Thursday, April 3, 2008

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.

11 comments:

Jake said...

The way to win friends and influence grandchildren is to post a disgusting fish photo on your blog. Everyone around here thinks it is totally awessome!

Jake said...

This is EMILY. How could you eat that whole fish in one day, Oma and Opa?

Christie said...

Sign me up for a trip right now. I think everything (except the fish) will be my new favorite meal.

Ashlee said...

I would have gained 50 pounds on that trip! I love food. Well, it's a love/hate relationship. I love eating it, but I hate what it does to my body afterwards. :0) Those dumplings did look amazing! But that fish would have made me lose my appetite. :0)

Kay Dennison said...

I gained 5 pounds just looking at that strawberry dessert!

And telling of the eggy noodles explained a lunchtime favorite when I was a kid nd eventual side dish at our house. My mother never explained where it came from all though I suspected it was a Bavarian thing and now I know I was right.

Thanks!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Yum-o, Oma. It looks so great... I want to be there right now for lunch.By the food - it looks like a great trip!

SaraLynn said...

This is amazing! The food looks fantastic! See what I mean? I had my nose practically touching the monitor! i love your stories and the pictures were outstanding!!
The last dessert was something I could definitely get into!! Yum!
I have already told my hubby about your adventure and that I would love to go there some day.

mama jo said...

looks delicious...fish must be universal in the way that they don't skin, cut, or clean them...we've had that..deepfried little fishes with heads...we thought it would be like fish and chips....not! thanks for the cute card....

kenju said...

I am not so adventuresome as you, but I might try cheek of ox sometime....LOL

marta said...

wow!! mom, what delish treats, that chocolate pudding looks divine. am glad you guys are always so bold to try everything!

Jenibelle said...

Made my husband "homesick" for his mission!! Aren't the cars ridiculously tiny in Europe? We had to squeeze hefty adults into a car that felt like it was 4X4 feet. Never been so miserable!!

Lovely trip, look forward to reading more about it!