Are “Schmankerln” always Bavarian?

Question

Is a "Schmankerl" a regional specialty, or does it refer to delicatesses anywhere although the word is used in Bavaria and Austria?

Duden and Wiktionary give the meanings "besonderer Leckerbissen" and "Leckerbissen, Spezialität" respectively, indicating the latter. Would a bavarian call borscht a Russian "Schmankerl"?

Answer 1

Meanwhile, it does refer to delicacies anywhere. "Schmankerln" can be used in different figurative senses:

• to denote other than austrian / tyrolean / bavarian / franconian gastronomic delicacies;
• to denote other than gastronomic delicacies, for example musical pieces in a concert or special features of an object (Die Zeit about a special edition of the "Mini": "Schmankerln wie Xenonscheinwerfern oder Karbon-Außenspiegeln");
• to denote "non-delicacies", for example in an ironic way to describe certain "features" in a political context: again "Die Zeit" about political plans regarding a educational reform: "...Schmankerln wie der Abschaffung der Kopfnoten, der Stärkung der Elternrechte oder dem Versprechen, das Einschulungsalter konstant zu halten...".

Regarding "musikalische Schmankerln": Gogle has ~310,000 hits for that phrase. Some examples for non-austrian / -bavarian gastronomic "Schmankerln":

• an article from the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" (Munich), describing a restaurant: "... stärkt man sich [in diesem Restaurant] mit spanischen und marrokanischen Schmankerln."
• the "Süddeutsche" again: "Schmankerln made in Asia".
• an vietnamese restaurant in Berlin advertising its "Schmankerln";
• a recipe that doesn' sound austrian / bavarian to me.
• an article from the weekly "Die Zeit" mentioning "französische Schmankerln".

However, "Schmankerln" is still predominantly used to denote austrian / bavarian dishes.