Wurstelstand at Vienna

[fergie]

I wonder if anyone can recommend a good sausage stand (Wurstelstand) at Vienna or are they all the same?

I heard that bagel is invented in Vienna? Where can I fine some good bagels?

Has anyone eaten at Boheme (Spittelbergasse 19) or Spatzennest (Ulrichsplatz 1) before? They are both at the 7th district.

[Michael]

Würstelstand: There are several "famous" ones. I have not tried them for decades. IMHO the sausages are better in Germany, but taste is something different for everybody...

Bagels were invented here, the fama goes, but were actually nonexistent until lately, when a local coffee company opened the "bagel station" chain. There you get bagels US-Style, nothing special.

Boheme is average, Spatzennest slightly better. In this area there are much better restaurants serving Viennese cuisine: for example Wolf, Gaumenspiel, Zur Ebener Erde und Erster Stock, Grünauer or Glacisbeisl and other restaurants in the Museumsquartier...

Link: http://www.gaumenspiel.at

[Fergie]

Pls forgive my ignorance, are the sausage purely pork or beef or consist of a mixture of both pork and beef?

I was under the impression that Spatzennest might be cheaper than Gaumenspiel.

What do you think of Immervoll? I noticed someone posted recently that they thought that place to be "pretentious".

Thanks.

[Michael]

Würstel at a Würstelstand have one main ingredient: fat. If you want a decent sausage, get it at one of the high end butchers like Radatz or in a Kaffeehaus, where they server Wieners, only they are not called so, they are either Frankfurter or Sacher Würstel.

I like Immervoll. They serve inexpensive Viennese cuisine of excellent quality.

For further info, I recommend the following book (copied from the Falter site):

Florian Holzer
Vienna's Hot Spots
12 routes through culinary Vienna

"Vienna's Hot Spots" is the guide through Vienna's trendy bars and restaurants. The gourmet expert Florian Holzer takes the visitor on twelve routes through the city, telling where to eat and drink, which hot spots to see and where to be seen.

In Spain it is called "tapeo", in Italy "andar per godi" and in Vienna it is simply the "Beisltour" – meaning, to go from one restaurant, pub or bar to another. The Viennese Beisl has a melting-pot quality where all ages and social classes congregate for a few drinks or a meal and is still one of the greatest institutions for going out.

Beyond the Beisl, (the name derives from a Yiddish word meaning "little house"), Vienna's culinary horizons have been broadening rapidly during the last years. A new bar, restaurant or neo-Beisl opens up almost every other week. The culinary and club scene is young and dynamic. The growing number of lounges, for example, prove that there are other ways to spend an evening than simply going for a meal. The culinary offers range from traditional style menus to Asian, Italian, Greek or French specialities and innovative fusions.

The Viennese "Beisltour" provided the inspiration for the third CITYwalk volume. "Vienna's Hot Spots" helps to find the best and ultimative places to be. It describes the atmosphere and idiosyncrasies of the selected "spots" and tries to capture the spirit of individual Grätzel (sub-districts) and pub conglomerates.

On twelve routes the gourmet expert Florian Holzer takes the visitor on a discovery tour on foot, from one hot spot to another: to the trendy restaurants at the Graben and the very old, original Beisl in the first district, to the legendary "Bermudadreieck" (Bermuda triangle), to the modern places in the new MuseumsQuartier, to the many galleries and "creative factories" and the nearby pubs in Schleifmühlgasse, to the Gürtel, the seat of live music, or to Josefstadt – an ideal area for lovers of organic food and esoteric trends. And of course to the second district, which is right now producing the craziest and most bizarre locations of the city and has thus become the new place to be.

Every route comprises a city map and walk descriptions. Addresses, phone numbers and opening hours facilitate the individual navigation. Supplementary information points out essential deviations from the topic by recommending diversions of all kind.

Author:
Born in 1966, Florian Holzer has studied journalism and a few other things. He has been a restaurant critic at the "Falter" city newspaper since 1988 and served as editor of Falter publishing house's dining guide "Wien, wie es isst …" (Vienna, as it eats/is) since 1989.
In 1996 he began writing restaurant reviews for "trend" magazine and he has been responsible for the dining section of Austria's daily "Der Standard" since 1999. He has published countless articles on dining in Austria and abroad.

