Cruising the Danube–Part 2

The Third Man

“On our right is the Wiener Riesenrad.”  Our driver was pointing out highlights as we were touring the Ringstrasse in Vienna. A pivotal scene in the movie The Third Man takes place on the Riesenrad, which at one time was the largest Ferris wheel in the world.  For my less cultured readers (and I won’t pretend to be cultured myself since I once tried to read Moby Dick and got no farther than “Call me Ishmael”), The Third Man was voted the best movie in the history of English cinema by the British Film Institute.  Orson Welles starred as the evil black marketeer Harry Lime.  During the later downward trajectory of his career, he hawked Paul Masson wine with his unforgettable delivery of the slogan “Paul Masson will sell no wine before its time.”  Although I had not yet reached the rotundity of the mature Orson Welles, I was becoming progressively girthier as the cruise up the Danube progressed.

I was traveling with Ben Lifschitz, the scion of the Bagel King of Toronto, Louis Lifschitz.  As a teenager in Hungary, Louis (or BKT as he was known to his colleagues) fought the Nazis as a member of the underground.  After the war he settled in Vienna before immigrating to Canada.  He landed his first job in the Café Sacher in the Hotel Sacher on the Philharmonikenstrasse across from the Vienna Opera House.  He became a master pastry chef and was the inventor of the Sacher Torte.  In a fit of nostalgia, Ben and I visited the Café Sacher.

We ordered a Sacher Torte and another Viennese specialty, apple strudel.  The Sacher Torte is a two-layer chocolate cake with apricot jam between the layers coated with dark chocolate icing.  Unfortunately, it was quite dry and overly dense.  Clearly the café had deteriorated since BKT left because the Yelp reviews from 1949 described it as light, moist and flavorful.  The apple strudel, however, was outstanding.  Strips of sweetened (but not overly sweetened) apple were mixed with rum raisins and finely chopped walnuts, spiced with cinnamon and surrounded by a buttery flaky crust.  Dessert perfection. 

After running the annual Vienna Marathon the following day to burn off the calories from the Sacher Café, we dined at Figlmüller, which has been serving wienerschnitzel since 1905.  Figlmüller was recommended by my cardiologist, now my ex-cardiologist.  Both pork and veal are offered, but the waiter strongly recommended the original pork. 

Figlmüller makes its own wines with grapes grown at its own local vineyards.  We ordered the white Grüner Veltliner and the Cabernet Sauvignon, both of which were reasonably priced and excellent.  During the cruise, I sampled a number of Austrian and Hungarian white wines which compete well with more expensive chardonnays.  I would recommend adding them to your cellar.  So as not to become too intoxicated prior to dinner, we soaked up the wine with sourdough bread made from 100% rye with caramelized sweet cream butter.

From this point forward, the meal consisted of one unique dish after another.  The potato field salad was a mix of sliced boiled potatoes and rocket lettuce dressed by a tangy vinaigrette with pumpkin seed oil.  A surprisingly light, refreshing salad. 

I followed the waiter’s recommendation and chose the pork wienerschnitzel as the main course.  A thin tenderloin pork cutlet is butterflied, pounded thin then rolled in flour, egg and breadcrumbs.  It is pan fried in lard until golden brown.  The wienerschnitzel was tender and juicy with a clean flavor of “the other white meat.”  Amazingly, the breading was crisp but not oily.  The only garnish or condiment was lemon for a piquant accent.  The portion was massive, flowing off of the plate.

What else would one choose as a side dish to a giant heap of fried pork other than thick steak-cut french fries with homemade ketchup???

For dessert I ordered the Kaiserschmarrn (which translates into “Emperor’s mess”).  A lightly caramelized, fluffy pancake is shredded into pieces, dusted with powdered sugar and served with stewed plums and apricots.  Who cares about another two or three thousand calories after what has already been consumed???

In preparation for the cruise up the Danube I had purchased an authentic suit of lodenjacke and lederhosen to blend in with the Viennese natives but after dinner at Figlmüller it was necessary to add a few more yards of fabric.

I will leave you with scenes of Austrian street food porn:  

Waldviertler pork and beef sausage stuffed with cheese with horseradish mustard and baguette—Salzburg

Mozart ball:  Chocolate ball with marzipan and pistachio center dipped in more chocolate (note the small nipple of chocolate at the top; the ball is put on a stick so it can be hand-dipped then the stick is removed and the hole is filled with more chocolate)—Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart

Apricot ice cream ball with apricot jelly center covered with graham cracker crumbles—Dürnstein in the Wachau Valley

Linzer tarte cookies—Linz