The first warning bell tinkled when I called to book a table three hours before arrival and got a jolly reply “Yes, of course we have goose!” With the Heuriger’s menu claiming that the goose was only available through pre-reservation, such readiness sounded a bit suspicious. The suspicions were confirmed when I saw a lonely goose leg on the Heuriger’s counter, next to grilled chicken and Schweinsbraten. I know there is nothing especially noble about a goose to award it a special treatment, but somehow that looked completely wrong.
The first bites were OK, the outer part of the leg having enough meat and even a bit of a crispy skin. The meat was a bit too easy to cut, however, as if the goose had decided to give up without any fight. It tasted more like a goose filet than a freshly roasted bird. Unfortunately, with the meatiest part gone (which took around 30 seconds), the rest of the leg turned into a disaster. The meat became hard to find and detach from the bones and the remaining skin tasted like rubber. The sauce was totally inappropriate, having more in common with the Schweinsbraten than the goose. The giant potato dumpling remained largely uneaten, though overall it was not as disgusting as potato dumplings generally are. The red cabbage was above average, and I could not help thinking that the goose did not deserve it.
At the end of the meal, Christ was easily crossed out as a Martinigansl location. It did, nevertheless, leave a good impression thanks to its excellent wine, friendly service and good Schweinsbraten. If anyone could convince them to add Brettljause to their menu, I would be back in no time.
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