Hungarian Food

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The first night we ventured out to a nearby palacsinta place for a quick bite. Palacsintas are similar to crepes and can be sweet or savory depending on the filling. We had ham and mushroom in one, chocolate and vanilla pudding with whipped cream for the other. Prices were very reasonable, with the total with drinks coming in at around $5.

Breakfast each day at our pension consisted of the standard hot chocolate, cereal and yogurt along with salami, ham, and cheese mini-sandwiches on hot dog bun shaped rolls.

One day we stopped at a pastry stand for a little snack: a delightful cream cheese filled pastry and apple pastry managed to "kill our appetites" as they say here.

We had dinner last night at a great fish restaurant recommended by our hosts. We started off with an excellent catfish soup, served in a metal pot. J had harcsapaprikas turos csuszaval (catfish paprikash) with homemade noodles and sour cream. CM went for the beef stroganoff of course (again with sweet pickles as in Prague!). Dessert was somloi galuska: 3 sponge-cake-like pieces filled with raisins, chestnut paste, and covered in whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

Today for lunch we went to a restaurant near the zoo run entirely by women (anti-discrimination laws anyone?). The goulash CM ordered was excellent - traditional Hungarian ghoulash is more like a soup than a stew and contains chunks of tender beef, carrots, potatoes, and very small dumplings. J had a palacsinta paprikash with ground chicken in the crepe and sauce over the top. For dessert CM had a blintz-like dish with caramel sauce and a sweet, sour cream looking sauce on the side. J went for linguine noodles with ground walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon on top.

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