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Vienna: Help with Tentative Restaurant Itinerary
which of the Schonbrunn cafes is hte one next to the carriage museum? I hthnk its the Residenz? This is where we had lunch, and the food was quite good, but the service was horrendously slow. I mention this only if you are in a hurry. They seemed to do better at the other cafe....they had a LOT more waitstaff.
For your day at the Hofburg, Cafe Demel is right outside the main gate. I know its very touristy, but I was impressed by the food we had there. Our lunch was wonderful. Getting an outdoor table can be a challenge though.
Vienna: Help with Tentative Restaurant Itinerary
I''m pretty sure Phoenixhof is closed weekends. I had thought they were open Sundays, but when we were there asked the hotel to call and make a reservation, and they never answered their phone or replied on Saturday or Sunday. I never did get there unfortunately.
Any info on Happy’s Bar & Kitchen
we went last night for dinner, after the early Sox game (so arrived about 7:30). There were no tables so sat in the bar.
Service was a little odd...not bad, just disjointed. This may well have been a function of being at a bar table. We had maybe 5 different servers, and no one seemed to know what was already done, or not done. Tea was ordered but never brought. Drinks came, but no one offered a second round until they were long gone.
Food...mixed results, not great. From the appetizers menu we shared an order of duck tacos. We were served 2 small tacos, with shredded duck meat, some guacamole, a little bit of jalpeno, and something creamy ( sour cream mixed with something...it was a little thinner than sour cream). These were quite delicious. Only 2 or 3 bites each, but very tasty.
For entrees, my friend had the big bowl of ramen. Well, the bowl was big, but I wouldn't say the contents were all that big. It was noodles, miso broth, shrimp and veggies. She declared it decent, but really, really salty and a little boring. I ordered the Tuesday "blue plate special", the 1 pound meatball with spaghetti. Well, its not spaghetti, it's fettucine, but that's okay. The meatball itself is kind of ridiculously large. I mean, who needs a 1 lb meatball? I had to take about 2/3 of it home. it was very tasty, and the sauce had a nice spice too it. Although like other things, it was very, very salty.
For dessert we shared an unremarkable nutella tart.
So far, I'm ambivalent about the place. I liked the small plates (the nachos, and the tacos), and I like the cocktails, though I think they are overpriced. I like the bar area, it still seems like a good place for a post-Sox drink and a snack.
Oh, and MCSlim...I was drinking rocks cocktails, such as the strawberry basil margarita, and the tip of the hat (hendricks gin, cucumber, and something). They were very good, not too sweet or over the top, but definitely not 12-14 oz's and I think overpriced at $14. Maybe shaker cocktails are a better deal?
Any info on Happy’s Bar & Kitchen
it didn't seem to be orange-y velveeta style cheese. It was pale yellow, the color of natural cheddar, and creamy. It was a little like fondue, or a queso dip. It didn't harden much as it cooled, so it wasn't straight melted cheese either. I liked it, because the chips don't get all soggy, and you don't have some with more cheese, and some with none.
Hudson/Marlborough, MA Fish Market Meat Market Farm stand?
do NOT buy Kennedy's delmonico potatoes. They are both addictive, and bad for you :) :)
Any info on Happy’s Bar & Kitchen
we stopped in post-Sox game on Friday night just for drinks and a snack. I thought the cocktails were good, but pricey...$14 seems high for a mixed drink. We had their DIY Nachos, which served a plate of chips, and a lazy susan with a small pitcher of melted cheese, some sour cream, salsa fresca, guac, sliced black olives, sliced red jalapenos. I enjoyed this over the usual loaded plates of nachos. but its definitely a smaller thing than you might get elsewhere. They were happy to bring us more chips, though, when we used up the original portion and still had toppings.
Hudson/Marlborough, MA Fish Market Meat Market Farm stand?
there's an okay fish market in Northboro called Captain juds. Otherwise the best bets for meat and fish are either Whole Foods in Framingham or Wegman's. I haven't found a real butcher shop out here, so if someone can mention one they like, I'd love to hear about it. (I have been to O'Driscoll's in Northborough once or twice, and found it no better than the supermarkets).
For vegetables, I like Berberian farms, on Otis St in Northboro. They are particularly good for corn and salad greens, and heirloom tomatos. they don't carry much fruit however.
