mmm-yoso!!!

Budapest - Dinner at Hungarikum Bisztro, a Walk to Buda, and a Danube River Cruise at Night

It was getting a bit warm after our lunch at Street Food Karavan Budapest. After having a slightly annoying drizzle during the morning and an overcast noon, the sun was now brightly shining down on us. We'd done a fair amount of walking and it was time for a nice nap in airconditioned comfort.

We woke after that short respite fresh and ready to go. And of course, I had to take yet another look at the view out our window....it just never got old.

We walked the rather short distance over to the place I'd booked a few weeks earlier. I'd heard the place, by the name of Hungarikum Bisztro, was very popular and served well prepared traditional Hungarian dishes; which both the Missus and I wanted to try. Also, this was a Sunday so many of our options were limited.

We got there about five minutes before opening and were quickly seated. The young lady who served us was so friendly and just a joy! There was a gentleman playing the Cimbalom. When we were seated, he looked over at us, smiled, and started playing some romantic standard whose title escapes me at this moment. It was quite charming. The restaurant filled up quickly.

The missus started with a glass of white wine; while I chose something a bit more interesting; Unicum Next. Unicum is basically bitters, made from a bunch of different botanicals. Unicum Next is supposed to be lighter; but at 80 proof this still had a bit of kick which was amplified by all the bitter tones.

The Missus took a sip and made one of those really funny faces only She can make. I actually had another as an digestif.

As for ordering; the Missus went with the three course House Special Menu; basically Goulash, Duck Leg with Onion Potatoes, and Braised Cabbage, and a dessert, which seemed like something right up Her alley. I went ahead and ordered the Loin of Pork with Paprika Sauce. The young lady was really on top of things and asked if we'd like to split the goulash soup.

First up, the amuse bouche of bacon and onion bread topped with sour cream and paprika. This was moist and quite lovely as it wasn't too savory, nor too sweet.

The Goulash Soup was interesting as it was a lot milder than I anticipated.

The beef was as expected, on the chewy side, but the broth while lightly smokey and salty, was quite mild; we ended up using the entire small bowl of chili paste provided with the meal (which was nicely floral and spicy) to add some "umph" to the goulash.

The Missus's Duck Leg was decent, if a bit on the drier side, though the skin of the duck was decently crisped up, and it had been under-seasoned. We were warned by the young lady serving us that Hungarian Food was "salty and spicy", but so far not so much.

The cabbage while nicely flavored was quite dry and the potatoes dry and pasty, in need of some seasoning as well.

I fared better with my Pork Loin.

The pork was toothsome, though still pleasant to eat. It was nicely seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika. The porkiness was quite mild as I expected a more pronounced swineyness to it like other regions of Europe. The paprika sauce was good and the sour cream added some nice acidity. The bacon-sour cabbage "dumplings" were on the dry and hard side, but had a mild savory-sourness to it. The dumplings strangely seemed like it was more on the, ahem, healthy side than I expected.

The Missus got Her dessert and I my liquid version.

The meal was quite inexpensive the service excellent and charming. I was glad I'd made reservations as we saw several parties being turned away....one had an older gentleman who was quite pushy and plain nasty.....oh boy; another "Ugly American". Sigh.....

Not sure I'd eat here again, but it was low keyed, friendly, easy to find, and easy on the wallet.

Hungarikum Bisztro
Steindl Imre Utca 13
Budapest 1051, Hungary

It was still bright outside when we left the restaurant and walked to the Danube.

And we revisited some of the places we'd checked out earlier in the day.

The Missus decided that we should walk across the Chain Bridge and since it was still light out, I really couldn't come up with any good excuse.

So we headed toward the bridge. Along the way we passed this place which was starting to fill up. It's the Pontoon Bar....which, even though two Viking Cruise ships was were docked right next to it; seemed to be filling up with young locals.

The view from the bridge is quite nice and the walk across is just about a quarter mile.

Across the bridge is the funicular up to the Royal Palace; which of course we never took because, well....you know the Missus, and the Castle Tunnel. To the right of the tunnel are stairways; which you can use to hike up to the palace; or be like us on this evening and stop at the viewpoint right over the tunnel.

That roundabout is called Clark Adam Square...which cracks me up, because, well, it's round. It's named after the designer, William Clark and the engineer who managed the building of the Chain Bridge Adam Clark.

