Thread: Central Europe - Must Haves

Heading to Central Europe for the Holidays and I'm curious if anyone has suggestions on local must-haves.

I'm not necessarily looking for all kinds of fancy fine dining restaurants. What I'm really looking for are the street foods, snacks, local favorites that the locals eat on a daily basis.

Destination Cities:

• Paris
• BudaPest
• Vienna
• Melk
• Linz
• Salzburg
• Passau
• Regensburg
• Hilpoltstein
• Nuremberg
• Prague

PS I know this is the Food Forum but if you have suggestions on local attractions that are a must-see, that would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

All I can tell you is to drink Absinthe while you are in Prague.

Originally Posted by Creeping Death

All I can tell you is to drink Absinthe while you are in Prague.

That is definitely on the agenda. Gotta make sure I find some made with Wormwood though.

i'm not a big street foods person, but these are must haves in paris:

roasted chestnuts. (marrons chauds).
waffles--i like mine covered in chocolate. (gaufre au chocolat).


as for sights?
-go ice skating. there was an outdoor rink by the louvre/jardin des tuileries when i went in the winter 8 yrs ago.
-also by the louvre & jardin des tuileries is l'orangerie. go there if you like monet. (it also houses other impressionists' works, but is mostly monet's large paintings).
-absinthe can be bought in paris at les caves du roy in the 18ème arrondisement. there are also various places you can go to have it at a bar. anthony bourdain went to cantada II in the 11ème.
-i like to people watch so i usually go to the champs-élysées just for a cappucino.
-i also like train stations. the musée d'orsay used to be one. it also has nice art in it.
-le marais is a pretty hip neighborhood to go through. it also has the picasso museum.

there's lots else to do, but those are my favourites.
oh and avoid the 13ème arrondisement--chinatown/porte de choisy. it's a total dump, it gets neglected by the city's sanitation route (dog s*** everywhere) & i was robbed there.
also, be careful if you get out of the metro at marcadet-poissoniers. that's a shady shady neighborhood that i've passed through twice at night (always as quick as possible). i see my recommendation of les caves du roy is close to that metro stop. if you go, be REALLY careful. or go during the day.

Just read in the OC register that the Eifell Tower has an small ice rink...how cool would that be?

Enjoy your trip....Im truly jealous.

I spent 2 hours looking for a business card for this little pub with great food in Prague...and I can't find it. I've been looking online to see if anything jogs my memory and I've been unsuccessful so far. I had this chicken dish, with paprika salami slices on top and then a slice of brie on top of that, all baked together with some other yummy goodness. SO good. I hope I can find it in time before you leave!

Just went to these places this spring. Send me your email and I will try to respond tomorrow or Friday. I am on the way to NY and will check emails.my email is vrmdlm@aol.com

You're all awesome.

Thanks for all of the info, lunchbox.

Originally Posted by Hipcheck

Just read in the OC register that the Eifell Tower has an small ice rink...how cool would that be?

Enjoy your trip....Im truly jealous.

That's what I hear. I haven't put on the hockey skates in a few years but it's just like riding a bike. Ice skating next to the Eifell tower at Christmas. That would be cool.

Originally Posted by ketel&tonic

I spent 2 hours looking for a business card for this little pub with great food in Prague...and I can't find it. I've been looking online to see if anything jogs my memory and I've been unsuccessful so far. I had this chicken dish, with paprika salami slices on top and then a slice of brie on top of that, all baked together with some other yummy goodness. SO good. I hope I can find it in time before you leave!

I hear the food in Prague is awesome. Give me some delicious goulash and I'll be happy guy.

It's either Prague or Vienna, but Samantha Brown from Passport to Europe went to a Strudel shop and they had this amazing looking apple strudel for $1 or something ridiculous. It could easily feed 4 people. I'm definitely going to that place.

I was on a long trip this past Spring, but I was on the move a lot and rarely stayed anywhere more than a couple of days.

From your list, I was in Paris, Budapest, Vienna, Prague and Nuremberg.

My tastes are extremely out of the mainstream in general, and I really don't like to drink, so I can't help with that aspect of things if it is what you seek. However, that being said, I'd recommend going to Munich and Berlin, which are much better street food places and not very far from where you already plan to go anyway.

I didn't find the food in Vienna or Prague all that great in general. Sorry.

Budapest was much better, since Hungarian food had a lot more flavor, and is probably a better deal now that their economy and currency have tanked. Remember that goulash is a soup over there, so have a porkolt if you want the stew that everyone calls goulash elsewhere. I don't know if they still do it in the wintertime, but they have some awesome cold fruit soups there. And, every pastry or dessert I had anywhere in town was great. It may not be what you want to do, but a very good sit-down restaurant, that is not touristy (bad food and "gipsy" violinists all in your face), and is right around the corner from St Stephen's, I'd recommend Cafe Kor. I didn't go there, but there's also a restaurant with the interesting name of Marquis de Salade, and another place that serves huge portions called Fatal.

Nuremberg is all about roasted bratwurst.

Paris is so enormous, you can find anything, but it will cost you. I liked anywhere in the rest of the France far better than Paris.

If you still have time, it wouldn't hurt to go to chowhound.com, go to the international and/or France board, and ask what you're looking for. That's what I did before I left.

Good luck and good trip.