All aboard the international cruise of flavors.......This crazy cruise ship has embarked upon a world tour, with curious and hungry cachers aboard. The itinerary is every country in the world, one restaurant at a time, all without leaving the confines of Central New Jersey. 89th Stop ... Austria!
Join the North Central Jersey Cachers as we venture across the Atlantic Ocean to the Central European country of Austria!
Tuesday, November 19, 2019 @ 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Abigail’s Cafe
804 West Elizabeth Ave.
Linden, NJ
Enjoy delicious food and good company as this wacky cruise ship voyages across the Atlantic Ocean to the Central European country of Austria!!
Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in Central Europe composed of nine federated states (Bundesländer), one of which is Vienna, Austria's capital and its largest city. Each state has its own distinct cultural and linguistic traditions and identity, and its own democratically elected system of government within the federal structure.
Austrian cuisine was influenced by the traditional cuisine of its neighbors, such as Germany, Poland and Hungary, and countries of the Habsburg Empire and the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Austrian cuisine is most often associated with Viennese cuisine, but there are significant regional variations.
Apart from the foreign influences on Austrian cuisine, every Austrian features their own local dishes: Frittatensuppe (crêpe soup) comes from Styria, Speckknödel (bacon dumplings) from Tyrol; and Salzburg, Mozart’s home, has contributed the so-called Salzburger Nockerln, a sweet soufflé made from eggs.
In Austria food is relished and meals are celebrated. Austrians can spend more than an hour discussing various topics over a meal and afterwards spend an equal amount of time to finish their conversations over a cup of coffee and dessert. This behavior is often referred to as typical Austrian Gemuetlichkeit and is distinctive to Austrian culture. Gemuetlichkeit describes an environment or state of mind that produces a happy mood and a sense of well-being. It describes a notion of belonging and social acceptance, of being cozy and welcomed.
When having a meal as a group, it is polite to wish one another 'Guten Appetit' or 'Mahlzeit'. Mahlzeit literally means 'mealtime' and is also used as a general greeting around midday, when one can assume that most people are about to have lunch.
At traditional restaurants, especially in the countryside, it is considered polite to greet other punters with a hearty 'Mahlzeit'. A typical Austrian meal can be a long running affair, as there are normally at least three courses and no rush to leave after the last bite. It is common to languish at the table and enjoy a drink before relinquishing the table to the next party.
Popular Austrian dishes include:
- Gulasch (goulash) - a hotpot similar to Hungarian pörköl. Austrian goulash is often eaten with rolls, bread or dumplings.
- Palatschinken - pancakes similar to French Crêpes, filled with jam, sprinkled with sugar, etc.
- Saftgulasch - juicy stew, also known as the Austrian or Wienese Goulash, is an Austrian twist of the traditional Hungarian dish. The characteristics of the Saftgulash is that it is prepared exclusively with lean beef and a large quantity of onions, at least two thirds of the quantity of meat used.
- Sausages - Frankfurter, Krainer Wurst from Carniola (Krain), Debreziner (originating from Debrecen in Hungary), or Burenwurst.
- Selchfleisch - meat that is smoked, then cooked, served with Sauerkraut and dumplings.
- Schnitzel - Wiener/Vienna schnitzel is a traditional Austrian dish made with boneless meat thinned with a mallet (escalope-style preparation), and fried with a coating of flour, egg, and breadcrumbs.
- Wurstsemmel - sliced bread rolls containing a slice of ham, sausage or ham & cheese.
Austrian cakes and pastries are a well-known feature of its cuisine. Perhaps the most famous is the Sachertorte, a chocolate cake with apricot jam filling, traditionally eaten with whipped cream. Among the cakes with the longest tradition is the Linzer torte. These cakes are typically complex and difficult to make. They can be eaten at a café or bought by the slice from a bakery. Other deserts include Apfelstrudel (apple strudel), layers of thin pastry surrounding a filling of apple, usually with cinnamon and raisins.
Austria is credited in popular legend with introducing coffee to Europe after bags of coffee beans were left behind by the retreating Turkish army after the Battle of Vienna in 1683. Unaware of their purpose or value, Polish king Jan III Sobieski gave the sacks of useless beans to an officer named Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki. Whether he shared his information with the king or not, Kulczycki was well aware of just how valuable the beans were, having learned about coffee during time spent in Turkish captivity. Kulczycki is often credited with adapting coffee to European tastes by adding milk and sugar to the strong, bitter Turkish drink. Although the first coffeehouses had appeared in Europe some years earlier, the Viennese café tradition became an important part of the city's identity. Early coffee houses offered their customers a color chart depicting various shades of brown, lighter or darker, from which the customer chose their particular hue of preference. Coffee is served in a variety of styles, particularly in the Viennese cafés.
