what should we eat?
 

hi, two friends and i are going to europe in february. we are from argetina. ive found lots of great information in these forums.
we are wondering what meals, snacks, and food in general should we try in each of these cities.
barcelona
paris
brugges/brussels
berlin
prague
vienna
budapest

thanks!

I can tell you what NOT to order. Steak!!! Nothing will be as good as the steak you have back home!

Make sure you try the Jamon Iberico in Barcelona. Good food at the Boqueria market stalls. Great seafood in that city as well. And you must have the butifarra sausage.

Hi V,

I agree. You will be very disappointed in beef in all of your cities.

That's quite a trip. How many weeks?

Do you want traditional peasant food, contemporary moderate food or cutting edge fine dining?

How adventurous are you.

((I))

Barcelona - Go to the 4 Chats restaurant and order the white cava sangria - it was some of the best ever that I had. The food was excellent also.
Brugges - de Garre pub - it is located in one of the smallest alleys in Brugge and boasts over 200 selections of beer - we sampled many and it was quite an experience. Each beer comes in its own glass w/ name imprinted and shaped for the best "tasting".
Also eat lots of chocolate - the many shops will allow you free tastes of their candies. Of course you must order mussells in Brugge - everyone does.

In Barcelona: any seafood, but especially bacalao and fresh anchovies (not together)

In Paris: croissants

In Vienna: Sachertorte!

In Berlin: try a Donerkebab on the street for a snack

For me, no trip to Paris is complete without: 1. A tuna and cheese crepe from a street stand 2. A chocolate eclair eaten straight from purchase at the local patisserie 3. Escargots for a dinner appetizer 4. Profiteroles at least once for dessert. There are of course personal preferences, and YMMV.

Prague: I liked the little miniature ice cream cones sold on every street corner (but maybe not in February).

Budapest: open-faced sandwiches, and the little savory pastries (I forgot what they're called-- like tiny scones).

Barcelona: shrimp in garlic butter

Brussels: hot chocolate, Dandoy gaufres with whipped cream

Paris: just about everything!

I enjoyed a very nice steak aux poivres avec pommes frites in the Languedoc region of France this spring. However ekscrunchy and Ira are probably right- the beef might be of lesser quality in general than you're used to.

In Spain, I would recommend trying their paella.

Bloom

In Belgium:
chocolate, waffles,
stoofvlees(sp?)/carbonades flamande, mussels, frites
In Paris:
Crepes, cafe au lait, chicken at a good restaurant, pastries

Paris: crepes from the street corner stands

Agree to avoid beef - except for a few incredibly expensive places (which import the meat from Argentina) it will disappoint.

For Belgium absolutely try moules frites (there are many different ways to cook the mussels - try several. Also frits with mayo on the street are great.

Also agree the ham in Spain is superlative - as well as a lot of seafood.

No one goes to Germany just for the food - but definitely try several different types of schnitzel (from different animals as well as in different styles).

Vienna does have great pastries - but the Sacher torte (we had at 3 places, including the Sacher itself) is nothing to write home about. Just sort of dry chocolate cake.

barcelona - some fresh calamari. If this is the only place in Spain you are going you must try a seafood paella mmmm

paris, definitely a pastry from a bakery or nutella crepes. Delicious

brugges/brussels - belgian chocolate from any of the many shops, Mussels

berlin - a street doner kebab we stayed near alexanderplatz and would have a beautiful one from just under the tv tower

prague - the pork and dumplings and of course the beer!

Remember, with the exchange rate of peso vs euro, things will be very costly!

bretzels in Berlin (hot, soft pretzels). I hope they have them in winter! We ate them at the biergarten.

Mussels in Brussels. Also Antwerp.

I agree with the beef comments, except in Spain it is pretty good. Also you'll see Argentinian steak houses throughout Europe. Compare with your home version. Fish in Barcelona, of course. Try the restaurant Misqueria at the beach.

Goulash in Budapest.

Veal in Vienna.

Pork in Germany.

Steak tartare in Paris. Also lamb. Avoid the Greek places. Look for prix fixe menus to save money.

Shop the menus which are posted outside most restaurants. Avoid places with menus translated into English. Never eat in any place with an English name.

So far, my reaction to suggestions here has been "no, thank you" or "well, okay then (but I'm not excited by it)". I do not condemn other people's preferences, but they are not generally my taste -- except for mussels in Brussels, which I do like.

