Henry’s: Fast and Fastidious

After a rather long, relaxing stroll through town, our stomachs began to make their voices heard. So we decided to hit one of our favorite quick-fix restaurants, Henry, which wasn’t far. As we were on Stephansplatz, it was just three minutes by foot. We turned up the pace and only minutes later had arrived- not for the first time, but yet again.

Living a healthy life in a busy world is becoming harder and harder, so many kebab stands, so little time. "Henry, the Art of Living" takes the challenge head on. It’s fast but also fastidious, with top ingredients prepared with care. All in all, it’s convenient, tasty and guaranteed not to kill.

Located in Vienna’s 1st District on Neuer Markt 17, Henry offers its customers a healthy, international, and uncomplicated choice of foods. Their products are all freshly made daily, which ensures appetizing foods each and every day.

We avoided the main entrance, which would have required walking through the vegetable department of the Billa Corso, and chose the small side doorway as it was the nearer one and we were on a mission. On our way to the hot meal buffet, I had already glimpsed at the assortment of luscious Nachspeisen; whatever I was having prior, one thing was certain: There would be a chocolate cup cake with chocolate mouse inside and more chocolate chips on top to round things off. Death by chocolate? Sold!

Choices range from starters such fresh salads, soups, and antipasti to warm dishes such as chicken Tikka, devil prawns, rigatoni napolitani, Kalbsbutterschnitzel, mixed vegetables and others. A variety of meals are up for grabs in this chic and healthy fast food restaurant. Yes, yes I know; it sounds a bit paradoxical. You’ll probably just have to go see for yourself. Each week they offer hot meals off the grill from 11:00 to 15:00. Henry also serves delicious cupcakes in all kind of flavors, fresh made traditional Austrian Kaiserschmarren, and more, all waiting to be discovered and eaten.

Henry additionally offers gourmet sandwiches, such as chicken ceasar, shrimp/ Dijon mayo, and hummus/tomato/ cucumber/spinach. A variety of pumpernickel is available, for instance: smoked salmon with cream cheese, Brie with fig mustard, and cottage cheese with chives. Also part of their assortment are international cold drinks like Tsing Tao beer (one of my favorite) and Arizona green tea, along with various other normal cold and warm drinks.

All products are "to go", packaged in modern and stylish designs, easy to take home or to be enjoyed wherever one wishes. On warmer days one might feel like going to one of Vienna’s beautiful parks, such as the Heldenplatz or Burggarten to enjoy his/her meal. Of course, all products can be enjoyed on location with the only hurdle being the difficulty of obtaining one of the four available tables, or on one of the limited stools at the bar.

We were here to stay, and so I picked up one of the brown cardboard boxes, the biggest size available, and started to gaze at the hot meals featured that day. Pasta arrabiata, mixed vegetables, chicken Tikka, cous-cous, rice, and paprika chicken were all possibilities.  You can take as much as you want, mixing everything, in any way you like. It doesn’t always look too nice, but it tastes wonderful! And so I took a bit of this, and a bit of that, and maybe some of the other, till it looked like enough. I was ready.

My girlfriend had a similar plan: a royal mix for her too! She indulged in some cous-cous, chicken Tikka, rice and some vegetables to round it off. On the way to the cashier she spotted a table freeing up -like a wellspring in a desert- and so she quickly sprinted over to put our pullovers over the chairs, reserving the spot. A couple of meters away, I quickly made a detour and picked up a Schwarzbrot with chives and an Arizona green tea- two vital elements for me. Now nothing could stop us - our mission was nearly accomplished.

"Henry" is the work of the innovative caterer Attila Dogudan. Usually connected with high-end restaurants, like the Do & Co restaurant in the Haas Haus on Stephansplatz or catering airlines and major sports events, with "Henry" he is carving out new territory. "Henry" combines Dogudan’s main principals of high quality food, unique environment and, of course, fast and easy meals. The ambience is relaxed and pleasant, with the only problem of it being quite small. It seems like he knows what he’s doing – because "Henry" is one of a kind.

What makes "Henry" a lively place is the large amount of people shopping at this specific gourmet Billa. Strolling through the vegetable section, they often end up enjoying a freshly prepared soup or indulging in some other delicious meal. Indeed, a well-chosen location. In addition, you can almost always find tourists or pedestrians stopping by during their shopping tour or lunch break.

We paid and sat down to eat, enjoying life and enjoying "Henry." We were both very happy with our choices, and didn’t converse much; we just ate and groaned happily.

After we finished, I got up and went in search of the cupcake -- my chocolate cupcake, the one I always eat when I come. Although the famed Viennese confectioners Demel - K.u.K Hofzuckerbäckerei (purveyors to the Imperial and Royal court) is also in his stable of eateries, "Henrys" cupcakes are not from Demel; but they are with no doubt just as good. Trust me.

Before I paid, I caught my girlfriend looking over and saw her gesture; pointing at herself and then at my cupcake. I wasn’t prepared to share mine, so I got another one for her. Who says chocolate isn’t an aphrodisiac?

We slowly enjoyed our cupcakes, finishing our drinks and talked about the plan for the rest of the day. Then we collected all our trash and threw it in the bin, as this waiter-less organic fast food restaurant only has a cashier, a couple of cleaning people, and cooks for fresh made Kaiserschmarren and other freshly made hot meals. Bussing your table is not required – but we did it anyway, and it wasn’t much of a hassle. With our stomachs now quiet, we made our way out and about once again.

Summed up, "Henry" in my eyes has the right to name their motto "Best Ingredients, Premium Quality, Homemade Today" each and everyday.

Mission accomplished. 20 minutes total, entrance to exit.

 

Henry – The Art of Living

1., Neuer Markt 17

0664 80777 4000

www.enjoyhenry.com