3 weeks in Eastern Europe-Advice/Info Much Appreciated!

[bailey.derby]

If there are threads that have already been written about this, please attach them in the comments for me!

I'm touring eastern europe for three weeks this fall. I'll be visiting Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow and Prague. If any of you are familiar with food in these places, please share your wisdom with me! I did a whole 30 almost a year ago. I'm not strict paleo anymore. i can eat rice and corn. I eat some sugar and some beans. But I absolutely can't eat dairy. I'd definitely prefer not to eat gluten as well. I also occasionally drink alcohol,too. So if you can tell me what some of the common foods/beverages have in them and if there's anything I'll be able to eat, I'd very much appreciate it. 

 

Bailey 

[ladyshanny]

I think you might have more luck on a travel forum focussing on the typical and traditional foods in the places you're going. Eating rice, corn, sugar, beans and alcohol definitely isn't even close to Whole30 (which is fine) so my suggestion would be to find a forum or website that is more directly related to your specific question.  Maybe someone will comment here but you may want to seek out more directed & specific assistance in case no one does.

You can, also, google "Whole30 dining out" and read up on that as it's a cheat sheet on how to order to remain Whole30 compliant.........which doesn't seem to be your issue but it might still be helpful to you.

[Sarasaurus]

I have visited all of the cities you mentioned (except Krakow, but I was in Warsaw and figure there's not too much difference in the food). In general, the traditional food will have less in the way of vegetables and more heavy, "meat and potatoes" types of dishes. I expect avoiding gluten will be the most difficult - breakfasts usually include some type of bread, things like spaetzle and pierogi are traditional foods, and there are sauces/gravies/breading on lots of things. But all of those cities (especially Munich and Vienna, in my experience) are large, cosmopolitan cities with a huge variety of restaurants, so if you're ok with missing out on the traditional foods and have the flexibility to choose where to eat your meals, you might be able to do it. Most people, especially if they're working in the tourism industry, speak at least some English so you should be able to ask questions about ingredients. If you do some research ahead of time you can probably find online menus for some restaurants as well and identify some options (any Bavarian restaurant will have sausages and sauerkraut, I had a delicious shredded apple and carrot salad at a pierogi restaurant in Warsaw, etc.).

[linguistenator]

I just spent two weeks in Prague. Most importantly: It is beautiful and amazing and you will love it.

Food-wise, it's not super hard to get compliant food if you eat meat. There is almost always a ham steak + sauerkraut + potato option at just about every Czech restaurant you can think of. 

Depending on where you stay, I can recommend specific restaurants. For breakfasts (and really good ones, to boot) I liked Cafe Savoy a lot -- you can get various kinds of egg dishes (like infinite variety) and meat -- just ask them not to bring bread to the table. I also realized I could order fried eggs and bacon with a side salad; the salad is not on the menu but they gave me a nice mix of veggies, onto which I plopped the eggs and bacon. Perfect.

My very favorite restaurant was Lehka Hlava in Old Town -- it is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant that is really awesome about substitutions. As expected, they have a gluten-free option for nearly everything on the menu. I was absolutely gaga over their spiralized cucumber spaghetti with mushrooms. 

There is also a Tesco in the heart of Old Town where I stocked up on (shockingly delicious) canned tuna, nuts, and veggies/fruits. They also had some paleo bars made of dates and coconut (and nothing else) in the "healthy food" aisle, which were great in a pinch. The hotel I stayed at had a pretty typical German-style breakfast spread with hardboiled eggs, cured meats, and tomatoes/cucumbers/cabbage, so I took some hardboiled eggs and veggies and added a can of tuna for breakfasts most days.