The strangest thing about Pihringer’s Heuriger is that I have never been there before. I have even triple-checked my records, not believing that I could have missed a place so big and obvious. But indeed, while concentrating on the outstanding Heurige holding the “Mostbaron“ title (all of them offering different kinds of a Brettljause, thus encouraging multiple visits), I have somehow ignored Pihringer’s, while I clearly remember passing by it a couple of times.
Mostbaron or not, Pihringer’s Moststub’n has an impressible list of ciders and an even more impressive menu including a number of warm dishes in addition to several different platters of cold cuts. Quite hungry after a long walk from Amstetten, I decided to order a soup and a “rustic plate,” which promised thickly cut ingredients.
From my experience, this is usually a good decision, because thickly cut stuff tastes better and has a much lower chance of coming from a supermarket. However, in Pihringer’s case, this was unfortunately the wrong choice. The plate contained only three types of meat: Schweinsbraten, Geselchtes and Surbraten. There was no cheese at all – marinated cucumbers, a half of an egg, a few tomato and onion slices and weak horseradish completing the dish. This Brettljause must have taken the cook no more than 20 seconds to make.
With so few ingredients, they must really be outstanding to make a Brettljause enjoyable. Sadly, the Schweinsbraten disappointed by their dryness and the lack of taste. The Geselchtes were unexciting but better, though having a bit too much fat for my liking. I only found the Surbraten outstanding. Had I known in advance, I would have ordered only the Surbraten – I saw them on the menu.
Next time, however, I will simply go for the “Moststub’n Platte,” which seems to be the normal meat and cheese Brettljause with thinly cut slices. What I tried today was clearly too rustic for me.
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