veg dining in Austria (and a Minneapolis deli wrap)

Two weeks in Austria, and despite the central Europeans' meat-loving reputation, we meatless actually made out alright.

Our first night in Salzburg we happened upon the Restaurant Mundenhamer on Rainerstrasse, which had a strong traditional aura but also offered vegetable loaf and a mixed roast vegetable plate. The parsley potatoes were particularly tasty.

Semmeln (crusty bread rolls) were common breakfast fare, though I took more hearty bread (with a variety of seeds) and muesli when I could get it. Between the Billa markets and the Reformhaus we kept a decent stock of our own supplies as well.

Besides eating Austrian-style vegan at St Josef in Vienna, we also had a delicious and light pumpkin soup at Hollerei on Pfeilgasse, and numerous varieties of potatoes at Wienerwald.

We had less success in Linz - there are at least two vegetarian restaurants in the city, but we had bad timing and didn't find either one of them while it was open. We did, however, manage to order a veggie kebap without cheese and indulge in heisse Maroni.

Back in Salzburg we fared better again. The bean salad at the Augustinian beer hall could've been better, but the thai bean curry at Indigo was good and the vegan special at Spicy Spices was satisfying enough to lure us back there a second time. Indian and Southeast Asian were the dominant flavours of our last several days, extending to Sahib in Innsbruck and Saran in Salzburg's Altstadt. It was incredibly satisfying.

And if that wasn't enough, Austria also gave us a lovely soyaccino serving sidewalk cafe - Kröll in Innsbruck. I could use another right now...

For further recommendations:
Happy Cow Austria
Lonely Planet Austria

And as for Minneapolis... for some reason avocado and provolone are hot in the upper midwest. More to my taste was the deli wrap I had: avocado, hummus and sunflower seeds with romaine, tomato and maybe some other veggies I can't remember. Pretty good stuff.

autumn's for animals

Niagara Action for Animals sent out their fall newsletter this week, so I thought I'd dig into it and do my bit to distribute some animal-related information.

World Animal Day is October 4, and has been since 1931. It's also the day of the NAfA book sale, and of the Amorphis / Samael / Virgin Black show in Toronto (and my friend's birthday).

While World Animal Day was started for endangered species it's now a day for all animals. Feral cats have their own day though - National Feral Cat Day on October 16.

Apparently it was Hug a Vegetarian Day recently too...

And speaking of vegetarians... I made a last minute decision to eat at Fresh tonight before going to see Alpha Galates, Tub Ring and Three at the Mod Club. I like the venue - it was our first time there. My ears are a little tired; I don't think I've ever heard so much musical activity all in one night: layering, counterpoint, harmonies, speed, complexity, chaos... I have no previous Alpha Galates experience to compare their performance to but I was intrigued, particularly when they were all singing at once. Tub Ring was as crazy as usual, though I don't think they were as 'on' or enjoying themselves as much as when I saw them in Guelph last year. Three was amazing in terms of what they were able to pull off live and how well, but their set verged on showiness-over-substance at times. I'd see them again though (however, I highly doubt Trevorkian would join me).