contributors: carolyn banfalvi
Feb 06 '09
Mangalica Mania (III): America Goes Hog Wild for High-End Hungarian Pork
With the Mangalica Fesztivál starting today in Budapest, we thought we’d take a look at all of the Mangalica madness happening on the other side of the pond (including some of my own). Having long been a Mangalica fan,...
Feb 02 '09
Send Home the Gypsy Band, and Bring on the Roma Recipes
After a "kitchen break" of a few months, we have again started adding entries to our treasury of Hungarian recipes. Among them are more than a dozen recipes from Hungary's Roma/Gypsy community. Some are "takes" on simple Hungarian dishes, and...
Nov 26 '08
Another Villány Winemaker Comes to Budapest
If three makes a trend, then now it is official: Villány has come to Budapest. Joining Bock Bisztró (partially owned by winemaker József Bock) and Andante Borpatika (partially owned by winemaker Zsolt Tiffan), the Polgár Pince also opened its...
Nov 21 '08
Yes, We Have No Hungarian Restaurants
Overheard late the other night at a pub in Buda: Young Hungarian Guy (with a German-speaking friend, poring over a Budapest map): "Can you recommend a few places downtown for my friend to get good Hungarian food - and not...
Nov 14 '08
Pannonhalma Abbey Turns Wine Into Vinegar (and More)
It's always nice to discover great new local products, but unfortunately it doesn't happen as often as I'd like it to. But recently I was delighted to discover that the Pannonhalma Archabbey (Pannonhalmi főapátság) - which also has a...
Nov 12 '08
Cookies Do Exist in Budapest, and They’re Good
Americans are pretty into cookies - oatmeal, chocolate chip, chocolate, and any type imaginable, really - but the American-style cookie does not translate well in Hungary and I've occasionally found myself missing them. Sure, cukrászdák usually have a few...
Oct 29 '08
A Critical Look at the First Critical Hungarian-Language Restaurant Guide
We know, we know. We're late again bringing you our take on an important development in the Hungarian restaurant scene. The Étterem és bor kalauz (Restaurant and Wine Guide), published by Alexandra press and written by Tamás Molnár B. and...
Sep 17 '08
A Tepid Taste of Transylvania
For some reason I never noticed the Hargita Grill Café (follow link for contact details and user feedback) but with its shiny sign outside now featuring pictures of its food, it's hard not to notice. I checked this place...
Sep 04 '08
You Don't Have to Go as Far as Greece for Authentic Greek Food - but Almost
Greek cuisine isn't one of Budapest's strong points, so when a recent craving for some good Greek food hit, I headed to the 'burbs to try out Gyradiko (follow link for contact details, user feedback - and, crucially, a...
Aug 19 '08
A Bittersweet Celebration of Culinary Complexity
[Editor's note: When we heard several weeks ago that Hungary's National Trade Guild of Hungarian Confectioner Industrialists had published a recipe for a 2008 "national cake," we gave Chew.hu co-editor (and baker extraordinaire) Carolyn Bánfalvi the task of trying...
Aug 15 '08
Some Tasty Bits from Hungary's Őrség Region
After spending five days in the gorgeous Őrség region, I cannot believe that it took me this long to get around to visiting this corner of the country. Much of the region is a nature reserve, and the place...
Aug 08 '08
A Weekend Audience with the Man Who Would be King of Somló Hill
On a two-day visit to Somló recently we had meant to check out a few different wineries and give you a nice report on the wine trail in Hungary’s smallest, and possibly most picturesque, wine region. Sadly for you...
Jul 18 '08
Budapest Asian Invasion: Master Wang's Big Night
Wang Qiang (left) - the man who first opened Lanzhou in District VIII, and then the more upscale Új Lanzhou in District II - added a third restaurant to his growing empire earlier this year. This time, it's a...
Jul 10 '08
An Expensive PR Lunch I'd Actually Pay For
I generally avoid attending events held for the press for the sole purpose of having nice articles published - not only because they are manufactured, but also because they tend to be boring. I’d much rather eat with my...
Jun 11 '08
Pick Your Own (I): Organized Food Foraging Opportunities Abound
Hungary's markets are already full of gorgeous local produce, and they will keep filling up with more for months to come when they’ll be brimming with great local fruits and vegetables. But nothing beats picking your own, if you are...
Apr 25 '08
An Early Bite of Lake Balaton's Best
Although I've always liked Lake Balaton, I'm not much of a lake person. Even when I visit in summer, I never do more than stick my toes in the water. So on a recent weekend I discovered that the...
