Lunch at Fabios (Vienna, Austria)

We had promised Fabio that we would back for lunch on the following day, given our wonderful experience at dinner that night. I had enjoyed the evening but was a little concerned about appearing to be groupies if we went back this soon. My wife was not feeling my concerns so we were going to be having lunch at Fabios.

We started out in the late morning and took a liesurely stroll towards the restaurant, with my wife making threatening stops at shops along the way. In the vicinity of the restaurant,we took a pause to mingle with fellow tourists in the Stephansplatz area.

Stephansplatz with the church in the background

I had neglected to take pictures of the restaurant's exterior on the previous evening, an oversight which I corrected immediately upon our arrival for this session.

Outside seating at Fabios

Another view of Fabios exterior

On entrance, we were ushered to our seats. And it was like we had never left the place.

We started with another Ruinart Blanc de Blanc. The lunchtime crowd was very different from the crowd we had encountered on the previous evening. Much more muted; suits and society types (or my perception of same).

I started out with a Cucumber Mint Salad marinated with Lemon. This was excellent. Clean tasting with a hint of salt (Everything in Vienna has a hint of salt). Nice crunchy cucumbers undergirding the green of the mint and a white balsamic dressing. Refreshing.

For the mains, I had the special, which consisted of a Turbot with Cucumber Soup, while my wife had the Filet of Perch with Porcini Mushrooms and Baby Corn. The Cucumber Soup was sprinkled with Pomegranate seeds and the Turbot rested on a submerged bed of cucumber strips. This was a dish of complex flavors which were revealed based on the combination of components in the mouth. For example, if all three elements were consumed simultaneously, the fish dominated. When the pomegranate and soup were the only components, the acidity of the pomegranate exploded on the palate.

I had ordered the Poderi Aldo Conterno Bussiador Langhe 2010 -- a Langhe Chardonnay -- to accompany our main courses. I had tasted this Chardonnay when I visited the Conterno estate with Decanter magazine back in 2012 but it had not impressed me the way it did at lunch on this day. My experience with this wine on this day reinforced my belief that some very interesting, non-native whites are being produced in Piemonte (Case in point, Gaja's Rossj Bass Chardonnay and Vajra's Langhe Bianco Riesling). The Bussiador had a light golden color with a hint of green. Tropical fruit notes with a sweet tobacco note of barrel origin. Elegant/austere on the palate. Coffee. Great balance. Checks all the boxes. Broadens out with time to where the citrus becomes more evident. Lengthy coffee finish.

We ended the meal with chunks of three-years-aged Parmigiano Reggiano and Green Olives. Beautiful. The age had smoothed some of the sandiness out of the Parmigiano.

Another wonderful experience at Fabios.

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