MILK, of all things, headlines the menu at one of Vienna’s most acclaimed eateries.
Meierei, which translates loosely as “dairy,” is the more casual, milk-obsessed offspring of Steiereck, the glamorous Relais&Chateaux restaurant known for its cutting-edge Austrian cuisine and idyllic setting in the Stadtpark (City Park).
The two restaurants share a magical building that was part
of the city’s dairy, way back when there were more sheep and cows here than
tourists. Upstairs, and facing meadows and tree-shaded paths, is the elegant
and expensive Steireck. Downstairs, Meierei hovers alongside the gravel promenade skirting the Wienfluss (Vienna river). The setting is sublime.
The monochromatic milky-white décor -- slatted tables, chairs, cushions, plates -- is made all the more dramatic by the shocking neon green-and-yellow hand-painted floor and bar. It’s a remarkably peaceful place. We went on Monday at 2 pm because the famed hot strudels come out of the oven each day at 1 pm (apple strudel) and 2 pm (milchrahmstrudel/milk-cream strudel). We sat on the open terrace, serenaded by chirping birds and, across the river in the trees, a practicing flutist playing “Je veux vivre,” Juliet’s song from Gounod’s opera “Romeo and Juliet.”
Meierei’s menu and Web site boast: “We serve everything cool
that is produced from milk.” The menu's first page lists whole milk, sour milk, butter milk, goat’s
milk, soy, rice, chocolate…you get the picture. (Cocktails, beer and wine are
also served and several tables were sipping champagne when we visited.) But, far more interesting are the flavored milks that seem
to be the buzz among Meierei fans. I was dying to order the warm milk flavored
with bittersweet chocolate, orange and ginger. But, since it was about 80
degrees in the shade, I settled on a cool glass of lavender milk (all milks are
whole and from local dairies). The also-rans included strawberry milk, banana,
cardamom, red beet, vanilla and more. A glass costs about $3. The lavender milk was delicious. Wish I could say the same about the famed milk-cream
strudel. It looked lovely enough on its elegant glass plate, but I found the
pastry limp and skimpy, and the filling short on flavor and slightly rubbery.
Fortunately, at the opposite end of the Satisfaction Spectrum were the
white asparagus that my husband ordered. Cooked perfectly, gently swabbed with
butter and sprinkled with fresh herbs, including fragrant bits of lavender
flower, they were among the best I’ve ever tasted. (Readers of my blog know
from past posts that I’ve eaten my weight in the slender stalks several 
times
over.) The accompanying boiled potatoes also had extraordinary flavor. Meierei boasts that its impressive cheese tray (actually
three enormous trays) contains 150 cheeses from 3 countries. The menu also
includes an interesting risotto, a fish entrée or two and the ubiquitous
Wienerschnitzel.
While I’m not racing back for the strudel, I do plan to
visit Meierei again some evening to take advantage of the fairytale setting,
along with a dinner of wine and cheese.
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