Les histoires de Joe Rossano

prepared by Joe Rossano

GOOD NEWS FOR THOSE TRAVELING TO EGYPT THIS SPRING.  THE CAFE DEMEL WILL OPEN  SEVERAL BRANCHES IN EGYPT. THEY WILL BE THE EXACT REPLICA OF LA MAISON MERE' IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA..  SERVING THE SAME WONDERFUL SELECTION OF CAKES, PASTRIES AND CHOCOLATES INCLUDING THEIR FAMOUS 'SPECIALITE' SACHERTORTE T,DOBOSTORTE LINZERTORTE AND TORTLAWYER  PLUS FEW  SPECIAL ADDITION, SUCH AS MIDDLE EASTERN AND SEPHARDI PASTRIES, BOGHATCHA, KOL WESHKOR - KHONDRAJO - SAWABE'EH ZANOUBA -  SAMBOUSEK BEL GEBNA - LOKMET EL ADI - ZALABIA - LOUKOUMADIS (THE LAST TWO ARE THE SAME BUT WITH DIFFERENT PRICES)  - SEMIT (LISTED AS KOULOURIA ON THE ALEXANDRIA'S MENU) BE GEBNA WE BEID -  JOJO'S FETIRA, AND BACKGAMON BOARDS AND SHISHA. THE OPENING DAYS ARE SCHEDULED FOR SHAM EL NESSIM,. I'ID EL KONAFA  AND MAHRAGAN EL BETINGAN 

BRANCHES IN ALEXANDRIA - AT KOM BAKIR - ZANE'ET EL SETAT - SOUK EL TABAKHIN - SOUK EL KHEIT - SOUK EL HASHASHIN - ATFET RAYA WE SEKINA - BAB EL ZAGHARITS - CHATBY - GLYMONOPOULO - MANDARA - CLEOPATRA LES BAINS AND LE PETIT SPORTING

BRANCHES IN CAIRO - AT ABOU ZA'ABAL - CLOT BEY (EL BERKA) - EL WASSA'A - SOUK EL NAHASSIN - ROD EL FARAG - BEN SOUREIN - DARB EL BARABRA - DARB EL SETAT - DARB EL AHMAR - ATTABA EL KHADRA - EL SARAYA EL SAFRA - EL OLLALI - SAYEDA ZEINAB - GAME'E EL BANAT - MADBAH EL ENGELISE - HARET EL TAHSISS WEL TEBASSBISS - HOSH EL A'AFARITS - MIDAN EL TORCH

Café Demel in Vienna

In 1786 confectionary assistant, Ludwig Dehne settled in Vienna. He started selling frozen goods then extended to candy and jam filled doughnuts. Demel is now an Austrian institution with cafes in Vienna and Salzburg, there is also a branch in New York, and the spring of 2010 in Alexandria, and Cairo, Egypt The Demel is a very smart cafe and the food delicious.

A luxurious satellite of the centuries-old Viennese pastry shop is located on the lower level of the new shopping arcade in The Plaza Hotel. The mahogany cafe serves lavish classics like meringue-topped Russian punsch torte, almond-laced Esterhazy torte, multilayered Dobos torte, chocolate Sacher torte and apple strudel. Most of the cakes and pastries range $5 to $8 a slice. Whole cakes start at $60 and should be ordered a few days ahead. A variety of imported coffee from Vienna is served and can be embellished with a cloud of whipped cream.

As Vienna's most famous pâtisserie, Demel offers a wonderful selection of cakes, pastries and chocolates. Pride of place, however, must go to their wonderful Sacher and Linzertorte. Truly delectable!

 

 Chocolate Sachertorte                                        The twelve-layer Dobostorte (yes, twelve-layer baby)

And though our economy may be going to shambles, the clientele here doesn't seem to bat an eye at $8 for a slice of cake.

Complementary when the check is presented: Two dainty bites of  Wiener Apfelstrudel and the Fragelité   The Fragilité paired crisp mille feuille with a rich and nutty praline cream, the apple strudel with minced apples and walnuts, and the slightest hand of cinnamon.

At my last visit to the Café, sitting at a table next to me, were three 10 foot tall blue skinned Na'vi from the planet Pandora, guests of a bankster and a stockbroker, discussing pensions and investments while each wolfing down two tortes: Sachertorte,.Linzertorte, and one Fragilité .  The two hosts highly recommended the Intalaxima* mutual fund, guaranteeing the investors from Pandora, that their investment will double every six months.  The first thing I did after leaving the cafe was to search for this mutual fund, no such fund existed

Window display

Demel has always been a much loved meeting point of the aristocracy,  Egyptian émigrés, alien travelers from outer space, as well as of the regular people who can afford the sweets. Empress Sissi liked to indulge in the sweets that were made at the K.u.K. (Imperial and Royal) Court Confectionery Bakery; the young empress did not buy anything herself in the shop at the Kohlmarkt; rather, she got Mr. Demel himself to personally deliver the candied violets that she so loved, amongst other things, to the royal court at the Hofburg.

Cafe Demel, is a famous chocolatier in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1786 on the Michaelerplatz. In 1857, August Dehne (the son of the founder Ludwig Dehne) gave the company to Christof Demel, who moved the bakery to the Kohlmarkt, where the Demel is still today. The house was headed by the Demels until 1972, when Udo Proksch bought the company. In 1989, the year Proksch was arrested, the Raiffeisen Bank became the owner of the famous company.

A curiosity is that the waitresses address their patrons in the 3rd person ("He/She wishes").

In 2002 Do&Co took over the Demel.

Designed by Jojo for Valentine's Day

The restaurant still maintains its original interior design which is quite lovely. I can sit here and enjoy a hot beverage & sweet pastry and imagine myself being back in the old days. The cafe is always packed with Viennese & visitors alike so be patient if you can't get a seat. When the weather is warm, it's great to sit outside and enjoy the weather.

The other attractions are the "Bill Clinton" and "Kofi Annan" cakes on display behind a glass wall in the kitchen area.

 

JOJO

*Intalaxima was a fictitious name of a company, we used it as an inside joke between a handful of traders at the Cairo's stock exchange in the 1950's/60/s.  Many many funny stories about it.