Home » Outdoor & Recreation » Luxury Travel » SUPPER IN SALZBURG

SUPPER IN SALZBURG

© Annette R. Bignami

The hills may be alive with the Sound of Music, and there are at least 2,000 musical performances in Mozart's hometown. Listening and eating seem the main joys both of the locals and of the 8,0000,000 tourists a year who visit the city Alexander von Humboldt called "one of the three most beautiful in the world." Like the often-rotund locals who average 40 gallons of beer a year, visitors consume mountains of sausage, dumping and kraut washed down with rivers of beer. However, wise visitors don't overlook the wonderful "Rhine," "Mosel" and other wine that should accompany meals in the best restaurants that, unlike the United States, are often in hotels.

There are, unfortunately, blocks of mediocre tourist restaurants, but these can be avoided by dining in spots where English menus aren't posted outside or by eating takeout from delightful delis, grazing on the better than average street food in "Schnell-Imbiss" stalls, of kicking back in the rough and ready ambiance of "Gaststätte," or beer halls.

Local restaurants, "Gaststätte" and cafés run to hearty local specialties like "schnitzels," sausages with and without kraut, traditional liver and onions, crispy roasted potatoes and of course, the copious breakfast buffets offered by most lodgings. Note that breads are wonderful, but you are sometimes asked to pay for the bread from on-table baskets.

While some "Gaststättes" are independent, companies such as "Zipfer" run a bevy of beer halls. "Zipfer Bierhaus" meals seemly designed to encourage imbibing, run to pork and dumplings, chicken and dumplings, sausage and dumplings - well, you get the idea.

The oldest "Gaststätte" in Salzburg is doubtless the "Stiftskeller St. Peter" founded by 9th century Benedictine monks. Tourists, who find their way here, end up in the paneled "Prälatenzimmer" eating veal or pork schnitzel. Locals seem to favor more casual rooms and dishes such as Klostertopf, a superior soup served in a loaf of bread that's far superior to the American chowder version. Tafelspitz, a boiled beef dish "Emperor Franz Joseph" ate daily goes nicely with horseradish and hot mustard. Add a liter of beer and a desert to cover all the Austrian food groups.

Do bring cash or travelers' checks, as some "Gaststättes" don't take credit cards. Closed dates vary too. Some close Sunday and Monday; other restaurants close Tuesday and Wednesday. So call for reservations.

Other good sources of cheap eats include vastly underrated department store and university cafeterias, food stalls and seasonally al fresco spots like "Augustinerbräu" where street food fans who load up with sausages, meats and other treats from the stands outside grab a container of hearty beer and pick a table in the dark, and sometimes overly warm halls of the monastery. TIP: The cheapest treat is doubtless a "Wurstemmel," or meat sandwich, from a stall enjoyed al fresco.

The copyright of the article SUPPER IN SALZBURG in Luxury Travel is owned by . Permission to republish SUPPER IN SALZBURG in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.