Gourmet Germany, Austria & Switzerland: 2008
When you take your tongue out sightseeing in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, what are its favorite taste treats?
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Out Of The Way Niedersachsen
Finding inexpensive lodgings during the Hanover CeBit fair can be a challenge, but Meinersen fits the bill. I strongly recommend a rental car since the train station is six km and the bus connection is atrocious. However, a room at this high season for 35 euros that is as comfortable as home w/full breakfast served by the nicest mother you'd ever want is only topped by dinner down the street at the Bräu-Eck at Hauptstrasse 28. Come starving or bring a friend, this is homespun Niedersachsen.
Brian
Vienna, VA USA Sun 12/21/2008
Switzerland - alp cheese/roesti
We happened to be on a visit to Wengen, Switzerland on the day of a local cheese festival (last weekend of September) which was fun and great very local food. If you are in Switzerland you must try alp cheese! (I can't stress this enough.) Also roesti - potatoes with cheese sounds so simple but oh-so-good!
Diane <email>
Tucson, AZ USA Thu 11/06/2008
Heuriger in Lower Austria
Dear Roland,
I'll second everything you wrote :-))
And not only is the wine local, it is from that very vintner whose Heurigen you are visiting. By Heurigen hopping you can literally taste yourself through the local vineyards. The foods are mostly homemade as well. It's a great tradition here, that three times a year vintners can serve and sell their wines directly from their estates and welcome the public. Just follow the decorated straw wreaths hung out at the various estates.
Corinna <email>
Krems, Wachau Austria Sun 11/02/2008
Heuriger in Lower Austria
I want to put a plug in for enjoying a “Heuriger” in the Wachau and the Weinviertel of Lower Austria. A Heuriger is short for “this year's wine” – wine that's been harvested and bottled within the last year. A genuine Heuriger experience consists of more than wine though. Throughout the year, but especially in the fall, vintners of the area will open their facilities for a sampling of their products. There you can drink glass after glass of extremely local wine and eat huge portions of excellent breads, meats and vegetables. Sometimes there is music with it, sometimes you have to make your own. Many of the vintners also have rooms at reasonable rates, so you don't have to worry about driving home inebriated. To give you an idea of cost – this year three of us ate huge sandwich plates and we each had at least 3 ¼ l glasses of wine for a grand total of 20 Euro. This is a deal you can't pass up and it's an experience you will find only in Austria.
Roland <email>
Westminster, CO USA Sat 11/01/2008
Tasty German Food
German food is the best in the world! German Black Forest cake is the best. The pasta is also very good.
Blake Smith
Columbia, SC USA Wed 10/15/2008
Gourmet Germany, Austria & Switzerland
German Kartoffel salad is really amazing.
Blake Smith
Colombia, SC USA Wed 10/15/2008
A Berliner Favorite
The german Doughnut Berliner is a real treat!
Blake Smith
San Fransisco, CA USA Wed 10/15/2008
Happy eating in the Tirol
We just returned from 2 weeks in the Tirol, and had many wonderful meals. Try grostl (fried potatotes, bacon, ham, with an egg on top), Kasspatzle (hand-made pasta with melted cheese and roasted onions on top), lots of good salads (they're on the menu -- !), cheese kasnudeln (cheese and spinach pasta pockets -like perogies, but better), fish, and wiener schnitzel (of course). We also had some amazingly good thin crust pizza's in the Otztal valley. Happy eating !!
S. Hoyles
Prince George, BC CAN Thu 10/09/2008
A Berlin Favorite
We stayed at Pension Peters (highly recommended) thanks to Rick's suggestion, who in turn recommended the nearby Dicke Wirden as a good place to eat for good German cuisine. Traditional German dining is not that easy to find in this very cosmopolitan city, so this was a real find. Fantastic food at prices that can only be described as bargain. Bonus: it was evident that locals out-number tourists, a good sign for us, and the menu comes in English to help us travellers along. We enjoyed it so much that we ate there two out of the three nights we stayed in Berlin.
