Rating: 
Summary: THE Book for Viennese Pastry
Review: After eating up page after page of Kaffeehaus, I question the validity of the
quibbling reviews. People are knocking stars off this extraordinary book for
the publisher's decisions, which were obviously made to keep the price down.
Had the publisher satisfied the complaints, another set of grousers would
have said the book is too long and expensive. Three stars instead of five
because the photo captions are on another page and the type is too small (a
matter of opinion)? That's quite a knockdown, and undeserved. Not enough
photos? There are more than 50 photos in the book. I count over 25 photos
of the food, more than you would find in similar volumes, and most illustrate
the more unusual desserts like Apple-Poppy Seed Squares and Gerbeaud Slices.
What about some deserved extra credit for the fabulous world that Rodgers
(figuratively and literally) presents on a silver platter? I have spent a lot of time in central Europe, and I can report that Rodgers'
recipes are the best in English...ever. The Brown Linzertorte he offers (with
a dash of cocoa for color, not flavor) IS the most popular one. Who really
needs a recipe for Eiskaffee (iced coffee with a scoop of vanila ice cream
and Schlag) or for Turkish coffee (requiring a special pot)? I have made at
least 20 of the desserts, and all were fantastic. Try the Linzertorte,
Apricot Coffee Cake (very simple, but still good), Orangentorte (made with
bread crumbs, almonds, and an unusual orange-curd icing), Leschanztorte (an
outstanding chocolate mousse cake), Ischl Tartlets, Vanilla Crescent Cookies,
and especially the Milchrahmstrudel (a warm farmer's cheese strudel). I have to think that the failures the baker in Albuquerque has experienced
are due to high altitude, or a lack of appreciation for the subtle palate of
central European desserts. Rodgers has opened up an entire new world of
tastes that you will not find in other books, even the very few books out
there on the same subject. His attention to the historical and cultural
elements around the coffeehouses and their desserts is nothing short of
amazing, and the kind of thing that elevates one cookbook above the others.
Rating:
Summary: Longing for Budapest...
Review: After spending summer in Budapest, I have been dreaming of its winding streets, rustic charm and great cafes. Stepping inside of them is to feel like a kid again, with your mouth watering, your eyes widening and you making painstaking decision -- which of the luscious desserts to pick! Well, thanks to Rick Rodgers I can bring a whiff of Budapest cafe into my house. So far I made a few things and they have turned out to be wonderful. Berry Roulade is a beautiful to behold and can be made with minimum effort. Indeed, both sponge cake and berry cream (I used frozen raspberries) were so delicious, I was tempted to eat them before rolling the cake! I have to note that I have some experience with baking, therefore I have not had troubles with instructions. I suspect that novice bakers might find some recipes daunting, however if you would like to learn, this book provides excellent instructions as well as methods for storing finished products and ways to organize your time. Even history bits were fascinating, and I read them as I was beating the eggs for the batter. I look forward to curling with a cup of tea and a piece of my Roulade this evening. For all of those who would like to recreate famous pastries and cakes, this book is a find. I could applaud Mr. Rodgers for compiling such a delectable collection of authentic and easy to replicate at home recipes.
Rating:
Summary: Longing for Budapest...
Review: After spending summer in Budapest, I have been dreaming of its winding streets, rustic charm and great cafes. Stepping inside of them is to feel like a kid again, with your mouth watering, your eyes widening and you making painstaking decision -- which of the luscious desserts to pick! Well, thanks to Rick Rodgers I can bring a whiff of Budapest cafe into my house. So far I made a few things and they have turned out to be wonderful. Berry Roulade is a beautiful to behold and can be made with minimum effort. Indeed, both sponge cake and berry cream (I used frozen raspberries) were so delicious, I was tempted to eat them before rolling the cake! I have to note that I have some experience with baking, therefore I have not had troubles with instructions. I suspect that novice bakers might find some recipes daunting, however if you would like to learn, this book provides excellent instructions as well as methods for storing finished products and ways to organize your time. Even history bits were fascinating, and I read them as I was beating the eggs for the batter. I look forward to curling with a cup of tea and a piece of my Roulade this evening. For all of those who would like to recreate famous pastries and cakes, this book is a find. I could applaud Mr. Rodgers for compiling such a delectable collection of authentic and easy to replicate at home recipes.
Rating:
Summary: THE best book in most cook libraries
Review: I bought this book three weeks ago and was duly impressed. Even after all the laudatory reviews of the majority of other readers, I still did not expect for the efforts to be that reasonable and for the results to be that delicious. I have tried three strudels, walnut crepes with chocolate sause (oh, boy! If I had not known an expression "culinary orgasm," I would have invented it now), plum squares, apple and poppy seeds pieces, blueberry-meringue pieces, and chocolate mousse cake with sour cherries. Already two friends asked for a copy as a birthday present and one neighbor ordered her own. My husband, who is from Europe, enjoyed everything, and neither him nor I mind extra working out or walking to sweat it off. BTW, none of the recipes produced anything heavy or too rich, just in California we are excessively health and slenderness conscious :). And, of course, if you are used to food and baked goodies like those from this book, you cannot go back to our artificial mass market cakes.
