By Dennis Cieri
Vienna’s würstels—the sausages sold at würstelstands, little kiosks around the city — are legendary. They are the beloved street food of the posh Austrian capital.
The sausages became popular in the early 1800s, after the Napoleonic wars bankrupted Austria. Meat prices surged, pushing the poor to use every scrap.
Returning from the war, disabled soldiers couldn’t work in the fields or factories, so they sold würstels at würstelstands—and a new street food tradition was born.
It’s simply impossible to visit the city without chomping down a few würstels—frankfurters, bratwursts and käsekrainers. The last of these comes with added cheese that melts on the grill and then bursts like a scrumptious fat bomb in one’s mouth.
Modern vendors like Michael Lanner, who grew up eating traditional würstels, are also experimenting with new flavors, such as vegetarian sausages and novel spices, jalapenos, salsa criolla, and curry masala. We interviewed Lanner in the video above.
See more of Dennis Cieri’s videos at cerimedia.com.
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