Leberkas-Pepi

Review

Vienna is Pepi

Photo: Heribert Corn There are people who interrupt a train journey in Linz to have a snack in the Leberkas-Pepi branch at the main station. I know this is true because I'm one of them myself. Pepi's Leberkäse could definitely be described as a cult; if you ask Linzers how long it has been around, you usually hear "forever". But that's not true, Leberkas-Pepi has only been around for 25 years. Back then, it was part of a group of restaurants in Linz where Christoph Baur worked; when he was offered the restaurants 15 years ago, he only took one: the Pepi in Rathausgasse. The legend has been well cultivated ever since: The store still looks just as impossible today as it did when it first opened, Leberkas-Pepi would probably never have been forgiven for franchising, which is why it never happened, and branch expansion was also kept extremely small (only at Linz's main railway station, an expansion project in London flopped). The recipe for the classics has not changed, with seasonal Leberkäse providing variety. It's all extremely clever marketing, but it has to be said that the Pepi Leberkäse is just insanely good. It seems to have a different consistency to its competitors, "juicy" is not quite the right word, it's fluffy somehow, creamy too, a little reminiscent of pudding. The Pepi blocks have a side length of around 20 centimetres and one block weighs six to seven kilos, says Christoph Baur; however, he does not want to confirm that this sheer volume also contributes to the juicy fluffiness. However, he does confirm that he uses better meat than is usually the case with Leberkäse: "only sliced meat." Since last Thursday, Leberkäse has been sliced from the whole piece, "grosse pièce", as the Frenchman says, in a former wine shop in the typical, impossible Leberkas-Pepi-Musikantenstadl design. And once you've seen it, you'll find normal-sized Leberkäse a bit ridiculous. There are a dozen varieties, including typical Pepi creations such as spinach and garlic or roasted onion, as well as standard varieties such as Kas-Leberkas, piquant, pizza and chilli, as well as horse and turkey liver cheese. Of course, the "Saison-Leberkas" is always spectacular, currently the porcini mushroom truffle, which you should only order when you're in a really good mood, and the "Classic" is undoubtedly in a class of its own, an insanely good, rosy, lardy, juicy and fluffy something with a tender crust (all € 1.65/100g). And also great: there's the crispy Neufeldner "Hopferl" Pils from the Mühlviertel. And I no longer have to get off the train in Linz to eat Leberkäse for an hour. I can now do that here too. Summary: perhaps the best Leberkäse in the country has decided that from now on it will not only be eaten in Linz, but also in Vienna. Leberkas-Pepi 1, Operng. 12, Tel. 01/585 06 42, Mon-Sat 9am-2pm,

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