Mar 10 '10
Review: Ferdinand Monarchia Cseh Sörház, District VI
Among the many reasons why I am a Very Special Person is that (drumroll) I actually like Czech food. No, I'm not making a joke at the expense of Central Europe's most scoffed-at cuisine. Maybe it's because I lived in the Czech Republic long enough (13 months) to get familiar with the local grub, yet not long enough for this familiarity to breed contempt, but when I hear the words dobrou chu' (that's čeština for jó étvágyat) I am still drawn back, like Pavlov's slobbering dog, to the humble hospody I used to frequent near my old office on náměstí I. P. Pavlova. So it was without a single Czech food joke in my head that I headed down for a bit of pivo and jídla at the Ferdinand Monarchia Cseh Sörház, which a few weeks ago became the latest attempt to bring the best of the Czech beerhall and kitchen to Budapest.
Almost exactly a year ago we reported that the three Gloria Jean's coffee shops in Budapest had been closed. At the time the company behind the local franchise, Gourmet Products Vendéglátó és Kereskedelmi Zrt, said it was not going to leave Hungary, but open up locations outside of Budapest with an eye towards an eventual return to the capital. So much for that! According to penzcentrum.hu, the firm has instead initiated its own liquidation. The first BP GJ's - which was on Hősök tere - was among the earliest foreign entrants in the now-booming high-end coffee-to-go market. That branch was followed by others in the Mammut mall in Buda and on Pest's Teréz körút. When it was in growth mode the company said it was planning to open 10 to 15 shops. Next, please.
It doesn't quite make the "three examples and it's a trend" rule, but over the last few days there have been two bits of public controversy surrounding the Tokaj wine region. First, on Monday came the news that Slovakia had sneakily arranged to have the small wine region that sits just over the border from Hungary's Tokaj entered into the EU's official registry as "Tokaj," despite what many here assumed was an earlier agreement that they would only tack similar-sounding adjectives ("Tokajsky" / "Tokajská" / "Tokajské") on to the name of the wines produced there. Even though the Agriculture Ministry said that they assumed it was all just a mistake, the local winemakers' council is demanding that the government take immediate action to prevent the Slovaks from claiming that the wine they call Tokaj is in fact, Tokaj.
Mar 03 '10
A survey conducted by market researcher ACNielsen revealed that every second Hungarian takes into consideration food safety when they decide where to spend their money, index.hu reports. 1 out of every 2 consumers said they would be willing to pay more if they knew the food was safe. 45% of Hungarians believe bio (organic) food is safer than non-bio products, and 58% expressed their belief that Hungarian products were safer than imported items. Of those surveyed, only 9% expressed confidence in the safety of genetically modified food, with 64% convinced that such products are unsafe. Of those polled, 74% felt that food manufacturers were responsible for the safety of their products, with 17% believing it was the government's duty, and 9% that it was the retailer's obligation. ACNielsen conducted this survey in 54 countries and the Hungarian results were similar to those found in other nations.
Feb 24 '10
Recently opened District I restaurant delivers on its promises
As reported on these pages all too often, Budapest is awash with high-priced, high-concept restaurants that fail to live up to their own hype once the oversized plate of undersized food lands on the pristine white tablecloth. And while prices appear very competitive with the eurozone at first glance, many locals cannot afford to eat out, while genuine value for money is elusive for foreigners looking for anything more than a gypsy band and a bowl of gulyás. But despite the décor inherited from the typically overpriced Italian restaurant that used to live here before owner Tamás Laczi took over in August 2009, Apropó in Buda's District I is making every effort to buck this sorry trend.
And gulyás is not on the Apropó menu, which you can look over here. It is not the briefest, but very well put together - which made the decision-making process unusually difficult, especially alongside an exceptional Békési pálinka that boded well for the meal to come. And Apropó did not disappoint.
Feb 22 '10
Longtime readers may have wondered why we haven't seen more from our esteemed contributor Carolyn Bánfalvi. Well, in addition to all her various book projects and children, she and her husband/collaborator Gábor have also been busy with a new events company called Taste Hungary, which (as the name indicates) specializes in culinary tourism and education here in Hungary. And when I say "specialize" I mean specialize. Just consider the event they are hosting this Thursday at Kashmir restaurant in District VI, which addresses head-on a question I know has long baffled local wine connoisseurs, namely: Just how well does Tokaj go with Indian food?
Feb 17 '10
So if you're a regular restaurant-goer in Hungary you probably know that tomorrow marks the 2010 installment of Torkos Csütörtök, or "Gluttonous Thursday," when éttermek around the country lop 50% of the prices of regular menu items. Unlike in previous years, this time around we decided not to give lots of advance PR to the event, for the simple reason that we're not big fans. Aside from the heightened risk of food poisoning due to the sudden increase in covers, as well as the notorious lapses in service, the stories of "missing" reservations and other seedy bait and switch maneuvers by sly restaurateurs, the whole thing just seems like a gimmick, and a disheartening reminder of how relatively overpriced most higher-end Hungarian restaurants are. Also, strictly speaking "gluttony" is about eating more, not eating the same and paying less.
Feb 16 '10
If it wins the upcoming elections as most believe it will, Fidesz will partially lift the ban on the private distilling of pálinka, Kossuth Rádió reports. The law would be modified to allow people to make an as-yet unannounced amount for personal consumption. Distilling your own pálinka is illegal under a law enacted in 2004, and in order to make pálinka from your own homegrown fruit, you would have to take it to a licensed distiller, and only after paying all taxes and fees can you collect what you could have just made at home.
