In Innsbruck, a popular offering that we enjoyed at their market one year was kiachln with warm sauerkraut. Some might call it a donut shaped to the bowl (but we don't recall it being terribly sweet) and loaded with the sauerkraut. We were hesitant at first, and maybe it was the cold evening, but we enjoyed it and it was memorable. They served it with a warm mulled cider.

I'd like to add my thanks to fourfortravel for the suggestions. We always enjoy the food in Austria -- comfort food is always appreciated. I can't comment on the beer as I never did develop a taste for it, but we've always found wines that are quite nice.

I'm not a beer drinker either, but bring on those wine suggestions!

We've had good luck ordering Blaufränkisch (a red) in Austria. The grapes are grown there and across central Europe so it can be a local thing.

I can't speak to hot chocolate since I don't drink it, but thanks to an abundance of time on my hands, I and some friends have been "getting to know" some of the Austrian grapes through classes and tastings. Most Austrian wine comes from the eastern part of the country.

In general:
Grüner Veltliner: white, herbal and zesty, almost always dry, comes from Vienna and the Weinviertel regions north of the city.
Gemischtersatz: white, a mix of several varietals grown together on the vine, its distinguishing mark. Also from Vienna and regions north.
Weißburgunder: white, generally mixed into Cuvee, but the standalone can be good if it's mature.

The climate south of Vienna and into Burgenland and parts of Styria favors the red grapes:
Blaufränkisch: red, berry and citrus flavored. Across the borders it's known as Frankovka (CZ, SK) and Kekfrankos (Hungary). It's a strong wine (to me), best paired with grilled dishes. Think burgers on the grill and a Blaufränkisch on a cold winter evening, or with a hearty Wildschwein Ragu at a cozy restaurant after a winter wander.
Zweigelt: red, needs to decant or it will taste awful. I have a love-hate relationship with this grape.

Of course, there's also Chardonnays, Rieslings, and so forth. The Südtirol wines will all be from Italy, and will be found all over Tirol. I've never met one I haven't liked.

I forgot to mention one typical "dish" you should find on the menu of most (more the rustic) inns in Austria.. the Brettljause.

Brett means board.
Brettl is the diminutive, i.e. small board.
And Jause means snack in between regular meals, usually in the afternoon.

You could probably call it a cold mixed starter platter, but when you don't fancy a full meal in the evening, it's no problem to just share such a board with a glass or wine or two. Unless you are in a real restaurant - where this would either not be offered or not expected.

I don't think there are clear-cut rules to seperate a Wirtshaus from a restaurant. The former usually looks a bit more rustic, and would be the Austrian / Bavarian counterpart of the British gastro pub, probably with a bit wider range of dishes than the gastro pub.
You can use it just for drinks, or add small snacks, or a full meal from starters to dessert. It's pretty easy to find in the countryside where it would be the only place to get food and drinks in a small village.
In the larger cities the differences can be a bit blurred.. but when in doubt, just ask your hotel for recommendations.

I prefer the Wirtshaus over regular restaurants - especially when going out with friends with different levels of appetite.
So also those who don't want to eat a full dinner can join and just stick to their wine and maybe a small snack while the others go for the main dishes.

The hot chocolate is excellent as usual, Mel!

Gingerbread season has just started with the annual big Gingerbread Market in Pulsnitz, where the little, family owned manufactures with their cute shops are based since centuries (small town a half hour northeast of Dresden). Delicious!

A restaurant recommendation for Salzburg: Zum fidelen Affen, near castle Mirabell. Had Tafelspitz there and LOVED it.

PS: Yes, Topfen is Quark.

Beauty. Thank you. I now feel sufficiently prepared to eat and drink my way through Austria.

MelnQ--If you want to indulge in some wonderful chocolate in Salzburg, head to Braun.

Fabulous, thank you mms!

MelnQ--It is killing me as I have not found a way to get any more items from there. As far as I an tell, they don't ship. So enjoy and buy all that you want otherwise you might be out of luck. And think of me while you are eating one

Will do. Off to Google.

