Austria may be known for schnitzel, strudel, and hearty traditional dishes, but somehow one of my favorite food discoveries ended up being… a salad.

Sarah, on the other hand, actually committed to the Austrian experience.

She ordered Gusto-Ox — Austrian boiled beef with roasted potatoes, chive sauce, and horseradish, which the menu proudly labeled a “True Austrian Speciality.”

It was exactly the kind of meal you picture someone eating in Austria: hearty, traditional, and unmistakably local.

Meanwhile, sitting across from her was me with a giant bowl of vegetables.

Very adventurous.

But in my defense, it was not just any salad.

It was literally called a “Colorful Salad Bowl.”

That was the name on the menu.

And apparently, that was all the convincing I needed.

I realize traveling all the way to Austria and getting excited about a salad is probably not going to earn me any points with serious food travelers, but this thing was so good.

It was fresh, colorful, loaded with different vegetables, and somehow considerably more exciting than the words colorful salad had any right to suggest.

I liked it so much that when we got home, I actually tried to recreate it.

That almost never happens.

Usually, my travel-food memories stay exactly where they belong: in another country, where someone else knows how to make them properly.

But apparently Austria changed me.

Sarah came home having tried something the menu itself declared a True Austrian Specialty.

I came home determined to reverse-engineer a salad.

Sarah will happily order the traditional specialty and experience a destination through its food.

I will scan the menu until I find something that feels safe, discover that I absolutely love it, and then talk about it like I have uncovered one of Austria’s great culinary secrets.

Forget schnitzel.

I am still thinking about that Colorful Salad.