Eating & Drinking Our Way Through Europe (Or, How Flexitarians & Vegetarians Can Co-Exist on the Road)

You saw it here first with the gnomes; and we KNOW you're hooked.  Since we live to please you -  our dedicated readers - we're back with round two of...thematic posts a la Juliet (roars of approval ensue. We hear you).  Moreover, we're going for the jugular: food.  (Oh you were just waiting for this one, weren't you?...c'mon, admit it...)

Some of you have - by now - been perplexed, possibly even dismayed, at the lack of serious food discussion in our blogs.  Sure, an occasional photo or two (or nine or ten) of us eating and drinking on our travels...but the in-depth analysis and investigation?  The point/counterpoint commentary and debate?  Nowhere.

Never fear; we've been saving up.

See, we take food (and drink) very very seriously, as many (most? all?) of you know.  In fact, the food aspect of this trip was a central aspect of our travel planning.  Let me jostle your memory, and refer you back to an early May Facebook post by Phil, who presented some photos from another bicyclist's blog about eating along the Danube cycle path, when he'd done the same trip a few years ago.  The photos were not quite horrifying, but scary enough to send me (primarily vegetarian/vegan) into some small fits of hysteria about what I might be able to ingest in Europe.

This is what we were expecting.  Nice color range, don't you think?

The volumes of cream sauce, butter pools, unidentifiable gray vegetable substances, and captions containing a wide variety of meat descriptions reminded us, in several cases, of the now-legendary (in various local family and friends' households) Weight Watchers 1970s recipe cards, (http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html) (...Oh, you haven't seen these?  Oh really you must.  And dedicate yourself to reading the accompanying captions and commentary.  Make sure you're seated and comfortable, with clear breathing airways.  You'll need all of that.)

OK, so back to our main thread.  As we started out, I had grave, grave concerns about whether I'd be able to find any fresh vegetables, basic salads that weren't submerged in mayonnaise-based dressings, fresh fruit - really the critical building blocks of my culinary life.  Not that I expected Europe to be backward on this score, but in conjunction with those blog photos, we did have memories of our last foray to Scotland, thirteen years ago, when - after a long day of activity and driving - we were trying to find a place to eat.  Anything.  Cafe, pub, supermarket.  Everything closed (a Sunday.)  We were truly ravenous.  Near tears (me), panicked (Phil), we finally came across some small pub that had a three-item menu, including rice and curry.  Manna from heaven (and seriously, how far wrong can you go with rice?).  Until it arrived at the table.  I believe I spat out my first bite.  That bad.  The kind of thing where you simply can't swallow. And may I repeat, I was nearly apoplectic with hunger at that point.  (I am still astonished, in looking back, that they achieved a feat I would have thought impossible: rendering white rice inedible).

FREE buttered toast with breakfast! Haggis, neeps, and tatties! And mushy peas for only 10 pence more than garden peas! We find many menus amusing for one reason or another. But we've found plenty of good food.

So while I assumed some updates in Western Europe's culinary breadth and depth, I wasn't holding out great hope for stupendous food.  Phil, we figured, would be OK: as a "flexitarian" (read: eats what he wants when he wants it, but has conceded that meatless days should be a large fraction of one's total eating days, that larger helpings of vegetables are a good idea, and now gamely eats my salad creations nearly every day...), we were guessing he'd be able to dig up decent options in most places.

Instead, we're eating our words...and a whole range of fantastic, local comestibles.  Because the western Europe we've travelled through has undergone a major food revolution, where "bio" and "natural" and "organic" and "sustainable" - and even "vegetarian,""vegan," and "gluten-free" - pepper the culinary world; where "slow food" and "home cooked" are as common as in many places in the US; where breads and bakeries rival the best of Berkeley, and yes, where "artisanal" does, in fact, mean the employment of those same Tibetan monks that we've run into before, who patiently hand-pick and bless whatever tea or spice we're eating at the moment.

An organic grocery/deli just two blocks from the main square in Linz. They also had a cafe, with a fantastic vegan quinoa/grain/vegetable tart, and a really really good salad (see photo on lower right).  This kind of thing makes me (Juliet) very very happy.

It's been pretty easy to find local food and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. And lots of places now tout the "local, sustainable" aspect of their products...special signage, certificates, etc.  

We are, admittedly, seeking out these types of offerings (and staying away from the cafes, restaurants, etc., that only list the less palatable items) - but what we're impressed by is how easy it is to find them.  In grocery stores, in local markets (yep - lots of those!), along the bike paths and hiking routes... And a number of countries in the European Union even seem to have laws requiring that you list where your food/ingredients come from, so you can see that the tomatoes are from Chile (or France), that the meat is from a local farm (or not), and the like.

Here are open-air and produce markets that we came across in Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.  Also some of the most fun places to hang out in cities and towns.  

So yes, healthy eating is on the up-and-up over here, and this has made our traveling significantly tastier than expected.  BUT, as all writers have license to do from time to time, we will now qualify the above statements in some important ways.

First, the - uh - less wholesome options are available in abundance...

For example, heart-stopping rosti-cheese-fried-egg brunch combo at Kleine Scheidegge, just below the Jungfrau (Switzerland).  And yes, that would be a massive fry pan filled with oil, butter, and said rosti (shredded potatoes much like thinly slivered hash browns).  Or maybe you'd prefer a goliath-size helping of saurkraut,  bratwurst, and potatoes?  Austria, Switzerland, and Germany are all very big on this kind of thing.  I think Phil might have tried all of these.  I admit to eating the rosti-cheese-egg combo on the upper left, but under great duress (I was really really hungry after a really really hard, steep hike. So sue me).

