Würstelstanden (sausage stands) are the most typical Austrian street food. These are mainly standing only and have a bar around the small structure, where people can set their paper plates and then eat. Sausage stands sell a wide variety of sau-sages. The most popular are Käsekrainer (literally „pus filled‰), which is injected with melting cheese, Debreziner (thin spicy sausage), Frankfurte r, also called Wiener (often called Wurstel mit Senf , meaning served with hot or sweet mustard on a roll), Burenwurst (thick chunky sausage), Bratwurst (grayish-white sausage), Weisswurst (a fat Bratwurst), and Bosna (Bratwurst topped with curry powder and served with onions and mustard on a hot dog bun). Sausages can be served as a hot dog in a long bun or on a paper plate with a slice of bread or a roll, and a choice of spicy or sweet mustard, and pickles, onions, or hot peppers.
One Austrian specialty found at Würstelstanden and in many shops is Leberkäse.
The word is directly translated as „liver cheese,‰ though the actual liver content can vary from none to 5ă6 percent. Leberkäse is made of ground meat, pork or beef, bacon, onions, bread crumbs, and spices, which is formed into a loaf and baked until it is spongy soft inside with a fine crust on the outside. It is usually served hot on a cut roll and with sliced pickles or mustard to taste. It can be also sold cold, in which case it is eaten thinly cut as a cold cut. Aside from the regular Leberkäse, there are also Käseleberkäse (with melting cheese pockets), Pikan-tleberkäse (with pieces of paprika), and Pferdeleberkäse (made of horse meat), though the last one is available only in special delis that sell mainly horse-meat products.
International Influences
Sausage stands are popular among the older generation at lunchtime, but are pa-tronized by younger people for a late-night snack after a night out. So are the newly popular Asian noodle stands. With names like Happy Noodles or Crazy Noodles, they are served in a box, with the basic options being vegetables or chicken. Other
Austria | 29 versions contain duck breast, teriyaki chicken, or salmon, sweet-and-sour shrimp, or spicy beef. Noodle stands are especially popular among younger people and often have long lines. They also sell prepacked sushi and maki boxes, as well as soups and mini spring rolls.
Because of immigration from Turkey and the Balkan countries, kebabs are sold all over Austria. There are several different kebab stands, ranging from those in green markets that are generally cheaper, to those that double as Turkish restau-rants and kebab-only places, usually on the main city streets. Kebabs can be made from chicken, lamb, or beef and are served on either a large white bun or wrapped in a tortilla-like pancake (called Dörum). They are topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and yogurt sauce.
Pizza-by-the-slice is a classic street food in Austria. The slices are usually rather large, and the most popular ingredients are ham, mushrooms, salami (pepperoni), vegetarian (broccoli, sweet corn, paprika, tomatoes), spinach and feta cheese, and tuna and onions. Very often the same places that sell pizza also sell falafel, kebab, schnitzel, and lately even Asian noodle boxes.
Baked Goods
Much of what can be called „street food‰ is sold from shops as „takeout‰ to be eaten on the go. Baked goods are among them. AustriaÊs bakery culture is probably only second to that of France. The countryÊs numerous bakeries offer a wide range of rolls, breadsticks, pretzels, rye breads, sourdough and yeast breads, whole meal buns and loaves, filled puff pastries, doughnuts, cakes, and fruit loaves. Bakeries are located on main streets, in train stations, city squares, and shopping malls, and are the most popular breakfast choice of Austrians. Many also sell premade cold sandwiches in their own rolls, buns and breads, as well as drinks. The most popu-lar items are the Salzstangerl (kosher-salt bread stick), the Semmel (dinner roll), the Laugenbretzel (lye pretzel), the Nuss- or Mohnbeugel (sweet bread filled with sweet walnut or poppy seed), the croissant, and the Kornspitz (wholemeal bread with seeds inside or on top).
Deli Meats
Most supermarkets in Austria have a deli counter (Feinkost), where people can buy such take-out food as any cold cut, cheese, pickle, or spread in a roll of choice pre-pared on the spot. These delis also sell prepacked sandwiches (triangles, baguettes, ham rolls), as well as packed salads, fruit salads, yogurt cereal, ready-made micro-wave meals, and even sushi boxes. Also most have a hot box for Leberkäse , grilled chicken, Schnitzel, Stelze (ham hock), roast pork belly, roast cumin pork, mince patties, and sausages. There are also special butcher/deli shops, specializing in cold
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cuts, which offer an endless variety of sandwiches, especially made of pork, and where one can usually get a warm meal as well.
