Singapore is known to be a foodie destination and one of its most well-known gastronomic experiences is a meal at a “hawker center.” See anytime Anthony Bourdain is in Singapore. And if you don’t follow everything Anthony Bourdain does, (1) you should, and (2) a “hawker center” is basically a food court (like a mall food court) where Singaporeans eat very high quality food for less than a small fortune.
Hawker Center decked our for Chinese New Year!
Chucherias Hondureñas is an adorable little restaurant in the Holly Hill section of Daytona Beach, Florida, and an excellent find, as many of the restaurants in the area of national chains…
Chucherias Hondureñas is extremely small. We called and made a reservation the day before and got a table for four at 7:00 with no problem. While the restaurant is small, it has a lot of charm and feels a world away from Daytona Beach. The setting is intimate. The waitstaff was attentive. A guitarist played during our dinner. Verrrry charming! Not the chain restaurants!
The menu is small and heavily seafood based, but there were meat and vegetarian options, as well. There was a lengthy special-of-the-day menu.
In addition, the restaurant has a fancy cocktail list, which we started with. Loving the straw-wrapped detail!
Dan and I started by splitting the curry conch soup, and it was so delicious! The “serving size” is plenty to split between two people. They will even put it in two separate bowls. The soup-base was very flavorful and there was plenty of conch.
Next, we ordered the ham croquettes. Also excellent! The croquettes came with a yummy spicy mustard sauce. Call me plain, but these were my favorite!
For mains, I ordered El Cubano – or the cuban sandwich, which I had read about online. The reviews were correct – it was so, so, so good! The cuban is made with seasoned roast pork, sliced ham, swiss cheese and an amazing garlic sauce. It was also huge, and I ate almost the entire sandwich! It came with a side salad and a few fried plantains. Plenty of food. While it was not the most exciting thing on the menu, I would absolutely order this again!
Dan ordered a shrimp dish, but for the life of me, I cannot remember its name. He really enjoyed it and it was made with coconut milk. Dan’s plate was also large and he loved it!
We finished with the Crema Catalana. A delicious creme brûlée-type dish made with spanish custard, caramelized sugar and fresh fruit. This was similar to creme brûlée, but decidedly different. Much smoother and not as heavy. Dan’s aunt and I loved it!
In sum, I absolutely loved this restaurant! The food was high quality and it was nice to find a non-chain restaurant in Daytona Beach. Recommended!
The Market, 101 2nd Street, Holly Hill, FL 32117
Note – While the address states “Holly Hill,” this is right in Daytona Beach.
We stopped for coffee, breakfast and dessert at the famous Cafe Sacher after visiting the Mirabell Palace Gardens. The cafe is very close to the Gardens and Mozart’s birthplace and makes for a great break before or after.
We walked right in and took a seat. Despite its fancy exterior, you can wear whatever you want to the cafe. Plenty of tourists stroll in wearing something terrible. To my surprise, Cafe Sacher has a full menu (breakfast, lunch, dinner, cocktails).
We opted for breakfast, coffee and dessert! Dan definitely ordered best! He choose eggs with truffled ham. SO DELICIOUS!!!! I opted for the vegetarian baguette, which was just mediocre. I guess that is what I get for ordering vegetarian. The coffee was great – I had the cappuccino with a side of their liqueur. After, we all had the famous Sacher Torte! The cake was so decadent, rich chocolate with an apricot jam in the middle, topped with whipped cream and a Sacher chocolate!
The cake was quite big for the price and was easily split between two people.
Hotel Sacher Salzburg
Schwarzstraße 5-7
A-5020 Salzburg
Tel.: +43 (0) 662 889 770
In Salzburg, we dined at a delicious restaurant a short walk from our apartment – Bärenwirt. This restaurant is just up the hill from the Altstadt on the way to Augustiner Bräu. We walked by this restaurant earlier in our trip, and we were so glad that we returned! Dan and I dined on pumpkin soup, a meat platter, schweinschnitzel and German chocolate cake. YUM!! This may have been the best schnitzel I had on the trip (close with my Hallstatt schnitzel), and this was certainly our best meal in Salzburg. Our waitress spoke perfect English and was extremely friendly. The meal ended with a complementary bowl of gummy bears – so cute! When the waitress saw that we were excited about the gummy bears, she gave us some extras in a to go bag!
