I have to admit, the pun doesn’t work in english. But really, that doesn’t hold me atop (1). But let’s try real english for once. I did everything I could to eat everything good for me but bad for my body in my first week back. The term soulfood might come to mind, and indeed, all those great dishes had a soul once. (Well, not c)
At this point, after having ate a Blunzengröstl today, I can proudly say, I succeeded. American food has the hardly earned image to be not very healthy. For some reason, Austrian food doesn’t have this image. It should. Mjam things I ate last week:
a) Schnitzl
b) Cordon Bleu
c) Knödel mit Ei
d) Blunzengröstl (2)

The first is to Austrian food like steaks to American: It’s meat, it’s great and it’s everywhere. The Schnitzl comes in it’s original form of Wiener Schnitzl and in a gazillion different version, from Jägerschnitzl (with mushrooms) to Pariser Schnitzl (eggs instead of breading). Since the original Wiener Schnitzl meat is veal and therefore expensive (3), it sometimes comes in the variations Schweinsschnitzl (pig) or Kinderschnitzl (children). Regardless of the meat, it can be described to an american as the delicious big brother of pork chops.

Cordon Bleu is a variation of the Schnitzl. It sounds french but it isn’t (4). It’s the Schnitzl Version of a Calzone: Within the delicious Schnitzlmantle you’ll find a delicious piece of melted cheese and ham. Calzone meets American Grilled Cheese with Ham.

It was surprising, that the American cuisine doesn’t know Knödel (dumplings) at all. There is a wide arrangement of great dumplings, from Marillenknödel (apricots in a dumpling) to Erdäpfelknödel (potatodumpling) and of course the mother of all dumplings: The Semmelknödel (bread roll dumpling). It’s a food you could also find in Lowry. The concept is really simple: Take yesterdays dumplings, throw them in a pan and mix’em with eggs. Voilá there you have your Knödel mit Ei. De-licious.

Blunzengröstl is like David Hasselhoff: You love him or you hate him. (5) It comes in a pan. Usually with Sauerkraut. Blunze is mixed with potatoes, onions, maybe some peppers, ect. What is Blunze, you ask? Well…that’s the catch (the delicious, awesome, mmmmjam catch): It’s clotted blood. Mahlzeit!

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(1) Little German Dictionary: aufhalten, literally „to hold atop“ means: that can’t stop me.
(2) Looking at this list, it strikes me: I totally forgot to ate Schweinsbraten, but then again, I had it once at the German Dinner in Wooster
(3) Some people, babytarier, don’t eat it, because they think an animal should live a happy life in a butchers stall before it gets slaughtered.
(4) It probably is.
(5) For some reasons, Americans can’t accept the fact that D.H. is AWESOME. It’s a little bit like Arnold: He’s a star in a country, but not very appreciated, where he’s coming from.