Looks over Taste

Location:Landgasthaus in der Kreh
Website:http://www.gasthaus-kreh.at/
Address:Langbathsee 1, Ebensee 4802
Status:Open (last checked on 27 May 2018)
Eaten:"Krehjause," mixed salad, two ½ Most, one ½ beer (Eggenberg)

One of the common symptoms of a sinus infection (sinusitis) is the reduced sense of taste. Having spent the day hiking while unsuccessfully fighting the other symptoms of the sinus infection (I will leave the grisly details out; it’s a food review site, after all), immediately upon arriving home I tried the strongest mountain cheese that I had in my fridge just to test whether my taste was still there. Indeed, it was intact, which could only mean that the Brettljause of Landgasthaus Kreh had no taste at all.

It is a shame, really, because of Brettljause (the “Krehjause” how the restaurant called it) looked really good. For one thing, it contained four types of cheese in addition to the Liptauer spread, and at least two of them should have had strong taste. On the meat side, there were Schweinsbraten, Speck and – unusually – Extrawurst with green peas in it. At the end, the Schweinsbraten were the most enjoyable ingredient, probably because of the mustard and the horseradish I was dipping them in. The Speck, on the other hand, was nearly inedible. Devoid of any taste, it felt like warm and lightly sticky rubber in my mouth.

I am really puzzled what could have gone so wrong. Possibly, the ingredients were kept for too long outside the fridge, because they were warm when they reached my table, and the butter was close to starting melting. The few minutes the dish spent in the sun while I was eating it must have made things even worse. Or perhaps I am simply being too nice to Kreh, because the mixed salad I ordered as a side dish was just as bland and uninspiring.

If you decide to visit the picturesque Langbath lakes in Salzkammergut and get hungry on your way, stopping at the Landgasthaus in der Kreh is probably not a bad idea (the restaurant that is located directly by the lake has such terrible reviews that I did not dare trying it; it served no Brettljause anyway). The location is quiet and relaxing, and the service and friendly and easy-going (though a bit slow). But the Brettljause is really a victory of looks over taste.

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