Restaurant Gasthof Goldgasse is striving to be as well-known as the street whose name it bears. Its Altstadt (Old Town) location is a centuries-old curving passageway barely wider than the horses and carriages that once passed shops and inns, and other buildings lost in time.
Mikio Colinni is the dining room manager and sommelier who warmly welcomed me, and fulfilled my requests for Austrian wines. The room he oversees is respectfully Austrian with its traditional designed wooden chairs, white tablecloths and cloth napkins. The cream of artichoke soup with black truffles was my first indication that autumn dining in Austria might be mushroom heaven. The black slices were plentiful and the forest aromas explosive. Served with the refined and velvety soup were three skewers, each holding a golden fried sweetbread, which sent a second message that dining in Austria could be elegant.
Filling my request for a glass of white wine, Colinni poured the biodynamic 2022 Hirsch, Zobing Riesling from the highly regarded Kamptal region. Its full body was built on ripe grapes offering delicious baked fennel and ginger flavors with a dry finish.
My main dish of pheasant brought another shower of black truffles, but that didn’t prevent me from requesting a side order of mushrooms, which the server delivered piled high in a bowl. When I expressed my astonishment at the quantity and quality for 10 euros, she replied, “we have mushrooms everywhere, so they are nearly free.” They were also perfect.
Blaufrankisch is one of the first red wines I tasted when being introduced to Austrian wines a decade or so ago. My memory of its tannins brought an element of surprise when Colinni selected the 2022 Krutzler, Eisenberg appellation Blaufrankisch to pour with my pheasant. Whether it was the vintage, Krutzler winery’s style, or both, this Blaufrankisch was supple and black-fruit flavored. I requested a second glass to enjoy with the creative dessert of Plum Tart Tatin with buckwheat ice cream.
Finishing this delicious introduction to Austrian dining, I stepped into the brisk autumn air and quieter Goldgasse street thinking of the dinners awaiting me.
A short taxi ride from the center of Salzburg brings you to the stylish Esszimmer restaurant owned by the husband-and-wife team of chef Andreas Kaiblinger and dining room manager Andrea Kaiblinger. They introduced their Michelin one-star restaurant with a delicious amuse bouche of a shiny emerald-colored puree of pea as the base for slices of a porcini mushroom that centered a nugget of cow’s cheese and pieces of macadamia nuts.
In keeping with my program of exploring Austrian wines, Mrs. Kaiblinger recommended Jurtschitsch winery, Rose Brut, nonvintage sparkling wine from her extensive list. The information on the back label added to my impression of the professionalism of Austrian winemakers: Certified organic, made using the “Methode Traditionnelle,” meaning it followed the procedures for making Champagne, and disgorged in October 2021.
Turbot caught off the coast of northern Europe, namely England, France and Holland is firm, meaty, intensely flavored and a world of difference from the thin, lightly flavored fish bearing the same name that inhabits the waters of the Atlantic Ocean bordering Canada. Keeping the focus on the prized fish, chef Kaiblinger propped it on a mound of creamy potatoes and dressed it with slices of sweet red pepper and capers. Such simplicity kept the turbot’s rich taste at the forefront.
Red meat is not my passion, but I make an exception for rack of lamb. Esszimmer’s chefs applied Mae West’s adage “too much of a good thing can be wonderful,” by adding two pot stickers of ground lamb with cooked scallion in the pasty to the two lamb chops gracing the plate.
Depending on location and producer, St.Laurent grapes can display aromas and flavors ranging from Bordeaux’s regional merlot bottlings to Burgundy’s Fixin red wine. Such a range makes it difficult for consumers, but Juris winery is an easy choice. Its location in Gols on Lake Neusiedler in Burgenland is the warmest vineyard area of Austria. The 2017 Juris, St.Laurent, Golser, was fully developed with soft tannins, blackcherry flavor and a pleasing partner to the lamb in both of its presentations.
Our sweet parting was a milk chocolate covered nougat accompanied with fig wedges, quenelle-shaped vanilla ice cream, and pools of dark chocolate. The final glass of the Jurtschitsch Rose was slowly drained as we took in the tastefully spacious room with its flower paintings.
Tucked away off a suburban street is the show room and store for the upscale, elegant Austrian clothier Gossi. After you view the styles of women’s and men’s fashionably dressed mannequins, and perhaps an inspection of the store’s beautiful fabrics, you’ll enter Merkel & Merkel restaurant for an evening of its remarkable creations.
The understated dining room has a calm avocado coloration on its walls and beige banquettes with green corner pillows. It is overseen by a hostess-server, who has been part of the Merkel team since the couple entered the restaurant business five years ago.
In the center of a bowl, a white golf ball-shaped cheese sat on sweet wine-braised radicchio surrounded by dehydrated raspberries, making this amuse-bouche as striking as the well-dressed mannequins in front of the restaurant entrance. The server suggested pairing it with the 2023 Gemischter Satz Viennese white wine made from a field blend of nine grapes by the Wiener winery.
I continued to enjoy this full-bodied, multi-scented and richly flavored wine with my first course of Vitello Tonnato, whose presentation signaled the Merkel’s courtier capabilities.
The blue-ish gray bowl was capped with swirling rice noodles intertwined with baby mache leaves. Under this stunning arrangement was a thick veal sauce coating pieces of marinated tuna, veal and capers, and dot-size radish wheels. It was an eye-catching presentation.
Tagliatelle arrived with a shower of black truffles that appeared to be the seasonal norm in Austria. This time, they were bound to the pasta with butter and cheese. The fresh, smoky and forest-scented truffles were delicious, and challenged my desire to be in Piedmont for autumn’s truffle season.
The deep purple 2022 Grassl, Zweigelt, Rubin Carnuntum appellation is an organic wine with black pepper and blackberry flavors, a silky texture and long finish. It was a good friend to the black truffle pasta presentation.
Two slices of a saddle of venison kept me on the seasonal path. Under and around them was my favorite autumn starch, celery root. It was as thick and rich as parsnips and elevated the rose color of the venison.
Accompanying the dish was the 2021 Paul Achs, Pannobile Reserve, Golser, Burgenland, a blend of 30% Zweigelt and 70% Blaufrankich. Certified biodynamic, Achs is one of Austria’s top winemakers.
Dessert arrived in an antique Champagne gold glass bearing a 21st-century dessert: honey and passionfruit “caviar,” which was created using the technique of molecular cooking. The presentation merged two complementary foods, then elevated it with a base of banana cream, which had the density of panna cotta with cream brulee’s richness. Around it all was another shower, this time of banana chips.
The new Michelin Austrian guide will be published soon, I would not be surprised to find Merkel & Merkel with its first star. They deserve it.
As I departed Salzburg, I thought about the image of Austrian food: weiner schnitzel, boiled potatoes with parsley, boiled beef and pot roast. I discovered that like most cliches, it’s a veil that research easily sees through. I found cutting-edge food and well-made wines, talented chefs and winemakers, knowledgeable sommeliers who lit up when asked about the Austrian wines on their list.
Words by John Foy
Photos by John Foy and Rose Sangiovanni
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