Bärenwirt also claims to have “the best friend chicken.” Craig tried it, and he seemed to like it. Growing up in Virginia, it was hard for me to get on board with this. However, it seemed like a valiant attempt.
Müllner Hauptstraße 8
5020 Salzburg
Tel +43 (0)662 422 404
We didn’t make a reservation and were able to walk-in around 8 on a Saturday.
Dan and I love beer. And, wherever we go, I always research local breweries for us to visit. There are two in Heidelberg (that I could find): Brauhaus Vetter and Kulturbrauerei. We tried both on a Saturday afternoon.
Our first stop was Brahaus Vetter – home to the world’s once strongest beer, the Vetter 33. Vetter is on the right side (walking toward the bridge) of the main street connecting the Church of the Holy Spirit and the Alt Brücke. It was pretty easy to find. Vetter has an inside bar and seating area and outdoor tables along the street. There is no beer garden per se. We sat inside as all of the outdoor seats were full. Bummer! Vetter served about 4-5 beers on tap and our waitress explained each to us in detail in English. I ordered a half-liter of the Oktoberfest. It was very good, and tasted like an oktoberfest beer should. Dan ordered the Vetter 33, which is not nearly as strong as its made out to be. The Vetter 33 is served in a snifter type glass and is very dark. Dan liked it, but I did not!
We also ordered a round of snacks at Vetter. Dan ordered the “game” sausage and I ordered the fried cheese with cranberry sauce (so predictable). Both dishes were ok. However, the potato salad served with the sausages was execellent! Our waitress was really nice, and even let us take our water glass to go (they charged for all water) as long as we promised to return it, which we did. If you really want to purchase a glass, Vetter sells a variety of glasswear with their logo. I purchased a half-liter stein to take home. Great souvenir.
After Vetter, we walked about seven minutes toward the castle to Kulturbrauerei. Kulturbrauerei is a little more tucked away; it is located down a side street past the castle and the Red Ox Inn. We found it pretty easily, but were using the GPS on my phone…
Kulterbrauerei is attached to a hotel and has a large outdoor beer garden and a large indoor space. Kultur appeared to be having a wedding reception while we were there, so only a few of the outdoor tables were open to the public. I guess we got lucky that any were open! Like Vetter, Kultur had about 4 beers to choose from, but the waitress was not good at explaining them to us. I ended up trying their “seasonal,” which was simply descirbed as “seasonal” and nothing more. We asked. Several times. It ended up being a marzan. The beer was ok, but I really don’t like marzan style beers. I was hoping for another Oktoberfest!
In the end, we spent a fun afternoon at these two breweries. The beer at Vetter was more my style, but I preferred to drink in the beer garden at Kulturbrauerei. I guess you have to try them both!
In addition to these two breweries, the town if full of pubs and beer gardens serving generic beer, localish beer, cokctails and local wine.
Have you been to Heidelberg? What were your favorite beer spots??
LOGISTICS
Steingasse 9 – Im Schöneck
69117 Heidelberg
Tel: 06221/165850
Leyergasse 6
69117 Heidelberg
Tel.: +49 6221 502980
Dorfschänke was our first real meal of the Eurotrip2014, and it was so delicious!! It remains a strong contender for best meal of the trip!
The restaurant is located in the new part of town, only a few blocks from where the Philosopher’s Walk ends (or begins…depending on where you start…we started the Philosopher’s Walk at the bridge end and ended just in time for dinner near Dorfschänke).
We did not have a reservation, and we were immediately seated outside at our request. Our waiver spoke perfect English and was very helpful in explaining the menu to us and their specialities. Dorfschänke’s main speciality is Flammkuchen, which is a pizza-type meal that comes in savory and sweet flavors. Yum!