Second,  Europeans really like their sugar.  Lots of it. In whatever forms possible, though happily they don't seem to include corn syrup in that mix much.  They go for genuine, unadulterated sugar.  Integrated into extensive pastry creations.  Dosed with heavy amounts of chocolate.  Sometimes only chocolate (well, with sugar, of course).  Usually accompanied by vast amounts of cream and cheese (NOTE: Being a vegetarian in Europe has proved to be pretty feasible.  And still delicious.  But going vegan?  Not so much.  These people BREATHE cheese and dairy.  Morning, noon, and night.  And for snacks in between.)

Petits-fours in Paris, apfelstrudel in Vienna, homemade creme brûlée in the Wachau Valley, a dense poppyseed pastry that literally dripped with honey, and hey...wait a minute..."american pancakes." At a Starbuck's, of course.

That chocolate selection on the upper left?  It's fair trade and organic, so I felt completely justified - nay, compelled - to support that industry.  And the colorful candy/confections store in Zurich had Phil captivated.  He's generally very captivated by sugar and chocolate.

But see how he's breaking up the dessert habit with a nice pot of healthy tea?

Except for the tea stirrer covered in a hefty dose of crystallized sugar. ("But Juliet, just how am I supposed to stir my tea if not with a tea stirrer?") 

Third (and here we venture into beverage territory): we are not always sauced, but wine and beer are a formidable component of the culinary scene in these parts - starting with lunch, and continuing on straight through the evening and into the night.   "When in Rome..." You get the drift.  Seriously, it's like a great cultural bandwagon that everyone has jumped onto.  And it's a very fun wagon.

I mean, we'd be happily bicycling along the Danube, breathing in the fresh air, scents of woodland and early spring flowers wafting around us, bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, and...and...biergarten.  Or hiking through the alps, a healthy sweat on our brows, hearts pulsing with exertion, building up a good thirst...oh...really?...Wein bar.  Enoteca.  Pinot Grigio.  Gruner Veltliner.  Ambers and stouts.  Well, if you insist...

Miraculously, Juliet has been able to enjoy the beverage scene as much as Phil....we're not sure why, but the wine isn't having the same headache effect over here in Europe as it does back in the States ("Everything in Europe is better."  That's our mantra now.  We'll be unbearable when we return but we'll just keep chanting anyway).  So she's taking full advantage of that trend while she can.

In sum, if it weren't for all of the exercise we're doing on this trip, there's a strong chance we'd look like cute round butterballs by now, despite the many vegetables...but so far the biking, walking, hiking, and running, etc.,  are allowing us to indulge in some truly great meals.

Breakfasts are  an excellent way to start the day, because they're often included in your room price at the little local B&Bs or pensions where we've been staying. Lovely buffet breakfasts spread out across multiple tables (see sample photos below).  For the budget-conscious traveler, it's definitely a boon: "breakfast like a king...dinner like a pauper" - or something like that.  Anyway, we're convinced.

Best part of European breakfasts?  The little Nutella packets.  Served at  a good 80% of the breakfast buffets we've had. "Start your day with chocolate, and everything else will fall into place..."  (Actually, I totally made that quote up, but I think we'll just keep using it...)

And not to beat the proverbial vegetarian horse, but I will say (and Phil would agree here), that hands-down one of the best meals we've had on this trip was lunch at a renowned vegetarian all-you-can-eat-buffet restaurant in Zurich.  We had no idea that this kind of place even existed.  Why we don't have one in San Francisco is beyond me...it would make a killing.

Hot and cold buffet items.  Cuisine from around the world.  Home-made bread.  Desserts.  Raw and vegan options. Salad bar!!!!!  Utterly delicious.  Awesome signage, too.  Posters of endangered species on the outside windows, and an ad campaign where top European soccer (football) stars are caught in poses on the ground, with the caption (translated): "in every football player is a vegetarian..."  The place was packed, too.  Right downtown, big, airy space, and busting at the seams with people...for hours. Quite possible that I will be moving to Zurich for some stretch of time.

And now in the Outer Hebrides and western highlands of Scotland, we're in the heart of the seafood district.  Islands are the rare places where I will occasionally sample local, sustainable seafood (hence the "primarily vegetarian" title earlier on).  It's really good here.  I think the photo speaks for itself on that score...

Before...

...and After.

On a final note, we feel compelled to disclose that we are currently engaged in a full testing and ranking of Sticky Toffee Puddings in Scotland and the U.K.  

Sample #1: homemade pudding/cake in Oban, drenched in sweet toffee/butterscotch sauce as well as custard. Excellent moist texture, with strong notes of molasses.  Reminiscent of warm New England Indian pudding.  "YES!!!" for Juliet.  Phil is ambivalent; unimpressed with deep spice undertones.

 Sample #2: homemade pudding/cake in Oban (different restaurant); lighter flavors in pudding/cake and accompanying butterscotch sauce; no custard.  Large volume of serving portion earns extra points.  Juliet: "Meh." Phil: "Mmmmm...two thumbs up!" (I think it was just that there was more of it)

Current sample size stands at 5 total (as of tonight); some clear winners and losers already.  We'll keep you abreast of breaking developments.  Final rankings and relevant comments will be published upon completion of survey.  Working for all dessert-loving citizens, 24/7.  That's us.