Salzgansl

Everyone can make a mistake, cooks included. For example, one can add too much of something to a dish, then forget about it and add even more. The problem is, such an error is not a big deal if we are talking about carrots. It is a disaster when the ingredient is salt. Once there, it’s as hard to remove as to put toothpaste back into the tube.

Unfortunately, Zwischenbrückenwirt’s goose was criminally over-salted on the outside. Once you reach the skin, the saltiness diminishes, and the meat tastes like normal goose, but the first moments of biting into pure salt, which actually makes noises on your teeth, is a surprise, and not in a nice way.

The salt, uninspiring cabbage (the chestnuts were good, however) and very bland dumpling aside, it was actually a very competently cooked goose, which would have been very welcome if ordered in a restaurant you stumble upon by chance. But – and it’s a very big “but” – this Gansl was not on the regular menu and was ordered in advance just for the evening as four portions (meaning one full bird). It should have been perfect or almost so. Instead, despite all the crunchiness of the skin, it tasted pre-cooked and warmed up (albeit expertly).

If one forgives the salt fiasco, the goose was tasty, generally enjoyable but ultimately disappointing.