What and how to eat

Breakfast

The kind of breakfast places we have here are fairly rare in Hungary, except in hotels. Most people either eat cereal/toast at home, or grab freshly baked pastries on their way to the office. Bakeries abound (the word is `pekseg`), and there are many kinds of pastries worth trying. Pastries come sweet or salty, but even the sweet ones are hardly ever as sweet as in America. Try `kakaos csiga` and `pogacsa` for sure.

kakaós csiga

pogácsa

To-go coffee is pretty much non-existent in Hungary, except for the one Starbucks that just opened up. We like the coffee house experience for our money`s worth, the nice place, the view out from the window, the nice mugs and service. Coffee is stronger than in the US, so watch out. Coffee houses also abound, look for the word `kavezo` when in need of coffee.

Lunch

Jókai bableves

Újházi tyúkhúsleves

Contrary to the US, lunch is the most important meal in Hungary. Good restaurants abound around where you`ll be staying. We hardly ever eat salad before a meal, salad is usually a side dish. Start with soup, soup (`leves`) is a very important part of the Hungarian diet. Our soups are usually more watery than the creamy soups in the US, and there are many delicious types. Three in particular worth trying are `Jókai bableves` which is a bean soup, `Újházi tyúkhúsleves` which is a chicken soup with vegetables, and any kind of `raguleves`, which is usually made of some kind of wild meat with tarragon, and is often served inside a loaf of bread. Most restaurants carry these. Soups are served with bread. I think originally soups with bread were an important part of the diet because folks were poor and this is a good way to fill your belly quickly and cheaply.

tárkonyos raguleves

juhturos sztrapacska

As for entrées, I`d just ask the waiter`s recommendation. A couple things that you might find interesting and unique are dishes prepared with liver (I know it sounds scary, but it`s soooo good...), dishes served with `nokedli` or `sztrapacska`, both of which are a kind of special pasta, usually served either with sheep cheese (juhtúró) (a South-Slovakian, North-Hungarian specialty) or peppered cabbage.
Fish dishes are very popular and good too, featuring typical Hungarian fish species (`harcsa`, `pisztráng` or `fogas`), definitely worth trying. Don`t be misled by all the ads and skip goulash - frankly, I`ve never had good goulash in a restaurant. It`s always way too greasy and thin, a total rip-off. I`ll cook you goulash once.

You have to know that Hungarian restaurants will not serve you tap water normally. You can ask for it, but they look at you funny if you ask for tap water. Restaurants make half their profit on beverages, so they`ll serve you ridiculous-sized mineral water for astronomical prices when you ask for water. Some places serve soda water (soda is carbonated water in Hungarian, not what we call soda here), I usually go for that. I`d also ask for recommendations for wine - there are so many, and the names are so weird, but the waiters usually know their stuff. See other post for more on wines.

Don`t be surprised if you don`t see salads or too many healthy options on the menu. We don`t eat those :). I think Hungary is still in that stage of development when we think the more meat and grease you have in a dish, the richer you look. So many of the traditional dishes are quite heavy, served with potatoes, rice or pasta, which doesn`t help things. You can, however, always ask for pickles, which are very good, try `csalamádé`, mixed pickled vegetables.

Somlói galuska

Considering desserts, they usually can`t go wrong. They are pricy, but I`ve never been disappointed. A particular specialty is 'Somlói galuska'.

Gratuity in Hungary is between 10 and 15%. Most places (I think) accept credit cards, but it`s always safer to have cash in this country. Oh, you have to tell the waiter how much tip you want to give before he charges your card, which is rather inconvenient, because the calculation has to be done in a moment's notice.

Dinner

Turo Rudi

Many Hungarians eat lighter meals for dinner than they had eaten for lunch, often not even hot meals. It`s worth a trip to a grocery store, to look for stuff you don`t eat in the US. Our breads are generally very good, and very cheap, so are our milk and dairy products. Most products don`t keep for long, because there aren`t nearly as much preservatives in them - but then, you`ll only be there for three days. Try `teliszalami` by Pick, eat our very unique cottage cheese (`turo` or `tehenturo`), apparently nobody else makes the kind we make.
 Try `Turo Rudi`, which is a very popular, almost iconic Hungarian delicacy made of cottage cheese, so good that now the Chinese are making a fake version of it :). I think that`s a sign that the idea is worth stealing. Our chocolates and biscuits are good too, look for the brands `Boci` and `Gyori` for stuff that`s actually Hungarian. Not that it`s owned by Hungarians anymore... Our liver pates are also delicious (`majkrem`), as well as our dry sausages (`kolbasz`, look for `Gyulai` or `Szegedi`). Mineral waters (`asvanyviz`) are plentiful and very cheap compared to the US - we have many that have won various awards. My personal favorite is Theodora, but Szentkiralyi is good as well.