Weiner Schnitzel, a traditional Austrian dish of Veal that is breaded and fried, is a meal I definitely wanted to try while in Vienna. I normally don’t eat Veal, but more for the ethical reason that I feel bad for the young cows, than because I don’t like it, but on this occasion I was OK with making an exception so I could try authentic Weiner Schnitzel.
Stadtgasthaus Eisvogel close to the Ferris Wheel in the Prater is the restaurant where we got to try it.
The Prater at night.
The Prater is a large public park that as well as plenty of green space, also is home to an amusement park which includes the Ferris Wheel.
Stadtgasthaus Eisvogel is a lovely, more high end restaurant that serves traditional Austrian food with a modern twist. Along with the Wiener Schnitzel, which was very good I have to say, I also ordered an Austrian soft drink I had read about and wanted to try that is called Almdudler. Almdudler dates back to 1957 and is crafted with 32 natural Alpine herbs for a light and refreshingly sweet flavour. It reminded me a little bit of Ginger Ale, and I liked it.
Wiener Schnitzel and Almdudler to drink.
Another restaurant in the Prater is Schweizerhaus, maybe one of the most famous restaurant and Beer gardens in Vienna and dating back to around 1766. One of the companies that my husband was doing business with took us here one night and treated us to the famous Pork Knuckle and Beer, and wow was it something to remember!
Tray full of Pork Knuckle.
As we were seated at our table browsing the menu, waiters could be seen passing through struggling under the weight of huge trays piled high with these enormous Pork Knuckles. Each one was covered in mouth watering Crackling (as we call it in England), the crisped skin.
Needless to say, after seeing these, I instantly knew what I just had to order, it was the perfect thing to eat with a big frothy topped beer!
My personal Pork Knuckle.
It was tasted wonderful and I have always had a weakness for pork crackling since my Mum cooked great pork joints for our Sunday roast dinners when I was growing up. However, we soon realized as we ate it that we really should have ordered just one between us to share, as neither of us came even close to eating all the meat off the knuckle. It felt like a sad waste of such deliciousness!
Unfortunately, maybe because of over-indulgence, my husband then got indigestion, so we walked the mile or so back to our hotel so that he could work down dinner and ease the discomfort. Luckily for him I had some medication at the hotel to help him feel better, but I think it might be a while before he eats that much Pork crackling again! I on the other hand, felt just fine. 🙂
Washing dinner down with a beer.
While doing my homework before visiting Vienna, I had also ready about the famous Wurstlestand’s you can find around town, basically a street food stand selling various sausages and hotdogs. From what I read, the best place to try a Viennese Hot Dog was the Bitzinger Wurstlestand near the Albertina.
Bitzinger Wurstlestand.
Look for the green Rabbit (or maybe it’s a Hare?) sitting on the roof of the stand, in Albertinaplatz, in front of the Albertina Museum.
The length of the line can get quite long, but it ebbs and flows, and we got lucky to arrive there with just a couple of people in front of us. It gave us time to try to figure out what we wanted to order, but we both went with the traditional Viennese Hot Dog.
It was interesting to watch him make it, they have a big metal spike that the put the stick of bread over, fill it with some tomato ketchup and mustard, and then slide the long hot dog into it. Because the bread isn’t split open, it makes it a lot easier and less messy to eat! And yes, it was so good that I devoured it, probably far too fast. It was interesting to see, but by the time we ordered and stepped away to eat our Hot dog, the length of the line had probably tripled behind us. If I had had the opportunity, I definitely would have gone back to eat here again as there were plenty of other sausage and hot dog variations to try.
Making my hot dog.
Date of visit; Oct 2015