Hungarian Food - Goulash and Beyond

Few countries can claim a food that is uniquely named to their country.  Hungary is one of them.  One need not look any further than Hungarian Goulash to see that.  As a foodie, that topped my list of things to definitely try while in Hungary.  I had it served with Spaetzle.  Absolutely delicious, beefy with a strong paprika signature.  It was particularly good with a nice Hungarian Cabernet.

As an appetizer, I had a Chicken Paprika Gundel or Pancake (crepe).  It was chicken cooked in a paprika cream sauce, wrapped in a crepe, then served with more of the sauce.  Also very delicious.

 

 Kürtőskalács or Chimney Cakes can be found at several places in town.  We happened upon a local festival, where they were cooking them over an open wood fire.  I don't think they come better than these.  

 

 

 

 

We had the version rolled in cinnamon and sugar

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Tony and I tried many local delicacies in Budapest.  It took some convincing, but I even got Tony to try some fries from the first McDonald's to pierce the Iron Curtain back in the 80's. 







We stopped at several magnificent coffee houses on our trip.  The most elegant being the New York Cafe.  It is stunning, and they have wonderful coffees of all sorts.








It was a warm and humid day, so the iced coffee sounded wonderful.  And it was. 

Tony and I visited the Central Market.  It is a beautiful building, and has many fine food stalls on the first level. 

 You can easily buy your souvenier bag of Paprika.  Shop around for the best prices though.

The second floor has a food hall, and is filled with tacky souvenier booths.  

 We endured all the tackiness to reach the food stand selling the famous Hungarian street food, Langos.  It is like fried pizza dough topped with sour cream, cheese, and in my case, hungarian spicy sausage, and sweet peppers.  It was wonderful.








One can't visit Hungary without trying the wonderful (and mostly undiscovered in America) wines.  We particularly came to love Tokaji Aszu, which comes in varying levels of sweetness, but it is mainly a dessert wine.  Very refreshing on a warm afternoon. 

 One final delicacy of Hungary to mention is the appertif Unicum.  It is an acquired taste, but I liked it.  Tony refused to taste it however.  It is medicinal and herby in flavor.   I liked it and brought home a bottle.