VinziRast/Mittendrin Vienna
Socially conscious food
I had put off writing about VinziRast/Mittendrin for a long time. This is a spot with quite a lot of weight. It is a social project and a restaurant, which is an interesting if slightly unexpected mixture. One of the nice things about finding spots is being able to combine a cool place with a unique selling point - something you can find only here, nowhere else.
Mittendrin is not only staffed by homeless people, it also provides them with a place to stay. In fact, it gives hope to many people who have fallen through the cracks by providing them not only with a source of income and a shelter, but also a purpose.
The decor is, like the project itself, made from worn materials that, as though representing the people who work here, have been rejuvenated and revitalised in a new setting: coffee-sack chairs; old fruit crates to clad the walls and bar. The metaphor is rather laboured, admittedly, but it's hard to imagine another project which is on the one hand worthy of money and attention, and on the other hand gives such tangible rewards in return. To eat here is to bask in the self-righteous glow of altruism: enjoy it; no act is truly selfless. The food isn't bad either. It's certainly worth popping in for, say, a Mittagsmenü. It has to be said this is not a Michelin star establishment, but your hard-earned cash won't, at least, grease the wheels of the capitalist machine...
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