For a change, here is a Heuriger in Waldviertel that is not mega-far and super-difficult to reach. In fact, it is just mere meters from the main road connecting Horn and Schrems. Connecting what and what, you ask? OK, then maybe it is mega-far for you.
If you have ever wondered why Austrian villages look so empty on weekends, it is because all their inhabitants are getting drunk in the taverns like Dorfheuriger Elisabeth. While adults are entertaining themselves in the spacious rooms inside, their kids are playing outside, alternating between a trampoline and pedal tractors. While I fully understand the educational value of plastic tractors – after all, the majority of kids here will be driving real tractors when they grow up – the noise their plastic wheels make on asphalt is deafening. If, like in my case, alcohol dulls your hearing, I suggest you drink fast and a lot. (If, on the other hand, alcohol makes you aggressive, for the sake of Austrian farming’s future I beg you to stay away from this Heuriger.)
Once you succeed in ignoring the noise, you can concentrate on the Brettljause, which is incidentally very good. The closest comparison is the Jause of Birkenhof, but while being as fresh and as varied, the Elisabeth’s one also features ingredients of much stronger taste. I don’t know if there are any taste enhancers at play here (I doubt), but the stronger flavor really gives Elisabeth’s offering advantage over all the other Brettljausen I have tried in Waldviertel so far.
Another interesting feature was the presence of five different spreads. While most Heurige offer plates with different spreads on them, when it comes to Brettljausen, only one or two spreads are included, usually a Liptauer and/or a Schmalz. Dorfheuriger Elisabeth gives you an opportunity to try all of its spreads as part of its Brettljause, although the balls of spread are so tiny that one is hard-pressed to appreciate the taste. The other slight problem is the service, which is a bit on the slow side, most likely caused by a great number of visitors.
Still, there is a lot to like about Dorfheuriger Elisabeth and its Jause, and it is nice to know that one does not always have to travel to the ass of the world in order to eat well in Waldviertel.
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