Mittendrin

Review

In the middle of the ninth

The people are saints. Founded in 2003 by Cecily Corti, the St. Stephen's Vincentian Community runs projects where homeless people who are no longer accepted elsewhere can find refuge. For example, because they have a dog. One of the projects aims to help homeless people suffering from alcoholism to re-enter social life, with respect and the creation of self-esteem being the central elements. The Vinzirast people work on a voluntary basis and the whole thing is financed by donations and sponsors. It's strange when you contrast this with your own banal priorities. And the excuse that not everyone is born a saint is just absurd anyway ... But on the subject: Vinzirast's latest project is called Mittendrin, which recently opened in a Biedermeier house opposite the French Cultural Institute and offers accommodation for both homeless people and students, which they hope will lead to mutual learning and the creation of a community.
Part of the whole thing is a spacious restaurant on the ground floor, which has only a limited connection with Vinzirast in that it is run as a separate profit center, but is also intended to offer the residents of the housing project an immediate job opportunity. It is worth noting in advance that Mittendrin definitely does not look like restaurants with a social background normally do, namely a bit unsexy. On the contrary, the Gaupenraub architecture firm has used a few simple means to create a very intense atmosphere: a poured floor, benches covered with coffee sacks, a massive bar made of impressively thick and old wooden beams and ceiling and wall cladding made of fruit crates - some of which are printed in exotic colors. Very well done, inexpensive and simple. The premise for the culinary furnishings is similar, namely also "inexpensive and simple", only here it is a little more difficult. They tried to solve the problem by using a canteen concept, i.e. two menus, vegetarian and conventional, in large quantities. For example, cream of zucchini soup and chicken ragout with wild mushrooms for 6.50 euros. Doesn't sound bad, but unfortunately the zucchini cream soup also tasted like the one in the canteen - like packet soup, but not like zucchini. The brown bread croutons were crispy and good. The chicken ragout was okay, you only get something like that in the canteen if you're lucky, but why they call cultivated mushrooms wild mushrooms remains a mystery. The beer is from Ottakringer, the coffee from Hausbrandt, but with such an undoubtedly good project, is it fair to say that the food could be better? I think so. To sum up: a new social project with a nice restaurant where you can eat for at least very little money. Mittendrin 9, Währinger Str. 19, tel. 01/235 07 72, Mon-Fri 10-24, Sat 18-24,

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