Sunday, March 28, 2010

Vienna Dispatch: A Tale of Tiny Sandwiches (A Love Story)



Leave it to the Viennese to take the sometimes unweildy and occasionally messy sandwich and turn it into something logical, neat, and elegant. Behold the tiny topless sandwich:




These sandwiches are pure genius, and I am completely obsessed with them. It all started the day we got into Vienna, and I saw this storefront:


 I later found out that the name of this place is in fact  "Duran," not "Duran Duran," but my mistaken (and perhaps sleep deprived) initial assumption that it was somehow named after the 80s pop band is what first drew me in - but it was the sandwiches that hooked me. Small and composed pieces of perfection - eiersalat (egg salad), Camembert, thonfisch (tuna fish), gherkin - these bites of goodness are seriously addictive:



Once Poppa Trix and I had eaten what we thought was our fill, we headed out, only to discover - right next door - Trzesniewski, the granddaddy of all tiny sanwich shops. Here, the aesthetic is somewhat different than at Duran. Rather than carefully placing the sandwich elements on half-moon slices of baguette, the various salads and spreads are neat, uniform, geometric compositions on perfectly rectangular pieces of bread. Stuffed as we were, we couldn't resist getting a few to go. We chose sardine with egg, crab salad, and salmon with a creamy horseradish cheese:


As it turns out, this Trzesniewski was only a small outpost of the original, located near the Stephensdom at Stephensplatz, so of course a pilgrimage was in order.


It exceeded all of our hopes. This place is tiny sandwich nirvana. Paprika, champignon, zweibel (onion), tomaten ... how to choose from all the wondrous spreads? 




And who can resist a cute little beer (ein pfiff) to go with the mini sandwiches? Not me, that's for sure!



Poppa Trix and I just couldn't get enough, so one Sunday night - when just about everything in the city was closed -  we created our very own tiny Trzesniewski-style sandwiches with spreads from our local Billa supermarket:


I even bought a German-language brotaufstriche (spreads) cookbook:


Do I read German? Nope. But where there's a will, there's a way. I definitely plan to post some recipes for these lovely little sandwiches in the future ... I just can't live without them.





20 comments:

  1. Cheers to that! You look FAB!! Totally outshone the sandwiches with that sultry pic. :) LOL at Duran Duran because the same thought went through my mind, and bravo for making your own sandwiches. They are gorgeous and I can't wait to read how we can all make 'em in our own kitchens, w/o a trip to Sandwich Haven.

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  2. so much spreads. I can't wait to read all the journey and experience that you had.

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  3. Wow... that is one great sandwich symphony... kudos to you Trix! The great thing about a sandwich is it is like jazz... you can do riffs so easily on it's mighty but simple frame.. I look forward to your riffs!

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  4. A new chapter in trix's life, now my queen gets to give us an authentic tour and first hand knowledge of scrumptious sandwiches. I think you need to hit the lottery and send some to all your friends that miss you! these are so adorable, perfect for any brunch and certainly will wow your guests~ yum!!!!

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  5. How funny! I also thought about Duran Duran :D Lovely sandwiches. I would love to try out these mini sandwiches. Great for parties too. Thanks for sharing. That's such a cool photo of yours.

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  6. these tiny sandwiches are so not 'ordinary world' open-faces and from the looks of them, makes me 'hungry like a wolf'. I'll 'save a prayer' in hopes to one day get to sample them, and 'come undone' with each bite - thanks von Trix

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  7. Aww... a sandwich trail! :D I wanna join... not only for the sandwiches, but also for the beer :D Can't wait for the recipes! Btw I thought it was Duran Duran too..lol!

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  8. Sandwich fiesta! what I love most is the display, everything is nicely displayed in Europe and makes definitely things more apprealing! Beautiful and cute tiny sandwiches, enjoy the rest of your vacation!

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  9. Love that pic of you the best! What a grand vacation!

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  10. Oh thank you SO much for posting from your trip!!! What a fun post and I just LOVE those little sandwiches. So elegant. And perfect with a beer! Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!

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  11. They're gorgeous and half the calories! Hurry up with the translation and post those recipes. Thanks for sharing the pix and that lovely photo of yourself.

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  12. Yummy post! We have a similar sandwich in Bulgaria, called "princessi", but they are usually hot open faced grilled cheese-like sandwiches with hams or dried meat.

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  13. I just adore this post!! so jealous. Think if I went there I would be too busy munching on these to see any of the place!

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  14. Hey girl! Once again, a wonderful picture post of all thing "Trix and Travel"! I like your sammiches--too cute! Now, where to next? BTW, I can't pronounce half the words you listed in this post from abroad, so I would no doubt have trouble navigating the waters over there! What a wonderful here-I-am-world-sign-me-up-for-my-modeling-contract "mini-brew" shot of you! (Too fun!)

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  15. It wouldn't be spring break if something didn't go topless... so I guess it's good the sandwiches decided to take one for the team ;)

    They look delicious!

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  16. Love it! I have a freakish obsession with tiny things and I love mini sandwiches! Thanks for sharing.

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  17. Hi there, thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. Sorry about your bad experience at plane food. I was there super early in the morning and maybe that's why the service was so good.
    Love these little sandwiches, they look darling. Good luck with recreating these yummy sandwiches at home :)
    *kisses* HH

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  18. I got you...duran duran. hahaha. But that sandwich place is so exciting and very interesting. I would love to have that cookbook too but when you figured out how to read it, you can share it with us. And the array of spreads remind me of a gelato place. :)

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  19. Wow, those sandwiches look amazing! Very cool!

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  20. Wow, this comment is for the past three posts, all amazing, I have been wanting to try Hungarian goulash, looks so good, and your vacation pix are amazing, what a wonderful getaway!

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