With regard to the font or how this book is edited and published - I could not have wished for a better one. It is beautiful, practical, is priced very reasonably, and what are those complaints about the font size? You cannot please someone who is 70+ and a cook with a normal or corrected vision at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Die-no-MIGHT
Review: I have made several recipes from this book, and everybody who samples my experiments agree. The recipes, and the results, are DYNAMITE!!! After exclaiming about the fact that I could pull this off without any real training, other than intuition, patience, and a little pioneer spirit, they demand more. My results get such acclaim that I have to tell them it's just a good recipe to get them to settle down! While some of the recipes are complicated and require some patience and focus, the return on invested time, effort, and expense will pay off. This is not [a]Southern Living or Good Housekeeping recipe book with infinite mutations and bastardizations of boxed cake mix dressed up in Drag with shiny ribbons ... This is the real meal deal. I agree that more pictures would be great, but that's expensive. The pages are thick and nicely glossed, so when the dough spatters a bit and hits the book it cleans up nicely. : ) The cost of the book is insubstantial to me compared to the results. I have made the cover recipe, the 'X'-schnitten (buy the book) several times and neighbors and coworkers tried convincing me to open a bakery. My hat is off to Rick Rodgers for making some VERY difficult pastries and tortes attainable and manageable for the mediocre middle-class experimentalist.
Rating:
Summary: Die-no-MIGHT
Review: I have made several recipes from this book, and everybody who samples my experiments agree. The recipes, and the results, are DYNAMITE!!! After exclaiming about the fact that I could pull this off without any real training, other than intuition, patience, and a little pioneer spirit, they demand more. My results get such acclaim that I have to tell them it's just a good recipe to get them to settle down! While some of the recipes are complicated and require some patience and focus, the return on invested time, effort, and expense will pay off. This is not [a]Southern Living or Good Housekeeping recipe book with infinite mutations and bastardizations of boxed cake mix dressed up in Drag with shiny ribbons ... This is the real meal deal. I agree that more pictures would be great, but that's expensive. The pages are thick and nicely glossed, so when the dough spatters a bit and hits the book it cleans up nicely. : ) The cost of the book is insubstantial to me compared to the results. I have made the cover recipe, the 'X'-schnitten (buy the book) several times and neighbors and coworkers tried convincing me to open a bakery. My hat is off to Rick Rodgers for making some VERY difficult pastries and tortes attainable and manageable for the mediocre middle-class experimentalist.
Rating:
Summary: More than Just Pretty Pictures
Review: I purchased this book for my mother. Since she grew up in Vienna, I figured she would enjoy many of the recipes as well as the excellent photography provided in the book. She enjoyed the book so much that she had me order a few extra copies for her sisters as well as a friend of hers (all of which are either American, Austrian, or Hungarian). The are equally enjoying their copies of Kaffeehaus.
Noticing a couple mentions of 'small print' in other reviews, I asked them if this was a problem. Nobody I asked seems to have a problem with the print size in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A book for the table
Review: I was hoping to find in this book a compilation of the best recipes for pastries from the former Austrian empire. Instead I believe, in contrast to most who have reviewed this book, that the recipes definitely take back seat to the pictures. Having been making many of these dishes for many years I find that there is not enough discussion of the simple "secrets" that really make these desserts so special. For example, the author states than when he serves the poppyseed cake people think that there is a special spice in it and that it tastes magical. I can only say that those people probably don't eat poppy seeds very much because his recipe for this cake, which incidentally can be quite good with the proper love, is anything but greater than the sum of its parts. And don't think that only this recipe is a disappointment: many of the recipes have poorly written instructions that omit important information. I understand how those homesick for the old world can get roped into buying and liking this book, but for the serious cook it should really be left on the coffee table.
Rating:
Summary: this beautiful book inspired my vacation!
Review: I'd never been to Vienna, Budapest and Prague, but certainly had the desire to go. I love European desserts!! American desserts don't come close. Though some of the recipes are very involved and take up alot of time, they're definitely worth it. I only wish that there were pictures of each dessert as many of them I've never seen or heard of before. After getting this book, I made my next vacation to those cities. Beautiful cities with so much architecture and culture - and plenty of cafes!!
Rating:
Summary: Sehr gut!
Review: I've recently read a number of books that attempted to capture the special appeal of the French café, and merge culture study, attractive photography, and enticing recipes into one volume. None of those attempts succeeded nearly as well as Rick Rodgers has done with his look at the classic Kaffeehäuser of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague. An experienced, and expert, cooking teacher and cookbook author, Rick Rodgers also has ancestral connections to bakeries in the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. He gives us a fascinating look at the coffee houses and their place in Central European culture, and explains how the recipes he's selected fir into the cultural and historical context (Rodgers explains that this cultural context is something the Austrians, in particular, especially value). The recipes themselves are enticing and interesting, with a nice combination of the familiar and the more exotic. Beautiful photography -- both of food and of cafés -- and insightful mini-essays on a variety of topics enhance the very attractive *mélange,* which is rounded out by the author's personal guide to Central European coffeehouses, a glossary of Viennese, Czech, and Hungarian coffee terms, and a useful list of resources and links. There's even a full bibliography of historical and culinary sources. I've always been eager to visit Vienna and the other cities of the Empire. Until I get there, this book will keep my culinary, as well as my historical, interests fired up.
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