As I was eating Genussheuriger’s spare ribs, I could not help thinking of breadsticks and hummus. Hummus does not have much taste by itself, so for people to appreciate it, breadsticks must have no own flavor at all. Similarly, the sole purpose of these spare ribs was, I suspect, to provide something to dip into the sauces.
Deceptively, the ribs looked like those that ought to taste good without any sauce’s help. They had the right dark-brown color to indicate the presence of an elaborate marinade, and the portion was so small as if to tell the world, “I am so very special.” Ultimately, however, disappointing is too long a word to describe these ribs. They had no taste, not even the taste of salt, and were mostly very dry. Like Russian pelmeni, spare ribs is normally a kind of food that gets better the more you eat, and quantity-wise, I can easily imagine myself eating thrice the portion that the Heuriger served. I doubt very much, however, that I would have liked them more as a result. They were just so deadly boring.
On a more positive side, the sauces were quite OK. One was a white garlicky sort, but thicker than usual and most likely homemade. The second one was a BBQ sauce with a moderately smoky taste, but also different from the supermarket brands I know. When dipped into the sauces, the ribs suddenly became easily edible, enjoyable even. On the other hand, the potato wedges, which were served as a side dish were just as good for dipping, and unlike the ribs had been very well prepared.
Thus, should you end up in Philips Genussheuriger – and I suggest you do, because this small restaurant close to the Hungarian border is both modern and cozy – try to ignore the menu and order the wedges with the sauces without spare ribs. This will be better for both your satisfaction and your wallet.
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