The inspiration for the mostly vegetarian food here derives from around the world, including India and Mexico, but the origins of its name are purely Austrian: It refers to Philippine Welser, wife of the 16th-century overlord of the Tyrol, Ferdinand II, and author of a book on the healing power of herbs. Positioned one floor above street level, with somewhat anonymous decor that might remind you of an airport waiting lounge, it was established as a public works project about a decade ago as a means of feeding and employing the city's homeless. All of that changed, however, in 2000, when members of the Puffing family took over its administration and whipped it into cracking good shape as a privately operated restaurant. Cuisine is tasty and flavorful, most of it focusing on all-vegetarian presentations of salads, lasagnas, curries, polenta with Gorgonzola, cannelloni with tofu, and pumpkin risotto with ginger and Parmesan cheese. There is a limited array of fish dishes, including stir-fries of shrimp with vegetables, braised salmon with a wine-flavored herb sauce, and zander (pikeperch) with an herb-flavored butter sauce. As lunches here are more popular than evening meals, lunch is served both on the street level and in the upstairs dining room; dinners are served only in the dining room upstairs.
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