I didn't care for Austrian cuisine, either, and thought sachertorte was horrible. It wasn't identical to German cuisine, but the thing that I really hated was how much veal they eat and how hard it was to avoid it. This sounds like a joke, but I was eating in some welknown cafe around the Ring Road and I was okay with eating wiener schnitzel once, but then the salad turned out to have bits of veal in it without warning.

Over the past two decades, I've enjoyed lovely Zweigelts on many occasions without decanting them. Who knew.

Agree with elberko's comment about pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil. While in Vienna two months ago, I indulged in one of my favorite Austrian dishes -- backhendlsalat -- salad with breaded chicken. The breading featured pumpkin and other seeds and was delicious in the leafy salad (no veal!) with pumpkin seed oil dressing. I could eat this every week, had to settle for having it twice for lunch at cafe/konditorei Oberlaa instead.

For those who cannot stand pork, veal, dumplings, potatos, or anything remotely Austrian:
That country has tens of thousands of restaurants, eateries, snack bars which feature food from any corner of the world.
Aside from the tiniest villages, you should find Italian, Greek or any Asian restaurants around the next corner.
You will not be kicked out of the country if you don't eat one single Austrian dish during your whole vacation.

The never-ending tirade regarding the Sachertorte is probably (I have no clue, actually) caused by two misconceptions:

Misconception #1: Cake is dessert and should taste like a "rich" dessert.
Wrong. In German-speaking countries, cake is not a dessert. You don't eat cake after dinner or lunch. It's served as a seperate "meal" with coffee in the afternoon. It comes in rich. creamy variations like Black Forest or cheese cake. Or in dry variation like Sachertorte, lemon cake, marble cake. When you go for the 2nd tier, you know what to expect. If you don't like dry cakes, you stick to the other group.

Misconception #2: Sachertorte is the most wonderful cake of Austria and everybody, local or tourist, should love it.
Wrong. It's the most famous cake for whatever reason (mostly because it's a really old recipe and one long-dead emperor loved it). At every coffee house in Vienna, you have all the cakes and pastry on display. When you see only dough, it's probably dry. When you see layers of cream, it will probably be rich.

I find a lot of the "torte" type desserts to be dry and personally stick with the apple strudel with vanilla sauce type. There are several cakes made with cream, as well.

That's exactly the linguistic problem.
In German, cake can be either "Kuchen" or "Torte".
The difference is in the making, not the richness or dryness.
When you bake a Kuchen, you prepare the whole thing before it goes into the oven. So what comes out of the oven is the final result, aside from the odd topping or icing you may add.
The Torte exists of one or more layers of (usually) soft or sponge cake. You either bake the cake yourself, or buy it ready-made. Then you slice the Kuchen/cake into layers (or use the ready-made layers) and add the creamy or fruity layers, and put it in the fridge afterwards. Depending on how thick and rich those "cold layers" are, the result can be dry or rich.

Therefore, cheese cake is Käse-Kuchen in German, even when it's super rich, because it's the final product that comes out of the oven.
And Sacher-Torte is a (very dry) Torte, because it's the sponge cake sliced in two halves, with a thin layer of marmelade added.

So, the difference between Kuchen and Torte is a mere technical one, not one that reflects richness or sweetness.

"Over the past two decades, I've enjoyed lovely Zweigelts on many occasions without decanting them. Who knew." WeisserTee, it's probably just me; I have struggled to find a Zweigelt that I like.

"Misconception #2: Sachertorte is the most wonderful cake of Austria and everybody, local or tourist, should love it." Cowboy, DD and I passed a long queue waiting to enter Cafe Sacher on Saturday. We just chuckled and walked on by to lunch.

"...but then the salad turned out to have bits of veal in it without warning." Christina, was this possibly, Wurstelsalat? This salad to me is G.R.O.S.S.

Ummmm....cream. I shall look for those.