Sunday, April 11, 2010

Heurigen Hopping: An Austrian Dispatch with Plenty of Food, Fantastic Views, and Lots and Lots (and lots) of Wine


Mmmm, liters and liters of Wieninger wine:
 
 Heurigen are uniquely Austrian establishments.  At these cozy neighborhood wine taverns on the outskirts of Vienna, wine-growers serve patrons their newest vintages - the "neue wein."  And,  thanks to a decree issued by Emporer Franz Josef II in 1784, which stated that proprietors may, along with wines they've produced,  sell "other food," there's usually a substantial selection of homemade goodies - things like cheese, bread, dumplings, salads, sweets -  on offer as well. 

And in keeping with the unhurried Austrian approach to all things pleasurable,  a heuriger is a place to while away as many hours as you please, to sip and snack and unabashedly relax and enjoy life.  I definitely approve.
When planning your visit to a heuriger (or heurigen, as visiting multiple taverns in one day or evening is certainly an acceptable pursuit)  it's important to do a little research. If you're anything like me, you want to avoid Tourist Central. In the Grinzing area, for example, some (but not all) heurigen cater to tourists.  Buses drop off hoardes of them here so they can down some wine and food and be entertained with cartoonish displays of Austrian folk music performed in costume. 

We had other plans.

For our first outing we chose Nussdorf, also a well known heurigen area, but with fewer tourists. (In fact, the only tourists we met here were a German couple.)  Before settling down to the serious business of eating and drinking, however, we strolled through some vineyards, climbed some monster hills,  and took in the unbelievable view from the top:
Having worked up an honest appetite, we headed for our first heuriger,  the picturesque Kierlinger, which has been run by the same family since 1787. The inviting outside promised good things within:
 

And we weren't disappointed:

It took us a few moments to understand exactly how things work at a heuriger. You get your wine from the waiter, and then you go to the buffet - which is really a glass case filled with food - and pick out what you want. You pay for your food at the buffet, and you pay your waiter for the wine. It's a little  complicated, which I like. So, after our rot wein (red wine) arrived (in delightfully large containers, I might add) we headed for the buffet:
The Liptauer spread, a  piquant blend of soft cheese and spices,  is a specialty here, and is made from their 100-year-old secret recipe. Of course we had this, as well as a lentil salad,  another cheese spread, and what I think was a salsify salad in a creamy dressing:
I was surprised at the many vegetarian (albeit cheesy) options. By now the heuriger bug had bit us hard, so we decided to wander out and try another one. We didn't have to go far, as there was one right next door, Steinschaden. While the buffet was in no way lacking ...
... there was something about Kierlinger that we preferred. Somehow it seemed more homey and authentic.  So, after sampling some sauerkraut, Gorgonzola cheese spread and vegetable strudel (we had been walking a lot after all), we headed back over to Kierlinger for more drinks, where we ended up chatting for hours with Frank and Diane, those German tourists I mentioned earlier.  They agreed that Kierlinger was indeed much more gemutlich!
Besides, just look at how friendly and welcoming Shohel, the Kierlinger cook, is:
The next week we decided to try a more upscale heuriger, Wieninger, located in Stammersdorf, an area rarely overrun by tourists. Knowing full well that we would eat and drink to bursting, we paired this visit with a trip to the Vienna Woods (Wienerwold), where we climbed the terrifyingly high Jubilaumswarte, a spindly tower that rises high above the trees. It was so windy that day, I seriously thought we were going to be blown off. But the view made it worth the vertigo-induced adrenaline overdose:
Climbing and hiking accomplished, we now had heurigen (and wine!) on the brain. Next stop, Wieninger:
 
 Where Kierlinger is rustic, Wieninger is elegant. The food at Kierlinger is homey, like something your Austrian mom might make. At Wieninger, even though there's still a traditional buffet, the food is more like cuisine. Clearly there's a serious chef at work here. We sampled spinach dumplings,  pumpkin gnocchi, beans in pumpkin cream sauce, and  of course cheese spreads:

 
 

That spread  in the photo above right is cheese with barlauch, a unique local plant that tastes like chives with a touch of garlic. I love it, and I even bought bags of Maggi barlauch cream soups to bring back with me! It just happened to be in season when we were there; in fact, we saw people picking it in the Vienna Woods:
 

But here's the best part of our evening at Wieninger. After Poppa Trix and I nearly closed the place down (I guess I wasn't  really thinking clearly when I asked for the full liter of wine ... for myself), I had the chance to speak with Mike, the chef ... and he gave me his recipes for the pillow-like gnocchi with pumpkin sauce and to-die-for beans in pumpkin cream! Those will be the subjects of future posts, I promise:
He was so sweet to take the time to give me these recipes - I could have stayed and bugged him for more, but we had to catch a tram home.   After all that wine, we were lucky that we even managed to find our way back!
 


