Driving past Vienna Bistro on Main Street, you're not quite sure what's going on beyond the glare of the windows, but when you can find a parking spot or walk to it from the TRAX stop down the street, you get a bit of a surprise.

There's life in this restaurant - with the type of food that nourishes and sustains. At lunch, there are nicely proportioned sandwiches such as the ever-tempting Austrian Reuben ($6.50) served with made-from-scratch potato salad. And for $9, you get a civilized break from the workday with a hot knife-and-fork meal and two sides in a dark wood-and-marble dining room.

A house favorite is the rahmschnitzel ($9, lunch; $16.50, dinner). After a glass of Alsatian white or a good Austrian beer, it's rather fun to pronounce. But it's even better to eat. Chef-owner Frody Volgger, an Austrian native with a serious food obsession, has managed to turn a ubiquitous pork chop into something luxurious and downright desirable. His version features tender medallions slathered with a creamy wild mushroom sauce.

It's important to note that Volgger's food obsession isn't for show. It's the soul of Vienna Bistro. "Made-from-scratch" is essentially most of the menu. My sources tell me that Volgger is the type to hunt for fresh wild mushrooms for the rahmschnitzel or an intriguing jägerschnitzel ($25.50). And he makes his own bratwurst and cures his own meats for the bündnerfleisch (beef) or speck (Austrian ham) to make a simple Fleisch sampler appetizer ($6.50). I could eat the tiny, crunchy cornichons and pickled pearl onions by the bowlful, but I'll take a lesser portion when accompanied by thin slices of Volgger's house-cured meats or a bubbling plate of raclette ($7.50).

This beefy cheese, melted and waiting to be slathered on bread, I consider to be superior to fondue ($35) - perhaps because I enjoy the more assertive character of the alpine cow's milk cheese. Plus, it's more practical for a table of two to four, versus a whole pot of bubbling cheese. A note for vegetarians - the place has "sweater food" for you, too. Think hot carbs and melted cheese as in a decadent käsespätzle ($8.50 lunch; $16.25 dinner) spiked with caramelized onions.

Desserts are house-made as well. One that intrigued me most was incredibly dense and decadent. Linzertorte ($6.50) here isn't filled with raspberries. Rather, the cake-torte is crumbly with ground hazelnuts and layered with velvety apricot jam. It goes nicely with a cup of hot coffee.

Despite the appealing descriptions of menu items, there are a few caveats to Vienna Bistro's overall experience. Service one night can be extremely efficient, polite and helpful. Other nights, it can be sloppy and downright forgetful - I like to stay hydrated during a meal.

And the food sometimes misses its sumptuous high note. For instance, a dinner during downtown's recent Dine O' Round was perfect in every sense. Then a subsequent visit had every plate well executed, but poorly seasoned. In other words, we all reached for the table's salt grinder (a rare treat) to shake over the spätzle (tiny Austrian dumplings) and braised Tafelspitz (beef roast - $9) or sauerbraten draped in a red wine sauce ($9, lunch; $17.50, dinner), however fork tender the meat was.

A redemptive meal consisted of a special tomato soup and wienerschnitzel ($9, lunch; $25, dinner). The starter tasted like tomato essence and whetted my appetite enough to dig into the sizzling, crunchy-coated meat - pork during lunch, veal during dinner - that is no way associated with our modern fast-food offerings. The original is much better.

Prices may turn some diners off. But here I must come to Volgger's defense since the ingredients tasted top-quality and his zeal for homemade cuisine matches the product. And let's be honest, where else can you get a nice, "sweater food" type of meal on Main Street?

Vanessa Chang is a Tribune restaurant reviewer. E-mail her at food@sltrib.com. To comment on this column, write livingeditor@sltrib.com.

Something about Vienna Bistro

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In a nutshell: Austrian fare, made-from-scratch on Main Street. Warming raclette cheese appetizer, sizzling-crisp wienerschnitzel and rahmschnitzel (pork tenderloin in a creamy wild mushroom sauce) are ideal for cold weather dining.

Where: 136 S. Main St., Salt Lake City; 801-322-0334

Web site: viennabistro.com

Hours: Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 5 to 9:30 p.m.

Children's menu: No

Prices: $$$

Liquor: Beer and wine

Corkage: $12

Reservations: Accepted

Takeout: Yes

Wheelchair access: Yes

Outdoor dining: Yes

On-site parking: No

Credit cards: All major except Discover