Let's Talk About Food

Manner (the makers of the delicious Manner wafers that I live off of) coffee + the Salzburg fortress

It's no secret that if the world was split into categories of people who eat to live and people who live to eat, I would be in the latter. Food is EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, I've had a bit of a stomach bug this past week so while I'm living off of bananas and simple foods, I've been looking back at all the unbelievably delicious nourishment I've had all over Europe.

I get very passionate about my food. You have been warned.

Vienna Nourishment

Fruit smoothie bowl topped with granola, goji berries, bananas, kiwis, & coconut

It is a well known fact that I go to The Juice Factory on Marco d'Aviano-Gasse basically every single day. It's less than 2 blocks from me, & their freaking delicious juices & coffee & food (such as the smoothie bowl pictured above) makes my soul happy.

I've never been a regular at a food place before, but at The Juice Factory I definitely am. My friends make fun of me because there are a few people who work there who greet me like an old friend when I come in, but I love it because I'm FINALLY meeting some Austrians. The other day, I had a conversation with one of the guys who works there about where I'm from, & he (surprisingly) had heard of Iowa because he knew we have the first caucus! He also really did not understand the idea of a corn dog or Chicago style pizza which I thought was hysterical.

Hamburger with bacon (REAL BACON!) + rosemary hash browns

My friends & I went to a restaurant called "Said the Butcher to the Cow" which is known for their burgers, gin, & cheesecake. I just went for the burger & it DID NOT disappoint. Of course I got bacon on it - & I hadn't had good, hearty bacon for months. This really hit the spot.

Cherry pie + shepherd's pie + spinach & potato hand pies + s'mores pie + cookies

Rosie turned 20! This was last month but it's fine that I'm posting this late because we celebrated then. As her birthday was on pi day (3/14), we threw her a surprise party complete with all sorts of pies. I made a s'mores pie for the occasion & it was GOOD. Baking here is kind of a mess because I have absolutely no supplies or measuring cups, so I just use a mug to measure and try to keep everything proportional and make pans out of aluminum foil.

The s'mores pie was a mix of a bunch of recipes and a little bit of guesswork. I crumbled up some biscuity cookies (that were shaped like Peanuts characters which was all sorts of fun) and added sugar and melted butter, then pressed it into my aluminum foil pan to use as the crust. I then made a delicious brownie recipe that is somewhere on Pinterest (& probably the best brownies I've ever made), & put the batter on top of the cookie butter crust & baked it for awhile. It didn't occur to me that I wouldn't be able to find marshmallows in Austria, so I ended up making my own out of a gelatin, sugar, water, & vanilla. I then melted those on top of the pie. It was kind of a miracle that it turned out at all, but I will definitely be tinkering with that recipe for many years to come!

Sachertorte + schlag

You can't come to Vienna without getting the famous sachertorte from Hotel Sacher. I've been eating this cake my whole life because my Grandma makes a mean sachertorte, but I've been deeply upset to hear that a lot of my friends here aren't a fan of this delicious cake. It's 2 layers of very rich chocolate cake, held together by apricot marmalade, & coated in an outer layer of chocolate. It's best served with whipped cream, & I am obsessed with it.

Hotel Sacher claims to be the inventor of sachertorte (as would make sense), but there's actually been a legal battle between them & Cafe Demel (which is a few blocks away). It makes me laugh that there's such a debate over the origins of a cake, but I'm really not surprised because it's so freaking delicious. Mom & I went here while she visited & we had a bit of a spiritual cake experience.

Vegan (!!!) dark chocolate, apricot, & raspberry gelato

CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT IT IS TO BE LACTOSE INTOLERANT IN VIENNA?! There are a ton of lactose free options, but also tons of vegan desserts which is great for me because it does the trick as well. And I never thought I would say this, but vegan gelato is BETTER THAN REGULAR ICE CREAM. I am 100% serious.

This stuff is from Eis (which literally means "ice cream"), a place that always has a ridiculously long line out the door. My friends and I didn't understand the appeal... but then we tried it & it all makes sense.

English breakfast tea + vegan chocolate banana cupcake + vegan kaiserschmarrn

You may be thinking: WHY ALL THE VEGAN FOOD, MEGAN? Because seriously it tastes good okay. I'm not lying. Marykate & I stumbled upon a lovely little bakery that advertises themselves as "gourmet raw food production". Sounds weird, I know. But I didn't question the vegan no bake cupcake, I just went for it, & BOY am I glad I did! Marykate's kaisershmarrn (basically ripped up pancakes with plum jam & powdered sugar, another Austrian specialty) was also delicious.

Ginger beer

If anyone is a ginger beer fan, try to find Herbal Moscow and prepare to have your life changed. I first had it in Amsterdam, where it was served with lemon and mint, but I've also been able to find it in Vienna and it is SO GOOD.

