The Further, the Better?

Location:Rottenhofhütte
Website:http://www.rottenhofhuette.at/
Address:Braunötzhof 12, 5524 Annaberg
Status:Open (last checked on 18 June 2016)
Eaten:“Almjause,” two beers (Kaiser)

When taking a cable car up a plateau full of Brettljause-serving huts and deciding to go for the furthest one, one always faces a risk. In the worst case, one will end up eating the same supermarket sausages as elsewhere, but less fresh. On the other hand, there is a chance of trying something original out of the hut’s own production.

Fortunately, despite its suspicious name, Rottenhofhütte falls into the second category. It’s a rather simple farm serving a short list of dishes and no draught beer, but its Almjause is not only enjoyable, but is quite different from many others. Mainly it’s thanks to the spicy goat cheese provided in a small bowl and swimming in oil. It reminds me of a type of antipasti offered at some Italian restaurants, except that this is vastly superior.

Even without that specialty, the Jause is quite cheese-heavy, and the variety of cheeses on it is quite impressive. Unfortunately, they are not very different taste-wise, and not very tasty anyway, but one has to remind oneself that this is not Styria, even though Styria is just a few kilometers (and pretty high mountains) away.

The two spreads – a Liptauer-alike and an herby white one – were great, however, and the small quantities of bread served (just two slices), encouraged slow and careful eating. On the meat side, there were two types of Speck (both very good) and a few slices of Bergsteiger sausage (unexciting).

Although I did not have a chance (or hunger) to try the other huts on the same plateau, I would not be surprised if the Brettljause of Rottenhofhütte were the most authentic one. The only negative side is that the other huts enjoy a much better panoramic view. In Rottenhofhütte, the visual entertainment was limited to watching a couple of rabbits hopping behind a fence, and a teenage farm boy driving a tractor around the yard, noisily.

3.5

Brettljause
Variety
Authenticity
Size
Atmosphere/service
Value

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