Regarding the Food in Vienna

I could have included this with the rest from Vienna, but as many of you are 'foodies' and I was traveling with 'foodies' and I am a 'foodie,' I decided it was only proper to devote an entire post to the food we had in Vienna.

First off...gyros. We were simply too hungry after the train to go in long search for something more unique, but it was actually a greek style gyro and much better than that first and only one I had in BP.
Then, as we were walking along Mariahilfer Strasse, I saw in a window these open-faced sandwiches, "belegte broechten." I didn't actually try any, but they looked delicious so I took a picture for you. Ahem, maybe for myself as well.
At the first cafe, Oberlaa, I just had coffee, but Alix, a chocolate fiend, had a really rich chocolate mousse cake...one bite of that and I'm done with chocolate for a year. Ok, maybe only for a week. A day?
At Centimeter, Alix and Orla both ordered Schnitzel. As far as I'm concerned, Schnitzel is the most over-rated dish ever...beat & bread & fry some meat, big whoop. Amandine ordered Fleischpalactinken (meat-filled pancake) and a cheese bread that was really delicious and was still 'melty' after it cooled. I ordered something that translated to 'mish-mash' (I lost the map that I wrote the name down on), and it was a mix of noodles, ham, potatoes, and cabbage. Very filling, and I didn't get much further after I took this picture. Not too complicated a dish, but I was pleased considering I had no clue what I was ordering.
On Saturday, still reeling from the debacle that was the 12euro club, we were prepared to skimp and save. However, when we were trapped inside the Gloriette cafe during the rain, we justified that we had to have Sacher Torte sometime. Sacher torte is the famous viennese cake (but they have loads and loads of other varieties to choose from). To be honest, I wasn't so blown away by it but I didn't really think I would be by the looks of it. It's a chocolate cake, with a thin, hard chocolate frosting (sorry, I don't know the proper terminology for this), and there is a layer of apricot jam. The cake itself is a bit dry, but the apricot flavor is really nice.

After the Parliament, we were starving for lunch and at all the tram stops around the ring road, there are these kebab/pizza/burek stands. I was craving a burek, but they were out so we all got pizzas...mmm, this beats Bacci's and Sir Nick's pizza by the slice joints waaaaay out of the water! One slice is really like 3, and our toppings were bacon, spinach and some egg...wow it was good, and basically the cheapest you could get. Ohhh, if only BP had pizza like this and not just gyros.

We skipped dinner cuz we were still full, but around 10, after drinking at the hostel, and before meeting everyone at the bar, everyone went for pizza number 2, and I finally got my burek. It's a pastry style thing with various fillings, and I got spinach and cheese...though he gave me some kebab meat on the side. Wow.

I know I mentioned that I've lost weight in Budapest but after reading about this weekend in Vienna, you're probably scratching your head and thinking...

Finally, on Sunday, we went to the restaurant Holy Shit recommended, Zum Bettelstudent. Amandine got a baguette sandwich piled on with melted cheese, ham, onions, etc. Alix and Orla both ordered (they always seem to get the same thing)these potato skillet deals, and I did the brunch which was good but unspectacular. The soup broth + shredded pancakes instead of noodles was interesting, and actually really nice considering how cold it was outside.
And everyone wanted to go for one more slice of cake since we were leaving Vienna. This time, at Gerstner cafe, I hit the jackpot--Mohn torte. Poppyseed cake, like no poppyseed cake I've ever had before and damn was it delicious.

Non-Vienna food:

Of course, when we arrived in Budapest that night, and seeing as how no one had any food at home, Orla took us to the famed Hummus Bar on Kertesz. We split two Hummus plates for four, and its basically a big plate of yummy hummus ringed by little falafels. For some reason, I've noticed that they only have tiny falafels here...but nevertheless, it was great as mediterranean food tends to be.

And today, on my way home, I decided to stop in the Asia Market in the basement of the Grand Market Hall. Since I had griped so much about my grocery woes, some kind souls suggested that this place might be the goldmine where I could find all those elusive ingredients. They were so right! I found artichokes, risotto, an entire wall with see-through bags of every spice imaginable and more and more. Mostly I just looked but I am so happy to know about this place.

Also, I'd really like to add how versatile and convenient couscous is. I had some left over from the dinner party, so I made it tonight with some remaining broccoli, bacon and onion and voila, an easy meal.

Lol. Ok, I think that I have finally written all I could about food for now.

Some other things about Vienna:
they never control the subways! Although our train passes worked for the public tranportation in Vienna, we were only checked once, and it was on a night bus. In Budapest, they are all over!
For those who think that all foreign places do or should have signs in English, Vienna is another city, like Budapest, that does not have such signs. However, you are more likely to find people who speak English, or more likely to be able to recognize the word somehow anyway, than you would a word in Hungarian.

And finally, I must comment that my companions on this weekend were great--calm, fun, food-loving, map-reading capable and chill. For a spontaneous weekend, I couldn't have planned it better myself. (unless it was kate, courtney, alaina or elizabeth, of course :-P )

Also, I have updated albums and also uploaded Vienna photos to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lenav09