Thursday, August 9, 2012

Eating my way through the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Anyone who knows me, knows that I remember trips mostly by the food I eat along the way. On top of being a great mnemonic device, I also happen to love food, particularly street food.
Street food is a great way to get the pulse of a place. Sure it's a little more risky than eating at restaurants, and believe me, I do plenty of that as well, but street food is the food of the people; It's the local food, and it defines the tastes of a region.

Every time I take a trip, I make a list of stuff I want to try in the places I'm headed. Usually those things are pretty easy to come across. Sometimes they're seasonal, sometimes they're national treasures. My research into food in Germany, Austria and Slovakia have given me a good many key dishes I'd love to try. The list is long, so I'm only going to show a few highlights from each region here.

Berlin

Currywurst
The ultimate Berliner street food. Steamed, then fried pork sausage cut into bits. Then covered with curry ketchup and curry powder. Mmmm. Heartburn.
Berliner Pfannkuchen
Let's call it what it is -- a jelly doughnut. But usually filled with plum jelly.

Munich

Fine line between Austrian and German food here.

Weisswurst
Always eaten before noon. Always with the hands. Sausage made with minced veal and pork bacon.
Kaiserschmarrn
Caramelized sweet pancake, fried in butter, topped with powdered sugar. It's like funnel cake +. Served with fruit compote.

Salzburg

Salzburger Nockerln
Sweet Souffle made with raisins.
Kasnocken
Cheesey, dumplingy thing.

Vienna

By far the most things I'm interested in eating.

Wienerschnitzel
How could I not? Breaded veal cutlet with lemon.

Apfelstrudel
Paper-thin layers of pastry filled with apples? Oh my.
Marillenknodel
Potato Dumpling filled with apricot.

Bratislava

The culinary departure of the trip. Lots of Hungarian influence.

Halusky Bryndzou
Potato dumplings with sheep's milk cheese and bacon
Bryndzove Pirohy
Who doesn't love a good peroshki?
Borovicka
Juniper brandy. The Slovak national drink.

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