Footloose and Foodist

Underground and Far Above

(Pix courtsey Tripadvisor)

I could have kicked myself (never mind that it’s something that you can’t do to yourself physically) when I realised that I had left the rucksack with the camera back in the hotel room when we walked down the stairs of Zwölf Apostelkeller (The Twelve Apostles Cellar; 1010 Wien, Sonnenfelsgasse 3, Vienna). This was an evening out with some friends based there for drinks. We have to go underground, they said and I expected just another regular pub. There was nothing regular about The Twelve Apostles, in fact, it was irregular every which way.

There might be some who would say it’s so totally touristy but who cares when the awesome factor starts right from the word go. Besides, I love touristy and kitsch. And since I couldn’t kick myself, I slapped my head a couple of times and decided to have a delightful time and check out the website (www.zwoelf.apostelkeller.at) later. The cellar we are told is on three subterranean levels. The entry is somewhat misleading and doesn’t prepare you for what lies beneath. Even as you begin to climb down the first flight of stairs, you realise it is dimly lit thereby accentuating the old world atmosphere. It’s a multilevel cellar, with plenty of diners, drinkers, noise and laughter. This is not the place for fine dining but one for letting your hair down, back slapping your mate and for some strange reason an inclination to narrate bawdy jokes. Yes there are sculptures, or whatever you call them, of the twelve apostles. The merriment factor gets a strong fillip from the band of musicians who play the traditional Heuriger (historical Austrian wine taverns) music. The cellar is said to go back to 1100 (no mistake, 1100!) There was some destruction and some rebuilding but the thick stone walls, the vaulted ceilings and everything about it says Gothic and the dim lighting and the live traditional music takes one centuries back.

Like all Austrian taverns, the wines and spirit list is endless and the food is traditional. What helps, if reading menus in foreign lands is a chore, is the buffet spread. We settle for beer, wines and salads – for dinner we are headed elsewhere. A note of caution - save going to the loo after you pay up, because believe me walking up two flights of stairs on highly spirited legs and walking down to the table again is not a happy experience.

(Courtesy www.mytable.com)

(Courtesy www.zwoelf.apostelkeller.at)

It’s another underground venture! This time it is to Ribs of Vienna, a restaurant housed in the basement vault built in 1591! (Kornas & Bielecka OG Weihburggasse 22, 1010 Wien). Another unremarkable entry, down flights of stairs and we are in a long narrow hall, with a bar on the right hand side and very basic wooden benches and tables in a row lined against the wall. It’s almost lunch-closing time when we walk down, yes they tell us we are late for lunch but yes again, we play the so-far-from-India-and-you-don’t-want-us-to-try-your-famous-ribs-card! The waiters, mostly youngster, shrug, smile and wave us in. We just want the ribs, we tell them. We will give you only ribs, they counter, but do you want a large one or small? When it comes to trying out food for the first time, I have learnt it’s wiser to go with small helpings and order more later if you like it. Small please! When the plate arrives there is nothing remotely small about it. There are two racks of baby ribs, cabbage salad; two slices of bread, mayonnaise and sauce on a wooden board. That’s small! Long after the waiters were halfway through the cleaning I was still licking my fingers.

The flight of stairs down to Ribs of Vienna

That's Small!

Very close to the Opera House is an Italian restaurant called Sole Ristorante (Annagasse 8-10, 1010 Vienna) which, even the locals say is more a Roman trattoria. For a smallish restaurant with a bright yellow board there is lot of drama about the place. We opt to sit outside. There is a formally dressed senior man, silver haired, bespectacled, small built who moves about the place welcoming guest with a flourish, throwing out kisses, very generous with his hugs, posing for photographs, literally bouncing around but ensuring that no guest fills ignored and above all, making sure the service is impeccable. We are told that he is Aki Nuredini, businessman and restaurateur. This place we learn is a favourite with opera stars and celebrities and there is an album to prove it. There also seem to be a steady stream of regular diners who all head for Aki to get enveloped in his hug and smacked all over, especially if you are female, and attractive. I don’t think I saw any guest being turned away, like a magician waving a wand he would organise a table for all. Watching him, you can’t help the grin glued to your face.

I am dying to know all about Aki and thankfully I find the restaurant website on the Internet. It is naturally in German but for some strange reason God Google flopped miserably when it came to translating. All tries and retries came to nought. The home page sketch is however beautiful and I copied that (see below)

If you are at a trattoria you have to have a pizza and we do, very homely, very thin crust, no fooling around with too many ingredients and delicious beyond definition. What has caught my eye is the pasta with salmon and that is what I want, or rather what I point out to the Italian speaking steward. It arrives coated with a saffron coloured sauce and pieces of salmon – there are moments in life, when all your senses, your very breathing is focused on just one thing, this is one such moment. It’s just me and the pasta, everything else becomes redundant, fades out even the basket of bread that I had been gorging on moments before. Maybe I was really hungry, maybe it was the moment, the ambiance, whatever-whatever. Maybe if I go back there again I will squirm over what I am writing now but who cares or as my 7-year niece used to say two years ago when she was reprimanded for doing something she shouldn't have: I am only 5 years old what do I know? So I’m just expressing honest feelings, what do I know?

For the desserts we asked them to give us their best and they did; the eternal Tiramisu and a strawberry mousse. Very stylishly presented and thankfully, it was not just style and no substance – it had both and they vanished in a jiffy.