Crap. Here I am, in a sleepy village next to one of the less popular lakes of the Salzkammergut. It’s raining quite heavily outside and, knowing with my luck, will continue raining tomorrow, destroying all my plans for a bicycle tour. My hotel is cozy and nice, in an old-fashioned way, meaning every piece of furniture has a separate lock and a key, there is a Bible in a drawer and a glass plate over the desk (which makes using an optical mouse impossible), and I can hear the steps and voices of anyone walking two floors below me. The latter is not a big issue because I suspect I am going to be the only occupant of this hotel tonight. April is still deeply off-season.
The rain made having a dinner at the hotel a practical option (there is only one other restaurant in the village anyway and it was full), and despite seeing plenty of standard but easily edible dishes on the menu, I ordered a Brettljause, though its description almost screamed, “You are not going to like me.”
The description said that the Brettljause consisted of Schweinsbraten, Speck and mountain cheese, served with horseradish and mustard. This was nearly true, except that the horseradish and the mustard were missing. Instead, I got a bit of butter, some pickles, a half of an egg and complimentary bread and rolls of second-rate freshness. The most exciting part of the dish was a small red paprika, because it was quite hot. The most astonishing part was a pickled cucumber because it had no taste at all. It was as if it had been taken out of brine a year ago and left swimming in plain water.
The rest did not taste right either, and it took me a few minutes to understand why. Seewirt’s Brettljause was warm. Almost everywhere else, Brettljausen are served cooled, and if not meat then at least vegetables come from a fridge. In Seewirt’s case, all the ingredients were of room temperature, and it is unbelievable what difference that made, in a negative sense.
Out of Schweinsbraten, Speck and cheese, the Speck had the best taste, but overall, I cannot describe this Brettljause other than bad. It had no variety, no taste, not even a bit of creativity in it and was overpriced in addition. Oh, and the mixed salad was not good either. I can recommend the hotel, but stay away from its restaurant, at least Brettljause-wise.
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