Eating In Budapest – An Update
A few years ago when planning a trip to Budapest we went on the internet looking for food specialties and where to find them. Hungarian goulash was high on the list of course but once there I decided I prefer the lighter soup version of goulash. We also discovered it was going to be restaurant week while we were there and many establishments were offering special menus of their favorites at special prices. We managed to book a number of reservations before we left on the trip.
Almost a universal recommendation for visitors to Budapest was breakfast at the New York Kávézó (Hungarian for café) located in the Budapest New York Palace Hotel. After our visit we agree this is a very special place. What a gorgeous place and the orchestra played unobtrusively while we sipped our coffee and cappuccino.
My search on the internet also came across Kürtőskalács which were advertised as the pastry of Budapest. It is a sweet, spiral-shaped pastry that originated in Transylvania. It’s also known as ‘chimney cake’, because of its unique shape. Making kürtőskalács requires a cylinder to wrap the dough around and a rotisserie for baking so it is usually not something made at home.
Two articles I read said you could find them at shops in the Market Hall, a famous food hall in Budapest. No trip to Budapest is complete without spending some time in this institution shopping for t-shirts and paprika. (Tip: the deeper into the hall you go the lower the prices)
On our first visit to the Market Hall I had the name Kürtőskalács displayed on my phone (there was no way I was going to attempt to pronounce it) and I would show it to various merchants. Everyone thought you could find this nearby and one man gave me directions to go out and across the street. After about an hour we came to the conclusion that there were no Kürtőskalács to be found anywhere nearby.
I would occasionally show Kürtőskalács displayed on my phone as we traveled around the city but still came up empty. Who would have thought it would be so hard to find?
A few days later we were coming out of the central train station just after dark and guess what? Right on the sidewalk was a Kürtőskalács stand with about ten people waiting in line. This pastry delicacy costs about two dollars and you select your coating flavor. Don’t leave town without trying one.
Update: We returned to Budapest last summer and met up with friends. This time The Market Hall had several stands selling Kürtőskalács. Strolling up the pedestrian mall near the Market Hall again lots of Kürtőskalács. Everywhere we went it appeared that Budapest had now rediscovered Kürtőskalács.
On a number of evenings we found local neighborhood restaurants where we sampled a number of Hungarian meals and none disappointed.
The Intentional Travelers 