When clinking glasses, Austrians take a moment to make eye contact and say 'Prost' to each person in the round. If you feel like showing off, you can also say 'Zum Wohl' or 'Prosit' - all three mean 'to your health'. After a meal you are likely to be offered a shot of Schnaps, Austria's favourite digestive. This is not a drink for the faint-hearted: the rule is to drink it in a single mouthful.
World Culinary Cruise Itinerary
1 - Mexico - July 16, 2012
2 - Greece - August 23, 2012
3 - Japan - September 12, 2012
4 - India - October 11, 2012
5 - Russia - November 14, 2012
6 - Poland - December 5, 2012
7 - Ireland - January 22, 2013
8 - France - February 26, 2013
9 - Spain - March 13, 2013
10 - Thailand - April 30, 2013
11 - Portugal - May 28, 2013
12 - United States of America - June 4, 2013
13 - Afghanistan - July 11, 2013
14 - Egypt - August 6, 2013
15 - United Kingdom - September 18, 2013
16 - Sweden - October 16, 2013
17 - Peru - November 6, 2013
18 - Germany - December 20, 2013
19 - Ghana - January 7, 2014
20 - Polynesia - February 19, 2014
21 - Sri Lanka - March 13, 2014
22 - Korea - April 22, 2014
23 - Jamaica - May 22, 2014
24 - Vietnam - June 25, 2014
25 - Mexico - July 23, 2014
26 - Mongolia - August 19, 2014
27 - Persia - September 17, 2014
28 - Philippines - October 15, 2014
29 - Dominican Republic - November 19, 2014
30 - Trinidad - December 10, 2014
31 - Nigeria - January 20, 2015
32 - Lebanon - February 18, 2015
33 - Cuba - March 24, 2015
34 - Brazil - April 21, 2015
35 - Turkey - May 27, 2015
36 - Hungary - June 6, 2015
37 - Canada - July 15, 2015
38 - Guyana - August 31, 2015
39 - Ethiopia - September 8, 2015
40 - Pakistan - October 14, 2015
41 - Columbia - November 24, 2015
42 - Malaysia - December 8, 2015
43 - Argentina - January 20, 2016
44 - Cameroon - February 17, 2016
45 - Taiwan - March 22, 2016
46 - Morocco - April 26, 2016
47 - Costa Rica - May 18, 2016
48 - Uruguay - June 15, 2016
49 - Angola & Mozambique - July 12, 2016
50 - Haiti - August 30, 2016
51 - El Salvador - September 21, 2016
52 - Uzbekistan - October 19, 2016
53 - Puerto Rico - November 29, 2016
54 - Bangladesh - December 13, 2016
55 - Scotland - January 24, 2017
56 - Guatemala - February 22, 2017
57 - Venezuela - March 28, 2017
58 - Indonesia - April 26, 2017
59 - Syria - May 23, 2017
60 - Italy - June 13, 2017
61 - Ecuador - July 18, 2017
62 - Jordan - August 24, 2017
63 - Liberia - September 21, 2017
64 - Cyprus - October 25, 2017
65 - Israel - November 29, 2017
66 - Belize - December 12, 2017
67 - Slovakia - January 30, 2018
68 - Saudi Arabia - February 27, 2018
69 - Ukraine - March 9, 2018
70- Grenada - April 24, 2018
71 - Senegal - May 22, 2018
72 - Australia - June 12, 2018
73 - Honduras - July 24, 2018
74 - Chile - August 7, 2018
75 - Armenia - September 15, 2018
76 - Panama - October 30, 2018
77 - Georgia - November 14, 2018
78 - Côte d’Ivoire - December 18, 2018
79 - Cambodia - January 29, 2019
80 - Bahamas - February 27, 2019
81 - Nepal - March 26, 2019
82 - Finland - April 18, 2019
83 - Nicaragua - May 22, 2019
84 - Switzerland - June 12, 2019
85 - Romania - July 13, 2019
86 - Belgium - August 7, 2019
87 - Bolivia - September 10, 2019
88 - China - October 22, 2019
89 - Austria - November 19, 2019
Follow our culinary adventures throughout Central New Jersey with "The Suitcase of Destiny" and chart our virtual cruise around the world with the "World Travel Geocoin."
Where will this ship pull into port next? Only the pink flamingo knows....