We started with local beers that came from a town about 15 kilometers away. For dinner, Pryor and I split the savory flammkuchen, which was topped with tomatoes, bacon, veggies and cheese – and probably a few other delicious things. It was AMAZING! We also split a local pasta stuffed with cheese. Unfortunately, we did not get a picture. But, believe me, it was also amazing! Dan and Craig ordered the cordon bleu schnitzel and they seemed happy. For dessert, we split the sweet flammkuchen (pictured above).
All in all, this restaurant was so delicious I would recommend it to anyone in Heidelberg!
Lutherstr. 14
69120 Heidelberg-Neuenheim
0 62 21 – 41 90 41
Notes – When we visited, the crowd seemed to be mostly locals. I would recommend calling ahead for a reservation in busy season.
We dined at Schnitzelbank on our final night in Heidelberg. Schnitzelbank is a small restaurant/wine bar in the Altstadt. It is tiny (but oh so charming), so make a reservation. We called the day of and got their final reservation. The specialty is obviously schnitzel! They have schnitzel in veal, pork, chicken and turkey. I ordered the pork in a mushroom sauce and it was very tasty. I also tried the turkey schnitzel in a dijon sauce, and that was tasty, as well (but also not fried – booooo). Dan ordered the schnitzel cordon bleu. That was fried and delicious; Dan won the dinner game! All of the portions were big and came with some delicious sides.
Schnitzelbank is a also a weinstube (a wine bar) with local wine von fass (on tap!)! Schnitzelbank had an extensive wine list and the waiter – who spoke great English – helped us choose some delicious, local wines! To my lovely surprise, reisling can be dry, and red (who would have known?!), and Germany makes some good, red wines that are not super sweet! If you are in the Heidelberg area, you should definitely check out a weinstube! Wine seemed more important to the people here than beer (a change from Bavaria!), and we were happy to participate in the tradition.
Bauamtsgasse 7
69117 Heidelberg
+49 6221 21189
Cafe Gundel is a lovely little bakery in Heidelberg, very close to the stairs/funicular to the castle. The first thing you will notice its its dreamy window display! So pretty! I had to stop in!
To order at Cafe Gundel, you simply walk in and order from the small bakery counter. Everyone spoke perfect English. Cafe Gundel serves breads, sandwiches, quiche, and all sorts of desserty goodness. You can pay at the counter and take it to go, or you can sit in the adjoining, table-service dining room (inside only, outside is a different restaurant…don’t make that mistake). If you decide to eat-in, the bakery counter will give you a small ticket that you take to a table of your choice. A waitress will be around shortly to take your drink order, and she will bring your bakery goods with your drink. 
For my visit, I ordered a cappuccino and a fabulous blueberry cake – for breakfast! Oh, vacation! Dan ordered the quiche, and I had to try a bite. It was also very good (although much less exciting).
Craig ordered an interesting sweet for breakfast. He ordered a Heidelberg speciality – a chocolate square with layers of chocolate on the inside and an edible stencil of the castle on the top. YUM! 
What a great spot for a quick, inexpensive meal!
We went to Augustiner Bräu on our first night in Sazlburg upon the recommendation of our cab driver. Augustiner is a large brewery just up from the Altstadt. The route is very easily walkable and took about 15 minutes from the Altstadt.
Augustiner serves half or full liter steins of their own brew. To get a beer, you purchase a token from the cashier at the front, grab a stein, rinse it in the water and hand your token and stein to the man pouring the beer. After collecting your beer, the brewery opens up into a beer hall with numerous stalls selling various types of food. As with most beer halls, you take a seat wherever you please. There were a lot of university students there. Very Hogwartsesque.
We tried food from a few of the stands, but nothing really blew me away. The stalls served inexpensive local fare, including schnitzel, fish, and pork. However, you can also bring in our own food! I wish I had known this, as we passed a pizza place on the way that smelled amazing…
In addition to the indoor beer hall, there is an outdoor beer garden.
A-5020 Salzburg Lindhofstr. 7
T: +43-662-431246