Apr 11 '08
Emergence of Hungarian Bear Onion from Winter Slumber Signals Arrival of Spring
The signs all seem to say that spring has finally arrived. There are a few bunches of Hungarian-grown spárga in the market, and lots of tiny eper (strawberries) - though at almost Ft 4,500 (€18) a crate at the...
Mar 27 '08
The Art of the Old Hungarian Recipe
Fish soup in 25 words or less: The skimpy details in some Hungarian cookbooks makes them hard to follow, even if you're a Hungarian. Since I've been living in Budapest I've acquired a pretty good sized collection of Hungarian...
Mar 21 '08
Hungarian Húsvét Calls for Eggs and Ham, Pálinka and Perfume
The nénis have been out selling pussy-willow branches for awhile now, the days are longer, and the sun even shines. But it’s still cold here in Budapest, and it feels a bit too early for Easter to arrive this...
Feb 12 '08
Crowds Go Hog Wild at First Mangalica Festival
Hungary has so many food and wine festivals - with celebrations devoted to even the most common foods like onions and garlic - that they can be hit-or-miss. If you're judging purely by crowd size, this past weekend's Mangalica...
Dec 21 '07
Hungarian Culinary Society Celebrates Birthday with Chinese Banquet Blowout
The last time we checked in with them, the members of the Lucullus Baráti Társaság were having a low-key Indian meal. But the most recent feast organized by Hungary's leading culinary group was anything but low-key. Last Friday the...
Oct 15 '07
Giving Hungarian Food a Good Name in Barberton, Ohio
There are few Hungarian restaurants outside of Hungary and the Hungarian-speaking parts of nearby countries, and when you do hear anything about these restaurants, it's hardly ever good. Instead, they almost always seem to give Hungarian cuisine a bad...
Oct 12 '07
Truffle Nuts to Gather in Szilvásvárad
In our great tradition of forgetting to inform you of interesting culinary events until the very last minute, we'll quickly alert you to the fact that the 10th annual Szalajka Valley truffle festival will take palace tomorrow in Szilvásvárad, near...
Oct 12 '07
Quick! Hungarian Quince Season is Here!
Early autumn is almost as good of a time for shopping in Hungarian markets as high summer. There are still tasty reminders of summer, like tomatoes, corn, and plums. But there are also fall flavors like pears, apples, all...
Sep 21 '07
The Only Thing Better than Kecskemét Cheese are the People Who Sell It
If you spend a decent amount of time shopping in Budapest's supermarkets - as opposed to its increasing number of gourmet and specialty food shops - you will quickly come to the conclusion that these are not the places...
Sep 10 '07
Restaurant Décor Fit for a Mongrel Meets Indian Food Fit for a Mogul
After its traditional summer holiday, the Lucullus Baráti Társaság - Hungary's premier gourmet dining club - got back to "business" the Friday before last with a dinner highlighting the cuisine of northern India. But instead of having the feast...
Dec 05 '06
Csicsókák Offer Brief Salvation from Winter Tuber Hell
The days of tasty local blueberries are sadly behind us, and any trip to the market in Hungary will remind you that now is clearly the time for roots and tubers. But look closely and you'll see that there's...
Nov 28 '06
Fear, Loathing and World-Beating Mangalica Ham at Foodapest '06
Until last Friday, the last food trade show I attended was the "Fancy Food Show" in New York, where the exhibitors practically throw food at you, shove wine glasses in your face, and then send you away with more...
Nov 16 '06
Riverside Wine "Pharmacy" May Be Just What the Doctor Ordered
I'd walked by Andante Borpatika in Budapest's first district hundreds of times, meaning to come back for a glass or two of wine sometime. But it took me months to actually do it. There was just something about the...
Oct 12 '06
The Bottle Ain’t Pretty, But the Wine Is Fine
You don't have to be a wine snob - or to even know the first thing about wine - to know that it's probably a very good idea to steer well clear of the bulk wine that flows at your...
Oct 10 '06
Market Mystery: Who Buys The Horse Meat?
Maybe it was a subconscious thing, but despite years of shopping and browsing at the Nagyvásárcsarnok, we only recently noticed the two stalls side-by-side specializing in horse meat. There's even a horse head hanging above the rows of szalámi and...
Sep 26 '06
Dessert Comes Early For the Ducks of Buda's Mill Pond
I'm normally all for anything that includes chocolate, strawberries and pistachios. But I usually expect to find it on the dessert menu, rather than between the steaks and the pastas. As I studied the menu at Malomtó ("Mill Lake")...