In central Europe in February I would like winter food -- good solid meals to maintain body heat and energy levels. I would look for venison and wild boar dishes, preferably served with a robust red wine and in sight of a roaring fire.

Remember in Budapest that goulash is a soup. Delicious, yes, but if you are looking for more of a stew, order "porkolt." Stuffed peppers are also a treat in Hungary and if you like pastry, try dobos torte.

Good point above about finding the local winter dishes. I am no expert on your destinations but (as example) have had wonderful homemade sausages of many types, venison stew, like that (in Switzerland in winter).

Barcelona:

razor clams

actually, any kind of clams- we had three or four different kinds of all sizes and shapes, none of which are available near us in Massachusetts, where there are lots of clams

pa amb tomaquet, which is grilled bread rubbed with garlic, tomato and olive oil

crema catalana (like creme brulee)

wild mushrooms

escalivada (grilled eggplant and peppers)

fideu, which is like paella but made with vermicelli instead of rice

calcots, long green onions with romescu sauce

Another vote for game dishes. They are wonderful.

NYtraveler, we do indeed travel to Germany for the food and we never order schnitzel or schweinshaxe. Germany has superb food with many regional specialties and great variety. I suggest anyone who thinks of German cooking in such limited terms pick up a copy of Culinaria Germany by Christine Metzger. 460 pages of fantastic info and gorgeous photos.
http://www.amazon.com/Culinaria-Germ.../dp/3829026218

Berlin:
Matjes - raw marinated herring.
Bismarckhering - raw marinated herring.
Sylter Royal Austern - oysters from Sylt (north sea island).
Mett - raw pork.
Flusskrebse - crayfish.
Havelzander - pike perch from the Havel river.
Reh - small deer.
Hirsch - deer.
Hase - hare.
Wildschwein - wild boar.
Kaninchen - rabbit.
Ente - duck.

Some restaurant recommendations:

- Mark Brandenburg (in the Hilton Hotel, Gendarmenmarkt): specializes in refined regional cuisine.

- Diekmann (one location in Meinekestraße off Ku'damm, one location at Potsdamer Platz)

- Fischers Fritz (in the Regent Hotel, Gendarmenmarkt): Gourmet cuisine (two Michelin stars!!!). Lunch is a bargain. You can enjoy high-level cuisine starting from 18 Euros! (dress accordingly, it is a very elegant place)

Wien:
Tafelspitz - boiled beef, served with horseradish
Wienerschnitzel - veal steak, large and thin and coated with breadcrumbs, sprinkle with lemon juice
Heavenly desserts:
Topfenpalatschinken - pancakes filled with curd
Marillenknödel - curd dumplings filled with apricot
Salzburger Nockerln - egg foam
Mohr im Hemd - warm chocolate cake with whipped cream and chocolate sauce

Torte is eaten in the afternoon in a Kaffeehaus. Very typical for Wien.

Some restaurant recommendations:

- Plachutta (two locations): This is the VERY best place to eat Tafelspitz. It is served as a menu, with soup, marrow and meat.

- Kaffehäuser:
- Demel: most elegant and expensive
- Diglas: more intellectual, very popular among the natives

Guten Appetit!

And Gammelfleisch is very tasty in Germany.

haha...about the steak, yes, argentina has great meat. i wont say im a vegetarian (because i eat fish and poultry) but im not much of a meat eater... in spanish we have a saying "en casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo", which means something like using a wood knife in a locksmith´s house.
about the type of food, ira, we would like to try everything/anything, but we have a budget problem since argentinian peso is devalued compared to the euro or dollar, so we have to keep the trip cheap, but that doesnt mean that we wont spend a little more sometimes.
about the period of time, it is 22 days. we are spending 3 days in each city, except for paris (5), bruges (1), brussels (1). i know its tight but we dont know how long will it take us to save the money again (argentinan peso is 3 to 1 compared to the dollar).
for the rest, thank you all for your information... i didnt think i would get sooo many responses, i am writing all down and i sure ill have comments when i get back... i cant wait, some of these things sound delicious!
gracias a todos (thank you all)!

Paris - Berthillon Ice Cream

Paris: the wine...all of it! Oh, and try the street markets on Thursday and Saturday for an inexpensive way to sample and savor just about any type of food the Parisians take home.