by Gilbert B Norman
...in a European Restaurant (Dining) Car.
New York Times
Fair Use:
But then, time to "change hands". This trip with the new contractor, time for an Austrian specialty Boiled Beef. Uh, after €35 later, "never again".
New York Times
Fair Use:
It was a familiar sound in any decent Central European restaurant: the reassuring whack-whack-whack of a chef flattening the schnitzel I’d ordered from the waiter a minute earlier. The crisp tablecloth in front of me shined bright white, and the banquette seating offered the same minimalist design as some of the region’s trendiest spots. But one aspect was different from my other recent fine-dining experiences: In the panoramic window facing my table, an Old World landscape was flying by at over 90 miles an hour.....in preparation for lunch aboard the ÖBB Railjet to Zurich.
.As new and shiny as it appeared, the dining car was less enjoyable than the older Czech Railways version in many regards, with fewer seats, a plastic feel and no tablecloths — crisp, white or otherwise. Service was less attentive, too, reflected in the lukewarm truffle-celery soup, which was otherwise creamy and filling, hinting of nutmeg and underplaying the truffle-oil notes. A regional main course, kärntner ritschert (9.90 euros), improved things: a rib-sticking, cassoulet-like stew of pearl barley, white beans and smoked pork morsels from the Austrian region of Carinthia near Italy and Slovenia.Such has been my experience with OBB.as well. They formerly had an outside contractor who to me was "very good". Like the author, I had a Schnitzel on-board as good as I have had at Zacher, be such in Vienna or Salzburg.
But then, time to "change hands". This trip with the new contractor, time for an Austrian specialty Boiled Beef. Uh, after €35 later, "never again".
