Thursday, February 19, 2009

Vegas Food Finds Goes to Vienna

During my six-week work/vacation combination to Austria and Germany, I have eaten many fantastic things. Delicious little food stands with amazing street food are around very corner, and don't even get me started on all the Torten, Topfengolatschen, Krapfen, multi-grain bread (the kind you have to cut with a knife). I am in foodie heaven!

Today we went to a very hip place in Vienna's 9th district, which opened a few years to much media attention and skepticism/doubt about its survival. It's one of those restaurants where you pay whatever you think is fair. Here, in a poor Denglisch (German/English) line, this+
is called "Pay as you wish", but you get the point. The place is very chic and bohemian, and it's billed as Pakistani food. I am a frequent and passionate eater of Indian food, and couldn't quite tell the difference, which is not surprising.

Deewan offers a-la-carte drinks, even wine and beer (heck, in Austria even the kepab place at the corner has a liquor license), and we had delicious mango lassi: my drink of choice in these places. The food is served buffet-style, very reminiscent of Vegas Indian buffetts (India Palace, India Oven, Gandhi), and consists of five or six main dishes (two curries, lentils, spinach, etc.) and a sweet dish, which we didn't try as we were headed to the bakery instead. Everything is very fresh and the place is appealing as soon as you walk in. It's a little bit like walking into a private home: it feels that nice and cozy, and the aroma is great.

As expected, people here are young, forward-thinking and dress the part: we saw lots of cute summer dresses with tights and warm cardigans, skinny jeans and high-heeled boots. It's a fun place that deserves to continue doing very well. For the record, we both ate a small plate of food and paid 6 euro each.

Der Wiener Deewan
Liechtensteinstr. 10
9th District, Vienna
Subway stop: Schottentor (U2)
Tel.: 01/9251185

--By Judy Jenner

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