Eat Me

Hello faithful followers of Kristen’s blog! While Kristen is busy doing our laundry, I (Todd) have hijacked her blog for the purpose of reflecting on the culinary and gastronomical (aside from the “roulette” described in an earlier post) experiences of our trip, which is unfortunately coming to an end. This is my first attempt at publishing, so please be nice.

I have arranged my thoughts into a sort of “best of” list, food and drink destinations followed by a brief description and reasons for inclusion. I have organized the contents by travel destination, in the order visited.

Austria
Austrian cuisine is hearty, consisting usually of red meats, potatoes in various forms, and thick sauces, but I found it more sophisticated than its Czech or German counterparts. I should also mention that Austria has helped significantly to develop in me a true appreciation for white wine. Their Gruner Veltliner is a true star, and they don’t do a bad Riesling either.

Vienna
On the whole, it is easy to eat mediocre food in Vienna, which is much easier to find than either good or bad food (though we found both). A big lesson is that more expensive in Vienna, does not equate to better food. Vienna also does ethnic foods very well. Don’t be afraid of Indian and Asian cuisines in Vienna (but do your homework).

1) Wrenkh – This first district gem right off the Graben specializes in vegetarian cuisine (though they have non-vegetarian options), a rarity here. Its mod decor and friendly staff compliment the inventive flavor combinations and textures used in many dishes. We had a great late night meal with the restaurant practically to ourselves.

2) Orpheus – This was the best Greek we had in Vienna period. I had stuffed squid which was absolutely fabulous (see adjoining picture).

3) Wild (pronounced Veeld) – This recommended restaurant was under-whelming in all respects except for its Strudel, the best we’ve found in Vienna.

4) Demel – The tourist’s choice for pastry and coffee, Demel can be a challenge. However, their Heisse Schokolade (Hot Chocolate) is stunning, in spite of its over-inflated price.

5) Salm Brau – This is where we are going back to tonight for dinner. Taking the best all-around category, this lively little (not really that little) restaurant with a great front garden serves authentic Austrian cuisine. Everything’s terrific (though the service can on occasion be a little poopy). Plus, they make their own marzen beer, which tied with the Augustiner Brau variety in Salzburg as our favorite.

6) Gasthaus Immervoll – We think…the best Wienerschnitzel in Vienna.

Salzburg

1) Stadt Krug – We had one of the best meals of the trip on my birthday here. I can’t remember what I got (because I was drinking more than I ate), but I remember it was fabulous. It is expensive, but great for a special occasion.

Prague, Czech Republic
Czech food sucks. It’s really that simple. The basics are of other Germanic and Slavic cuisine; it’s just bad. Prague is a beautiful city, and the Czech people we met were friendly, intelligent, and multi-dimensional, but their food reflects this as a black hole reflects light. But the beer…oh the beer almost made up for it…almost. Really tasty, incredibly cheap pilsner.

1) Orange Moon – Very decent Thai food; and a great choice for those who don’t enjoy chewing on their own shoes.

Budapest (pronounced BudaPesht), Hungary
Nope not going to do it, not going to make the obligatory joke about Hungary in the food post. Appropriately though, we found Hungarian cuisine to be delightful, especially after Prague. A good mixture of German, French, and Paprika, Hungarian food matches the Magyar (pronounced MUD-yar) language for complexity and richness. All the food we had in Budapest was good, many honorable mentions. Ironically, only one of the three winners below served traditional Hungarian cuisine. Go figure.

1) Shalimar – This is an Indian restaurant, a very good one. Try stuff you normally wouldn’t.

2) Chez Daniel – Great traditional French restaurant with a great little courtyard and really friendly staff. The food was phenomenal. I had the duck with a berry sauce (see the adjoining picture). Three-course meal with wine for the equivalent of $20 to $30! This was one of the best full meals of the trip without a doubt.

3) Karpatia Restaurant – Fancy, expensive, a little cheesy and really, really good. This was traditional Hungarian at its best. Hot goulash, cold fruit soup, dumplings, and I had the duck again. Whew! The desert was so-so, but the previous courses, wine, and company were stellar. (Thanks to Pierre!)

Italy
Italian food varies by locality. Don’t just think of pizza and pasta, though its mostly pizza and pasta. Pastas are made from scratch and served a little al dente if good. Overall, we weren’t disappointed with Italian food in Italy. Though we’d often had the dishes before, we’d rarely had them as good. Italian wines are great too. Chianti Classico of course, a great reliable Sangiovese, but not in all areas (Florence and Sienna the best). Try the white wines with seafood in the Cinque Terre. Fruity, not at all like the Gruner Veltliner.

Rome

1) Miscellania – The best lunch place…possibly ever, anywhere. A great lunch-only, family-run, student-favorite. The staff was so freaking awesomely cool. We could stay there for hours. Great fresh fruit (melon this time of year), fantastic salads, and he-UGE sandwiches. Even free strawberry wine, for us. Not only that, but cheap. Definitely best bang for buck! We want to go back tomorrow. Stay, talk to people around you, talk to the staff, listen to the conversations, and watch people interact, hugging each other, laughing, singing even. (Okay I’ll try to keep it shorter.)

2) Mystosis – Best wine list. Octopus spaghetti had sand in it, had to send it back. A little overpriced.

3) Giolitti’s – Best gelato place in Italy as far as we’re concerned, in terms of ambiance, service, and flavor. We went several times. Buy your ticket first, then try to choose, or ask for their recommendation. Kris did the later and got a special banana split thing with three flavors, nuts, hazelnut, the works.

4) Pizzeria Remo – Off the beaten path, family-style, and the best thin-crust pizza we’ve ever had.

Thanks to Marlena for pointing us to Giolitti’s and Pizzeria Remo.

Florence
In keeping with the overpriced and touristy nature of the city, good and reasonably priced food in Florence was harder to find. But we found…

1) Trattoria de Sergio – One of the best meat loafs (yup I said meat loafs) Kristen’s ever had

2) Italy Loves – The best wine shop (plus oils and vinegars) we found. The two guys working there were fantastic. Strike up a conversation and taste, taste, taste. Then buy, we didn’t regret it.

(Note: between Florence and Sienna we were at a wine tasting party in a little town called Giocalto, near Poppi, in Tuscany. This was one of the best times we had on our trip, and some of the best wine too. Thanks again to Marlena and her very generous family.)

Sienna

1) Traverna San Giuseppe – We had the pear, gorgonzola, and shallot risotto, and Florentine steak (prepared perfectly). Highly recommended, a little on the expensive side.

Vernazza

1) Restaurante Castello – Great seafood spaghetti

Monterosso

1) Via Venti – Great chocolate soufflé. Food’s not bad either.

Venice

1) Casa dei Nobili – They had the best pasta and seafood pasta we had on the trip. Plus, they have a great little courtyard in which to sit, eat, drink, watch the dusk turn to night, and listen to Billie Holiday. I had the scallops. Mmm yes. They also have a cool art nouveau-style logo. That’s right.

Whew! Okay. Well, for the sake of space. I’ll just mention briefly that Nightfly’s and the Museums Quarter are our favorite places to go for a drink in Vienna (apart from the heuriguens).

Okay. Done. Sorry. Hope this is useful to people. Enjoy.