Egri lunch, Budapest supper

Monday we decided to take a day-trip out to Eger, the home of the infamous Bull's Blood. After some annoying scheduling problems with the trains, we arrived just in time for lunch. Relying once again on the Rough Guide, we decided to go to Fehérszarvas Vadásztanya (unfortunately, only in Hungarian).

If you like stuffed animal heads and hides adorning your dining area, then this is the place for you. I thought it was super charming and lovely. They even had a table surrounded by chairs made from deer antlers and sheep hide. I'm personally a huge fan of using all the parts of an animal, so this practical and creative use of antlers made me really happy.

The food itself was also good. They did a fine goose liver trio, very tender and sweet, and very hearty portions for the entrées. (It's been a full 2 weeks since we ate there, so please forgive me for being sparse on the details!) Overall, lunch was a great experience.

After lunch, we walked out to the Valley of Beautiful Women to visit the numerous wine cellars and taste some wine. More details can be found here, but suffice it to say that I got thoroughly sozzled (some cellars failed to provide a spittoon, blargh). J had to steer me all the way back to the train station.

Because of my drunken state, we went back to Budapest rather earlier than we'd expected. On the train ride home, we looked up another restaurant, Alföldi. Being that it was a Monday, J reasoned that it ought to be slow enough that we wouldn't need a reservation. We were wrong again.

As we milled about outside this little restaurant, a couple stepped out and warned us off it. The food was hit-and-miss, they said, and the service was awful. Better to go to a place nearby called "For Sale."

After wandering for a good while, we finally found it. I was surprised to find that it was a rowdy, sawdust on the floor, basket of peanuts on bench tables sort of pub. We milled around uncertainly for a good few minutes before someone came to ask what we wanted. They tried to tell us they were full, but a couple was just finishing up, so we were spared this aggravating assertion.

Despite the questionable service, the food was decent. Their bean goulash was good and hearty, with wonderfully intense, rich meaty flavors and that ubiquitous Hungarian king of spices, paprika. The veal ragout was only passable. The weird Hungarian noodles were bland and dry, though their texture was interesting enough. The meat was also dry, and the sauce was not as intensely flavored. All in all, the ragout made for a rather poor follow-up to the goulash.

The portions were unbelievably huge, so we only got the 2 dishes... and even then, we didn't finish it all. Overall, it was a good cheap meal, but pubs aren't exactly my cup of tea.

Written 2010-05-31 13:15

Budapest, Hungary -- Day 3

Having failed to get dinner at Szent Jupát Étterem once before, we were determined that this time we'd get a reservation. Since we'd be in the area anyway, we figured we'd just drop by and tell them in person. When the time came, J and I looked at each other, and decided, oh what the hell. It's lunch time -- let's just eat here now.

The portions were ludicrously huge. J and I each ordered a soup, and we split an entrée of deer ragout. It was a fair meal, hot and filling, but the flavors were pretty standard and unremarkable. The deer meat was reasonably tender, leaning a bit toward the dry side, but not tough and chewy.

For dinner, we looked up a guidebook-recommended fish restaurant which served up some delicious soups and stews. We each had a fish soup, a "catfish cracklings" as a starter, and J had a pike-perch fillet while I had a catfish stew.

The cracklings were a bit under-salted, and they very quickly wilted and became soggy before we could actually enjoy them. I found the amount of catfish fat in the cracklings mildly nauseating. J thought they were "interesting" but not stupendous.

The broth portion of my catfish stew was incredibly rich and delicious, bursting with amazing fish flavor. The catfish in my stew was again somewhat nauseatingly fat, but well-flavored despite this and reasonably good to eat. J's pike-perch fillet was pretty tasty, tender, moist, and flaky. Unfortunately, it was also a bit oily.

Overall it was a nice meal that warmed our bones after the cold rain we'd been slogging through the entire day.

Written 2010-05-30 06:58

Budapest, Hungary -- Day 2

Saturday, we went to Etyek for a little wine festival they were having. It was miserable, cold, and pouring. By contrast, the food we had -- a plate of chicken and a plate of ham -- was hot, filling, and near perfection. The chicken plate was good and saucy, with bell peppers and other vegetables mixed in. The ham dish was incredibly yummy, with the skin fried with the meat. It was moist and tender, and so flavorful that, as J put it, even the onions were tasty.

