Hungarian Food, a Day at the Zoo (and no connection between the two!)

Eating in Hungary has been quite a new, and for the most part delicious, experience. Probably Hungary's most famous specialty is its ubiquitous paprika, which comes in various degrees of spiciness, including edes (sweet) and csipos (hot!). One of our classmates had an... educational experience with paprika paste at our class luncheon Saturday at St. Jupat, a good Hungarian eatery with enormous portions, reasonable prices, and lots of free csapviz (tap water). (Quite a few restaurants do not serve tap water, even though it is safe to drink; instead they sell small bottles of water.) In keeping with St. Jupat's large servings, they brought a full gravy boat of spicy paprika paste to a table where several students had soup. One of them added a significant proportion of the paste to his soup, in search of some spice. Boy, did he get it, and then some! On the whole, it was a nice meal, and many of the guys 'pol'ed food from women who could not finish their helpings. (At right is roasted turkey breast with a dill and corn cream sauce, served with seasoned rice, potato croquettes, and lightly pickled cabbage -- yum!)

Mat has been an invaluable resource in suggesting some hot spots in Budapest, including pastry shops. Ben's personal favorite is Ruszwurm, a cukraszda nestled in the quaint cobblestoned streets of Castle Hill, less than a block from St Matyas Church. Its tortes, cakes, and other sweets, are works of art for both the eyes and tastebuds to enjoy. Perhaps Ruszwurm is best known for its kremes, 2.5 inches of smooth, light, slightly sweet custard, embraced by upper and lower flaky, buttery pastry.

Ruszwurm's hazi csokolade tejszinhabbal (hot chocolate with whipped cream) is the best hot chocolate Ben has tasted in his life. It is like drinking a 70 % Cacao dark chocolate bar, with whipped cream -- the real deal: slightly sweet, thick and wholesome; not the thin white stuff that comes out of a can or plastic coolwhip from an equally plastic tub. As the whipped cream melts into the piping hot chocolate, a beautiful marriage is formed, as a chocolate tide streaked with ivory rises within the mug, threatening to spill over the sides if one does not soon begin to sip.

Other Hungarian gustatory traditions are less familiar to us Americans. The second Professor's dinner at the chic Bock Bistro on Andrassi Ut, offered a nice sampling of Hungarian specialties foreign to the American palate. For an appetizer, the group ordered a meat and cheese platter, which included 2 goat cheeses native to Hungary, paprika infused salami, and duck breast stuffed with goose liver. With the bread that accompanied the meal, instead of butter -- much to one of our classmates' dismay -- lard laced with bacon bits was served as a lubricant for the toothsome bread. While some shunned the lard, others quite enjoyed its pork flavor, given that it was spread thinly enough on the bread!

The main course included such dishes/side dishes as veal stew, eel, and crostini smothered in caramelized onions and... pig's ear! This latter component consisted of small squares of a thin, brittle white substance (cartilage?), sandwiched between one or two light brown, translucent layers of fat. The idea of eating pig's ear was harder to get over than the flavor, which was quite inoffensive and generally of pork. It is certainly safe to say that the Hungarians are much more thorough in their use of the entire animal than Americans (see photo of pig parts at the central market).

As with most American delicacies, Hungary has its own counterpart. A striking example comes to mind - the potato chip. Yes, the fried, salty snack which provides the perfect crunch to accompany almost any meal. In Hungary, we don't find a standard potato chip, rather to find what we would call "Original", we would purchase the Chio brand of chip "+20% salt."

In addition to other standard American varieties of the potato chip like cheese, sour cream and onion, and barbeque, the shelves of Hungarian stores are the home to two distinct flavors: paprika and bacon.

The paprika flavor is not at all that surprising when it can be found at almost every corner here in Budapest. In America, many use ketchup to add a little flavor to fries, hamburgers, and to some, almost anything. However, in Hungary, people find that adding paprika gives their meal exactly the right flavor. The paprika chips provide a sweet and mild flavor to coat the taste buds while showing an important attribute of Hungarian culture.

Bacon on the other hand is quite common in the United States. However, we find that Hungarians prefer a slightly different type of bacon. While many Americans choose their bacon with a higher percentage of meat, Hungarians choose bacon with a very high percentage of fat. It
is not uncommon when walking through the market to find slabs of bacon that appear to be 100% fat. These values cross over into their chip selection as well. After tasting this flavor new to us, we did find that there was a slight smoky taste; however we felt that the chips lacked the meaty taste we correlate with bacon. We suppose the Chio brand aims towards the fattier bacon that Hungarians are used to. By no means was this flavor unappealing (in fact I may buy another bag soon!) but it is simply unusual to our Americanized taste buds.

A last note on food: tonight, several members of the class went to Aranybarany, an upscale Hungarian restaurant with live gypsy music! Here is a video excerpt of a mellow tune. Enjoy!

While here in Budapest, students have tried to find some more diverse ways to entertain themselves. On a free afternoon, a group of students traveled to the Budapest Zoo to get their "animal fix" -- besides the pigeons that reside here in the city. Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! -- Oh yes!

Within the first few exhibits, the students came across quite a sight -- a dancing elephant! Yes, that is right, the elephant was swaying its trunk while moving its body side to side pasting smiles on the group. We then remembered that the Budapest Circus is located next door to the zoo. Are the elephants working double time? Maybe...

The group also soon discovered that the zoo is less strict than the zoos in America. They found less distance placed between the animals and the visitors themselves. They found the giraffes in their indoor shelter from the cold with only a set of bars separating these magestic animals from their observers. A group of Hungarian visitors simply walked up, held out some food, and the giraffes gladly accepted the snack from the giving hands.

But that is not all! Though the group thought the bars holding the giraffes in formed minimal security for the large animals, they found an even more shocking discovery. Some animals were running free (within animal houses, of course!). The prime example - sloths! Yes, in a small primate house, the group found a pair of two-toed sloths climbing across the walking path. Not only did the sloths reach out to our fellow students, but a daring student reached back. Yes, Greg made some great new friends at the zoo.

Overall great trip? No doubt!