Eat Your Heart Out!

Forelle Blau in Salzburg

When this perky fellow arrived at the table, I felt like a we had a new dinner companion!

One of the big challenges for us when we travel is fitting in meals. It's not that we're so overwhelmed with art and architecture that we can't find time to eat. It's that we have so many choices in restaurants and cafes, that we want to eat six or seven times a day!

The best Weinerschnitzel in Vienna is served here.

Down a tiny street in Vienna we dashed into Figlmüller during a rainstorm.
After turning down the wine list, Dee ordered apple juice and I asked for bottled water.
"Do you have gas?" our waiter asked politely.

It turned out he just wondered if I liked my water carbonated or still.
When I asked for ice, he served it in a separate glass so he wouldn't "over cool it."

Mixed Salat was butter lettuce and tomatoes served on a bed of sauerkraut and potato salad.
Sometimes we were given a menu with English translations. Offerings included:

• Cheeks of ox
• Essence of Pepper Tongue
• Tomato Salad with Foam
• Fruit Salad with Aloe Vera
• Eggy Noodles (which was a delicious mix of tiny egg noodle type dumplings, cheese and scrambled eggs.)
  

Menu outside Restaurant in Tabor.

Our choices became more risky in the Czech Republic.

We were in tiny villages where nobody could speak German or English. With our Czech-English dictionary we tried to figure out what we were ordering, before we pointed to it on the menu.

We were pleasantly surprised by everything we tried.

Hotel Nautilus Restaurant, Tabor.

The presentations were beautiful in even the small, out of the way cafes we chose.
Dee's asparagus was wrapped in bacon. We didn't ever know what the spiral thing was, but we recognized the potpourri of onions, leeks and turnips.

My asparagus was tied up with the top of a green onion (in a bow.) A potato was dressed in a strip of zucchini. The orange curls were deep fried carrots, and the paprika sauce featured green olives and mushrooms.

Cafe in Cesky Krumlov

For lunch we chose a ham and potato filled crepe with feta cheese.
Dessert was a chocolate crepe, stuffed with raspberries and chocolate cream pudding, drizzled with raspberry sauce and a dollop of whipped cream.
It was unbelievable.

Chocolate Shop in Cesky Krumlov

The weather was very fickle. Sunny warm mornings were followed by snowy blizzards in the afternoons. It would clear up quickly and be overcast, but warm. Luckily the storms lasted just long enough for us to duck into a cafe for hot chocolate.

A cup of cocoa in the Czech Republic was more like a cup of fondue chocolate with a mound of whipped cream scooped on top. It was impossible to drink, but with a spoon we finished it off.

Nautilus Hotel, Tabor

This dish was described on the menu as
Strawberry Butter Dumplings with Grated Curd.
The scoops that look like ice cream were actually a donut type dumpling, kind of airy inside, filled with a sweet cream cheese.
Warm vanilla creme anglaise was poured over, along with strawberries in a puree.
Grated chocolate, a spoonful of sour cream, powdered sugar and mint leaves were the toppings.

I will never forget this dessert.

Can you believe that people who eat like this fit into these cars?

Dee and Smart Car, Vienna

What are some memorable dishes you've enjoyed in unique places?

*Thanks to Saralynn who honored me with an Award For Excellence on her own excellent blog.