DINING
Food
Traditional Austrian dishes are Wiener Schnitzel, boiled beef (Tafelspitz), calf’s liver with herbs in butter (Geröstete Leber), Goulash, Kaiserschmarrn, Palatschinken and Salzburger Nockerln, as well as various types of smoked and cured pork. Viennese cuisine is strongly influenced by southeast European cuisine, notably that of Hungary, Serbia, Romania and Dalmatia. Many of the simpler meals are often made with rice, potatoes and dumplings (Knödel) with sauces. The main meal of the day is lunch. Mehlspeisen is the national term for cakes and puddings, all of which are wonderfully appetizing. There are more than 57 varieties of Torte, which is often consumed with coffee at around 1500. Open all day, the Austrian coffee shop (Kaffeehaus) is little short of a national institution and often provides the social focus of a town or neighborhood.
Spirits such as whisky and gin, together with imported beers, tend to be on the expensive side, but local wines (often served in open carafes) are excellent and cheap. Most of the wines are white (Riesling, Veltliner) but there are also some good red wines from Baden and Burgenland, as well as imported wines from other European countries. Generally the strict registration laws mean that the quality of the wine will be fully reflected in its price. Obstler is a drink found in most German-speaking countries, and is made by distilling various fruits. It is usually very strong, and widely drunk as it is cheap and well flavored. Most bars or coffee houses have waiter service and bills are settled with the arrival of drinks. All restaurants have waiter service.
Note
There are no national licensing laws in Austria, but each region has local police closing hours. Most coffee houses and bars serve wine as well as soft drinks and beers.
Nightlife
Viennese nightlife offers something for every taste: opera, theater and cabaret as well as numerous discos, bars and nightclubs. There are cinemas of all types, some of them of architectural interest, showing films in different languages. A good way to spend a summer evening is in one of the beer gardens found all over Austria. The wine-growing area around Vienna features wine gardens (Heurigen) where visitors can sample local wines in an open-air setting.
|
