Categories
Europe Vienna; 7 Stern Brau beerhall

Vienna, Austria: 7 Stern Brau; a microbrewery and eating place in Spittelberg

Vienna, Austria
7 Stern Brau, a microbrewery and eating place in Spittelberg
Siebensterngasse 19, Vienna, Austria

Microbreweries in Vienna are called Gasthausbrauereien. Gasthausbrau’s feature Zwicklbier; an unfiltered beer, clouded, no preservatives.

The barman stood behind a series of beer taps, drawing a liter. I took a stool at the bar, my preferred dining seat. Nobody else was at the bar, but the dining tables in 7 Stern Brau were filled.

You speak English?” I asked.
Of course I do, I’m Alexander,” he stretched his hand across the bar.
Describe your Wiener Helles beer?
Blond, unfiltered, no preservatives,” Alexander said.
Blond, a little dirty and no make-up, my type, “I’ll take one.”

Over Alexander’s head, above the beer taps (bierschenke), stacked upside down and ready to pour, were 10 bottles of Austrian Schnapps; each graded at 35% alcohol. A different fruit appeared on each label.

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“Of course I speak English.”

Alex,” I asked, “what is the true flavor used for schnapps, real Austrian schnapps.
Apple,” he said. The schnapps arrived next, before dinner.

The bar waitress appeared with a Vienna smile; she set a menu on the bar.

Do you speak English?” I asked.
Of course I do,” she said.
I’m Tom, what’s your name?
Alexandra,” she said.
Of course it is,” I replied.

Why this place appeals to me
A food critic once observed that the quality of the food declines as you rise and improves as you descend. I.E. have a drink at the restaurant in the sky, eat in a ratskeller. I descended ten steps to enter 7 Stern Brau.

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Beer Garden at 7 Stern Brau

The sign outside read BIERGARTEN, but the ten steps down? Copper kettles gleamed from behind the bar. Walking through 7 Stern, a rear door led up ten steps to a courtyard with trees, tables and local beer drinkers.

How Far Down the Block?
Spittelberg is a six-block neighborhood just north of Vienna’s inner ring. It is served by the Volkstheater subway stop. The cobblestone streets of Spittelburg will thrill the shopper traveling with you. [mappress mapid=”13″]

7 Stern Brau lies on the edge of Spittlebug. Gasthoff and restaurants, tables set with white linen and flickering candles on outdoor terraces, were mostly empty on a Monday evening in May. 7 Stern Brau was buzzing; filled with Viennese chattering in German. Real Austrian food was being served at prices well below those at the vacant tables of their nearby competitors.

Why you might be nearby? The Museums, the Austrian Folk Theater and Vienna’s English Theater.

Lesser Known Facts
Viennese have great pride in the quality of their water.

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Schnapps, ready to pour, click for a closer look

You don’t need to order bottle water in Vienna,” Willy, barman at Hansy Gasthoff said. The Hansy is across town from 7 Stern Brau, just outside the Praterstern subway stop.
I never do when beer is an option,” I said.
No, I mean when you want water,” Willy said, “Vienna water is pure, from the mountains.”

Water flows into Vienna from springs in the Lower Austrian Alps, reaching the Austrian capital 36 hours later; no pumps and under strict regulations. Vienna has declared their water White Gold and placed it under the protection of the Austrian constitution. In 1998, the Vienna Water Line Hiking Path opened following the water route from the mountains into Vienna! The head of the hiking path can be reached by public transportation for a leisurely walk back into Vienna . . . for a beer.

Local Recommendation
Drink Green; this concept can be overdone. Pesticides have allowed the US to feed the world, but that’s another tale. The Reinheitsgebot, the German beer purity law, ensures that beer made only from barley, hops, water, and yeast – no preservatives – can be brewed and consumed on site in Vienna

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Alexander drawing an unfiltered beer

Ask for a Weiner Helles; a 4.6% alcohol, unfiltered beer without preservatives. 7 Stern’s head brewer is a Slovak; from the land that gives us Czech Budweiser and Urquell.

Eat local; sample the German Potato Salad (kartoffsalat), Cabbage Salad (krautsalat) and Wiener Schnitzel

Something for Nothing
Roam the cobblestone streets of Spittelberg; potentially a free stroll. The shops, alternative restaurants will keep you busy for hours.

