“An Evening in Vienna”

By Nikki Berglund
Staff Writer

“Wine makes a symphony of a good meal.”  - Fernande Garvin, ‘The Art of French Cooking’

Every time I want to go and sing the praises of The Green Market Kitchen, someone else beats me to it.  Well, this week is finally my turn and after enjoying an unforgettable food and wine experience before the FM Symphony’s Masterworks III “An Evening in Vienna” last Saturday night, there is plenty to sing about.
As you may or may not know, the theme for the Fargo Moorhead Symphony this year is “Taste of the World.” Besides featuring music and performers from all corners of the world, area restaurants are getting involved by creating dinners to represent the different countries. This past weekend for “An Evening in Vienna,” Chef Andrea Baumgardner, along with her debonair front of the house partners Peter Kelly and Steve Heiland, really represented Austria while staying true to the signature style that sets them apart from all other restaurants in the FM area. There were six of us for dinner, which was a great number considering the menu had so many interesting looking options. Although there were a few non-Austrian offerings, Peter’s helpful suggestions kept us mainly on theme.
For our first course we tried both soups, the “squash puree with pumpkinseed oil and chevre” ($7) and the “Austrian beef goulash“ ($7). Each was excellent, but the hearty richness of the goulash on that particularly cold night made it one of my favorite dishes of the night. Next we all shared the “greens and liptauer cheese toast, with red pepper vinaigrette” ($7) and something called “erdapfsalat,” a “warm potato salad, with apple and celery slaw” ($7). I have never had a salad nor vinaigrette here that was anything less than heavenly, so adding the Austrian flair just put a different spin on an already great signature dish.
We were all looking forward to the “rye spaetzle with winter greens“ ($6) and none of us were disappointed. Like everything Chef Baumgardner creates, she had her own unique take on the “spaetzle” which is traditionally a heavy egg noodle. At the suggestion of Peter, this made a perfect side dish with our main entrees.
For the main course, we each tried something different and then sampled off each other’s plates. My mom went with the “griddled Leyden cheese sandwich ($7),” which was nothing like your childhood grilled cheese. I had never had Leyden cheese whose unique flavor comes from the fact that it is spiced with cumin. My husband Paul really enjoyed his very traditional “housemade German sausage, potato raclette and Riesling sauerkraut“ ($8), which is not usually one of my favorite things to eat, but I did try it and found it to be quite delicious as well.
Both my dad and I went with the “prosciutto wrapped chicken, paprika, and black trumpet sauce” ($9) an excellent choice, which turned out to be a favorite for everyone. The chicken was so moist and the black trumpet sauce was to die for. Not only was it scrumptious to eat but the portion size was quite large, especially given the $9 menu price. Another favorite was my sister Megan’s “Tasmanian salmon with dill spinach sauce” ($13); the salmon was so moist it melted in your mouth and the dill sauce was amazing.
Although it was a tough decision, my personal favorite was Gina’s “schnitzel with lingonberries, aioli and cucumber pickles” ($8) - in fact we traded half way through since my dish was her favorite. I never knew that “schnitzel” was deep fried veal cutlets, and although I admit the veal part freaked me out, one bite and all of my guilt flew right out the window. Not only was the veal cooked to perfection with its sinfully crispy skin, but when I took each component and put them together into one bite, a symphony truly did start playing in my mouth. By the time dessert rolled around I was pretty dang full of food and my taste buds had gone into overload, but we did make sure to try both of the Austrian desserts, the “raspberry and chocolate Gustav Klimt torte” ($4) and the “Viennese cheese pastry” ($4), which were yummy to say the least. Then my sister introduced us to the “espresso crème caramel” ($4), which although not Austrian, I will have to order every time I go there now.
Let’s not forget perhaps my very favorite thing about the Green Market - the wine list (big shocker, I know!)  Don’t let the minimal looking list fool you - this thing is packed with everything you need for the perfect food and wine pairing every time. What I love the most is how unique and diverse it is. I love a wine list that has wines I don’t recognize because this means (twist my arm) I have no choice but to try something new. On the current red wine list, there are some intriguing selections including a couple varieties of Grenaches, one from Spain and one from Australia. On the white side the selections range from German to Portuguese and they also offer an aperitif and a digestif - not a common option in Fargo. The important thing to know: there is not a bad one in the bunch, so experiment away!
Since most of us at the table were red wine drinkers, we went with a bottle of Dona Paula Malbec ($36 a bottle), which was one I had not tried. Since there was not too much red meat going on that night, this may not have been the ideal pairing for many of the dishes, but it was fabulous with the beef goulash. My Mom, the only white drinker in the bunch had an Italian wine, the Salviano Orvieto ($8). Since I love Orvieto, I was jealous and eventually ordered one, which did end up pairing much better with many of the foods we had that night. As far as Austrian wines go in Fargo, well there just aren’t any available at the moment. The Austrians make some pretty cool wines, mostly unique whites and hopefully we will see some in the near future.
If you like your dining out experience familiar and boring, well then The Green Market may not be for you….TGI Fridays might be a little more up your alley. On the other hand, if you want a restaurant experience that will take you around the world and back, perhaps introducing you to foods and wines you have never heard of before, The Green Market is your ticket to an exciting night out on the town.

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IF YOU GO:

What: Green Market Kitchen
Where: 69 4th St N
When: Tue-Fri 3-9pm; Sat noon-9pm
Info: 701.241.6000