I cannot help but admire restaurants that serve geese on St. Martin’s Day, the 11th of November, when all tradition-loving Austrians flood them for their portions of Martinigansl with red cabbage and dumplings. Even though on that day prior reservations are a must and the restaurants have a pretty good idea of how many geese to cook, making sure that the dishes are ready by the right time and get delivered to large partying groups more or less simultaneously must be a logistical nightmare.
Sperling managed that task very well, I must say. Located in the middle of the Augarten park, this restaurant was unknown to me, probably because I always found the park itself not worth my attention. It is actually world famous for its porcelain manufactory and the headquarters of Vienna Boys’ Choir, both of which leave me totally indifferent. Sperling, however, opened to me a more attractive aspect of Augarten, for the restaurant is spacious, well decorated, reasonably priced and if its Martinigansl is any indicator, serves very good food.
Its goose tasted of goose. This may sound like a silly compliment, but all too often restaurants boil, roast, store and re-heat their goose portions so many times and for so long, that the original taste is all but gone. In Sperling, the goose tasted fresh, and its mostly crunchy skin proved that the cooks were well aware of the important final step of keeping the goose under a very high temperature for a few minutes. Occasionally, I felt the slight taste of burning in the tender meat and found it fantastic. The cooks were also proficient in the art of sauce-making: the wine-spiced sauce that the goose was served with was one of the best I have ever tried. I just wish there was more of it, possibly served in a separate jug, as some restaurants do.
While the goose was excellent, the cabbage and the dumpling disappointed. The cabbage was lukewarm (probably the result of logistical problems) and uninteresting, while the dumplings were bland to such an extent that I cannot say if they were potato or bread-based. Still, the quality of the goose was enough to enjoy the meal, and there is a good chance I will return to Augarten for another look at what Sperling has to offer.
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