Donald Eagle wrote:
> In mid-September, my wife and I will be visiting Vienna, Salzberg,
> Budapest and Prague. We would appreciate suggestions for restaurants to
> try in any or all of those cities. We like to try things we cannot get
> in the US, but unfortunately, we do not have any of the languages.
>
> We would also appreciate suggestions regarding wine. We have enjoyed GV
> from Brundlmayer, Nigl, and Hirsch, and riesling from Brundlmayer, but
> that is about it. We've never had an Austrian red, and the only tokaji
> we've had (5 putts) was disappointing.
>
> Any help will be much appreciated.

Regarding Austrian reds, the most visible one is Blaufrankisch and a top
producer of Blaufrankisch is Moric. You've had GV from many of the
top producers, but add to your list Nikolaihof and try more Austrian
Rieslings if you like dry-styled Riesling. For other interesting white
wines, you could look to the wines of Heidi Schröck in Rust, who makes
Gelber Muskateller, Muscat and Furmint (the grape of Tokaji).

In Vienna, the top restaurant for quite a while has been Steiereck.
It's been a few years since I've been there, but by all accounts it's
still doing well. When in Vienna, you should also avail yourselves of
coffee and pastries at 4 pm or so at one of the many excellent
Café-Konditoreis. A classic place to go for such delicacies is Demel.
You should also not miss a chance to try Tafelspitz, the Viennese
equivalent of pot-a-feu and the favorite dish of Emperor Franz-Joseph I.

If Michael Pronay, the Austrian wine critic, happens to read this, I'm
sure that he can provide far more extensive and accurate recommendations
than I.

Have fun! Those are all great cities.

Mark Lipton