FOOD AND DRINK
Food
Austrian food is distinctive and delicious, and is traditionally of the stodgy, hearty "meat and dumplings" variety. Wiener Schnitzel (a bread-crumbed and fried veal escalope) is something of a national dish, and Knödel are a kind of dumpling which can be made either sweet or savory according to taste. In Vienna the Tafelspitz (boiled beef with potatoes and horseradish) is traditionally served on Sundays, and is normally accompanied by clear broth with dumplings and herbs. Apart from these, Austria is renowned for its pastries and desserts, the most well-known of which is probably the Apfelstrudel.
Bread is taken seriously in Austria. Almost every village has its own bakery, offering a large choice of freshly baked sweet and savoury rolls daily from 6am. Rye bread (Vollkornbrot, Bauernbrot) is the traditional staple food among peasants. If this is too heavy for you, try the common white bread roll (Semmel). Somewhat surprisingly, it is easier to find good bread outside of Vienna, where the baking industry hasn't yet come to be dominated by industrial scale chain shops.
Some Austrians have a habit of eating sweet flour-based dishes (Mehlspeise) for a main course once a week. Varieties include Kaiserschmarren, Marillenknoedel, and Germknoedel.
The best advice is to dive into the menu and give it a go - there are no nasty surprises!
Restaurants
If you want to try out traditional Austrian food go for a Gasthaus or Gasthof, which serve traditional food for reasonable prices. Usually they offer menus (at lunch time) including a soup and a main dish and in some cases a dessert too. Prices are typically around €5 to €7 for this menu (except for very touristy areas). Menus are written in German, though some of the restaurants have english menus as well. Keep in mind that tipping is expected throughout all restaurants in Austria. Rounding up the price given on the bill is usually enough tip. Paying the dutch way (this means splitting up the bill, if you are in a group) is common except in very expensive restaurants.
Drink
Vienna is famous for its café culture, and there are coffee houses all over the city, many of which have outdoor terraces that are popular in the summer. Visit them for coffee (of course), hot chocolate and pastries. Most famous is Sacher-Torte. Most likely you will find the "top" coffee houses at the Ring, the Kärnter Strasse, Graben, and some other (maybe difficult to find) places in the first district (Innere Stadt). There are also very nice old coffee houses a little outside of the Ring at the districts within the Gürtel. Please do never just order "coffee" as you find dozens of different sorts from Kleiner Schwarzer (small black coffee) and Großer Brauner (big coffee with cream), Melange (coffee with milk) to specialties like Kapuziner (small black coffee and a drip of cream) and Kaisermelange (coffee, milk, egg yolk and cognac) on the menu and the Viennese Ober (the "senior" waiter) takes pride in this variety.