Photographer:
Born in 1971, Gerhard Wasserbauer is a freelance newspaper and advertising photographer in Vienna. He has worked together with journalist Florian Holzer since 1999, in 2001 he opened a photo studio in Vienna together with Günther Parth.
He also teaches photography and image processing at the Federal Training and Research Institute for Graphic Arts and Media.

"Vienna's Hot Spots" is available in your bookshop or can be ordered directly from the Falter publishing house.

Link: http://www.falter.at/buch/detail.php?...

[Fergie]

Michael, I know you will find this ridiculous. But the reason I enquire about the meat of sausage is because I do not eat beef for religious reason. Fat my a major concern for me.

But thanks for your advice. It is most helpful. Are the sausages from the high-end butchers made from beef or pork?

[Michael]

Actually, I do not know. Mostly they will use mixtures of pork and beef. At a Würstelstand they will not be able to answer you request, but any butcher will know and tell what he sells !! At the gourmet stores, sausages made from turkey are now very popular, because of their low fat.

BTW, there are many and excellent vegetarian places in Vienna !

[Nyleve]

We ate at a very good sausage stand in the Nachtmarkt. I'll try to describe exactly where it was, because I don't remember what the name of the place was.

There are two main walkways along the length of the market. In between them, there is a row of vendors - meat vendors, bakers, etc. From time to time, there is a place where you can go crosswise through to the other walkway (picture the letter H - the crossbar is what I'm talking about). Along one of these cross-walks there is a very funny little sausage place with stools along the walls and some painted cartoons. Go to the window and order your sausage. They have several kinds and can tell you whether it is beef or not. They cook it, cut it up and put it on a paper plate. You can get a beer, a roll, a pickle or whatever. The place appears to be full of mostly working people. A good sign.

[Fergie]

Thanks for your advice. :)

Have you eaten at places like Gasthaus Wild, Zum Finsteren Stern 2, Beim Czaak, Tancredi, Spatzennest, Gaumenspiel or Immervoll?

[Fergie]

Thanks for your advice. :)

I wonder if you have eaten at Beim Czaak, Zum Finsteren Stern 2, Gasthaus Wild, UBL, Gaumenspiel, Zum Kuchldragoner, Tancredi, Immervoll or Spatzennest before? Thanks

[Nyleve]

We were only in Vienna for two nights (enroute home from Turkey) so couldn't fit in as much eating as we'd have liked. However, we did manage a late lunch at Beim Czaak and it was excellent. I very much recommend it. It's a tiny little place, seems quite authentically local and the food was outstanding. We had very good schnitzel and salad and I honestly can't remember what else but whatever we had it was good. It was just a couple of blocks from where we were staying.

Also managed to have coffee and torte at Demels the next day, which was lovely but stupidly expensive but then what did I expect? A stand-up sausage at Nachmarkt (see previous comment) and a second schnitzel dinner at Figlmueller which was an experience but I didn't think the food was as good as Beim Czaak.

Have fun.

[Michael]

Sorry for commenting again:
All of these places are worth visiting, but they are quite different in kind:

Wild, Ubl, Czaak, Spatzennest and Immervoll are really classic "Wiener Beisl", with a very down-to-earth atmosphere. The food is excellent, but traditional.

Gaumenspiel, Tancredi and Finsterer Stern are more high-end, and so more expensive, but you will still get great value for the money, and much more inventive food !!

[Fergie]

Thanks so much for your comments. I really appreciate your advice. Your information about the price is most useful.

I hope I have not asked too many questions. Can I just ask a last question about Zum Kuchldragoner (at Seitenstettengasse 3 or Ruprechtsplatz 4-5)?

Someone posted here that "Order only the handmade noodles, the house specialty. DO NOT STRAY FROM THESE. They are excellent."

Have you eaten there before? Thank you once again.

[Michael]

No. This is a very crowded inner city area called the "Bermuda Triangle" I usually avoid. This area is the main meeting point of thirsty tourists and Viennese teenagers, and therefore not a main chowhound target.

The noodles might be good, but noodles are not a Viennese cuisine special. So: go to the other places.