Vienna is full of hidden courtyards and gardens. Even while walking in the central first district, leaving a busy tourist-infested street to explore a peculiar place behind an ajar door may result in the discovery of something truly extraordinary. My advice is to go exploring on weekdays and not too late in the evening, since on weekends many courtyard doors are kept closed to hide the treasures inside.
Not all secret garden contain Heurige, of course, and even fewer house the Heurige that serve Brettljausen. Weinschenke Schneider is a notable exception. Situated in the 13th district, much better known for its old villas than wineries, Schneider provides a cozy and quiet garden, very drinkable wine and a “Hausplatte” that will leave you suitably satisfied, though hardly willing to write home about it.
The Jause was quite authentic at the first look, with thicker than usual slices of Geselchtes and Schweinsbraten on both sides of the plate and some Hauswurst slices and a ball of Liptauer in the middle. The ham and the cheese, featured as two thin slices each, looked a bit industrial, however, and the three slices of black pudding appeared much blacker than usual, to the point that made me wonder whether it had some skin that I was supposed to remove or not. (The answer was that one slice had it and two slices hadn’t.)
I started with the Liptauer spread, trying it with the included Soletti snack sticks, and quite enjoyed its rather strong spicy taste. The rest of the ingredients, however, were the exact opposite. The best word I can think of to describe them is “tired.” They were dry, boring and very samey with regard to taste. When Geselchtes tastes like Blunzen, you know that something is not right.
I left the Heuriger with a feeling that perhaps it was so hidden that the content of its buffet had passed its expiration date. It is a great place to avoid tourists, though.
Leave a Reply