Monday, June 27, 2005

Vienna: Do & Co.

Eric has a brief review of our final dinner at Do & Co:

Ahh, back to Do & Co and we can’t wait. This time we add desert and actually eat more, but the bill comes out about 40 euros less than the first time! Both times the total with wine comes to less than 200 euros for the three of us, an incredible bargain considering the quality of the food and the helpfulness of the staff (Eric’s German is, shall we say, weak).

Right off the bat we order the same Gruner Veltliner we had the first time, a 2003 Emmerich Knoll, designated “Reid Loibenberg” vineyard from the Wachau region (write it down). All of the Gruners we’ve tried this trip have been extremely versatile-- have gone with fish, meat, and asparagus—and each one has been vastly different from the others. This is a truly fascinating grape.

We start with foie gras on a toasted brioche and the best cole slaw ever! Ms. Eats goes for the rack of lamb (again from Uruguay) in an olive crust. Excellent! The lamb is cooked just right, pink in the middle, juicy and with a slightly wild taste, like the lamb was actually grazing on a hillside somewhere. Better than the filet of the first visit!

Dad gets the signature dish “Skipper Do & Co,” grilled Irish salmon, monkfish, and loup de mer. We have no idea what loup de mer is, but it seems to be a white fish, skin crisped up from a well-executed high heat searing, but without drying out the flesh. Fishtabulous! And I get the “Kalbsbutterschnitzel.” Did you get that? No? Well, it’s essentially two veal meatballs with mashed potatoes and roasted onion chips. Sounds plain and simple, but the sauce had to have been produced with the assistance of 6 young virgins and at least two pacts with the prince of darkness. Really, the sauce was that good.

The veal was as light as air and probably food processed with herbs and spices until it floats, maybe with an egg. After questioning the waitress we seem to think that the veal meatballs were seared in butter, then the butter was probably cooked with a little flour until you get that nutty aroma, and then something with the virgins and Satan.

Dessert is a trio of chocolate mousse with an elderberry sauce (but it didn’t smell like your father). The dairy and butter in Vienna is unbelievable. I can’t describe it justly. Light light light and creamy. Delicious is too soft a word.

All in all the best food in Vienna, maybe Austria. France has a high bar to beat. (When I die I want to go to hell, that demon knows how to eat!)

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