"....age and glasses of wine should never be counted..." -- Unknown

 

We went out to eat last night at the only three-star Michelin place in Austria -- and the only one I've ever attended. I have known of them and even known a few who have worked in them, but frankly this alleged apex of the dining world has not existed anywhere I have lived so far. I apologize in advance if this post sounds in some ways like a restaurant review (part of my job in my final few years at the AP) but several have asked. I have also been a restaurant owner, a chef and a kitchen manager, as well as a line cook, a wine/beer buyer and part owner of a grocery store/cafe. There are lots of moving parts.

Amador is named for Juan Amador, a veteran high-end German chef with a long history of Michelin stars in Europe and in Asia. He has long been a staple of culinary TV (think Emeril Lagasse without the "bam"). Wikipedia describes his style as based on the culinary histories of Catalonia, France and the Basque region -- his Spanish heritage despite the German upbringing. All were evident in last night's food, as well as a nod to traditional Austrian.

We had a four-course meal over the course of about four hours -- each course being your typical small portions of various items described not only on the wax-sealed menu (you take home) but lovingly by the seemingly endless stream of servers and runners at your table. You pay a flat price and here's what you're getting.  Eat it or don't. There is no salt or pepper at the table (except the bread -- coarse salt on bread with butter is A Thang here). Adding the suggested wine pairings with each course costs a flat rate in addition.

I have long hated the presumptuous, tedious and too often unctuous self-descriptions of fancyass restaurants on their own Websites. Amador is no exception and it's off-putting. I don't want a catharsis or epiphany on a plate. I just want to eat and drink and do them both well. Fortunately, the actual experience was delightful and very down-to-earth with charming and knowledgeable attendants. 

As mentioned, portions are small -- one or two bites or spoonfuls -- a true tasting menu. The most striking thing is the gorgeous plating.

I won't go into the individual details of each dish because you can look them up online yourself and I honestly get confused looking at the photos and menu. Was this that dish or the other? I don't take notes at a table. I'll only say this....

As Americans, we are used to and prefer bold flavors. While we have a few subtle dishes (chowder is one), we want to TASTE THE MEAT or PILE ON THE SAUCE or USE BIG CHUNKS or, often better, do all three. The gentleness of a careful ratatouille or turbot in garlic/tomato water is too often lost or never even presented. We like BBQ, Cajun, Mexican and fried chicken (fried anything -- our running joke at J'anita's was we could sell cat shit if we fried it right) with a kick.

This was not our menu last night. The glory was in the unusual combinations of the unexpected. I have been able to pull this off a few times and I know several others in New Orleans who have (not mentioning names because I am sure I would leave out a friend or two and that would be just wrong). Sometimes it's luck but more often it is skill acquired over time and with experience in various cuisines at home and in a commercial kitchen. Those flavors linger individually and together, with some not appearing until after your nose buries into the wine glass.

Denise and I are no longer night people (I never have been -- going to work at 4am for 25 years leaves a mark). We'll walk over to the nearby park for a drink and a smoke these days, but actually Going Out once the sun goes down is rare. We left home at 5:30pm, wandered Beethoven's old 'hood for about 30 minutes (Denise briefly obstructed some dude in a Rolls-Royce convertible. It was great.) then arrived on time for our reservation at 6:30pm. Servings are staggered and ours began right away. By 7:30pm or so, the place was full -- a mixture of dates and business tables and all ages. One guy literally had a diamond ring on each finger and appeared to be holding court with co-workers or clients. He kept leaving the table to go outside to take phone calls. Or at least acting like it. Appearances are everything to some folks, I guess.

We didn't take in the entire menu, though we paid for it. The only failure of the place was to move the courses along in a timely manner. A couple of times we waited 30 minutes between various parts of the same course. I understand how things are in a diligent and artistic kitchen, but it got old. By 10pm we were full and getting tired so we dispensed with the dessert offerings. I am sure they are wonderful but it would have been another hour. As it was, our cab arrived at 10:30 and we arrived home about 11pm.

Don't ask specifics of the cost, but we opted to do this instead of taking a train to Prague for three days. The meal was cheaper, but not by as much as you might think. Worth it? Every dime, if we're talking only about money. Some grand experiences cost nothing but others can cost quite a bit (ask Disney fans about this). Fortunately we're finding places to eat here in Vienna that offer more than just the traditional Vienna menu, which is very short and, frankly, very boring. I knew they're here but it takes a minute and that's why we're spending three months instead of three days. We remain on and actually a little under budget, which is less than we'd be spending had we just stayed in the house in Texas.

Our trip over to the place was at rush hour and, like any major city, Vienna's freeways are always under construction. But our trip back home at night was through the very center of this old city, where the nightlife and its neon reflect off the same walls seen by Mozart, Klimt, Freud and generations of Habsburgs. It is humbling and somewhat intimidating. We're seeing so much but there is so much still to see and actually be. 

It's glorious.