Food

Gasthaus Poeschl – Your Cosy ‘Local’ in Central Vienna

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During my recent trip to Vienna for my day job, Gasthaus Poeschl, which I had never heard of before, was one of three restaurants recommended by the local work colleagues (the other two ones I had known before: Café Korb and Café Englander; click on the links for the blog posts). Great Atmosphere More or less opposite the street from another favourite of ours, Zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer, Poeschl immediately took me in with the cosy vibes of a place where locals congregate to have a meal and exchange some rumours. There was a fair bit of noise in the room. Some guests had brought their kids, others were involved in loud discussions about the sense or nonsense of the latest Covid restrictions. I admired the waiters for their agility and grace, manoeuvring three or four plates at a time through the tiny space between the bar and the tables.   […]

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Food

Fine Dining in Edinburgh: Martin Wishart

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Before the Covid crisis, Ms B and I visited Edinburgh. As it happened, the anniversary of our first date fell into that period. So we decided to treat ourselves to a meal at Edinburgh’s first and longest-standing Michelin-starred restaurant: Martin Wishart. The Chef The restaurant’s homonymous owner and chef is a proud Scotsman who was born in town. At the age of 29, after years of training under Albert Roux, Michel Roux Jr, and Marco Pierre White, he founded this eatery in 1999. Two years later it was awarded its Michelin star and has kept it ever since. Well done there. French traditions with a modern twist Wishart’s cooking is based in French traditions and techniques, but with a modern twist. He puts a strong focus on locally sourced, high-quality ingredients wherever possible. Since opening his flagship restaurant, he successfully opened two more restaurants, one in the same city, and […]

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Food

Cafe Korb – Vienna’s Artists’ Haunt

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In 1906 the Kaiser Franz Joseph Lebens- und Rentenversicherungs-Anstalt (insurance company) moved into the newly-built premises at the same time as Café Korb moved into the ground floor where it still sits today. The emperor himself rocked up for the usual free bubbly and canapes. The café was owned and operated by Amalie and Adolf Korb, who had not only been successful as restaurateurs but also as parents of one of the most famous sopranos and dancers of her time: Jenny Korb. The complex around the initial insurance company main building was rebuilt around 1960. The new owners of the venue, family Widl, decorated the premises in the day’s fashion: functional early 1960s style. Much of the interior (like the wooden chairs, the Formica table-tops) is still the same as in the 1960s, with much love and effort going into maintenance and repairs. Keeping in tradition with its beginnings under […]

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Food

Zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer, Vienna – One of our Favourites in Town

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Having spent four or five days in Vienna nearly every year around New Year for seven or eight years, with several visits further in the past, I was surprised when I found out recently that there was supposed to be this famous, long-standing, traditional restaurant just a few steps away from St. Stephen’s that had escaped my culinary net so far: To the White Chimneysweep, or: Zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer. I can only presume that one of my local contacts must have pointed me away from it. But why… was it that unfortunate Sissy joke I had made a few years ago? Or that argument about who does the best strudel, Bavaria or Vienna…? Note to self: keep mouth shut more frequently. One thing that is certain, is that the restaurant, founded in 1848, has an exceptionally proud history. Perhaps best known is the fact that it was the first restaurant […]

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Food

Conger Steaks and Spicy Prawns with Sweet Potato and Spinach

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Ever since I went on a deep sea conger fishing trip from Brighton about a year ago, I got my mind set to cooking some of those lovely eels. Back then, none of our group were able to catch a single conger eel, but luckily enough there is Borough Market. You don’t find conger on offer very often, but during my last visit they had a whole big conger resting there on the ice in the display tray, untouched yet by anyone. I ordered three 1.5-inch thick steaks, and the guy behind the counter started chopping away like a young Bruce Lee. I also purchased some prawns, herbs, spices, sweet potatoes and normal potatoes The rest of the ingredients I already had at home.   Conger has a proud history as a food fish in Europe. The 12th Century Norman Taxation Pipe Roll mentions two establishments for the drying of […]

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