Don't miss foods?

In Austria (and parts of Germany) be certain to have some weinnier schnezle (sp???) it's a veal cutlett pounded thin, dredged in flour and bread crumbs, then fried. It is often served with pomme frites (french fries), but, if you can, get it with spetzle. Spetzle are very tender noodels. Often served with melted butter or a light cheese sauce.

That's wiener Schnitzel and Spätzle (or Spaetzle). But you misspelled "noodles" too, so I guess you are a multilingual misspeller. . . . . ¶ Actually, Schnitzel can be served with a great variety of sauces, such as Jägerschnitzel (with a mushroom brown sauce) or, my favorite, Zigeunerschnitzel (gypsy style, with onions, green, yellow, and red sweet peppers in a slightly piquant, tomato based, sauce).

Lee- not only am I misspeller in any language- but I am a mistyper too!!! I've learned to just laugh at my mistakes and use spell check whenever available. (Note to webmaster- if you do change "systems" for this board, a spellchecker would be nice!!!)

Those little waffles you can get in the Netherlands. I know you can get them here, but for some reason they taste better there... And mustard/mayo/condensed milk in a tube. That stuff is awesome.

I'm using Firefox, and someone on this site told me where to go to download a spellchecker for it, but I don't remember where. Maybe someone will still know. It catches English typos, but is doesn't help with German words. I have an online dictionary for that.

"Stroopwafels," when fresh made, are indeed delightful. To recreate that here, from those in the prepackaged tins, microwave for 11 or 12 seconds. In Amsterdam, at the Albert Cuyp Markt, there will always be a stand making them fresh off the iron for your sticky-fingered, stoner-snacking, melty, gooey pleasure.

Also, I always try to find a food blogger in the areas I'm going to. And as Anthony Bourdain would say, "You can't go wrong with meat in tube form!" There is one exception to this in France though: Adoulillette is NOT a petite version of the Creole classic.

I'm not a foodee so my advice is pretty lame on this topic. Things I like include Bratwurst from a stand in Germany, gelato in Italy and crepes in France. Notice a theme, it's mostly snacks I can pick up on the go.

Thanks Everyone! I will definietly try the Spatzel and other foods given. Good advice with the food blogger.. I do follow a lot of food blogging sites in the US. I should have thought to find one abroad.

Pfifferlinge mushrooms. (in English, called Chanterelle) These have an intense taste and it isn't something I see in the US. If you are in Frankfurt, try the Grüne Sosse or Green Sauce. I love this and you can only get it here. Crepes, Flammkuchen, and if you are at a Farmers market, try a Honey Waffle, waffles made with honey, or some fresh apple juice or pear juice.

Don't miss Kaiserschmarren in Austria. You can find it elsewhere too. The best messed up pancake ever. It's sweet, packed with calories, but your daily requirements of protein, grain and fruit (if you choose to eat with stewed fruit).

Ditto on the Pfefferlinge and the Kaiserschmarrn. Oh, this is making me hungry. If you're in Bavaria in the summer, I'd add Spaghetti-Eis, an ice cream specialty with delicious strawberry sauce. In Switzerland, we enjoy the Rosti (a potato dish, served eith plain or with your choice of egg, cheese, sausage, etc.) and the variety of lake fish dishes.

Wow thanks everyone! I'm going to print off this page to bring with me.

I'm using Firefox and I didn't have to do anything special to get the basic spell check (I have fat fingered typing sometimes, too). The words come up with the jagged red line underneath them when misspelled and a right click gives me choices...

You don't have to be in Bavaria to have spagetti eis. You can get that all over Germany from any ice cream place. What is fun is to get the "schnitzel and pommes" from the ice salon.

