Gaststätte Mühlenschenke

Wow! What a fabulous find! We ended up at Gaststätte Mühlenschenke quite serendipitously… We had just descended from the Sesselbahn after the trip up and a bit of wandering at the top of the mountain, and found my mom here. Not a hiker and unwilling to risk missing the last ride down with us, Mom finished her ride and had a little extra time to kill, so she went to the first place she saw offering beer on a patio. When we disembarked from our tram, she waved to us from across the street and we happily made our way to join her.
Upon walking up, we saw 5 or 6 locals enjoying some beer and chatting around what I can only assume was the Stammtisch. We were the only other people there. Soon a woman from the Stammtisch came over to take our order. She was friendly with a fabulous sense of humor and didn’t speak a lick of English, so it was good Mom had practiced «ein Bier, bitte» a few times so she could order without me be being there to translate! We asked about wine and food, and she asked us what wines we like. I told her we like everything, so she told us to follow her inside, where she proceeded to hand us a menu to look over while she gave us samples of the local wines they serve. Turned out they were all tasty. My favorite was the Halbtrocken (also hers), but the Auslese was also quite light and refreshing. I got two of the Halbtrocken and one of the sweet for the three of us.
As we continued to look over the menu, we settled on a pork schnitzel with peppercorn sauce & goulasch soup for Gary & me to share, and Käsebrot (buttered slices of rye with Butterkäse and Swiss cheese on top) for Mom. The kind lady told us her name is Monika and that if we needed anything else, then just let her know. Then she disappeared into the kitchen, along with one of the other fellas from the Stammtisch.
Before we knew it, Monika was bringing out our meal, freshly prepared, and then settling back in with her pals to continue their conversation and beer. Aside from the home-​cooked meals at my German family’s house, this was by far my favorite meal this trip. It made it very clear where my maternal Grandma’s family recipes were derived from… Yum! As we left, Monika asked us to write to her when we returned to Texas and I promised we would, and now we have made yet another new friend…
*Side Note* When we returned to our hotel and told the owner where we had eaten, he told us he usually sends guests/​tourists to the two restaurants across the street from Monika Mühlenschenke’s place because her food is «simple». Then he said he prefers Monika’s cooking more though (especially their steak with onions) and goes there most… I have to say that in this case the sheer simplicity is why it was so perfect! Prost!

Kleine Erfrischung vor dem Einstieg in den Klettersteig. Günstige Schorle. Über das Essen kann ich keine Auskunft geben. Der Wirt war freundlich.