Schnitzel
The schnitzel shop is another typically Austrian food shop, where, for a little money, diners get any of a huge variety of this classic Austrian dish, which is a thin cutlet of meat, often veal, coated in fine breadcrumbs and fried. The best known are Schnit-zelsemmel (Viennese Schnitzel, breaded and deep-fried, chicken, turkey, or pork served on a roll with salad, ketchup, mayonnaise, and/or sauce tartar); Fischsemmel (the same, but with breaded fish); Cordon Bleu (Schnitzel with melting cheese inside); breaded fried cheese, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, and cauliflower;
fried chicken wings, chicken drumsticks, and sometimes grilled chicken; and sides of French fries, wedges, potato salad, and cucumber salad. Some of these places offer limited seating for a quick bite, but mostly the food is taken and eaten on the go.
Other Street Foods
Other kinds of street food are sold at special events and during various seasons.
Typically a lot of food is available in amusement parks and at festivals. These range from small snacks to more filling foods. Among them are caramelized nuts, seeds and nuts, popcorn, cotton candy, corn-on-the cob, ice cream, pancakes, cold drinks, hot dogs, burgers, kebabs, beer, and Grillhendl (grilled chicken). Some stands have Langos (a Hungarian type of flat dough, deep-fried till crispy, and topped with gar-lic oil to taste), Pofesen (French toast, filled with special plum jam called Powidl ), Krapfen (doughnuts), and even pickles, sold by the piece straight from a huge jar. Kirtage, originally a village church festival celebrating the patron saint of the church, are nowadays more like traveling carnivals/amusement parks. They set up in town or village squares, featuring stalls with various handcrafted gifts, merry-go-rounds, and of course, food.
Once the summer season opens, Eis (ice cream) is extremely popular. Long lines forming in front of the main Italian ice-cream shops are a regular sight. Ice cream is sold by the scoop in cones or cups, and the variety of flavors is enormous. An option is to sit down, usually by the sidewalk, and enjoy it in a „coup,‰ served in a glass with fruits, nuts, sauces, and whipped cream.
From September to March, chestnuts and potatoes are sold on street corners and in main squares. Chestnuts are roasted on the spot, and sold in paper cones.
The potatoes can be Bratkartofeln (roasted wedges, salted), wedges (American style), or Rösti (hash browns).
Austria | 31 Christmas markets, which are held all over Austria for four weeks during the Advent season, also revolve around food. Since it is the cold season, people like to keep warm by eating and drinking. The main offerings are mulled wine and punch, Lebkuchen (honey ginger bread) and other traditional Christmas sweets, Mohnnudeln (potato dumplings with sweet butter poppy seed), Kaiserschmarren (sweet, scrambled pancakes with plum compote), roast chestnuts, potatoes, pan-cakes, Langos , and hot dogs.
Summertime green and farmersÊ markets also offer food on the spot. Not only can consumers get fresh fruit to eat immediately, but vendors also sell cold cut sandwiches, falafel, Turkish börek (a wrapped pastry), Asian noodle boxes, boxed sushi, Italian antipasti, kebabs, and all kinds of sweets.
Coffee
Austria has a long tradition of coffeehouses, but these are elegant sit-down estab-lishments, where busy businessmen, students, and tourists have the option of hav-ing coffee on the go. They include American franchises, such as Starbucks, local ones such as The Coffeeshop Company, and smaller coffee shops. One can also buy cold drinks, smoothies, and shakes from some of these places. The most recent addition has been Tealicious, the bubble tea company, which has recently opened two stands in Vienna. There is an old saying in Central Europe that for the best and greatest varieties of food, there is no place like Vienna.
Katerina Nussdorfer
Further Reading
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Austria . London: DK Travel, 2009.
MacDonogh, Giles. The Food and Wine of Austria. London: Mitchell Beazley, 1992.
Pohl, Heinz Dieter. Die österreichische Küchensprache: Ein Lexikon der typisch öster-reichischen kulinarischen Besonderheiten (mit sprachwissenschaftlichen Erläuterungen).
Praesens: Wien, 2007 [Austrian Culinary Terms: A Lexicon of the typical Austrian culinary specialties (with linguistic notes)].
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