Many Hungarian winemakers are concerned that the Ft 1.3 billion (€4.8 million) collected over the past two years for a common marketing fund will not be spent wisely, index.hu reports. Following the collapse of the winemaker-created Magyar Bormarketing Nonprofit Kft (MBM) late last year, many winemakers have raised their objections to IDMC Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft, who won the tender to replace MBM in January this year. IDMC, according to the Opten company database, functions primarily as an events organizer, is listed as a construction company, and does not even possess its own website.
Feb 15 '10
This opening of the Vancouver Olympics wasn't the only closed-watched international winter sporting event this weekend. Over in the heavily Hungarian (81.75%!) Transylvanian city of Miercurea Ciuc/Csíkszereda, Sunday witnessed the fourth installment of what we assume is the world's most important international pig-killing (disznóvágás) competition, pitting teams from three towns in Hungary against three in Romania. According to this report, the results seem to suggest a narrow win for the teams from Hungary, depending on what was counted as a proper event. Towns in Romania are indicated by the use of their Romanian names in parentheses:
- Best hurka: Székelykeresztúr (Cristuru Secuiesc)
- Best hagymásvér (fried blood and onions): Nagygalambfalva (Porumbenii Mari)
- Best kolbász: Mikepércs
- Best lacipecsenye (a dish of fried tarja): Korond (Corund)
- Best töltött káposzta: Korond
- Best toros káposzta: Szank
In addition to these results, Szank won the award for best pálinka, for a so-called fogópálinka, named for the fogó, the person who grabs the pig while it is being killed. Meanwhile, the best szúró - the person who actually kills the pig - was from Nagygalambfalva. Finally, Derecske won an award for "best local specialty," though it wasn't clear in the report exactly what this is. So if this is taken as nine competitions, Hungary came out ahead 5-4, which is certainly not the massacre you might expect given all the advantages enjoyed by the "away" teams.
As with the Olympics, the organizers said that the objective of the event was not only to see who is best at killing pigs and having fun with just-killed pigs, but to foster understanding between peoples. So in this way everyone came out a winner. Well, except for the pigs.
It seems that Hungarian peppers really are world-famous. Local media have revealed that a pair of Japanese farmers will soon arrive in the country to attend a week-long intensive survey of pepper-growing down in Szolnok, with the aim being to learn some lessons that can be applied in their pepper greenhouses back in Yudza, a Tokyo exurb that is a "twin city" of Szolnok's. Oddly, the story says that the two women comprise the fourth such group to arrive with the intention of figuring out how Hungarians make such a mean capsicum. Now if only these visitors would help us convince folks out in the countryside that there are ways to prepare fish other than by deep-frying them or boiling them into mush. [inforadio.hu]
Feb 09 '10
Scenes from the 2010 Budapest Mangalica Festival
If you're wondering why posting has picked up so dramatically today, the answer is inspiration. On Sunday, I stumbled down to Budapest's City Park to catch the tail end of this year's Mangalica festival. Maybe it was the incredibly picturesque scene resulting from the falling snow, or the wonderful traditional Magyar costumes and music, or just the sight of so much high-quality dead pig in one place, but I was simply floored. Floored! In addition to a brick-sized hunk of excellent salted fatback and a jar of artisanal organic Mangalica fűszeres tepertőkrém (a spread made from herbed tepertő) I took home a half-kilo of meat from one of the malac (piglets) they roast up on a spit each year, which I just finished up about 10 minutes ago. Look at these pics - or this epic set from the 2009 fesztivál - and try not to be similarly inspired. Well, unless you are a vegetarian, in which case you have my deepest sympathy. Oink!
Almost three years after it was first reported that Starbucks was heading to Hungary, the world's most famous purveyor of overpriced and overcomplicated coffee finally seems poised to pour its first double espresso in Budapest. But instead of what we all probably expected - a big fancy launch in a large location on a prestigious walking street somewhere downtown - the big debut will take place in a smallish space in the WestEnd mall. (Pic via consumer blog Tékozló Homár.) According to an earlier report in daily Népszabadság, Starbucks decided not to expand into Hungary directly, and instead passed the franchise rights to a company called Amrest Holdings, which recently posted an ad for a store manager. The job seems to have lots of responsibilities, though given all the other competitors that have beaten Starbucks to the market, one of them probably isn't explaining to locals the concept of premium coffee to go. Sad!
Who says there is no food justice in Hungary? According to a long and probing story yesterday on index.hu, Hungary's competition office has slapped a Ft 3 million (roughly €11,000) fine on "Fitness" Norbi Schobert (left, with his wife and fellow fitness guru Réka Rubint) for making a bunch of totally unsubstantiated claims about the supposedly healthy and dietetic baked goods sold by his company Update Zrt. Among the howlers Norbi made was that some of his pastries contained no carbohydrates - and thus were especially suitable for diabetics - even though it just wasn't true. Talk about tasteless!
We've got a lot of tasty stuff coming up over the next few days, but before we get to that let me quickly follow up on my recent post bemoaning the distance you have to travel from central Budapest to get your Vietnamese fix with a similar gripe about Chinese.
Local fans of high-end kínai probably already know that Wang Qiang Budapest's undisputed master of Chinese cookery, opened a new restaurant late last year. The opening of the plainly-named Wang Étterem on a side street in District XIV came just a year and some after the festive launch of the Wang Mester Konyhája in District IX. While the spiffy website for the two restaurants is lanzhou.hu, it seems that Wang has no formal relationship with either Lanzhou (VIII) or Új Lanzhou (II). Which is a damn shame, because getting from the middle of town to either of Wang's palaces sometimes feels like a trek to Ürümqi.
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