Appreciate hearing about what type of cuisine is served for meals in Austria and Switzerland. Is it similar to German food?

No, I think it's much better! (apologies to any German cooking fans). To me, Austrian food is like German cooking with a French influence. Some of the best meals I've had were in Vienna and Seckau (a small town in the Austrian countryside). Generally speaking, in comparison to German food, Austrian food is lighter and has more emphasis on fresh vegetables and salads, fewer potato dishes. However, that is a very *general* observation--I am not saying you can't get fresh vegetables and salads in Germany! <BR>Swiss cuisine varies quite a bit by region--cooking in the Ticino will be different from cooking in Appenzell. I am a huge fan of Ticino cuisine. I could eat risotto al funghi several times a week, served with a fresh salad and a light Ticino red. Mmm.

The Burt Wolf travel/traditions series features several Swiss regions this year, each with a bit about the food. See his site at burttravels.com<BR>I really, really like Swiss food -- it is such a kick to taste the regional differences as you move from Zurich to Bern to Lausanne to Lugano. J.

There really is little in the way of extremely unique cuisine in these countries. That is, you can't define much of any particular type of cooking as Swiss cooking or Austrian cooking. There are a few exceptions, such as wiener schnitzel, said to originate in Vienna, or raclette, which seems unique to Switzerland. Basically, there is a blend of cultures in the cooking; in Switzerland, it follows the ethnic areas, French in the west, German in the north and east, and Italian in the south. In Austria, it is German and Italian in the west, and basically German in the central, moving a bit toward Hungarian in the far east. <BR><BR>But I have eaten a unique Austrian dessert that originated in the lean days of WWII, when the Austrians had to scrape for whatever edible food they could find. I had fried elderberry bush--the more tender shoots, along with berries, leaves, and small stems, all still together just as they were taken from the bush, are deep-fried in a batter and then eaten with some kind of powdery sugar coating. Surprisingly tasty.<BR><BR>True food experts will probably say I'm wrong, but this is what I've observed as I have traveled a number of times through these countries.

Thanks everyone for your information!