Wine food pairing takes a moment to revisit the Austrian delicacy of Stelze. I have posted about the "pig shin" it before, but because it plays such a large role in Austrian gastronomy ... well, what can I say?
It is a Sunday here and an election day. The Austrians hold all elections on Sunday and that way everyone gets a chance to vote ... all stores are closed on Sunday and therefore everyone is available to do their civic duty. In Austria, you only have to be a citizen and 16 years old to vote and most everyone does. The funny thing here is, you must be 18 to drive a car, but you can vote and in the US you can drive a car at 16, but cannot vote ... go figure .... lol!
So we were walking around the village, BigAl having done his civic duty, and we decided to visit Gasthaus Trauchner. It is one of the local haunts in Breitenau and always a good time. A beautiful afternoon and what better way to spend it than enjoying the afternoon in their garden, under the still leafy trees with the sunshine peeking through and super wine and food.
Stelze was on the special menu so of course, we had to get one. This "bad boy" serves 2 and then the big bone left over for Houdini. He really likes to haul it around the house, it is almost as big as him ... too funny! The stelze is traditionally served with gerkin pickles, senf (mustard) and freshly grated horseradish. Talk about YUMMO!
The bread basket is quite typical and I guess beer is the preferred drink with the Austrians, but I went for the local zweigelt.
After enjoying the somewhat fatty stelze, it is a must that you have a digestive aid .... they had a local nuss schnapps .... OH MY! This schnapps, a dark brown liquid, was made from pressed green walnuts ... it had a deliciou
s nutty flavor and was delightfully sweet, unlike many schnapps. In fact, it was like a dessert all by itself!Now I have mentioned before that dogs are welcome at the restaurants in Austria. Houdini made a new friend here, the owners "westie" Obilix, showed Houdini the ropes ... in fact Houdini even chased a duck ... of course the duck was bigger than him and I don't know what would have happened if the duck decided to turn ... YIKES ... I'm sure that it wouldn't have been pretty .... lol!
All in all, a beautiful fall afternoon in Austria, a relaxing meal and a lot of fun ... another wine food pairing success. CHEERS!
To visit the Gausthaus Trauchner online click here ... its a lot of FUN!
1 comment:
Hi Denise, interesting to learn about the elections in Austria. It would make more sense to hold them here in Oklahoma on a Sunday.
Here they hold elections on a Tuesday, and all liquor stores and bars are closed until 7pm, so you can't get a bottle of wine until then. I suppose they don't want the electorate voting under the influence. :-)
Cute little dog you have, I love Westies.
Post a Comment