You may not be too far from Idylwilde Farms in Acton, that's a great stop for fruits, vegetables, and gourmet foods.
None of these is actually in Marlborough or Hudson, but not too far off.
Good escargot at Chloe's in Hudson
I've been several times, and I usually get the escargot and the meat loaf.
I do think they do a particularly good job with the escargot.
Any info on Happy’s Bar & Kitchen
they definitely take reservations...I called yesterday, because I wanted to go for pre-Sox brunch on Mother's day. However, they are not yet open for lunch/brunch. But they would have made a reservation for me, if they were!
They have an Opentable page with info, but it says they can't make a reservation through it yet...I imagine that will be coming shortly.
Vienna and Salzburg report
Now for Salzburg..we were only there for 2 days, so this is much shorter.
Restaurant Elefant -- this is downstairs in the Hotel Elefant (where we stayed). They have tables out on the street, where you can watch the tourists walk by, and look at the old clocktower. Salzburg is so very charming! The service at this restaurant was quite good, a bit more attentive than we found in most places. We both had the chicken shnitzel over salad with pumpkin seed oil. The salad was a bit of potato salad, some carrot salad and also some green salad. And I really love the flavor of the pumpkin seed oil. Pumpkin seeds seem to be very popular in Austria. My favorite rolls were the ones covered with pumpkin seeds. Anyways, the food at Restaurant Elefant was also quite good, and I would definitely recommend them for lunch or dinner.
Zum Wilden Mann -- also in the old city, just around the corner from our hotel. This is a fairly simple restaurant, with good traditional food. We had the cream of asparagus soup -- incredibly good! They made a nice goulash, although the dumplings were kind of dry and dense. For dessert, we had pancakes with ice cream, chocolate sauce and toasted almonds. Yum! Service was haphazard, but okay. Also, important to note this restaurant is cash only....and this isn't posted anywhere. So we were a little surprised when our credit cards were denied.
Our final dinner was at the Panorama restaurant, which is in the fortress at the top of the funicular. If you book the dinner & fortress concert ticket, they will book you up here, and you get a limited menu. We didn't want to be constrained, so we went up without the pre-paid dinner, and also no reservation. It would be wise to have a reservation if you want to eat here. We did end up getting a table, but it was uncertain...they had to make sure no other concert goers were coming.
I had turkey schnitzel this time, served with parsley potatoes and cranberry sauce. Turkey cutlets actually make a fine schnitzel, maybe better than chicken (you may have guessed by now...I'm not a fan of pork or veal. My travel companion did eat both and loved the veal schnitzel best). We also tried the mixed sausage plate, which was pretty good. For dessert, we had to have one more Sacher torte. And you know what? this place made it far better than the Cafe Sacher in Vienna! It was not so dry, the chocolate was thicker, and there was a stronger flavor from the apricot jam.
So I do recommend this place, especially if you are going up to hear a concert in the fortress. Its basically the only place to eat up there (there is a second pub-like restaurant, but it had a pretty limited menu and didn't interest us). For a place in such a touristy location, and with a captive audience, I thought they did a good job. We enjoyed the food.
Vienna and Salzburg report
Sturmi, we visited a market in Salzburg, and they had lots of it for sale. I really wanted to buy some to smuggle home. I was afraid I'd get caught by asparagus sniffing dogs at customs or something.
Also, Marchfeldspargel is fun to say :) :)
Vienna and Salzburg report
We had a marvelous time in both Vienna and Salzburg, and ate lots of delicious food. Nothing that was particularly high end, we preferred traditional beisl and cafes for the most part. I got many good suggestions here, hoping to pay it back a bit with a report.
Our hotel in Vienna was the Maria Theresa, between the Museum Quartier and Spittleberg, so most of our dinners were in that area.
Glacis Beisl -- Right across the street from our hotel, couldn't be more convenient, and this was the best meal of our trip. We had wild garlic soup which was different than I expected and incredibly delicious. I had the tafelspitz, which was flavorful, slice boiled beef served with carrots and leeks, home fries, sour cream and chive, apple chutney with horseradish. The beef is more like pot roast than anything else, but better. And the fresh horseradish and apple is really good. My companion had the asparagus with ham and hollandaise. I've had white asparagus at home, and I don't care for it...but the thick stalks of Marshfield asparagus we got in Vienna were incredibly good. it became a theme for our week, since it was in season, we ate asparagus every chance we got. We tried to get a reservation on Saturday afternoon for Saturday night and couldn't...we did manage to get a table as a walkin, but I wouldn't recommend it. We got the last free table, and people after us were turned away. This was at 7PM.
