We picked up a deck of cards and played hearts at a cute little outdoor cafe, Cafe Haweika. Mara and Mike enjoyed the Viennese coffee while I warmed up with a pot of mint tea. We nibbled on pastries and laughed for hours. Hearts is not Mike's game.
After a while we decided we needed a cheese snack. We grabbed our card from Christophe from the night before and marched off to Meierei, the Milk Bar. We were greeted by a giant milk bottle. Picture time!
Now normally you need a reservation to eat here, but if you go around 4 PM the place is empty.
The decor is amazing. It's a whimsical restaurant that reminded me a bit of the Mad Hatter's tea party from Alice in Wonderland. Glowing milk bottles, curved forks as coat hooks and white dishes along the walls.
There were rows of cheese everywhere. The staff took care of it all with such loving care. They knew everything there was to know about every single cheese. What farm it came from, how many more weeks it needed to mature, the subtle notes in each slice.
When the menu arrived were had no idea what to choose. We started with steak tartare and showed our lovely waiter the card from Christophe. He smiled and treated us like old friends. He answered all of our cheese related questions and told us not to worry, he'd put together an excellent cheese plate. He did not disappoint.
Then arrived the mother of al cheese plates. It was 9 cheeses in a 'Tour of Europe' from Vienna, France, Italy and more. We were told to start at the front center (with the grayish rind). This was the mildest cheese, a goat cheese from Austria. We then ate them all clockwise until we ended with the strongest cheese, a gorgonzola from Italy.
The gooey cheese were phenomenal. They brought out a basket of breads but you didn't need them. The cheeses on their own were some of the best I have ever had. We slowly worked our way around the plate taking breaks. It was a lot of cheese!
When we finally made it to the end we were stuffed. I think if you would have poked us, we would have oozed cheese like a mozzarella stick.
It was nearly impossible to pick favorites. But the last two, the gorgonzola and one of the gooey cheeses, were high on our list. I would go back to Meierei anytime.