The Missus decided that we needed to walk down the Buda side and cross on the Elisabeth Bridge a bit further south.

I'll have photos from the Buda side in a future post as we visited twice more.

The Gellért Monument (Gerard of Csanád Monument) overlooks the bridge. Read more about Gerard by clicking on that link.

And of course the views from the Elisabeth Bridge were wonderful.

After crossing the bridge, we headed back to the Marriott. Right across from the Marriot, you can head down some stairs to the Danube. The Missus decided that since it was a beautiful evening (I have the feeling that Budapest has many beautiful evenings) we should see about taking a Danube River Cruise. I read and found out that the cruise was only about 45 minutes long, was narrated, and cost the equivalent of around seven bucks each. Sold! And I am so glad we did this. We got on the last cruise of the evening and the sun had fully set.

I did learn a bit about the history of the various bridges and buildings....but man, the views. During my previous posts I'd mentioned how beautiful the Buda side of the Danube was....and yes, it was indeed beautiful.

But man, when the lights of the Parliament Building comes on......well, the photos speak for themselves.

You need no narration.....the photos speak for themselves, right?

Thanks for stopping by!

Budapest - Langos from Langos Burger at Street Food Karavan

We were really having a great time walking around Lipótváros (Leopold Town); there seemed to be something around every corner. By now, the clouds had started melting away and the sun started shining through. As we crossed thru Liberty Square I noticed this (yet another) statue.

Yes, it's a statue of Ronald Reagan. It is said that RR is beloved in Hungary because of his efforts to end the Cold War.

A few yards away is the Soviet War Memorial. Which commemorates Liberation Day (April 4th) when the Soviets forced the Nazis out of Hungary. I find it somewhat interesting that Ronald Reagan's Statue sits just a few meters away. Such is the complex history of Hungary I guess.

Right past that is the Monument to the Hungarian Victims of the Nazis.

Which is a controversial monument, after all, didn't Miklós Horthy ally himself with Adolf Hitler? The memorial was so controversial that from what I read; it was completed under the cover of darkness. Like I said; its complicated.

A short stroll away is Szent Istvan Bazilika (St Stephen's Basilica). I read that the plaza in front of the Basilica was once a huge parking lot; but the parking lot has been moved underground, creating this nice, open, plaza.

We enjoyed the little stretch of Sas Utca leading up to the plaza where the Basilica stood. Here and there you'd see bits of normal life......

We headed down the pedestrian only Zrinyl Utca back to the Danube. With the sun peeking out, the Royal Palace sure looked wonderful.

All this walking had stirred up our appetite. We had what seemed like a pretty hefty dinner planned, so I thought we'd head toward the Jewish Quarter; past the Great Synagogue.

And the Tree of Life Memorial in Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park in the back of the Synagogue.

A few blocks past the Synagogue is a very popular area; once full of abandoned buildings, the area is now full of Ruin Bars and restaurants. We went to check out the original ruin bar; Szimpla Kert, but it was Sunday, market day, and the place was packed to the rafters.

After unsuccessfully trying to find us some space we headed next door, to a lot full of food trucks called "Street Food Karavan Budapest".

I had wanted to try some Langos, the fried dough specialty of Hungary. I'd been told that "Langos Burger", parked in this lot of food trucks was a great place to try them.

And yes, while they do actually have a "Langos Burger", I was after a more traditional version, which is what I ordered. The Missus went with the "red", which is topped with red peppers.

These are made to order, so there's a short wait. For which you are rewarded with steaming hot fried bread.

Like I said, I got the "Classic" which is served with the traditional sour cream (very mild) and grated cheese (ditto). The bread was fairly yeasty, with a mild salt, and very light sweetness. It wasn't greasy, but overall was pretty mild in flavor.

The "red" had more flavor from the mildly spicy and slightly sweet red peppers which we enjoyed much more.

This was filling stuff.

I'm not sure I'd have this again....well, maybe one more time if we're back in Hungary. But it was fun, the sun was now shining down brightly and people were enjoying the day.

Street Food Karavan Budapest
Kazinczy Utca 18
Budapest 1075, Hungary

It had turned into quite a beautiful day. And since the sun didn't set until nearly 9pm, we'd be assured of a nice evening.

Even after a short nap!