Boheme -- this is on Spittleberg, on the corner. We didn't have a reservation so couldn't get an outside table, but it was fine inside. The restaurant was recommended by the hotel staff, and reading reviews on tripadvisor, I suspect they have an arrangement with lots of hotels. That said, the food was very good. We tried the schnitzel here for the first time, and it was excellent. I had grilled chicken with the ubiquitous white asparagus and hollandaise, and loved it.
Amerling Beisl -- this was pretty good, but maybe not as good as the other 2. The menu had fewer choices, and service was very slow. But I had fish filets, served with spinach and mornay sauce, and enjoyed it.
Cafe Demel -- we had lunch here. I figured it was a tourist trap and didn't expect the food to be that good, but I was mistaken. I actually had a thoroughly fantastic quiche lorraine. And dessert of course...I had an interesting ice cream concoction with coffee ice cream, and sour cherries and whipped cream. My companion had the truffle torte...definitely the best of the various chocolate cakes that we tried.
Cafe Sacher -- we had a very nice late lunch here. Fried chicken, potato salad and of course, sacher torte. I've decided that the Viennese potato salad with bacon, and oil (no mayonnaise!) is one of my new favorite foods. And yes, the original sacher torte is kind of dry, and doesn't have enough jam flavor. But its a nice place, and a little dressier than the other cafes.
Cafe Museum -- another really good lunch. We tried asparagus cordon bleu here. They wrap the asparagus with cheese and ham, then breadcrumbs, and deep fry. It's served with tarter sauce, which is lighter and better than the stuff we call tarter sauce in the US. Yes, this dish is as decadent and delicious as it sounds.
Konditorei Oberlaa -- this is about a block or 2 from the Albertina. I mention it because it had the best ice cream of the trip. A great place to stop for a snack on an 80 degree day (which we had a lot of...who knew it would be 80-85 and sunny every day, the first week in May???)
Okay, that covers most of the highlights of Vienna. Will come back and add Salzburg in a reply...
Gluten Free Tasty Dining in Worcester for Saturday Night 4/21.
The Sole Proprietor actually has a gluten free menu, including beer and desserts. I went with a friend who has celiacs about a year ago, and she was quite pleased that there were lots of choices.
Lobster Rolls and Chowder near Fenway Park
Had my first fish tacos at El Pelon since it re-opened...Yum!!
Also walked past the new Yard House Pub, and thought it looked very appealing with outdoor space with heaters, and lots of folks drinking tall beers. It wasn't overly crowded post-game, either...although this was on a night the Sox lost 18-2 and everybody went home early (or maybe they were crying in their beers).
Let’s make a list of obnoxiously loud restos
downstairs at Russell House was very loud on a Saturday night.
Trade was deafening.
I have to agree though, that Grill 23 might set the bar.
Visiting Boston in July - Best Farm-to-Table?
I love Oleana too.
Another option might be EVOO in Kendall square. they do a nice job with local foods.
Are my picks okay?
I wonder if the bread pudding you are thinking of was at Eastern Standard? I don't know if they serve it the morning, but they are open for breakfast. I've been there for brunch and thought it was great.
Looking for great food outside of Boston
thanks for that tip Kat...that's close to my office, and I had no idea it was there. Will definitely make a lunch trip!
Looking for great food outside of Boston
oh, I almost forgot...Oga for sushi! that's definitely a gem.
Looking for great food outside of Boston
slozier, I live a bit farther west, and I sympathize...there's really a shortage of special places in these 'burbs.
Sichuan Gourmet is definitely a good choice. Also Red Pepper, a little farther west is good authentic szechuan. I like Uncle Cheungs too.
Sel de la Terre in the Natick Mall is not bad. and it doesn't feel like a mall restaurant at all.
Ditto Lumiere for high end dining, its terrific and easy to get to. You can also get to Waltham relatively quickly, which adds a lot of other choices. I like La Campania for high end Italian. and I like Solea for tapas. Il Capriccio is pretty good too, also upscale Italian.
