Sometimes a Meaty Monday is as simple as choosing the right cuisine. Austrian food is just the ticket, but finding it might require a search. That’s OK, I did that part for you. Let me introduce you to Euro Bistro.
Chef Raimund Stieger presides over the double storefronts on Herndon’s Elden Street that comprise Euro Bistro. With paintings from locals on the wall and traditional polka music in the air, the place feels like a homey extension of the chef. His menu is quirky: Pork potstickers and pasta with Thai curry sauce share space with several schnitzels, sauerbraten and zwiebelrostbraten.
But as soon as I saw bauernschmaus on the menu, I had to have it. One of my favorite dishes on Earth is Alsatian choucroute garnie, a plate of sauerkraut dressed with a farmyard of meats. Bauernschmaus is the Austrian equivalent, replete with sausages and smoked pork.
When my server delivered my plate, I wasn’t sure that I had the right dish, as the only protein was a trio of sausages. The menu said the bauernschmaus would have two sausages and a smoked pork loin. “This is better,” she said, offering me the option of trading my bauernwurst for the loin.
But I decided to believe her and she was probably right. The aromatic sausage was coarsely ground and had an unusual flavor that owed to the marjoram within. The plate also included a pale cross-hatched bratwurst and my favorite, a tender juicy knockwurst. But the best surprise was the sauerkraut. Though a bit milder in flavor than I prefer, it was dotted not just with caraway but with a heaping portion of chopped bacon.
Just as I had hoped, an Austrian meal was the ticket to a very Meaty Monday.
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