For dinner, we thought maybe we'd go to Cafe Pierrot, based on the recommendation of our guidebook the Rough Guide to Hungary. Unfortunately, we again failed to make reservations, and showing up at their door got us the familiar "We're full" rejection. "Maybe you try 21 across the street?" they suggested helpfully. We tried.

Again they told us they were full, but we insisted and looked skeptical, and finally they seated us in a little corner by the window which was actually extremely pleasant. We started with a bowl each of their cream of wild garlic soup. It was milder than I expected, and was properly creamy and delicious. I love a good creamy soup, and it had been an awful, cold and wet day of trudging about, so it really hit the spot.

We followed this up with their foie gras concert. Goose liver was delivered to us on a platter as a pate, grilled, and one other way which I can no longer remember. It was fabulous. The grilled lobe was sweet and smooth, the skin bursting under the teeth with a gentle but satisfying pip to disgorge the tender liver inside. The liver was not overcooked at all, and was perfectly soft and melted across the tongue so nicely. ♥

For an entree, I opted for a goose risotto, with roasted goose leg, stuffed goose neck, and seared goose liver on top. The leg was the tiniest bit tough, but the skin was crisp, the fat sweet, and the meat well-flavored and quite delectable. The liver was again fabulously tender, smooth, and sweet. The neck was the only thing I was not entirely happy with. The stuffing was comparatively bland and uninteresting, and the skin of the neck was quite tough and fatty without a whole lot of flavor. The risotto underlying these goosy treats was a little crunchy. The rice seemed just a bit underdone. The flavor was mild but good, and the frequent chunks of goosy bits in the risotto made for a fun time.

Unfortunately, J has forgotten what he had at 21. Ah well. Such is the risk of blogging several days and many good meals after the event.

Written 2010-05-20 20:56

Edit -- J remembered what he got as an entrée at 21. :) The enormous slab of goose liver, delivered on a pile of caramelized apples, was an awesome sight to behold. It was, by all reports, incredibly delicious. The mildly tart sweetness of the apples blended and contrasted beautifully with the sweet richness of the liver for an amazing in-the-mouth experience.

Edited 2010-05-30 06:27

Budapest, Hungary -- Day 1

The first night in town, we were pointed to St Jupat's for supper by the locals who run the inn we are staying at. Unfortunately, showing up at 8pm meant that we got turned away with what was, as it turned out, a standard catch-all phrase -- "We're full."

After feeling bummed out for the duration of the walk home, we decided to look up the all you can eat, all you can drink Mongolian BBQ that J had visited on a previous trip to Budapest. I had an OJ and J had a sangria, which in retrospect were not the best choices. The BBQ itself was pretty darned good, though the service was rather spotty. The wait staff may have been overwhelmed by the 2 large parties taking up a good 2/3 of the restaurant at the time, but there was no excuse for the grill guys.

I thought the marinated horse was actually the best meat there. It was tender and moist, without being mushy and gross. Some of the meats, most notably their chicken, was dry and stringy. Others were so soft that they had almost no texture whatsoever, dissolving into mushy goo in your mouth without even giving you the opportunity to chew.

The mixed vegetables were good, but a bit sparse. Compared to some 20-30 bins for variously prepared meats, the singular bin for vegetables left me feeling very sad. The squash was superb hot off the grill though -- toothsome, juicy, and deliciously squash-y -- and I decimated their supply in short order.

Overall, it was a fun place to visit, but it didn't quite leave me feeling like I'd want to come back for more. Oh -- the ostentations wank-fest about international politics being conducted at the table behind us by a bunch of kids who didn't seem to have any experience working for their own cash and paying their own taxes made the meal alternately more amusing and more irritating.

Hot Chocolate

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 125g 54% dark chocolate
• 450ml milk (whole)
• sugar
• vanilla extract
• whipped cream to taste
• (Optional) 2 1.5oz shots of brandy or other favored alcohol
  

Preparation (5 minutes):

1. Finely chop the chocolate into small slivers for easy melting.
   

Cooking (10 minutes):

1. Bring milk to a boil over low heat, stirring as necessary to prevent sticking.
   
2. Add chocolate slivers, stirring to keep mixture smooth.
   
3. When all the chocolate has been melted into the milk, heat to preferred drinking temperature.
4. Pour into two tall glasses or large mugs.
   
5. (Optional) Spike with brandy or other favored alcohol.
   
6. Top with whipped cream if desired. (To make the whipped cream, simply whisk the cream, and add sugar, vanilla extract, or other flavoring to taste.)