Over the past 15 years, I have been visiting Ramsau am Dachstein almost annually (with a short break for COVID), and more recently, having a lunch at Die Landalm on my day of return to Vienna has become a sort of a tradition. One of the reasons for this is a rather unreliable bus connection from Ramsau to Schladming; I have missed my train quite a few times because of the numerous stops the bus has to make to pick up hikers or skiers. The other reason is that the Dachstein region is too beautiful not to spend a few additional hours hiking in, and Talbachklamm, at the end of which Die Landalm is located, provides a short and picturesque walk, which is not too hard with a heavier-than-usual backpack.
Today I was also blessed with a very nice weather – sunny, cloudless, but not too warm yet. Die Landalm, which looks very traditional inside, has a sunlit space outdoors, which only had four tables today, one of them still free by the time I arrived. To say that sitting outside was pleasant is to say nothing. It felt like the first real spring day of the year. I kept on ordering drinks just to have an excuse to stay a bit longer.
I also ordered spare ribs, remembering that they were not available during my previous visits. They were OK. Despite the name, they did not taste “oven-fresh,” but rather cooked quite some time ago and warmed up rather hastily. The meat was tender and somewhat on a fat side, with no strong taste of a marinade but not piggish either. I found a few tiny bones inside that could have damaged my teeth were I extremely unlucky, but generally there was nothing to complain about.
I can complain a bit about the sauces, however. Serving three of them is generous, but not if upon closer examination they turn out to be plain mustard, industrial cocktail sauce and a standard sweet-sour sauce of Chinese restaurants. I do not remember being served mustard with ribs since a long time, and no, it does not go with the ribs. Neither does horseradish, which Die Landalm also provided. Better leave both of them for pork knuckles and serve ketchup if you really have no better options.
However, I did like the cabbage salad that came with the ribs, and the option to order an additional mixed salad at extra cost (which I chose) provided me with enough vitamins and distractions from a dead pig’s meat. Another side dish option was, surprisingly, three slices of plain bread, and a guy at the next table went for it! There are many things I still do not understand about Austrians.
Die Landalm is a good restaurant with many appealing dishes, and I am already looking forward to the next spring when hopefully another warm day would allow me to enjoy sunbathing outside. No ribs for me the next time, though.
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