We find the pork, in general, to be especially flavorful in Europe [INVALID] we've had it in Germany, Italy, and France. Our favorite pork in Germany was pan-seared served with "frizzled" onions over the top. Ausgezeichnet! Also, frico in northern Italy (Fruili) was out of this world. Crispy disks of fried parmesan cheese. Yum! :)

I've become pretty resourceful in finding all my favourite foods around here in imported form or cooking them myself incl. Wiener Schnitzel, crepes/galettes (we all love the buckwheat version), coffee - those are things I can do at home almost as well as what we'd have in Europe. There's even a Belgian baker in town that makes the best "pain au chocolat" outside of France. There are still a few favourites you just can't get here: fresh matjes, Pfifferlinge (Jo knows what's good!), fresh "Broetchen" for breakfast, Negerkuesse/Schokokuesse/Mohrenkoeppe (or whatever more or less pc term you prefer). We have a fantastic gelato place in town now that can rival any Italian gelato I've tried. But they don't offer those great bowls of gelato with all kinds of fruit, liquor, whipped cream ... be it as spagetti ice cream or whatever. That seems to be a specialty of gelato places in Germany as I couldn't find those in Italy either.

Jo[INVALID]-good to know that Spaghetti Eis is widely available. I've only enjoyed it in Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and then this summer we actually saw it on a dessert menu in Italy! And I'm familiar with Pizza Eis as well (the "crust" is hazelnut ice cream), but what is "Schnitzel and Pommes" from an ice cream cafe?

Anything from a street stall: we have had great sausages in Germany; mussels, crepes, waffles and french fries in Netherlands and Belgium Germany: you gotta go to the Ratskeller wherever you are: wursts (401 different kinds), eisbein (pigs knuckles) and the local beer wherever you are; netherlands: crepes (sweet and savory), i also love the rijstafel; potatoes in any form; Austria- pastries with cream; Switzerland- yeah I have fondue at least once each trip; France- everything and anything local

France: Pain au Chocolat...My most favorite pastry of all! Made with croissant dough but a different shape, with chocolate inside, down the middle. From a good bakery they're sooo good!

Susan, you're my kind of girl!!! Yes, there is a difference between "pain au chocolat" and "chocolate croissant". The difference in shape creates a different kind of flakiness. Sooooo delicious. I've been desparate in the past and tried them in many different places outside France. It just doesn't compare - except for our Belgian baker in town :-)))

I love the cheese plate,, I love having that for dessert.. I love the stinky gooey ones best of all. I love pates and rillettes., rabbit and duck ones are favorites, the fatty ones are yummy even if they look a bit gross. I love the currys I can get in London, and I love mussels in France and Belguim. I love breads from Germany and France. I love the homemade musiele( spelling) and I love chees fondue. I love getting fresh shucked oysters in Paris and I love a nice ploughmans lunch outside London( had a few at neighborhood pubs outside London, ) . The only food I do not love in Europe is milk. Milk never ever tastes the same,, even if its not that boxed stuff. Cows must eat different food over there.

"Adoulillette is NOT a petite version of the Creole classic." I normally would not discourage anyone from trying any food... but andoulillette truly is nasty. If you're in the Netherlands for the holidays or during a festival, try olieballen. Sort of a Dutch variation on a doughnut. Some Dutch frietures (french fry stands) offer a delicious peanut satay sauce to top the fries, listed as "pindersaus". Go for it if you see it. My favorite street food in Germany has to be the currywurst. And if you're in the Rhineland, try sauerbraten, which is a delicious marinated roast beef.

In France: Confit de Canard (duck) is so delicious, and if you make down to the Basque country, Piperade. In Germany's Black Forest, you have to have Schwartzwalder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake).

My wife and I always search out a piece of Punchkrafen cake. At most train stations in Austria there is a small bakery/cafe (wish I could remember the name)that actually makes a really good version. It's also available in other places, but the one the train station bakeries is always good! Here is a picture of what it looks like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mountainpete/3640343912/in/set-72157619942767450/

This may be a seasonal dish-but if they are on offer, don't pass up the fried zuccini flowers in Italy. They are just delicious.

Pete..plse describe what punchkrafen cake is...never heard of it before. Thanks..looks intriguing.

