A beautiful Autumn afternoon in Austria and Wine Food Pairing went with our friends Maria and Herbert to one of their favorite Gasthaus in the area. Located in an area that they call Schneeberg Land, it is a picturesque spot at the foot of "snow" mountain! The restaurant is named Gasthaus Puchegger and is the recipient of several awards, including the famous "3 Hauben". The "haubens" (chef hats) are awarded yearly and are prized in European gastronomy. I've included the chart below, but the quick and dirty is that there is a possible 20 pts awarded and only 3 restaurants in Austria have garnered 19 pts, or 4 hauben. The Gasthaus Puchegger has 18 pts. for 3 Hauben. Totally COOL and the food was delicious!
We began our luncheon with beverages .... Maria had a muscat and I opted for a wonderful Zweigelt. The boys, being boys decided on beer and schnapps. Then we went on to soup. Herbert and Maria shared a Parmesan cream soup, while BigAl and I split a maronicremesuppe ...YIKES! the Germans always have "Gi-Normous" words! Translated, we actually had a
chestnut cream soup and it was delicious and the real treat was finding the tasty chestnuts at the bottom of the soup bowl!
On to the entrees .... and Maria and I had the Steinpilze Ravioli. Steinplize are large mushrooms that are now in season around the area. The local folks gather them and sell them to the restaurants where they whip up these little packets of goodness ..... it was topped with a delicious parsley sauce and shaved Parmesan cheese. It looked great and we agreed that it tasted even better.
Herbert went with the Wildschwein (wild boar) which of course is being hunted in the area this time of year. Austrian dumplings came with it and were garnished jauntily with a stalk of rosemary.
BigAl went with Bauern Cordon Bleau that was prepared fresh in the back with pork instead of the usual chicken that I am used to and had parsley potatoes on the side. He and Houdini shared ... of course, BigAl ate most of it ...lol! Dogs are welcome at all restaurants in Austria and Houdini was even welcomed with fresh water and a food bowl at the door! Talk about hospitality!
Houdini always sits politely in his carrier at the table and waits to be served and while he is not a mushroom kind of guy, ( he rolled the ravioli around in his mouth and then hide it in his carrier) he gave the Cordon Bleau a definite 3 "tail wags".
All the food was delicious. Everything was fresh and local which makes this even more of a treat for the palate. The owners were everywhere making sure that every one enjoyed their food and chatted freely with all the patrons.
An awesome wine and food experience. Great food and wine ... super company .... wonderful atmosphere. I give it the wine food pairing 3 thumbs up. CHEERS!
To visit this wonderful Restaurant and Pension on the internet CLICK HERE
Houdini, from a previo
us "black tie" affair ... lol!
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