16 September 2024.
Sundays are days for long walks and special lunches, at least while we are traveling. A few years ago, I wrote about a particular favorite, which we have now done three times (See https://girovaga.com/2021/10/03/a-path-to-lunch/) with plans to repeat as often as possible.
Yesterday we discovered another walk that led us to perhaps the finest mountain “hut” around, Rauchhütte on the Alpe di Siusi. I have read various raves about it: “Best hut! You have to go! Nowhere like it!” My cynical self said that all mountain huts are the same atmosphere, beverages, and mountain cuisine, in this case Südtirol specialties, beer, limited wine, grappa, and good coffee. Rauchhütte is un altro mondo: a world apart.
Perhaps I should explain the concept of today’s mountain “huts.” In Italian we call one a rifugio or baita or malga, in German it is hütte. You would probably call one heavenly. We are talking real plates, glassware, and cutlery; Espresso machines and full kitchens; Clean bathrooms. They serve simple mountain food: hearty pastas, local specialities like canederli (a kind of dumpling), cheese and meat platters, polenta, game dishes featuring boar or venison, spareribs, lots of potatoes, beer, limited wines, some hard liquor. Always strudel, homemade cakes, coffee, and so on. Hearty fare. Occasionally a salad slips into the menu.
Approaching the baita Rauchhütte.
Imagine this terrace on a sunny, temperate day!
Rauchhütte defies the traditional baita. It is a gourmet experience, a wine-driven restaurant perched in one of the most beautiful mountain settings you will find. A fabulous deck, a warm and cozy dining room, stellar service, an impressive wine list, and elevated cuisine.
It was almost full when we arrived at noon. We were lucky to get the last unreserved table. Sunday lunch is a big deal and people target Rauchhütte for this special time.
Interior with views to the Sassolungo and Sasspiatto.
You cannot drive to Rauchhütte. You can cycle, hike, walk, or take a bus. We walked an hour to get there from AlpenHotel Panorama as well as an hour after lunch to — get this — ride a chair lift back to our home base! Who needs a bus?
Adding to the pleasure of the day, we are having a wintery September on the Alpe di Siusi. About 6 inches of snow fell Thursday into Friday, and Saturday was cursed with a bitterly cold wind. Sunday, the winds were still, and silence descended as it does with snow on the ground. Even most of the (few) people out were not talking much. Just enjoying the unusual scene. So did we. SIGH.
Lunch was divine. Fine wines by bottle or glass, a limited but excellent menu with many specials for the day featuring seasonal favorites like porcini or deer. Yes, the local specialities were present as well, but in an elevated manner, with the service you would expect in a fine-dining restaurant; except all the patrons were dressed for outdoor sports and had backpacks at their feet.
Ric’s lunch of canederli and goulash.
My choice: Housemade pappardelle with oxtail ragu.
Terrace wall decorated with (empty) wine bottles. They claim to have 300 labels in the wine cellar, mostly local.
A total of five miles and two hours of walking might have put a dent in the house made pappardelle with oxtail rags that I snarfed down. We will be back next year. I might even include one this in the next edition of Walking in Italy’s Val Gardena.
For those who are curious about the route and know the area or are visiting, we walked Trail #6 from Panorama downhill toward Ritsch, turning right on Trail #30 until it joins the main road at the Wiedner Egg bus stop. From there, follow the road to the “hut.” The easy-hiker way back is to walk the road back to the bus stop, then follow Trail #30, the Hans and Paula Steger Trail (also in our book) all the way to Compatsch, returning up to AlpenHotel Panorama via the chairlift.
Or take the bus if you had too much wine. That might happen next year because the wine list is simply awesome.
One of the views on our path to lunch, the magnificent Sassolungo and Sassopiatto.
Girovaga 