Austrian Dispatch: Classic Viennese Fare, with a Twist

Viennese cafe culture in action at the Cafe West End in the Mariahilf district:

Grüß Gott from Osterreiche! After three-and-a-half days of eating, drinking, taking in the beautiful architecture, gawking at the incredible Egon Shiele paintings at the Leopold Museum, strolling around the grounds of the Hofburg Palace and trying - with some  modest success, if I do say so myself  - to communicate in monosyllabic German, I have finally found some time to sit back, relax, and share a tiny slice of Vienna as I've experienced it so far. (And of course I am sipping some Austrian wine as I type this!)

No trip to Vienna would be complete without checking out the Naschmarkt, the famous food market that stretches for 1.5km. And given the fact that it's a convenient 20 minute walk from our apartment in the Mariahilf district, Poppa Trix and I made this our first order of business. I was immediately taken with the heady smell of the many spices for sale at the market:

I couldn't resist buying some zaatar, harissa, ras el hanout, and granulated tomato. I definitely plan to return for more before we leave! If it weren't for the fact that I never want to leave this incredible city, I'd really be looking forward to getting home and cooking with my fun new acquisitions. Next, we were stopped by a vendor offering us free samples of stuffed tomatoes and peppers. I know this was meant to induce us to buy something, and guess what? It worked. Behold our glorious antipasto of stuffed peppers, pepperoncini, tomatoes and artichokes:

Check out the paprika that's loaded on that green pepper. So good. To go with this cheesy feast, we split a börak, a spinach filled pastry that Poppa Trix remembered eating when he visited his grandparents in Austria as a kid:

As any guidebook will tell you, wiener schnitzel is an iconic - arguably the most iconic -  Viennese dish. As a non-meat eater, I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't get to try it and see what all the fuss is about. But that was before Poppa Trix and I turned down a random street and discovered this:

 Ah, Formosa Vegetarisches Food.  How do I love thee? Let me count the ways ... One is for your fresh & beautiful arugula salad:

Two is for this soup of broccoli & roasted garlic, with just a hint of mushroom to confer an undertone of earthiness:

Three is for your amazing selection of vegetarian meats, like the schweinfleisch mit sauce (pork with sauce):

But mostly I love you because you serve up an array of classic Austrian meat-heavy dishes, done completely meat-free. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the vegetarian schnitzel with a side of potato salad. The schnitzel was rich and satisfying - even a little gamey, in a good way - and the potato salad was the Platonic ideal of German-style  potato salad:

I hope to make time to visit Formosa again before we leave. Along with schnitzel, the Viennese love their coffee, and on this point I need to make no adjustments - we are in full agreement. The great thing about the cafe culture here is the unhurried aspect. You can sit and sip your coffee as long as you like.  Poppa Trix and I did just that at the Cafe West End, on Mariahilferstraße. (However, when you're ready to pay the bill - die Rechtung - you had better be ready. The waiter will stand and hover until you fork over your Euros.) Poppa went with an espresso with whipped cream:

I, however, went old school and chose a plain coffee with cream. Waiters place baskets of sweets and treats on the table, and you only pay for what you eat: We resisted temptation, however, as we needed to save room (not to mention calories!) for some cakes later on. That, however, is the subject of a future post. Auf wiedersehen until next time!