Laurie...I forgot about fried zucchini flowers! They are incredible!!

When I visited Germany as a student I discovered and loved Wurst Salad. In some places it is called Schweizer Salad. It is basically julien strips of wurst in a dressing. You can't beat Schitz and Fritz as we used to call it. And you have to try the brotchen. In the Netherlands you have to have herring and herring with pickles. Also, try one of the many plates meals which are indonesian restaurants. Also the the Frites with mayonnaise are great. The yogurt is wonderful. France has too many wonderful foods to list. Pam

last time we were in Germany we tried a "wurst salad" (we were in a hurry) which turned out to be very close to juliened bologny in a chefs salad- definitely on my list of dishes not to repeat. And I usually enjoy most German dishes

Forgot this... in the Netherlands, you will find some very interesting flavours of licorice drops. Some are salty, some have a mint flavor, some are sour, some are bitter. Although personally, I don't like most of them,, they are definately unique and worth a taste.

Pete - "Punchkrafen" is not something I recognize, nor would any Austrian, but "Punschkrapfen" is typically a rum-soaked pastry that's available in just about any bakery or Konditorei (pastry shop) in Austria. On a similar note, when in Europe try the foods you are not likely to get in the US. There is a lot as you can judge from these posts. But I never come home without having sampled at least some of the staggering varieties of sausage ware, pastries, dumplings, and bread. Austria has got to be the country of dumplings. It has more varieties than any other country in Europe. They are known as Knoedel, Nockerl and Nudeln – distinguished more by shape than content or dough. You can eat them for every course of the meal if you wish, from appetizers to desert. Should you visit Salzburg try Salzburger Nockerl – a one of a kind dessert soufflé. But the one thing I absolutely I absolutely miss in the US is bread. It's difficult to get the quality of bread in this country that's just offered as a matter of course even in large European supermarkets. Do yourself a favor, find a bakery just after it opens in the morning and try one of the many different offerings of fresh baked bread. Spread a little butter on it, if you like, and have coffee or tea with it. Don't come home without sampling at least a different bakery every day and you'll see what I mean.

Rudy, My wife describes Punchkrafen cake as a white sponge cake with nut filling covered in a pink fondant. Each slice is individually iced. It's nothing like you would get in North America. It's not an all sugar taste by any means. The closest we were able to come was an Austrian bakery in Toronto at almost $10 a piece. Apparently they are very difficult to make and it's only worth it in large batches. Well worth trying - I think a piece was around 2 or 3 euros. Pete

Dax - thanks for the clarification. Didn't know it was rum soaked. It's been a year and a half! We had trouble with the spelling of it, but we actually took the spelling of "Punchkrafen" from a picture of a packaged version we found at a supermarket. It wasn't as tasty, but it looked the same and was spelled Punchkrafen. I think I still have the picture of it too... Pete

Pete - interesting that you should find this spelling on supermarket packaging. Spelling it right is actually not as important as pronouncing it more or less correctly. The pf in Krapfen makes all the difference in being understood.

So, Brian, you're saying it was the 'wurst' salad ever (rimshot/cymbal)?

Tks Pete for that lovely clarification...I had never heard of them. Eileen.. classic....and anyone ever try Extrawurst?

Eileen: I left myself open for that. But you are correct- be warned

Thanks Everyone.. I leave today! Now I have a great list of things to try over there!

Pesto in Cinque Terre and the fabulous fresh lake fish at Lago Trasimeno, Umbria. Oh, and the truffle shavings in homemade pasta also in Umbria.

One of my favorite sausages in Germany was Landjäger, a smoked dried sausage that has an incredible flavor that just bursts in your mouth. It's easy to carry around, too, as it does not need refrigeration, so it makes a great snack. I also enjoyed Wiener Schnitzel at Zum Figlmüller in Vienna, where it was served with preserves made of tiny cranberries. The complement of sweet and salty was very tasty.