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Helmut Oesterreicher |
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American Dream Cuisine™
The Steirereck in Vienna, Austria receives |
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Society |
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6 Stars &
Stripes for
Society Cuisine & Service |
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The Ultimate Award:
Seven
Stars and Stripes ™ |
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The American Dream Magazine Team
is proud to present the Steirereck Restaurant with 6 Stars and Stripes for
outstanding world-class, innovative cuisine and superb, ultra-professional
and conscientious service. Hats off to Family Reitbauer and Executive Chef
Helmut Österreicher and his capable staff:
The Steirereck: Steirereck Bienvenue at Austria´s leading cuisine:
As the well-dressed head valet from the Grand Hotel Wien hailed a cab for
us, I was still busy fumbling through my Knopf City Guide for Vienna to
see if I could determine the exact location of the Steirereck Restaurant,
represented by Relais & Chateaux as one of the finest restaurants in
Europe. Rolf and I decided that apart from being a compulsive map freak,
our efforts would be for nothing since every cabby in Vienna must know precisely
where this superb, elegant eatery is located. |
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| ‘Ja freilich’ was the
cabby’s response when given the name of the restaurant and this just
confirmed our private theory. The restaurant is located on the Rasumofskygasse,
3rd district just a few minutes from the inner ring center of Vienna. |
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The atmosphere began as we stepped
out of the cab and headed toward the door past rows of mature chestnut
trees being stirred by an east wind probably originating somewhere
out there on the vast Hungarian plain not far from here. |
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| History has made Vienna a veritable
melting pot of cultures and traditions, as we were about to experience as
we entered the establishment through dimly lit portals. |
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quick glance to our left through an elegant atrium grudgingly revealed the
most serene vision of well dressed Viennese locals happily dining and conversing
with one another, a favorite pastime of residents. |
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| Our reservation was quickly noted
and we were seamlessly escorted to our table past the same happy campers
we saw from the outside, oblivious to our entrance and quite content
to enjoy each others’ clandestine conversations, as if a scene
were lifted out of the movie ‘The Third Man’, the classic
spy thriller about Vienna after WW II. |
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Frau
Reitbauer and John Lomitola
accompanied by the Chef de Cuisine |
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Upon being seated, we were greeted
promptly and introduced to the owner Frau Reitbauer who graciously
welcomed us and began laying the groundwork of what was to become
a memorable evening. As she made her way around to all the other guests, |
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| Rolf
and I started to realize that every interaction by all members of the staff
contribute to the total experience of every guest's satisfaction. |
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| As we were perusing the extensive
menu, which emphasized the diverse cultural influences of Vienna's
imperial past, we were greeted by two lovely, impeccably dressed servers
with impish smiles pushing a garadon piled high with every kind freshly
baked bread one could imagine. |
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| Our appetite began to develop with
every mention of the next special bread to be combined with fresh cream
butter or pumpkin seed oil, a regional specialty for the season. Rolf and
I were still pondering the bread choices, seemingly overwhelmed by the anticipation
of so many flavors about to assault our senses, when the sommelier arrived
with the first of the all-Austria wine selection to be served with each
of our courses. |
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My course of consume with semolina
dumpling topped with caviar, was accompanied by 2002 Zieregg Müller,
(Cabernet Sauvignon blanc, Muskateller & Riesling) while Rolf's
goose liver pate coated fresh fig, was paired with a 2002 Welschriesling
Spätlese lieblich, Feiler - Artinger (Rust, Burgenland). |
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Next came the delicate flavors and
aromas of fried yellow boletus (chanterelle mushrooms) sliced very
thin and arranged in a spiral, together with 2001 Weissburgunder Jägerberg,
Sabathi (Südsteiermark).
Not to forget the rock lobster tail served over steamed chicory, served
with 2000 Weissburgunder “Kranachberg”, (Sattlerhof, Gamlitz).
We must say that at this point we were wondering how it was possible
to improve upon this imaginative bucolic and earthy presentation,
which again reminded us of what it must have been like dining with
the aristocracy during the Imperial days. |
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| A small interlude was in order
now as an opportunity to savor the incredible tastes of what was being woven
for us by such capable hands. One of the adorable little bread girl returned
to our table offering further gifts of 'brot' when we noticed a small lapel
pin that she was discretely wearing. Upon asking, she informed us that it
was symbolic of her qualification as a sommelier, which of course made us
applaud the incredible depth of knowledge reserve as a further indication
of 'World-Class' service to go along with the cuisine in the Steirereck.
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| Our next courses began to arrive
with anglerfish coated with fresh crisp breadcrumbs and served over
a light tomato broth with octopus, joined by a 2000 Sauvignon Blanc
smaragd, (F.X. Pichler, Wachau) from the banks of the Danube. Rolf
received the saddle of venison with traditional red cabbage, together
with a 2000 Domovina, Konrad Mariel, (Wulkaprodersdorf). |
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It is now time to reflect on just
why it is that Executive Chef Helmut Österreicher was voted the best
chef of the decade in all of Austria, by Gault Millau, the foremost gourmet
guide in Europe. The rating bestowed upon the Steirereck of 19 chef’s
hats out of a possible 20 classified it as one of the world’s best,
and the dinning experience so far has held this to be true.
While our senses were running wild and our imagination unabated as to the
next course, we paused to ask if we could possibly meet the man behind all
these incredible visual and gustatory creations for the palate. |
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John Lomitola and Helmut Oesterreicher
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Instead of entering the kitchen
as expected, Rolf and I were led to a narrow stairway leading down
to what seemed like a dungeon. The lower we went, the cooler it got
until we arrived at the bottom where we were met by the sight of Executive
Chef Helmut Österreicher sitting at a table in the middle of
the room with a bottle of Canard-Duchene Brut champagne on ice surrounded
by several glasses.
Here we were, face to face with the country’s best chef deep
in the bowels of the Steirereck’s world-class wine cellar. |
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| Chef Österreicher’s philosophy
is simple and straightforward, to give every guest the very best by sight,
smell and taste while using the freshest of ingredients in an uncomplicated
way. |
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Little did we know that upon our
arrival back to our table, we were about to be surprised by one of
the most creative innovations which we have yet to see used in a restaurant.
One of our cute little impish bread girls was now standing in front
of a gara don loaded to the top with fresh live herbs of every color
and scent.
As we were being instructed as to the difference between the herbs
we began to make choices that would result in the finest, freshest
pot of tea we have ever experienced. |
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| Immediately following the herb
cart came an assortment of Austrian cheeses that would have been a feast
on its own without the rest of the dinner if we had had the choice in the
beginning. |
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Cheeses from Austria are some of
the finest and are virtually unknown outside of the country. Milk
used in the processing of these cheeses still arrives fresh and unpasturized
to the small boutique style cheesemakers doors, and is minimally processed
before being released for sale.
The fact is that these cheese selections were by far the most flavorful
and fresh tasting we have ever experienced, and we were encouraged
to drizzle some Styrian pumpkin seed oil on the plate to use as a
compliment to the cheeses. |
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| American Dream Tip: Take
a few bottles of this fine product home with you to give as gifts! |
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| What could possibly top this already
delectable and innovative assault on the senses? We were well prepared
for the final event as we sipped our Viennese coffee specialties,
a 'Grosse Brauner' and a 'Mélange'. As we were presented with
a chocolate-soufflé with chestnuts and rowanberries together
with a glass of 2000 Port vintage, (Burmester), it became apparent
that we had just finished perhaps one of the greatest culinary experiences
to which we had ever been exposed. |
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by John Lomitola
& Rolf Staehler
Editor-in-Chief: Ingrid Lemme
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