Top Ten Most Popular Dishes in Austria
Of course, Austria likes to eat a lot. I think every nation does. Not only national dishes but also the cuisine of other cultures have become very popular in Österreich, so I thought why not give an impression of what Austrians have for lunch?I will include all the dishes with the term they are known as in Austria, maybe there are significant local differences to similar foods in your country.
It's not a stereotype - Schnitzel really can be found on every Austrian menu, whether it's from a small pub or a big, classy restaurant. Another popular variety is Cordon Bleu, a schnitzel filled with ham and cheese (and sometimes additional ingredients such as onions, mushrooms, pineapple, or paprika).
Important note: You don't ever eat this with noodles! NEVER! You eat it either with rice or fries.
Leberkäse is essentially pork and beef that's ground so finely that it feels like a big chunk, and then baked. It's eaten as it is or in a bun. Sometimes it's also filled with cheese.
A stand that sells Leberkäse can be found on every second corner.
Pork roast, usually eaten with potato dumplings or bread dumplings, sometimes also with kraut. It can be found in most restaurants and is popular at family gatherings.
This Turkish dish has become the most popular fast food in Austria. It consists of chicken or beef with salad, onions, tomatoes, garlic yogurt, and sometimes cabbage in a bun.
It's not uncommon to find up to three Döner stands next to each other near a train station or in a crowded city. Leberkäse has been around for much longer, which is why I ranked it higher. However, Döner, which became popular in the last 20 years, has surpassed it in popularity.
Since right now it's Spargelzeit, I just had to put it on here. Spargelzeit is the season when white asparagus grows, and every restaurant offers a variety of dishes based on the vegetable. And I mean EVERY restaurant. It's most popular with Hollandaise sauce and bacon.
Pizza is a yeasted flatbread generally topped with tomato sauce and cheese and baked in an oven. It is commonly topped with a selection of meats, vegetables and condiments. The term was first recorded in the 10th century, in a Latin manuscript from Gaeta in Central Italy. Everyone around the world loves pizza. We just pronounce it differently ("pits uh"). I don't think this needs further explanation. There's no preferred topping or local variety. As in much of Europe, our pizza is thinner but has much more topping at once than in the U.S.
Some of the most common pizza toppings in Austria are salami, ham, bacon, onions, corn, mushrooms, pineapple, tuna, eggs, and spinach.
Käsekrainer is a sausage filled with cheese that is among the most popular sausages in Austria. It's eaten with ketchup or mustard.
Zwiebelrostbraten is roast beef topped with roast onion rings and plenty of gravy. It's usually eaten with fried potatoes. It's a standard item on every restaurant menu.
Remember Christoph Waltz eating it in "Inglourious Basterds"? It probably wasn't his first one.
Again, this one, like pizza, is a hit all around the world. For a few years, fast food restaurants were the only ones selling it, but in recent years many regular restaurants have also started offering their own versions, which usually taste even better and use much more BBQ sauce. And BBQ sauce is awesome.
It's beef that's been boiled in broth and is eaten with cabbage or apple sauce.
It's an Austrian version of pasta, which is served with onions and either cabbage or various sausages or meats cut into small pieces (most popularly ham). Sometimes it's also served au gratin with cheese.
Palatschinken are the Austrian version of pancakes and are very much like French crêpes, being very thin. They are usually coated with apricot jam, rolled up, and then sugared.
I think this is popular all around the world. Although over here, there's no bone in it as seen in US movies. It's often eaten with fries or fried potatoes.
Until the last few decades, it was also known as the Germanized "Eiskrem," but nowadays, it's often simply called "Eis" ("ice"). "Eis am Stiel" ("ice on a stick") would be a popsicle, but both are usually simply referred to as "ice."
I think ice cream is popular all around the world as either a dessert or a cold snack on a hot day.
It's a soup with semolina dumplings that's among the most popular soups and appetizers.
Ironically, in Austria, the sausage that's known to the world as "Wiener" ("Viennese") is called Frankfurter, named after the German city. Germany also calls it Wiener.
It's eaten with bread rolls and ketchup and/or mustard, or as a hot dog. However, our hot dogs have little to do with American ones. They are usually made with a darker loaf of bread, sometimes with curry.
Popular at parties, family gatherings, or any occasion where you need to feed several people at once, breads with all kinds of toppings - such as beef, salami, ham, salad, tomatoes, tuna, eggs, various creams, cranberries, mayonnaise, and much more - can be bought at numerous services and stands or prepared yourself.
Knödel, which Google translates as dumplings, are extremely popular in various forms. Semmelknödel ("bread dumplings," also "Serviettenknödel") and Erdäpfelknödel ("potato dumplings") are side dishes eaten with meat, often served alongside cabbage, cranberries, and/or drenched in gravy. However, there are also several varieties of dumplings, both spicy and sweet, that are eaten as main dishes.
Wurstknödel are dumplings filled with ground meat and are served as a main dish.
Small pieces of pork mixed with rice in a spicy sauce containing paprika, various spices, garlic, and onions. Some people also add cheese on top.
Made from yeast dough, Wuchteln (known in Germany as "Buchteln") are a sweet dish usually eaten with vanilla sauce. Sometimes they are filled with apricot jam.
It's a pasta made in a pan with melted butter and scrambled eggs.
Geselchtes is smoked pork that's typically eaten with mashed potatoes and roast onion rings, sometimes also with fried potatoes.
Probably the most popular cake in Austria, this cake with dark chocolate, cherries, and whipped cream is a standard dessert in Austrian restaurants.