Homemade citrus ginger tea

I've never had freshly made tea before until coming to Austria & it is SO GOOD.

Skiing Nourishment

Grilled sausage + fries + Radler (1/2 beer, half fruit juice - usually citrus or grapefruit)

My mom told me that I would have the best meal of my life while skiing in the mountains of Europe. I didn't believe her. She was right, as usual.

Maybe it was because I was just so tired and hungry and I was in a ridiculously beautiful Austrian mountain range, but this stuff was GOOD. The fries were perfectly crispy, the sausage was delicious, & the Radler was unbelievably refreshing. I would go back to that mountain just for the food!

Scotland Nourishment

Scotland has my soul. Marykate & I were only in Edinburgh for 1.5 days & 1 night but that was enough to reaffirm my eternal love for this country. And the delicious food certainly helped on that front...

"The Elephant House" breakfast: eggs, sausage, back bacon, grilled tomato, & bread

The Elephant House cafe in Edinburgh is the place where J.K. Rowling wrote most of the first few Harry Potter books. So, naturally, we had to go. The food was delicious - it was basically just all the good parts of a traditional English breakfast & none of the bad parts (like beans. Who wants beans for breakfast?). We ate here just before hiking up Arthur's Seat, & the breakfast gave us plenty of energy!

Darjeeling tea + carrot cake + lentil soup

This little tea place made me very happy. They had a cute table full of desserts, lots of tea to choose from, & some other delicious "real food" options as well. We shared our little 4 person table with a middle aged couple, who were very sweet. This was where I tired darjeeling tea for the first time & I loved it! It was a lovely discovery. I really wanted to abduct the adorable teacup & teapot our stuff was served in.

English Nourishment

You may be thinking - ewww, English food is gross, they have nothing but fish & chips. WRONG. Find a cute little cafe somewhere & I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Layer 1: pancake. Layer 2: back bacon. Layer 3: pancake .... (you get the point - it was heaven) + raspberry apple blueberry mango smoothie.

I don't even have words. This was too perfect. Brighton wins at food.

Mojitea (I KNOW WHAT)

This tea was probably the best iced tea I've ever had & I kick myself every day for not buying a giant tin of it from Bluebird Tea Co. in Brighton. Luckily, they ship all over the world so if you don't want to be sad like me click here & buy it & have your life changed.

Tomato + spinach baked eggs

Brighton really killed it with the food. We were only there for a day trip but we certainly got the most out of it! If you've never had baked eggs, I highly suggest you go throw some marinara sauce + veggies in a little oven safe pan, crack some eggs on top, bake it for awhile, & be happy.

White chocolate raspberry cake + citrus mint tea

I tried to be really English & get a lot of tea in the UK. It was a good decision. Also, this cake was so fresh & delicious - & also very reasonable for this cafe being right around the corner from Kings Cross in London!

Irish Nourishment

I ate a lot of Italian food in Ireland, I'm not quite sure why, but I also had some GREAT food from little cafes.

Turkey, pickled gherkins, chipotle mayo, crushed tortilla, & guacamole ciabatta sandwich + blackberry & sage lemonade

I ate at this place because it was called The Woolen Mills & I was secretly hoping they also sold yarn. They didn't. But their food (& especially that AMAZING lemonade) made up for the slight disappointment.

Pomegranate tea

I was very tired during my afternoon in Dublin, so I popped into a little tea shop to read a book and relax. I had no idea what tea to get so I just told the woman to make me whatever was her favorite & goodness gracious she has good taste.

The book I was reading is a very cool collection of fairy tales put together by Angela Carter. She searched all over the world for the oldest and least tampered with fairy tales, and the result is so intriguing. I bought the book because I was so pulled in by the introduction. She talks about how so many of the fairy tales that are in popular culture feature weak or flat female leads, whereas these stories (many of them the origin stories of popular tales like Cinderella or Snow White) show strong, dynamic, clever, resourceful women. She points out that people didn't just make up these strong female characters - these centuries old stories portray women as they were known in their specific cultures. I love learning about cultures that lift up women instead of putting them down or pitting them against one another. It's been a great read so far!

Salzburg Nourishment

Hazelnut & almond pretzel

I was in Salzburg over Easter weekend, so I was lucky enough to catch some of the Easter markets. My favorite part of these markets are the pretzels. They're huge, have all the best flavors, & are basically just happiness twisted up & waiting to be devoured.

An Austrian herbal soft drink - kind of a mix of ginger beer & lemonade

I went on the Sound of Music tour, & the tour guide called this stuff "yodel juice". I had to try it just for that. It's not too sweet, not too sour - just right!

Innsbruck Nourishment

Vegan (duh) lemon gelato + parents

I got this gelato as we were walking to the train after spending a short weekend in Innsbruck. I don't know why, but it was just a very happy moment. Probably because of these goons.