INNSBRUCK’S ROYAL FEASTS

At Hotel Europa Tyrol, the in-house Europastuberl is the most desirable first-class restaurant for guests or visitors. The hotel was built in 1869 as the Grand Hotel de Europe, but Hotel Europa Tyrol holds the honor of hosting distinctive guests such as Queen Elizabeth II, the Shah of Iran, General Patton and the crew of Apollo 14.

The menu is delightfully traditional, local and Austrian oriented, with distinctive chef creations that make this restaurant the crème-de-la-crème of Innsbruck, and the winner of Gault-Millau awards. Warm or cold appetizers include fish, seafood and even a warm cabbage salad with bacon or classic lobster minestrone. Entrees from the chef include the ordinary and the extraordinary - trout, pike, perch, guinea hens, lamb, steak, veal and venison.

“Dinner for two” is an Europastuberl specialty and from my experience it is truly a gourmet’s paradise. After a toast to the evening with Champagne, it’s time for appetizers. From a fish terrine, to a “Tirolean variation” namely, spinach dumplings, pastry puffs and Tirolean ravioli (Schlutzkrapfen) filled with white cheese and herbs, hollender butter and Parmesan with sauerkraut, it’s Tirolean cooking at its hearty

The crowning glory of the evening’s meal is an entrée called “Lammcaree mit Krauterkruste, Rahmerdapfeln und grunen Bohnen” – rack of lamb with herb crust, cream potatoes and green beans, accompanied by Blauer Zweigelt (Heinrich Burgenland), a fine wine that makes the lamb even more succulently delicious. The blushing pink slices sitting on the plate beckons invitingly, and as I bite into the first morsel I savor it between sips of wine and vegetable helpings. All I know is that this certainly gets my vote as a signature dish unless there is another one, and then in that case, I will have to make sure I try that one too.

Sweet tooth or not, a tempting plate appears with cottage cheese dumpling with plum sauce and sweet noodles with apricots and crepes, garnished with fresh fruit. But that’s not all on the dessert menu that features pancakes with apricot or cranberry jam and ragout, strawberry-semolina dumpling with rhubarb sauce and ice cream, mango sorbet with fruit, Sacher cake and tender curd-cheese dumplings with stewed plums. Two cheese plates list Italian Parmesan with marinated olives and mixed cheese with grapes and nuts.

Throughout Innsbruck people relish the freedom of enjoying fabulous cuisine surrounded by breathtaking mountain scenery. It’s equally fascinating to discover that you can dine at the same establishment that was once the stopover for merchants traversing the north-south trading routes centuries ago and eventually developed a clientele of royal and celebrity status.

The Goldener Adler (Golden Eagle) Hotel-Restaurant abounds with hallmark grandeur as an original Tyrolean inn established in 1390. Located in the center of the old city, its guest list reads like a “Who’s Who” of imperial fame: Emperors Maximilian I, Charles V and Joseph II, Archduke Ferdinand II, and King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Visits by members of the arts include musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and violinist Nicolo Paganini.

In 1809 it was here that Andreas Hofer stood at a window and entreated the people of Innsbruck to rally against Napoleon’s invasion of Tyrol with these words, “I will not leave you alone, as sure as my name is Andra Hofer! Now I have told you, now you have seen me, God help you!” Not surprisingly he is the national hero and guests may enjoy dining in a room dedicated to him, the Andreas Hofer Stube.

Looking at the menu that says, “Our chef recommends” seems like an invitation to try everything on the menu. The appetizers, soup and salads are the beginnings of a gastronomic game of this or that. Tyrolean pate on Cumberland sauce, mousse of smoked trout with pine nuts and salad, salad of venison fillets and chanterelles, Alpine fish soup and pumpkin soup are all a glorious temptation (again pumpkin soup won me over.)

The extensive wine list assures guests that most favorites are available whether Tyrolean or Austrian, and even includes wines from France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Australia, California, Chile and South Africa.

The menu is printed in German, English, Italian, French and Spanish, and features Tyrolean delicacies including venison ragout in cranberry sauce, rolled roast veal, loin of pork with mushroom crust and Madeira sauce, grilled steak, brook trout meuniere, grilled fillet of halibut with Pernod sauce. These dishes are served with an assortment of sides such as dumpling, polenta, noodles, carrots, parsley potatoes, mashed celery and red potatoes and duchesse potatoes. Our table enjoyed the trout, steak and veal, all hearty meals that energize us for those sightseeing days ahead.

Among the desserts are the innovative cheese strudel with vanilla sauce, pumpkinseed parfait and caramelized apple Schmarren served on bright blue glass plates echoing of a bygone era.

On the way out I checked for more names on the marble tablet (affixed to the building) whose footsteps echoed in the hallways long after the influential guests listed above had left. Within this century the Goldener Alder has welcomed Maria Augusta von Trapp, John Glenn, Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, King Leopold III of Belgium, Crown Prince Harald and Princess Sonja of Norway, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand.

Over six hundred years later, the Golden Adler has not lost its majestic touch and every guest, titled and untitled, is privileged to dine here – and it’s certainly fit for a king (or queen.)

Innsbruck’s feasts are truly the best of Tyrol!