Gorilla Kitchen

Review

Monstrously cool

Photo: Heribert Corn The deciding factor was a visit to Berlin two years ago, says Gorilla boss Christoph Heger. There he visited Dolores, a California-style burrito place that serves fresh, healthy fast food - a contradiction in terms? No, not at all. "They're way ahead of us in California," says Heger. In Berlin too, apparently. Since then, the sociology graduate has not been able to get the matter out of his head. It soon became clear to him: Vienna needs it too! So he quickly teamed up with his cousin Lisa Grabner and founded Gorilla Kitchen. The pair made their first big appearance last summer at Strandbar Hermann, where they rolled out their custom-made steel kitchen and served delicious homemade burritos to the beach crowd. They continued on to festivals and flea markets until the Gorilla duo finally came across the pretty little restaurant in Ziegelofengasse while looking for a "garage" for the kitchen. The decision to set up a "lunch business" was quickly made. And so the kitchen was parked in the new restaurant, seat cushions and a bar stool were added to the table-shelf board running along the wall. The outline of an imposing gorilla was added to the wall and that was that. A second bar stool is to follow soon, but then the restaurant, which is actually designed for take-away, will be really full, Heger fears. Oh yes: there is also a bench in front of the Gorilla Kitchen where you can also take a bite. "Why Gorilla?" we ask the man wearing a Campagnolo cap as a chef's hat. "A joke," reveals the ex-cyclist. "And of course an allusion to guerrilla, because we decide when we're where." In other words, when the team and kitchen are playing away from home, the restaurant is empty. So much in advance: at the beginning of August, the Gorilla Kitchen will be at the Africa Days and the restaurant will be closed. Now to the essentials, the burritos. They spent quite a long time tinkering with them and ultimately decided not to go all Mexican. This means that although there are the classic basics: tortilla filled with bean puree, lime rice, salad and cheddar, you can choose the different ragouts and sauces to go with them. Apart from the tortillas, everything is homemade. There are four salsas, ranging from mild to very spicy: avocado-tomato, orange-chilli, tomato with olives and capers and the hellishly hot habanero-lime mix. Currently there is an Irish-inspired Guinness beef burrito (€ 6.90) with beef braised in Guinness broth and plums (from local smallholders), a chicken burrito (€ 6.90) filled with a slight variation on the classic French coq au vin, or the vegetarian version with chickpea and chard ragout (€ 6.40). The vegan version simply omits the cheese (€ 5.90). Summary: Homemade burritos with wonderfully aromatic salsas that you can put together yourself. Best of Imbiss! Gorilla Kitchen 5th, Ziegelofengasse 18 Mon-Thu 11.30-15 hrs

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