 





25 comments:

  1. I had lots and lots (and lots) of fun reading this, T! You both look like you really enjoyed every minute of your vacation. I'm very intrigued by your description of barlauch. Sounds fascinating! Great pics! The architecture is so quaint and pretty.

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  2. I can tell you had a great time! beautiful photos, you got to see the countryside and the city, a full rounded trip!

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  3. Woooooooooooow! You didn't waste your time! I've heard about the barlauch before, I'm really curious about it. And was the Wieninger chef as cute as he looks in the photo? ;))

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  4. Oh Trix, I really feel like I'm traveling with you... you were able to ferret out some really true bars... not the traps... just that courtyard make my mouth water and the vineyards on the hills... wowie! I want to know what those blunzen... were and can't wait for the pumpkin recipe!!

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  5. That sure looks like so much fun. All the lovely pictures explain it all!

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  6. what a trip down memory lane! we used to go to grinzing before the tourists found it! i am sitting here eating rye bread thst i just made along with butter and radishes, a habit i picked up while heurigen hopping! too early in the morning for mai wein though! i really enjoyed reading this.

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  7. All this is new to me and you brought me on a lovely journey. I can't wait to see and read all the recipes that you picked a long the way

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  8. Hy Trix,
    Chanced upon ur blog, while blog hopping...Wonderful collection of recipes, with cute clicks you have. Glad to follow u. Do drop in at my blog sometime.

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  9. A real visual feast, almost as good as actually being there! A wonderful story of a quaint, cosy and charming locale - you make me wish I were there..

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  10. How funny Trix, as you were describing and listing the food, I was thinking of that pumpkin bean dish! So glad you got the recipe from that nice chef!
    do you know my great-grandmother, born in Trieste, considered herself an Austrian; she would have been right at home in Vienna, capita of the Austro-hungarian empire!
    Lovely trip and I am enjoying it vicariously thanks to your pics and "compte-rendu"
    Joumana

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  11. How fun! I love the photos and the stories :-)

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  12. Wow, what a great experience! Thanks for sharing all the great pics with us! You certainly had some fun and...wine!!! Can't wait for the pumpkin recipes!!

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  13. So much fun! I would love to taste barlauch, very intriguing!

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  14. have loved traveling with you Trix and cool you got recipes!

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  15. Oh Trix! you look like you're having such an insanely great time!

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  16. What great fun! Wow I feel like I have a piece of your wonderful vacation experience reading these posts such fun posts, love the awesome scenery and food photo's, thanks for sharing so much of your time with us, I can see how hard this is putting it alltogether for us readers! Great job trix! ...

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  17. What a great experience. Love how you relaxed, hiked, drank a whole liter of wine and got to exchange with a local chef. Brost!

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  18. It is so fascinating that your'e from Austria. I have never been and don't know much about the country other than it makes mouth-watering viennoiserie and is home of the amazing Schwarzenegger. I love the photos.

    Nisrine

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  19. What a fabulous trip you seem to be having (full liter of wine and all - I'd be done for the week after that).

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  20. I am going to go back and read this one again and look at those pics, esp the food - such a great time you two had and we all love reading about your adventure

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  21. I really enjoyed reading about your trip. It was almost (a little) bit like sightseeing through your eyes! thanks for recapping for us!

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  22. Gross Gott meine Freund! Ich liebe Osterreich!

    It's been about 9 years since I've been to Austria. Love the place despite the fact I nearly died there hiking. For real dying, not just tod mude.

    Have a Gruner Veltliner on me.

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  23. Awesomeness personified in this post. And oh - Chef Mike is not too bad either! Thanks for taking us along for the ride!

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  24. fantastic. well written. totally absorbed.

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  25. Wow. I have read and enjoyed but you would have taken the full accent to the taste of adventure and amusement. Fantastic.

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