Austria: Prosperous Entertaining - Part 3
From ExecutivePlanet.com
More on food and drink
Besides formal restaurants offering French and every other international cuisine, there is a wide range of different types of establishment where you can eat and/or drink in Austria, for example:
Beisl - a small, simple tavern offering drinks and snacks;
Bierkeller - a large, informal, lively, often loud, tavern for beer and simple Austrian dishes;
Kaffeehaus - a café where you can linger for hours over a single cup or pot of coffee [served with a glass of water and a biscuit] and/or an alcoholic drink, without being asked to leave, whilst reading the newspapers [usually available in several languages] that you will find hanging from long rods on a central rack to which they must be returned;
Konditorei - a café serving cakes and coffee or tea -- for the ultimate in Austrian self-indulgence, try the Sachertorte [a very rich chocolate gateau].
Weinstube [also called a Heurige or Buschenschenke in and around Vienna] - an informal tavern serving local wine and inexpensive light meals.
Austrian wines and/or beers are usually served with everyday meals, with fine [e.g. French] wines reserved for grander occasions.
Beer is the consuming passion but it is worth exploring the national wines [mostly white but, increasingly, red also]. Additionally, there is an amazing variety of aperitifs and digestifs. Amongst the many fruit and herbal spirits [Schnäpse or Obstler], the most popular are Slivovitz [made from plums], Kirsch [made from cherries] and Himbeergeist [made from raspberries]. Equally coffee is available in many different styles and tea is much more popular than in most European countries.
Finally, the visitor will notice in many Austrian bars a largish table with a sign saying Stammtisch. This table is reserved for the regulars and outsiders should not presume to sit there under any circumstances - not even if the bar is full and there is nowhere else to sit. This rule is inviolable.
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