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Austrian Culture: Viennese Food & Cuisine

Robert Easton

Arriving late on my first night in Vienna, the only place still serving food near the Hotel was a Würstelstand, where I enjoyed one of Vienna's greatest creations, the Käsekreiner, a sausage stuffed with cheese (3.20 Euros).

Greasy but delicious, this is the ultimate drunken snack. There must be thousands of Würstelstands dotted on street corners around Vienna, serving up staples such as Bratwurst (2.10 Euros), or newer inventions like Currywurst (2.50 Euros), a spicy sausage chopped and sprinkled with curry powder, then served on a paper plate with mustard and a hunk of brown bread or white Semmel roll.

Leberkäse, which means'liver-cheese' is a delicious alternative to sausages found at some Würstelstands. It contains neither liver nor cheese and is made of corned beef and bacon. It looks like paté and is eaten in a white Semmel roll with mustard.

Variations on the same theme are Pferdleberkäse, which contains horse meat, and Leberkäse mit Käse (Leberkäse with cheese), where cheese is mixed in with the meat rather than being added later.

This intrepid tastebud adventurer found the horse meat variety rather uninspiring, but the one with the cheese was fantastic.

Austrian breakfast is often just a Semmel (a white bread roll that appears with almost every meal in Austria), with cup of tea or coffee. Viennese, however, like to take a little more time over their breakfast, enjoying plenty of fried eggs, meat and toast.

I got a huge plate of ham and eggs for just over three Euros. On the menu,'Toast' can mean plain old toast, or it can mean ham and cheese on toast.

The main meal of the day is lunch (Mittagessen). It usually consists of three courses, the first being a soup. Common soups are Leberknödelsuppe, a clear soup with liver dumplings, and Gulaschsuppe.

My Gulaschsuppe was like a very tasty watered down version of normal goulash, and set me back 2.80 Euros. The main course is typically heavy and meat based.

Perhaps Vienna's most famous contribution to world cuisine is the Wiener Schnitzel (6 Euros), although you can find it all over Austria. It is a thin escalope of breaded veal.

It comes with a slice of lemon to be squeezed over the top, and will go down well with Sauerkraut (2 Euros and much nicer than it sounds) and a salad.

There are plenty of other kinds of Schnitzel to be had, for example the Cordon Bleu, which contains ham and cheese.

Goulash is another staple you shouldn't leave Vienna without trying once, consisting of a very thick, rich beef stew, usually served with potatoes and a Semmel.

A Beisl restaurant is a traditional place serving up pub grub, and the best place to try Viennese food. You can find them everywhere, some of them say 'Beisl Restaurant' on the sign, or just look for the yellow Ottakringer (the brewery) sign hanging above the door. The interior is typically spartan and dark, but you're guaranteed a warm welcome, good beer, and enormous portions.

Vienna's cafes are an excellent place to rest your legs in the afternoon. Enjoy a Viennese Melange, a coffee similar to cappucino with milk and whipped cream (2.20 Euros), or a cup of tea, Viennese style, without milk but with lemon (2 Euros).

Get your teeth into some of the amazing cakes Vienna has to offer. The best, and easiest to find, is Sachertorte. Dense, rich chocolatey sponge with a layer of apricot jam and chocolate around the outside.

Sachertorte is not to be missed and difficult to forget.

A slice in a cafe costs 2-3 Euros, or you can head to the cafe and shop next to the Hotel Sacher on Philharmonikastrasse.

This must be the best Sachertorte in the world, and you can send cakes anywhere in the world from the shop next door. For cake and postage, prices start at 34, 44 and 54 Euros to the EU, Japan or US respectively.

A streetside cafe is also the place to try other sweet Viennese treats like Apfelstrudel, Topfenstrudel (cream cheese strudel), Buchteln (a jam filled pastry) and Palatschinke, a Viennese crêpe.

The Viennese like to munch on these in the afternoon, but cafes are open most of the day and are very reasonably priced. They also serve alcohol.

Tipping is generally expected in Vienna, although you won't be chased down the street by angry staff if you don't leave anything. Around 10% is appropriate.

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