Monday, November 9, 2009

KLEMT AND STRUDEL-SUNDAY AT THE NEUE GALERIE



After a hectic week, I was looking forward to a lazy Sunday of reading the New York Times cover to cover in bed and meeting a friend for a "catch up coffee" at the Neue Galerie.  But my Sunday became busy with chores and the Times was left only half read- thankfully, I squeezed in a brief trip to the Galerie with my friend and it was wonderful.

The Neue Galerie, housed in one of the venerable Vanderbilt mansions off Central Park and 86th Street, specializes in Austrian and German art. Their latest exhibit, From Klemt to Klee: Masterworks from the Serge Sabarsky collection was a lovely Sunday distraction, perfect for a short museum visit. We chose the Cafe Sabarsky, one of two cafes in the Galerie for coffee and dessert. Inspired by the Viennese cafes at the turn of the century, the Cafe is a beautiful gem outfitted with period objects by Josef Hoffmann and Adolf Loos. Authentic touches like marble topped tables combined with a vast menu of Austro-Hungarian specialties make the Cafe Sabarsky a rich dining eperience. Perched on a beautiful antique marble table were a delicious assortment of Sacher and Linzer tortes, strudels and cakes. A homey apple strudel caught my eye. My friend chose the house specialty, Klimt torte, a decadent hazelnut and bittersweet chocolate confection. We shared our desserts accompanied by a cup of coffee from Meinl's of Vienna--we were in heaven!


Delicious strudel


Gustav Klimt portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer


Neue Galerie


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