Categories
Europe Florence; Oltrarno enoteca favorites Italy

Florence, Italy: Enoteca Pitti Gola; food and wine in the Oltrarno

Florence, Italy
Enoteca Pitti Gola, food and wine in the Oltrarno
Piazza de Pitti 16

“Hey, you’re back,” Zeno called from behind his bar as I entered Pitti Gola.
“Back for a glass of Italian wine,”  I said, “You choose.”
“Ciao, you’re back,” Edoardo, Zeno’s older brother, popped up the stairway leading from the cellar of Pitti Gola.
“You need some of my money,”  I said, “I read the Italian economy struggles.”
Edoardo shrugged, “Maybe some places in Italy are struggling, we are doing OK.”

Why this place appeals to me.
On 2008 New Year’s Eve Edoardo, Manuele and Zeno purchased the Enoteca. In February 2009 I spent three weeks in Florence. The guys were all single then, they are all married now. Edoardo and Zeno are brothers, Manuele is a longtime friend.

The three owners are serious about their wine. I’m half-serious; serious about sipping, preferring wines at half price.

Pitti Gola is not Off The Map. This enoteca has been discovered. The ambience is low key; casual wear works. The wine is delivered in high style. Describe to the guys what you like to sip and let them choose. They pour the wine, describe the grape, the location of the vineyard and what’s happening in Italy.

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The Pitti Gola crew, click here

Pitti Gola serves Tuscan bites and plates. The outdoor patio seats 8-10, inside is seating for 6-8. The small cellar can accommodate a party of 10-12. Zeno loves to talk wine, when he leads dinner conversation in the cellar, time flies.

How Far Down the Block?
Cross the Ponte Vecchio on foot, south into the Oltrarno; leaving the throngs of tourists behind you. It is a direct 250 meter stroll directly south, towards the Pitti Palace. The shops along Via De Gucciardini will thrill those who believe Black Friday is their day. [mappress mapid=”12″]

Bus D, a Florence short bus, stops directly in front of Pitti Palace, and Pitti Gola. Bus D runs from the Santa Maria Novella train station (the main station) along the entire Oltrarno, from Ponte Vespucci to a terminus at Piazza Ravenna.

Why you might be nearby?
Theorem #1 – You’re touring the Vasari Corridor, yawning, looking out an ancient porthole and realize you’ve crossed the Arno and are now free to roam about. Look for a secret escape; Dan Brown in his novel, Dante’s Inferno, described where the hidden escape from the Pitti Palace is located. Brown didn’t reference it, but by my calculations the escape is within 75 meters of Pitti Gola’s wine sanctuary.

Theorem #2 – Your in line at the Pitti Palace; an hour from gaining entrance. Across the street, under the street side awnings of a small enoteca, people are chattering, laughing. You make a choice; wine trumps art.

Lesser Known Facts
Once across the Ponte Vecchio and into the Oltrarno, the two block walk south to Pitti Gola on Via De Gucciardini is a fascinating shopping street. High quality wares, presented with an absence of name brands and absence of name brand prices. If your partner is chirping about shopping time sacrificed while you pursue an afternoon glass of Italian wine, common ground can be achieved in this neighborhood.

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Soil from the vineyard

Within Enoteca Pitti Gola, wine fills the walls. Alongside the wine bottles, small glass vessels hold soil samples from the Tuscan vineyards where the grapes grow. Down the block from Enoteca Pitti Gola, the guys maintain a wine cellar. Zeno ran to his wine cellar to retrieve a special wine.

“You need more space,” I said.
Zeno replied, “I share my space with the wine, the wine is what is important.”

Local Recommendation
The Boboli Gardens, behind the Pitti Palace, directly across the street from Pitti Palace, might be the nicest outdoor meander in Florence.

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Zeno behind the bar at Enoteca Pitti Gola

Something for Nothing
Once inside Boboli Gardens, access the adjacent Bardini Gardens from an unadvertised gate in the high NE Boboli corner. Boboli has the best sculpture and foliage, Bardini has spectacular views over Florence. Take Dante’s Inferno and read the passage where Robert Langdon and Sienna Brooks scale the Boboli walls at night, using the garden to avoid their pursuers