I wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to the food I would be eating in Budapest. I had heard of Goulash and Paprikish but had never eaten either one in my life. I knew there would be your usual fast-food restaurants that we have back home; Burger King was one that was easily found near Central Market if you ever decide to visit this city. Just remember that this place has more to offer than burgers and fries; don’t step foot into a place that you can find in every city from back home.
Your probably wondering what was the first thing I tried when I set foot in the city after having arrived from the airport. I settled on a sandwich but it wasn’t your typical sandwich. Well, it wasn’t the type of sandwich I would eat if I was home. I don’t particularly care for ham or let me rephrase that; toasted sandwich with ham and cheese in it since I am not one for eating hot sandwiches with ham. The ham typically has to be cold for me if I were to have it in a sandwich. Enough of that…. The toasted sandwich was really good. It was a bit too hot for me; hot in terms of burning the roof of your mouth hot but still good.
A little tidbit to remember in ordering toasted sandwiches or anything that would come to your table hot. The food tends to be a little too hot so give it a few minutes to cool down before taking your first bite.
As for dinner that first night; I was indecisive on what I wanted to eat. After walking from one end of Vaci Street to the other end, I finally walked into this one restaurant because they offered Hungarian Goulash in a bread bowl. It didn’t hurt that the price was reasonable compared to other places serving Goulash. As it turns out, the restaurant added to the atmosphere of my first real meal in the city. You basically step down from the steps heading to where the tables were and you would be stepping into sand. I don’t mean a grain of sand but the whole floor was covered in it which gave it a beach feel to the whole place. I wish I could tell you the name of the place because the food was amazing! Ordering it in a bread bowl let the beans soak into the bread and gave it that soft texture when you took each bite of it. Just know the restaurant is on Vaci Street and the floor of the restaurant is covered in sand which doubles as their floor instead of a hard wood floor.
Besides Goulash, I wanted to try some of the other foods known to this city. Well, at least food that I wouldn’t be able to find where I live.
As the next morning was upon me, I decided to go with Apple Strudel for breakfast. The Strudel comes one to a plate and is dusted with powdered sugar. It was as good as I thought it would be. I just wish I had taken my own advice from my first meal and remembered the food would be piping hot. The first bite I took almost burnt the roof of my mouth…. That didn’t stop me from waiting for it to cool down.
The Strudel wasn’t the only type of breakfast item I tried while I was here. Come on, if you know me, you know I love Chocolate Croissants. That is one of the things I lived on or felt I lived on it when I was in Paris a few years ago. It turns out I found a place that has even better ones than Paris. I never thought that would be possible…. One thing I remember is that you could taste the chocolate throughout every bite of the Croissant. I don’t think there was a bite that didn’t have chocolate in it. Now if you want to go to the Pastry Shop that I went to then you need to find Central Market since it is located across the street from it. Basically you will see the Burger King on the corner facing the Market and the shop is located a couple doors down from the fast-food restaurant.
Just remember if you want to try the one I had that it’s the one made with Nutella. It will be a bit sweet but well worth every bite. It was literally melt in your mouth chocolatey good. Oh and make sure you have a glass of milk or orange juice to go with it since that will cut down on the sweetness of the croissant.
Another item I wanted to try was something called Langos. I found out it is deep fried bread and you can add stuff to it. I ended up ordering it with garlic sauce, sour cream and cheese. When I took my first bite, it almost tasted like garlic bread. Now I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not because of the sour cream. It isn’t something I ever thought of putting on bread. It ended up being really good. I can’t wait to go back to Budapest so I can order another one of these. Since it is one of the popular foods you will find here, you will see many places selling it. I recommend taking the extra steps heading to the Buda side where the castle district is located and look for a place called Piknik Pavilon. This is the only place to eat Langos!
With all the food I was eating, it is a good thing I did 14-18 miles walking each day! Another thing I tried to do was eat two meals a day versus the usual three because some of the food was heavy.
Wow, I didn’t think I would have much to talk about when it came to the food I ate while in Budapest. Turns out there is more to talk about so in saying that….
Check back later for part two of Food in Budapest.
