece and in its divine simplicity it offers you clarity of textures and tastes that is unique!

Θεϊκη απλοτητα, απολυτη ευκρινεια γευσεων και υφης, το τελειο πιατο, μοναδικη εμπειρια.

mash

I would go back to Arles, only to taste again this dish!

Και μονο για να γευτω αυτο το πιατο, θα ξαναπαω στην Αρλ.

Thank you Jerome.

Ευχαριστω Ζερομ.

P.S. Date of visit: March 2009. At the time of the visit, the restaurant was recommended by the Michelin Red Guide as “one star”.

Andra Mari Restaurant, Galdakao, near Bilbao

I found Andra Mari in the Red Michelin Guide and visited it last year (2007). I was positively impressed to the extent that I thought I just was lucky and everything turned out well during my visit. This year I visited Andra Mari again, wondering what the experience would be. I will try to describe it in this post.

The veranda
The veranda

The weathwer was gorgeous and I had the pleasure of eating al fresco in the veranda. Galdakao is a small town 10 km southeast of Bilbao, and is very easy to reach.

The view from the veranda is peaceful, and the air aviation enthusiasts can see all the airplanes as they approach the Bilbao airport, without suffering any noise effects, as they are still at a high altitude (I would say over 500 meters).

The view south
The view south

I had the “Andra Mari” Menu, which is the showpiece of the chef’s artistry and skill.

The start was “foie gras terrine with Pedro Jimenez Jelly”.

Foie Gras Terrine
Foie Gras Terrine

The second dish was “Sardine Fillets with roasted peppers and parmesan cheese”.

Sardine Fillets
Sardine Fillets

An apotheosis of colours followed, with the title “Grilled Summer Vegetables”.

Grilled Summer Vegetables
Grilled Summer Vegetables

The grilled lobster that followed was served with “Amaranto” risotto, which is in fact a cereal popular in South America.

Grilled Lobster
Grilled Lobster

What followed was my favourite dish a year ago. A cottage egg served with octopus. The richness of the egg combined with the octopus flavours will remain unforgettable.

Egg with grilled octopus
Egg with grilled octopus

The tuna loin that came next was a step down from the platform of excitement that the lobster and the octopus had built. I would nopt mind if it weren’t there at all.

Red Tuna Loin with Mango and Apple
Red Tuna Loin with Mango and Apple

To conclude they served a dish with Iberian pork cuts. The taste of the meat was superb, but the dish lacked the finesse and creative intensity of the previous dishes (excluding the tuna). I could live without it and have more lobster with the South American Cereal.

Iberian Pork
Iberian Pork

Deserts came next, starting with a junket with cherries.

Junket with Cherries
Junket with Cherries

To wrap things up they served a sponge cake with pears.

Sponge Cake with Peaches
Sponge Cake with Peaches

Overall, the experience was of the highest level, and in terms of value for money it tops the Basque Charts.

Andra MAri is now formly on my standard Basque Itinerary and for a very good reason. It serves excellent food at a very reasonable price!