One of our absolute favorite restaurants in all of New York City is Blaue Gans. The restaurant is operated by Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner, who has several Austrian restaurants throughout New York. Blaue Gans is in the Tribeca neighborhood and inside a building with federal-style architecture.  The front has a couple of tables and a large array of plants providing an inviting setting. Once inside the room is rounded, looking similar to a subway tunnel, with dim lighting fixtures hanging from the ceiling, and along the walls there is an array of old pieces of pop art plastered on the walls. To the right there is a long bar, and the rest of the room has large booths wrapping around the room with wood tables and café-style chairs.

We arrived early for an early dinner, making us the only patrons. Chef Gutenbrunner was actually at the restaurant hanging up some jerseys for the World Cup, and was quite friendly. Margaret’s research is focused on Austrian cuisine so it was very exciting for her in particular. Blaue Gans cuisine is similar to his restaurant Wallse, but a little bit more low-key. When we visited we ordered the paprika schnitzel with spätzle, and the pork schnitzel with potato salad. Both were properly made, but also delightfully artisanal.

We finished with a sacher torte and some coffee, which were both lovely. After visiting several Austrian restaurants in the United States, Blaue Gans was the best Austrian cooking outside of Austria or our own home.