Ganzl: An Austrian Tradition

In a tradition dating back to approximately the year 1200, the month of November has been for Ganzl, or goose in English.  The story goes that the farmers last day of work for the season was typically on November 11th.  As payment for their labor they received a goose.  Thus the tradition was born and November has been known for geese.  Not to mention that they are usually fattened up and ready to be eaten at that time!  Another story includes that of St.Martin, a Catholic saint celebrated in November.  Folklore has it that St. Martin hid in a geese hen in efforts to avoid being ordained as a bishop.  The cackling geese gave up his hiding spot and the rest is history as they say.  Well at least that's how the tale has been told for generations.  

We began seeing goose drawings on menu boards around the city towards the end of October.  Oddly enough, I thought they were advertising turkey.  Duh.  Could I have been any more American?  Upon further research, thank you Wikipedia and local blog, viennawurstlestand.at, I became educated.  Vienna Wurstlestand is a site I have referred to often during our time here in Vienna.  There is a wealth of information ranging from the top brunch spots to all manner of events in and around city center.  On this occasion we took their recommendation for one of the top five Gasthaus in Vienna known for it's Ganzl.  The restaurant we chose was in our district and so a reservation was made and goose was on the menu!  

My favorite way to describe a Gasthaus is to equate the experience to that of a local public house in the UK.  They are neighborhood oriented, one brand of beer on tap, and if you frequent the place often enough whether for a Melange on your way home from the office for a beer on Friday night they know your name.  Sound familiar?  The atmosphere is quaint and cozy.  Booths and tables scattered throughout.  Loads of real wood.  Lighting dim and reminiscent of a long forgotten time where people gathered and talked, without glowing faces from blue lights of technology.  Quite special if you ask me.  And this one was no different.  Wild Gasthaus on Radetzky Platz claims to have been serving Essen and Trinken, (food and drink), for 100 years. 

The three of us, Husband Jared, myself and Thing 4 arrived for our reservation to the rise and fall of laughter.  Tables filled with sounds of story telling and smiles.  Once seated our drink order was taken and quickly after, our meals.  A salad to start, with pumpkin seed oil, tis the season, schnitzel for Thing 4, wild boar, another seasonal specialty, for me with Späetzle, and the goose dinner for Husband Jared, complete with red kraut and a chestnut potato dumpling.  Oh my word.  When the food was served the portion size was overwhelming.  Seriously.  I could have divided my meal into thirds and shared with the tables surrounding.  Nevertheless, I persisted.  Because I am committed to the cause, if nothing else.  The food was delicious and the three of us were quite pleased with our choices.  I sampled everything.  The skin on the goose was crispy, the meat tender, the kraut just right and the chestnut potato dumpling was scrumptious.  Regardless of how completely stuffed I was from dinner we all knew that dessert was a must.  I am certain that I have shared my brother in law's philosophy concerning this matter, but in the event I haven't or you're new here it goes like this.  We have two stomachs.  Plain and simple.  One for the proper meal, whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner and one for dessert, the sweet treat after the meal.  Dessert was semolina dumplings filled with nutella and toblerone, surrounded by a berry ragout and fresh whipped cream.  There wasn't even a delay in my decision making process, it was the sweet dumplings from the beginning.  As in, I knew my dessert order before I knew what I would be eating for dinner.  No shame here.  This was another first experience for us.  I had not yet had Knodel, or dumplings for dessert.  These were the best, despite the fact that they are the only ones I've ever tasted.   Unfortunately we ate them before I even had a thought to photograph them.  Trust me when I tell you that the presentation was exceptional as well.

Ganzl, it may not look pretty but it sure was yummy! 

Our meal experience ended, the plates were cleared, napkins folded and the glasses emptied.  I felt like we were in on the local secret.  One of them instead of outsiders.  Not necessarily the case though, because we were still spoken to in English and handed English menus upon our arrival.  Oh well.  At the very least we might have eaten like the locals?  I for one will be looking forward to next November and the Ganzl that awaits.  Thanks to Vienna Wurstleland for leading the way to happy bellies and a unique Viennese dining experience.