Café Sabarsky – Apfelstrudel

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My love, devotion and adoration for apple strudel began in Prague, Czech Republic. Whilst, it may seem odd that I didn’t learn of the joys of the strudel in its country to birth Austria, I dream to travel one day to this land and discover its most delightful export in the near future. However, returning to the city of Praha, strongly influenced by its German and Austrian neighbours.

Prague isn’t big on the old vegetarian diet, and I found myself eating sponge potatoes passed off as dumplings, boiled vegetables (boiled so as to kill all nutrients), and then I turned to the apple strudel for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I grew to appreciate what apple strudel had done for me over those few days in Prague and I have loved it ever since.

Furthermore, from the strudel focused episode of Great British bake off, you will be aware that strudel is a complex baking undertaking. It can all go wrong at the pastry stage. Maybe you are saying to yourself, ‘isn’t that the case with all pastries?’ Well, yes though with strudel the pastry has to be extremely thin and therefore is prone to splitting. The thinness is vital to a strudel to get the flaky outer layer.

I set about town, to sample the “best apple strudel” in New York City. There we arrive at Café Sabarsky. Something I did not know until I had to go through security to enter the building eye roll*, the café is a part of a museum.

This is a little bit of Vienna on the Upper East Side. Walking in and to your left is a rack of newspapers on wooden holders, and to your right a set of cakes beautifully decorated waiting to be selected like shoes in a shop window, as they sit in their glass encasing. You are immediately transported to the set of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards.

I order apple strudel and Viennese hot chocolate. The service is immaculate, the waiter is dressed in such a way that he would not be out of place in the Ritz. The strudel arrives and looks a treat. The strudel is perfectly sliced and there are no signs of a fight with a knife and it is dusted with icing sugar with a delicately placed scoop of whipped cream to the side. Café Sarbarsky is etched in gold on the plate and the strudel is a picture of Vienna (cue music).

The apples are sliced and not chopped. Maintain a crunch familiar with Granny Smiths. The slices are sharp and flavourful. The pastry has chopped almonds weaved into it and thereby providing a pleasant surprise to the patron at almost every bite. The pastry is flaky and well something Mary Berry could be proud off. Unfortunately, the cinnamon was barely present. The apple was so different in both texture and taste that it needed the cinnamon to soften it.

The whipped cream was proportionate to the strudel is such a way I could only say it was a perfect scoop. From the first to the last bite the strudel to whipped cream ratio was exact.

I shall not ruin the apple strudel dream I am directing with mention of the Viennese hot chocolate which does not deserve or warrant acclaim.

Was this the best apple strudel? Probably in New York City. There was such attention to detail on the environment and recreation of Vienna of Europe even, that when I reflect on the strudel in isolation I am not confident it would hold my imagination for long. It is definitely worth a visit and a sampling.

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