Some people like Viva for Mexican in Wayland. I have to admit, we went once and were unimpressed. But I did like the ambiance and the service, would give it another try.
Tomasso's, in Southborough is another possibility.I hesitate to recommend it...for years it was a go-to place for us, but then the quality and service slipped, and the prices stayed very high. We stopped going. But they have a new chef as of last week, so maybe it gets another shot. I just wish they would train their waitstaff how to handle a good bottle of wine. The winelist is still excellent. but when the waitress shakes up the sediment in the bottle while decanting it ...pouring all the sediment in to the carafe and the glasses, well, it really spoils things.
Lobster Rolls and Chowder near Fenway Park
Peldog, I hope you have a great weekend. This is a fun thread and is getting me psyched for the season to start. I will be there for the home opener in 2 short weeks !
Lobster Rolls and Chowder near Fenway Park
I'm looking forward to Carl Everett and Jose Canseco showing up :)
and do you think Clemens will come??
Lobster Rolls and Chowder near Fenway Park
you do know WHO the El Guapo was named for, right? Otherwise you must be a pretty young/recent Red Sox fan :) :) Here's a hint...it's quite a large burrito, for a large relief pitcher appetite.
Lobster Rolls and Chowder near Fenway Park
while undoubtedly not the cheapest, you could eat breakfast at Eastern Standard. I've never had it (though I have been there for brunch), I imagine its very good.
Lobster Rolls and Chowder near Fenway Park
while this true, somehow getting your peanuts handed to you isn't right though. You need them thrown at you, from several rows away, and potentially landing in your beer...or your neighbors beer. I mean, that's a necessary part of the Fenway experience, isn't it??
Russell House Tavern...everyone's favorite small plates there?
we went there a few weeks ago, and I agree the pizza we had was one of the best things. We tried the one with duck confit and stinky cheese and it was delicious.
Also the smoked lamb belly crostini was incredibly tasty.
I did find the fries over salty. and I like salt.
Lobster Rolls and Chowder near Fenway Park
Since this thread has pretty much turned into the definitive "what to eat near Fenway", I'm going to put in a plug for the newly re-opened El Pelon on Peterborough. If the walk to Speeds seems too far, and you are looking for a quick bite go get some fish tacos or an El Guapo burrito at El Pelon.
I go to about 15 games a year, and I probably get fish taco's pre-game for about half of them (or at least I did, until the fire closed them down for a couple years).
Lobster Rolls and Chowder near Fenway Park
I have to admit...I've never been to Neptune. Since I live in the 'burbs, I just don't go to Boston restaurants that don't take reservations.
Summer Shack will generally get panned on chowhound, and I know some have had bad experiences there. But I have eaten the pan roasted lobster at 3 different branches and loved it every time. I also like the fried clams, and the grilled clams with garlic butter. They do a nice job with oysters too (I don't eat them, but my husband always orders them there). So I agree with Matt, that its decent if you order the basics. I think they have pretty good chowder too, though I admit its been some time since I had it.
I don't know McGreevys. Game On is kind of cool, with good beers and loads of TV's, but the music is deafening. I like Boston Beer Works, although it tends to be very crowded. the bar at Eastern Standard is the best for cocktails, but also will be a zoo. Right next door is a new cocktail bar called the Hawthorne. I'm hoping to try that out sometime soon, but I hear there are lines out the door. I've never been to the Bleacher Bar, but I would definitely recommend that. you can actually watch batting practice from in there.
Vienna meal pre/post opera -- suggestions please?
thanks a lot Sturmi. I've already got a good list of recommendations from many of your other helpful posts. This really helps a lot.
Vienna meal pre/post opera -- suggestions please?
We will be in Vienna in early May, and one night (Wednesday) we have tickets for the Staatsoper at 7:30.
If I were in New York, I would eat dinner at 5:30, and lots of places would have pre-theater menus, this would be normal behavior.
If I were in Paris, I would have a snack, then a light meal afterwards because nothing would be open for dinner at 5:30, and Parisians would look at me like I had 2 heads if I tried to make a reservation that early.
I'm guessing that Vienna is more like Paris, is this right? Do people generally dine after the opera?
And can you make suggestions for both options...perhaps a quick snack at a cafe...a glass of wine, a small plate or 2. And then a good place for a light meal afterwards?
Many thanks!
