Just a few kilometers’ walking distance from Gars am Kamp (where Falco’s villa is located – not that it’s relevant in any way), Mostbutt’n still feels like a place that civilization has ignored for the past few centuries. A narrow road through a forest took me to something looking like an abandoned farm, overgrown with greenery and featuring a couple of lazy cats, a disproportionate dog, and just a few tables next to an ajar door with huge letters “WC->” sloppily painted on them. One of the tables, the closest to the door, was occupied by the owners and, possibly, their family and friends, some of them visibly and audibly drunk.
I was almost surprised to find a printed menu on my table, especially a menu containing not one but four types of Brettljause, all at extremely reasonable prices. True to my habits, I went for the most expensive one, called “Überraschungsjause,” meaning a “surprise snack.”
The “surprise” turned out to be a very small bottle of schnapps without any clear identification. The schnapps did not have any qualities to remember it for, but it did not kill me, which was an encouraging start. It had certainly increased my appetite, for at the end I managed to finish my Brettljause despite its threatening size. Thinly cut, the slices of various meats were more than sufficient to quell the strongest of hungers, and that not counting a Liptauer spread and two types of cheese.
I doubt that any of the ingredients were homemade, because it was hard to believe that this remote forest-enclosed place was capable at producing anything except apple cider. However, even if the meats and the cheeses came from a nearby supermarket, there is a good chance that they had originated in the nearby area. The taste was not too strong, but definitely fresh, consistent with or even slightly better than what one would expect from this region of Austria.
The only trouble was that looking at the group at the table nearby, I constantly felt like intruding on someone’s privacy. None of the other tables were occupied, and possibly had not been occupied for quite a few days. I wondered if my visit was more of a surprise to the owners than their “Überraschungsjause” was to me. If such feelings don’t cause discomfort to you, however, Gschwantners Mostbutt’n is a totally acceptable place to drink Most and eat a Brettljause.
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