When it comes to food, Austria is a pretty straightforward, no messing kind of place. Hearty, uncomplicated food for a hearty, uncomplicated nation. Well, that’s the case in Southern Austria, where I was, anyway.

 

It’s a great feeling, building up an appetite by walking in the mountains, then knowing you will be treated to large portions of tasty food at the end of it. Quite a few of the huts that are on the mountains serve food as well as drinks, so it’s very easy to stop off along the way and grab a Frittaten soup (clear stock with strips of pancake in), Wiener Schnitzel, a plate of cold meats and cheese or some krapfen (a kind of doughnut), washed down with a cold beer or schnapps!

 

The local restaurants mostly use local, in season ingredients and manage to get the most out of them without over complicating matters. As well as the ubiquitous pork in it’s many guises, trout and salmon are regulars on the menu, plus more local delicacies like Nudeln, filled with herbs and curd cheese, and mountain berry pies & cakes. There are not normally many starters to choose from, but that’s probably because the main courses are such large sizes. Starters are mainly soups, such as asparagus soup and my favourite, knoblauchcreme soup (a garlic cream soup). Although the decor in some of these places is about 30 years out of date, the food is always top notch and you can easily get a three course meal with drinks and tip for three people for about £45 in total, which is amazing value.  

 

It’s asparagus (spargel) season this time of year, as it is in the UK, although as in Germany, the Austrians tend to grow white asparagus, as well as the green we’re more used to in this country. I’m not a great fan of white asparagus, which is denied light to keep it that colour, and still think that English asparagus is the best I’ve tasted. One thing the locals do which I’ve never seen before is make asparagus wine, although I’m not quite sure how they make it (trying to squash the juice out with their feet, like the French do with grapes, can’t be an easy job!). Other local ingredients used a lot are horseradish, chanterelle mushrooms (schrammele) and most (a kind of flat cider). I had a great dish of pork roasted with most that was particularly good and also a most cream soup, which tasted better than it sounds!

 

Desserts are not ignored either, with pancake or crepes served with ice cream and local berries and sweet dumplings, plus the more expected strudels.

 

Simple, hearty, straightforward food. It’s my type of place!