Kelly Eshpeter <email>
Calgary, AB Canada Sat 10/04/2008
best food in lucerne
we had a great supper in lucerne for a very good price, this thai restaurant is called Takrai (on Haldenstrasse 9), it is near the St. Leodegar church, very few tables, but you can also order for take out, great food for the price.
takrai
ottawa, ont canada Tue 09/30/2008
Cheese in Switzerland
Muren Switzerland has one little cheese shop. You can walk to it by the signs posted throughout the town. It had some of the best cheese I've ever eaten. Check out the stuff that is hand rolled! Delish!
Lisa
Vassar, KS USA Tue 09/30/2008
One to avoid in Zurich
Kantorei in Zurich, although suggested in Rick's book, was extremely underwhelming. Many of the 'cooked' vegetables were instead raw and the meat was virtually inedible due to it being very fatty. Try another place instead!
Kenny <email>
San Diego, CA USA Mon 09/29/2008
Spanish Restaurant in Berlin
We had a fantastic meal at Toro Negro in Berlin - Nurnberger Strasse 46 - 2 blocks from Kurfurstendamm at corner of Augsberger Strasse - U-Bahn station with same name is just across the street. The Spanish skillet dishes are awesome - fresh herbs and wonderful sauces. The prices are very reasonable - our bill for 2 was 21 euros without alcohol drinks. Our server - Nesrin - was very helpful and provided lots of info on neaby sights. Highly recommended.
Gary Messer <email>
St Petersburg, FL USA Tue 09/23/2008
Best Swiss Restaurant
We took the 3 hour boat ride on Lake Lucerne and ended up in the little town of Gersau during a rainstorm. We luckily found the best restaurant of our 9 day Germany/Switzerland vacation there!! It is called Restaurant Tubli. The chef made us Raclette and Rosti--two authentic dishes. He visited us at our table and turned on Swiss music for us when he heard it was our first day in Switzerland. The decor looks authentic, the atmosphere was great, the food was the best we had on our trips, AND the prices were half of what they were in Zurich or Lucerne. We would go back there in a heartbeat!!
Julie
Provo, Utah USA Sat 09/20/2008
Bernkastel Restaurant
Parallel to the Mosel and a block over is a very nice restaurant, Cafe Thiesen. Named after its owners, Sabine & Manfred. Several locals confirmed my sense that here was a nice place to eat. We all were right. Great food and welcoming host made the visit to beautiful Bernkastel even better.
Bill Schalders
Castle Rock, CO USA Sun 08/31/2008
Dessert
Black Forest cake from the bakeries.
better than any I have had here in USA. Less sugar and light.
JS
USA Thu 08/28/2008
Salzburg restaurant Saran
In Salzburg while participating in the music festival, we walked by the restaurant called Saran on Judengasse. First the menu caught our interest with it's small but varied fare, from Indian curries to traditional Austrian dishes. Then we noticed photos and endorsements of Rick Steves. We have eaten there 3 times and can only rave about the cooking, the personal attention from the eponymous owner, who is Indian, and our charming server, Johanna. The atmosphere is cosy and there is seating outdoors in good weather. The icing on the cake is the reasonable price of the menu, especially considering how expensive this town can be. Be sure to have the apple strudel which is the best we've eaten anywhere. Note for cholesterol watchers: Saran uses oil in place of butter (ghee) in his curries, which are delicious, and the strudel is not buttery either with it's paper-thin filo crust chock full of perfectly prepared apples.
Martha Aarons <email>
Cleveland , Ohio USA Mon 08/25/2008
Quality Cheap Eats in Rothenburg
For an affordable takeout meal in Rothenburg, Rick Steves recommended the Doener Kebab (Wenggasse 4). It was even better than we expected. Our pizza crusts and pita were homemade before our eyes. With the dollar as low as it is, eating out in Germany for a family of five would usually run at least $75. Our meal was about $20.
