The winemakers at Gut Oggau on their local food markets and some very good places to eat Japanese food and drink natural wine in Vienna
EATING OUT
Taubenkobel
Hauptstraße 27, 7081 Schützen am Gebirge, Austria; www.taubenkobel.com
Stephanie’s grew up at this restaurant (pictured above) in the nearby village of Schützen, started by her parents Walter and Eveline in 1992. Last year, Stephanie’s sister Barbara and her husband Alain Weissgerber, a chef from Alsace, took it over. The main restaurant has two Michelin stars and there is also a more informal bistro and food shop next door. We dropped by after lunch for a swim in their frog-filled pond at the back. It’s an extraordinarily beautiful place. Stephanie’s parents now run a small restaurant on the Hungarian side of the lake called Haus im See.
Mochi
Praterstraße 15, 1020 Wien, Austria; www.mochi.at
A Japanese-style restaurant in Vienna, run by two young Austrian guys. We have an excellent lunch here on our first day in the city. Eduard: “We love the people who run it, they’re on the same wavelength and their food gives us a lot of pleasure – it’s something we couldn’t do at home. When we go, we tell Eddie [Dimant, the chef] to bring us whatever he wants. We need to make so many decisions in life, I’m happy in any restaurant where I don’t have to make decisions myself.”
O Boufés
Dominikanerbastei 17, 1010 Wien, Austria; www.konstantinfilippou.com
The more casual of chef Konstantin Filippou’s two restaurants in Vienna, this has a very wide selection of natural wine, which appeals to Eduard and Stephanie. “It’s like our living room,” says Eduard. “We love Konstantin’s other restaurant as well, but sometimes we’re rushing into the city and just want one course, and O Boufés is perfect for that. We were really missing a place like this in Vienna where you could have decent food and a very exciting wine list.”
Meixner’s
Buchengasse 64, 1100 Wien, Austria; www.meixners-gastwirtschaft.at
“A little off-track, but great traditional Viennese food.” – Eduard
BUYING IN
Markthalle Kulinarium Burgenland
Esterhazyplatz 4, 7000 Eisenstadt, Austria; www.markthalle-burgenland.com
“There’s more and more weekend markets popping up around here with local producers. Every Saturday morning in Eisenstadt, the major city in Burgenland, there’s a market that’s only for organic food – it’s very nice.” – Eduard
Markt der Erde
Schulgasse 1a, 7111 Parndorf, Austria; www.earthmarkets.net/network/parndorf
“This market runs every two weeks in the summer and once a month in the winter. It’s a Slow Food initiative with not only certified growers and producers but also artisanal food. These are the two markets I can recommend locally, in Vienna there are more.” – Eduard
Porcella
www.porcella.at
“We have a friend who sells us organic meats from the northern part of Austria. They’ve set up an online shop where you can hard-to-find parts of the animal like intestines and tongue. It’s really good.” – Eduard