Good food speaks volumes about a nation. Beneath language barriers, beneath differences in art and culture, we’re wired to appreciate taste. A river cruise gives you the perfect way to enjoy local specialities during your tour – whether you’re dining on the fresh local eats cooked aboard your ship, or heading ashore for some time in a cafe, restaurant or bistro.
But there are dishes, and then there are dishes – and king of all meals, undeniably, is Sunday lunch. It’s like Christmas dinner, but every week. Now we’d defend the British roast to the death, but hanging round the oven every Sunday can become a bit of a bind. There’s a world of food out there, and river cruises are the perfect way to explore it. So, which transoceanic Sunday comestibles await your gastronomic delectation? What could you be having for Sunday lunch?
Budapest
Tuna carpaccio, saltimbocca, truffle carbonara… there’s a wealth of great food in the eateries of Budapest, and the best ones aren’t afraid to flirt with fine dining from other countries (especially Italy). If you’re set on an authentic taste of Budapest though, pick a stew or a paprika dish – or a combination of the two. Stuffed cabbage and nokedli noodle dumplings are traditional favourites, the perfect accompaniment to a creamy chicken paprikash.
Mixed meat dishes are also a culinary favourite, and hot fish soups are a particular speciality in towns along the banks of the Danube. Vegetarians need not worry at the abundance of meaty dishes, though; stuffed peppers and fozolék vegetable stews are a common feature in the Hungarian diet. It’s worth noting that Hungary really loves its cheese, too. Pannonia, trappista and pálpusztai soft cheeses could go perfectly with a glass of local wine; or for the sweet-toothers looking beyond the realm of crumble and rice pudding, try a cold sour cherry soup.
Lyon
France’s reputation for world-class food supposedly began in the 1500s, when Queen Catherine Medici brought an entourage of highly-trained cooks with her from Italy to her new home country. As with many trends, what the royals started, the lower classes ran with – breeding a love of food into the cultural consciousness.
Lyon stands out, even among French cities, as a capital of good food. If you’re heading ashore at Lyon and have your heart set on a certain place to eat, try to book a table in advance – dining out for Sunday lunch is a favourite tradition for many French families, even though a good number of establishments close for business on Sundays. Lyon loves its meat, and even if you don’t find roast beef on the Sunday menu (widely regarded in France as the realm of the British) you’ll likely find a fantastic choice of pork and sausages – often cooked in, on, around or beneath more pork. Tear into a chunky omelette Norvégienne or the meaty mountain known as choucroute imperiale, and finish it up with a dome au chocolat. Just as well that Sunday is the day of rest, because after a meal in Lyon you may not be able to move.
Koblenz
Ah, Germany. The go-to nation for good sausages; the stately purveyor of fine beers. If Wilhelm’s statue on the Deutsches Eck inspires in you an imperial hunger then venture forth, good traveller. Koblenz is filled with pubs and restaurants, and a huge meal in an old-town brauhaus makes the perfect start to a sightseeing trip around the centre.
It’s not a culinary stereotype if it just tastes so darn good – you’re well within your rights in Koblenz to ask for a plate piled high with pork sausages. Koblenz has its own beloved beer festival too, and it’d be a huge shame not to try a glass with your meal. If you’re looking for something lighter, however, try a bright cut of salmon with salad and rosti – the perfect meal to go with a bottle of white wine from the vineyards along the Rhine. You won’t struggle to find places to buy a couple of good cakes, either – look out for slices of apple bundt, or a cakey Sunday slab of chocolatey deliciousness.
St Petersburg
There’s a relatively small number of elegant period restaurants in this imperial city, but you should still be able to find somewhere to dine in style, or alternatively dine on a local speciality in your ship’s main restaurant. If you’re determined to enjoy some fine dining in St Petersburg, forget the Sunday lunch as you know it – this is the realm of the Sunday ceremonial dinner. Harking back to the pomp and ceremony of stately visits in the nineteenth century, a Sunday dinner in St Petersburg should, fittingly, be as rich and grandiose as the city itself.
Historically, much of Russia has dined on the fresh, local fare available around the nation’s coasts and farmland – fish, game, onions, mushrooms and potatoes. St Petersburg’s proximity to western Europe, however, and its strong links to the Continent’s fashionable aristocracy, have given food here more of an international edge. If you’re looking for an imperial feast, you could be dining on veal liver, baked turbot and caviar, with a good vodka or a bottle of imported wine – St Petersburg’s more affluent population having really taken to a tasty vino. For a more traditional Sunday lunch, however, you might want to look out for smaller Russian eateries serving shchi – a traditional first-course soup of meat, cabbage, herbs and pickle or sour cream. Shchi has been part of Russia’s culinary heritage for more than a thousand years, enjoyed by peasants in their log huts and tsars in their palaces alike. For a more modest Sunday main, opt for some rich roast fowl, usually served with plenty of carrots, potatoes and mushrooms. Or, if that sounds a little familiar to the meal you’d make at home, try a tasty, aromatic zharkoye beef stew.
You don’t need to step off your ship to enjoy your destination’s local eats, though. We’ve got a great choice of river cruises where the fresh local produce is delivered on-board in ports of call, and whipped up into the regional specials by highly trained chefs. Get in touch with our lovely Cruise Concierge team, and they can tell you more about our range of river cruises that could shake up your Sunday lunch.
Main image courtesy of J. Stone. Article images courtesy of Kobako.
