Buschenschank (wine taverns)
The typical Törggele menu
Originally, Törggelen was a feast of thanks for the harvest workers, for whom the farmers served up a big feast. Today, too, guests are served the best of rural cuisine, prepared with love from mainly on-farm products. Dishes include 'Gerstsuppe' (barley soup), 'Kasnocken' (cheese dumplings) or 'Schlutzer' (ravioli with spinach and cottage cheese) as starters and a mixed meat platter with 'Surfleisch' (pork), spare ribs, various sausages, dumplings and sauerkraut as the main course. To finish, there are roasted chestnuts, nuts or sweet 'Krapfen' (rectangular doughnuts) with delicious filling - and perhaps a glass of home-made schnapps.
Originally, Törggelen was a feast of thanks for the harvest workers, for whom the farmers served up a big feast. Today, too, guests are served the best of rural cuisine, prepared with love from mainly on-farm products. Dishes include 'Gerstsuppe' (barley soup), 'Kasnocken' (cheese dumplings) or 'Schlutzer' (ravioli with spinach and cottage cheese) as starters and a mixed meat platter with 'Surfleisch' (pork), spare ribs, various sausages, dumplings and sauerkraut as the main course. To finish, there are roasted chestnuts, nuts or sweet 'Krapfen' (rectangular doughnuts) with delicious filling - and perhaps a glass of home-made schnapps.
Törggelen would not have this charm if every Buschenschank did not offer its own very special Törggelemenü. Some, for example, do not start with the starters but with a greeting from the cured meat cellar. A thin slice of "home-made" Speck (bacon) is served with warm farmhouse bread. The starters are often complemented with a fine pumpkin or chestnut soup. But also the 'Erdäpfelblattln mit Kraut' (thin potato slices with cabbage), which are native to the Eisack Valley, are becoming increasingly popular. The obligatory 'Schlachtplatte' (mixed meat platter) is sometimes enhanced with freshly prepared 'Blutwurst' (black pudding). Desserts are dominated by the famous 'Krapfen' (doughnuts), which, however, vary somewhat depending on the preference of the farmer's wife and the region. For example, the Barbian 'Krapfen' have a completely different shape from those from Villanders. A few farm women also spoil their guests with 'Äpfelkiechln' (apple fritters or 'Buchteln' (sweet yeast dough rolls).