INTERNATIONAL: BORDERLESS CUISINE 7 - Germany, Switzerland and Austria

German cuisine varies from region to region. The southern regions of Bavaria and Swabia, for instance, share a culinary culture with Switzerland and Austria In all regions, meat is often eaten in sausage form.

German sausages:

Swiss sausages:

Austrian Sausages

Spatzle

Spätzle (Swabian diminutive plural of Spatz, thus literally "little sparrows", also Spätzli or Chnöpfli in Switzerland or Knöpfle or Hungarian Nokedli, Csipetke or Galuska) are a kind of soft egg noodle found in the cuisines of southern Germany and Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Moselle and South Tyrol.

Today in Germany, spätzle are largely considered a "Swabian speciality" and are generally associated with the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg. In France they are associated with Alsace and Moselle. The total estimated annual commercial production of spätzle in Germany is approximately 40,000 tons. Pre-made spätzle are also available internationally from companies such as Maggi, a division of Nestle. 

German Spatzle

Swiss Spatzle

Austrian Spatzle

Rye Bread

Rye bread is a type of bread made with various proportions of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour. It is higher in fiber than white bread and is often darker in color and stronger in flavor.

German Rye Bread

Swiss Rye Bread

Austrian Rye Bread

Potato Salad

LINK for German Potato Salad

LINK for Swiss Potato Salad

LINK for Austrian Potato Salad

The Spotted Pig, New York

I was going to say that I had three faggots down in the West Village late one night, until it occurred to me that some people might get the wrong idea. It's true. I did have three faggots. Three of the juiciest, tastiest faggots you could wish for. And I picked them up at The Spotted Pig, 314 W. 11th Street, corner of Greenwich St, New York, NY, Tel +1 212 620 0393.



These were, of course, faggots of porcine persuasion. Deliciously soft and fleshy parcels of pork cheek, pork liver and farro (an ancient and seemingly trendy grain), wrapped in belly fat and cooked in bacon juice. Sprinkled on top were crunchy, crackly slivers of pigs ear. It was Brokeback Mountain meets Reservoir Dogs on a plate, served with a side of brussels sprouts. Magnificent.

Now, some of you picky, anal types may be tut-tutting about now, wondering how I can call this a breakfast review. Leaving aside the fact that faggots are sausages and sausages are legitimate breakfast food, I started this meal with a small plate of eggs. Two halves of deviled eggs, actually. So this was a meal of sausages and eggs. The perfect late night breakfast. All washed down with a pint of Old Speckled Hen.

Boat House, New York

The Boathouse is a very spiffing venue, perched on the edge of Central Park Lake, at East 72nd Street and Park Drive North, New York, Tel +1 212 517 2233...

The Essoign Club, Melbourne

Only a club for barristers and judges could come up with a rule that anyone caught answering their mobile phone in the restaurant must buy each adjoining table a bottle of wine. Unfortunately for me, nobody breached this rule during my breakfast at The Essoign, Level 1, 205 William Street, Melbourne, Tel +61 3 9225 6748. I would have quite enjoyed a nice Bourgogne for breakfast. Beats getting hit on the head with a bottle of Pinot Grigio.



It being a week day, I opted for the "McBarrister", one of the lighter and more amusing items on the menu. A parody of the Bacon & Egg McMuffin, only superior in every way. Fresh fluffy muffins. Tasty bacon. Fried egg. And a melting slice of tasty cheese. Simple but good.

My barrister host talked up the "Trial Breakfast", but this wasn't mere puffery. The eggs were poached just right, and the bacon, bangers and toast looked well above average. Very good coffee, too.



The main problem with The Essoign is that you can't just rock up and order some eggs. There are rules, you see. You must be a member, or you must be with a member (and to be a member you must be a member of the Bar). But if you have the misfortune to be a "current litigant" (ie, someone dragging or being dragged by another through court) then you can't go at all.

14/20 "members only"

Sydney's Sausages are Nasty

At least that's what Grant Kells reckons. So nasty that he had to get one custom made by the local butcher. Whatever it takes to win the race for Sydney's best breakfast. Because in case you hadn't heard, breakfast is the new black. To find out who else is in the race, and how the Sydney Morning Herald rates them, check out Keith Austin's story for Good Living.

Glass at the Hilton, Sydney

As Matthew Evans would say, it's a swank venue. No, not Coco Roco. I'm talking about Glass Brasserie, Level 2, 488 George Street, Sydney. The swank and, dare I say, spiffing restaurant at the Hilton. But is it Sydney's finest breakfast? According to the propaganda floating around the hotel, yes. According to me, no. But that's just my opinion.



I wouldn't go so far as to call the scrambled eggs "outstandingly dull", but they were a little bit bland. Nothing a bit of salt and pepper couldn't fix (except that my pepper grinder was empty). Otherwise, my a la carte order of "fresh country eggs" looked like it had been freshly spooned off the buffet spread and onto a plate. A bucket-load of limp, greasy bacon; a few very nice little snags; good sauteed spinach; some soft tomato (which I didn't eat); and some dull mushrooms.

Technically I shouldn't have got the mushrooms, which were a feature of the $27 "plated breakfast", and I should have got "herb roasted potatoes" (part of my $17 breakfast). I asked were my spuds were and was quickly presented with a side of disc-shaped hash browns (with no obvious sign of herbs).

Apart from this plating mix-up, the service was attentive, swift and polite, as you'd expect in a swank, spiffing venue. Basically, it's a good spot for a power-breakfast, but there's nothing remarkable about the food. And let's not forget the warm and fuzzy feeling you'll get from supporting the Hilton family during this difficult time.

14/20 "swank"

Roast, London

Fancy a fried slice? Get yourself to Roast, The Floral Hall, Stoney Street (above Borough Market), London, Tel +44 20 7940 1300. The "Full Borough" comes with fried sausages, fried bacon, fried black pudding, fried mushrooms (grilled, actually) and... fried bread. You could round this out with fried eggs, but I went scrambled...



All this "deliciously British" food is, according to the Roast spin doctors, designed to show that good old-fashioned British grub is more than a match for the muck they serve across the channel. In reality, the only highlight of the Roast fry-up was the bangers, which were excellent (apparently they source their snags from a guy who was once "sausage-maker to the Queen"). The black pudding wasn't bad either. The rest was nothing special. Sloppy scrambled eggs. Crisp, greasy, fried bread (presumably stale bread). Streaky bacon and some veg.

That Roast is more spin than substance should come as no surprise. The guy who started it was a PR flack before he got into the restaurant game. And spin is one of the defining traits of Blair's Britain. Perhaps substance will make a comeback under Gordon Brown? A splash of Brown sauce certainly adds spice to an otherwise dull breakfast.

Other than the sausages, the best thing about Roast is the venue. It's light, open and airy, with big windows all round. Assuming it's not raining too hard, you can look across the river at the London skyline, or you can look down at Borough Market below.

At £12, the "Full Borough" wasn't cheap. Far better value would be the two boiled eggs with Marmite soldiers, for £3.80. Or maybe the "Tattie scone with smoked streaky bacon, field mushrooms and a fried egg" at a mere £8.50.

12/20 "fried slice"