Waidhofen an der Ybbs may not be the best known town in Austria, but it is one of the coolest. No other town I know has managed to accommodate so much stuff in a limited area. In Waidhofen, you have green hills with the trees that bloom beautifully in spring, a river with overhanging houses and a shady path all along it, a zoo, a Falstaff-rated restaurant, plenty of hiking trails, a narrow-gauge railroad and more towers than anyone would expect. It also has at least three places serving Brettljausen, though I would not be surprised if there are more I do not know about.
For a long time I actually thought of Gasthaus am Grasberg as Brettljause-less. Located some 45-minutes away from the center in the Buchenberg recreation park, it is a logical destination for lazy hikers like me, though it is reachable by car as well. It looks more like a farm than a restaurant and on a few previous occasions was full of people. However, today for some reason I was lucky to find an empty small table in the tiny garden and even stayed alone for a few minutes until a small group inevitably asked if they could share it.
The Brettljause appeared in the small menu standing on every table, although there is a longer menu with hot dishes available, so be sure you ask for the Jause if you are really after it. And there is no reason why you should not be, because the dish does not disappoint. While the two types cheese were as boring as one can expect in the Lower Austria, the meats (Schweinsbraten, Geselchtes, Speck and lightly salted Salami) had a fresh non-supermarket-y taste, and the big lump of butter was a welcome sight, until it started to rapidly melt under the hot sun. Even more welcome was the presence of a whole hard-boiled egg, still in its shell and painted red to celebrate the Easter Monday. At first I was not even sure if the egg was supposed to be eaten, but having risked I found nothing wrong with it. I really hope the egg is an integral part of the offer and not an Easter-only extra. If you don’t get one, demand it.
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