Meal #45: Austria

Austria is a country very proud of its meat. In fact, supermarkets in Vienna often sport signs announcing ‘Osterreiche fleisch’, proudly proclaiming their home grown stock. The pride is not ill-placed; Austrian meat-dishes are notoriously tender and flavoursome. With a carnivorous gleam in their eyes, Sai, Naomi, Helen, Caroline, Marty, Nick, James, Jo, Paul and Rami (but not so much Deb) yodelled their way towards the Austrian Club of Melbourne.

Austrian Club Melbourne
76-91 Sheehan St
West Heidelberg

Located in the industrial districts of Heidelberg we never knew existed, the Austrian Club is surrounded by fir trees. Stepping inside, one is struck by the hanging deer heads, the alpine style chairs and tables, the overall sense of kitsch… and the official looking Austrian woman manning the reception desk. The Austrian Club is clearly a venue which knows its regulars, so one-off customers are greeted with a little stiff curiosity, but the staff (mostly volunteer and in their sunset years) are friendly and polite.


The large round tables in the main eating area are arranged to allow a large square for dancing to the band positioned on the mountain-landscape backed stage. The music for our visit was provided by the Dutch Duo - apparently there aren’t many traditional Austrian bands in Melbourne. Nevertheless, Austrian province coats of arms and further hunting trophies adorning the walls combined to prompt one diner to declare this ‘the most authentically authentic restaurant’ we’ve visited.

Entrée:

Brotchensuppe - Bread soup, served with bread

Mains:

Weiner Schnitzel mit petersil kartoffeln - Crumbed pork schnitzel with parsley potatoes
Leberkase mit ei u salat - Austrian meatloaf with egg and salad
Rindsgulasch mit semmelknodel - Paprika beef ragout with boiled bread dumpling
Bauernschmaus mit sauerkraut u semmelknodel - Farmer’s platter, with roast pork, smoked pork, sausage, sauerkraut and boiled bread dumpling
Rehragout mit knodel - Venison stew with pan fried bread dumpling
Schweinsbratten mit sauerkraut u semmelknodel - Roast pork with sauerkraut and boiled bread dumpling
Spaghetti Puttanesca - Pasta with tomato and anchovies

Sides:

Gemischtersalat - Mixed green salad

Desserts:

Gemischter Kuchen - Vanilla slice, berry cheese cake, tiramisu cake
Eissenspanner - Vienna coffee (black coffee topped with whipped cream)

The first order of the day was to arm ourselves with an appropriate beverage. Gosser beers in hand (either helles (light) or dunkle (dark)), the meaty array of choices was perused. Unfortunately, Deb, our resident vegaquarian had a tough time finding something fitting her diet, having to fall back on Southern (VERY SOUTHERN) Austrian cuisine, pasta. Having ordered our meals, we waited for our number to flash up on the screen.


Visiting Sydney diners, Jo and James, decided to try the bread soup. In Muenchen, beer is described as liquid bread, so Naomi joked that bread soup must be like warm beer. Apparently it was just as appetising as a warm beer, with much of the dish going uneaten. The accompanying bread roll was seen as a little excessive…


The signature dish of Vienna fared little better, the meat in the Wiener schnitzel quite tough and gristly. The meatloaf was said to visually resemble Spam with a fried egg on top, but was actually quite tasty, with a flavour somewhere between a ham steak and spiced sausage mince.


The rich gravy of the stews, beef goulash and bambi goulash, soaked into the bread dumplings, a perfect accompaniment. The doughy, boiled semmelknodel were particularly receptive to the gravy, while the knodel slices retained much of the flavour from the butter in which it was fried. The stews themselves contained generous chunks of tender meat; however the paprika of the rindsgulasch lifted the flavour of the dish, the venison seeming bland by comparison.


The roast pork was tender, and well matched with the sauerkraut. It was noted as also being one of the highlights of the farmer’s platter, or mega pork plate. The sausage on the farmer’s platter ‘cried out for mustard’; a cry promptly answered by an Austrian chef with an industrial sized tub of krensenf, Austrian mustard.


We turned our eyes to the Café Mozart, keeper of the kuchen and apfel strudel. What was that? No strudel tonight? Oh dear, Austria. Instead we contented ourselves with a range of their homemade cakes (all fine, but nothing spectacular), washed down with Vienna coffee… mmmmm, cream…


The Austrian Club is a homely venue; it doesn’t look to impress newcomers, rather to provide a communal gathering place for lonely goat herds and other Austrian expats. Atmospherically, it is relaxed, friendly and familiar; volunteer staff joke and call customers ‘darling’, and birthday announcements are duly greeted with song (Happy 87th, Gerti). Amateur dancers feel confident hitting the dance floor, and the uncomplicated fare is appreciated for the memory of home evoked. The Austrian Club is no gourmet capital, but come prepared for a night of simple pleasures and you’ll be enchanted. Or at least amused. And if the night leaves you wanting your own little piece of Austria, visit the gift shop on your way out (the squeezy Tyrolean mustard is GREAT!).

PS - we thought we'd end this review with a brief montage of Rami and Caroline dancing to the dulcet tones of the Dutch Duo...