Tafelspitz

Tafelspitz is prime beef simmered slowly in broth with root vegetables, served in two courses with apple-horseradish and chive sauce. It is Vienna's great boiled beef, a dish grand enough that the Habsburg court reportedly ate it several times a week, and plain enough that it never left everyday Viennese tables either.

What it really is

A specific cut — the rump cap, which gives the dish its name — goes into a pot with root vegetables, peppercorns and just enough water to cover, then simmers gently for hours rather than boiling hard, which is what keeps the meat from turning stringy. As with a French pot-au-feu, the broth is not a byproduct; it is often strained and served first, on its own or with a few strands of pancake or noodle, before the meat itself comes to the table sliced across the grain.

The sauces are not optional extras. Apple-horseradish and a green chive sauce sit beside the sliced beef as standard, and the sharp cut of both against the plain simmered meat is a large part of the dish's whole point.

How it is served

• The broth first, as its own course, with vermicelli or a few pancake strips.
• The sliced beef second, with roast potatoes, spinach and both sauces alongside.
• On the bone-in silver platter carts of a traditional Viennese Beisl, carved tableside in the grander houses that still do it.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the specific cut; "boiled beef" undersells a dish built around one particular piece of the animal.
• Flag the celery in the root-vegetable broth.
• Say whether it is served as one course or two; guests unfamiliar with the format may expect a single plate rather than a broth course followed by a meat course.