Kari Carter
Dayton, OH USA Tue 07/22/2008
eating in Germany
On the Rick Steves Best of Europe, I ate at Spatzle-Schwob run by Edith Gastehaus in Rothenburg. The price was great and the bratwurst and beer the best I ate in Germany.It's at Milchmarkt 6
Linda
MARYSVILLE, USA Sun 07/13/2008
A Great Vienna Restaurant
As recommended by Rick, we ate at the Melker Siftskeller in Vienna. It did not disappoint...hands down the best meal we had in Europe. We got there early...around 5:00 and had the place to ourselves, but by 6:30 it was packed. My husband had the house specialty: fried pork knuckle. I was less adventureous, I had beef goulash. Large portions, great atmosphere...we highly recommend!
Lauren
Ft Walton Beach, FL USA Fri 07/11/2008
Great b&b and eats; Gusthof Schluxen in Reutte, Austria
Just got back from a 2 week trip to Germany and Austria. I highly recommend Halstatt as one of the definite stops...Stayed at the recommended Gusthof Schluxen, which has nice alpine-decorated rooms, but even more, the food there is to die for...so sad that didn't have a chance to eat there more...Michelin-rated...
Mina
Chicago, Il USA Fri 06/06/2008
Steve's Munich Restaurant Reco's
Just got back from Munich ... tried several of Steve's recommended restaurants and agree they are great: Hackerhaus (Bavarian), Prynz Myshkin (vegetarian - we're talking gourmet vegetarian here), and La Vecchia Masseria (wonderful Italian). We also spent an afternoon in Oberammergau, and ate at the Gasthaus there - very reasonably priced and delish. The Kasespaetzle was amazing (homemade noodles tossed with cheese, fried onions on top).
Robin
Tequesta, Fla USA Mon 06/02/2008
great place for big eaters
We just came back from Germany. In Marburg, we happened upon a great Greek restaurant, Lokomotiv, across from the Elisabeth Church. Biggest portions I have ever seen. They have a sign outside: Schnitzel, XL and XXL. I ordered putenschnitzel, and it covered most of my platter (not plate, platter). I noticed that the jagerschnitzel spilled over the platter on all sides. It was very good, by the way. If you are taking big eaters to Marburg, this is a good place to try!
carrie
pacific grove, CA USA Tue 04/15/2008
Frankfurt Airport Restaurant
It's a rare occasion that a restaurant meal at an airport creates a positive memory. But the Käfer's Bistro (Terminal 1, Bereich B, Ebene 2) at Frankfurt Airport did just do that. I stopped there with my two kids on a layover on our way home, hungry and with not much money left after our 3 weeks in Germany. We had a traditional German meal with a selection of different Bratwurst and other items I can't remember. And both kids and I were impressed - and I did grow up in Germany and know German cuisine. Moreover, the service was great and the restaurant has a good sized non-smoking section.
Beatrix
Calgary, Canada Sat 03/29/2008
Great dining in Prague
I just got back from 2 weeks in Europe, which included stops in Munich, Vienna, Prague and Berlin, and I wanted to mention a great restaurant in Prague.
Prague has become much more expensive since my last visit, and it is easy to get ripped off. However, we found a great place with a great atmosphere and very good prices. It is called Klub Architektu, and it is only a few blocks from the clock tower. They have lunch specials every day where you can get a glass of wine, a main course and a wonderful dessert for 99 krones, which is about $5.25. We ended up going back for dinner, where four of us had great dinners, including 2 wonderful bottles of wine, for around 1400 krones ($75). The dinners included huge salads, entrees, dessert, coffee and a couple of side dishes as well as 1.5 liters of water.
The place is in a beautiful stone celler and is almost all smoke free. There is also a wonderful bookstore attached with great books on architecture.
The address is Betlemske namesti 169/5A Praha 1.
David <email>
Portland, Oregon USA Thu 01/03/2008