Palinka Festival

So, starting from the beginning.  Palinka, or fruit brandy, is almost a national drink here in Hungary.  Everyone drinks it, for every occasion and at any hour of the day.  Palainka brewing/distilling/infusing/whatever the term is is something almost every old dude picks up as a hobby.  It is also, needless to say, delicious--tasting something like fruit that has been set on fire.  And every so often, the guys here in Budapest get together to hold a Palinka Festival.  Because . . . duh

So here we have it.  In the middle of the Castle District, which is the part of town with ancient, beautiful castles and museums, dozens of distilleries set up shop serving tiny little glasses of palinka.  This, needless to say, attracted somewhat of a crowd:

The coolest part (other than the plethora of interesting and delicious liquors, which was also pretty cool) was the fact that this was set in the midst of some of the most beautiful architecture you've ever seen.  Take a look:

I mean, take a look at that wall.  It's probably older than the city of Seattle . . . and we were sitting on it drinking palinka.  If you don't think that's pretty cool, I'm not sure you and I can be friends anymore

As a side note, the whole event was sponsored by some company trying to promote their new tap-and-go debit cards, meaning that instead of paying cash you simply loaded up your card and paid with that.  While this was annoying and arbitrary, it's not less so than the normal method, which involves buying tickets, so I didn't particularly mind.  I was amused, however, by the kiosks they had scattered around to let you check your balance.  Now this is a good idea, because it would be annoying to have to keep track of a slowly declining balance over an hour or two while not drinking . . . add the booze in, and these things were a serious need.  The funny thing though is that it displays your balance in big bright letters so that everyone else waiting in line or even just walking by can see how much you have:

Meh, this guy only has like 5 bucks. Not worth picking his pocket.

Secondly, the bartender in me was pretty amused by the little contraptions a number of stalls had in order to pour perfect measurements.  Check it out:

Cool, huh?  Although the bartender in me also sympathized with these guys who, accustomed to pouring from a normal bottle, had to make the adjustment to how these new guys poured.  With . . . not always perfect results ;)

"But wait!" you're probably saying.  "Something is missing!  Surely, in all of this, there had to be some Hungarian food!"  Ten steps ahead of you guys

Hungarians do fair food right

I ended up getting . . . I don't remember what it was called.  Actually, I never knew what it was called, I just ordered it by pointing.  But it was basically a giant, super-crispy hash brown smothered in sour cream.  Pretty amazing

Anyways, the only drawback was that it was impossible to eat my food, drink my palinka, and take pictures at the same time.  So yeah . . . no more pictures were taken

Cheers!

Noah out

Random pictures

Hey guys,

Since I haven't had time to go adventuring (or even write up a serious post about previous adventures) since getting back, I thought I'd clean out my hard drive with a few random pictures I haven't yet posted:

This picture was taken on one of my first days in Budapest, as I was wandering around exploring Moskva Ter.  My reaction was something along the lines of "I may not know a lot of kanji, but I recognize that fourth one!!!"

Statues everywhere.  I will never get tired of this

 Sadly, pictures of sunsets never really come out as awesome as you thought they would.  But I still think this is pretty cool

Why yes, that is a 10-person bike.  Why?  Because they can

(by the way, this picture was taken during the Critical Mass ride a few weeks ago, which was pretty fun to watch) 

And of course, there has to be some food involved.  My attempt at twice-cooked pork, which I think came out pretty tasty

(yes, I did bring over a jar of Szechuan bean paste.  Because, duh)

And, finally, one that would go up on Noahinthebayarea, if that existed.  Since it doesn't guess I'll put it up here :)

Anyways, that's all I have for now.  Later!

Noah out

Batthyany Ter

Hey guys,

It occurs to me, I've been all around the city, posted pictures of all sorts of cool stuff, but never bothered showing you guys one of the prettier areas in town--Batthyany Square, right where I work
Named after Lajos Batthyany, the first Prime Minister of Hungary (final words before being shot by the firing squad of the Austrian Empire, against whom Hungary was rebelling:  "Rejoice, my homeland, come on you hunstmen!"), this square is right on the river and, like most of this city, boasts some pretty spectacular scenery

To the North, a statue of Batthyany:

Or maybe it's a statue of someone else?  Who knows?  Statue.  That's what's important

To the West, the market hall:

To the South, Szent Anna-templon (Church of St. Anne):

To the East, that fantastic view of the Parliament across the Danube:

And of course, the view from our office balcony:

Not a bad spot, if I do say so myself

Noah

Back in Budapest

Hey everyone,

Made it back safely.  Uneventful, relaxing trip

I was, however, greeted upon my return by a good old fashioned summer storm.  80 degrees, pouring rain, thunder and lightning . . . just awesome.  Perfect weather for sitting in the living room looking out over the hills

Anyways, that's all I have.  Should be able to find something to post soon.  Cheers,

Noah out

Hiatus

Hey everyone,

Noahinbudapest is going on hiatus for a week, chiefly because Noah will not be in Budapest.  If you need to reach me, I will not be checking my personal email, this blog, or facebook, but I will be checking my professional and work emails.  I may also be reachable on my US cell.  If you don't have any of that information, have you ever considered the fact that maybe I just don't want to talk with you? ;)
(kidding, kidding, just ask around, I don't keep any of that information particularly secret)

Cheers, I leave you with this picture.  Gorgeous, isn't it?  Almost makes you believe in fairy tales :)

Noah out

Dinner with the folks! (well, not my folks. Tamas's folks. But still)

Hey everybody,

So yes, Tamas and his parents are out in Hungary for the week.  While the circumstances are tragic (his mother's mother recently passed away) it is wonderful to see them.  All three of them are awesome, fantastic people

I of course took everyone out to dinner, because a) it's always a pleasure to take nice people out to dinner, and b) I am, you know, staying in their house rent-free for six months.  And since I haven't had too much time to scout out the area (and it's a little weird to ask someone for recommendations where you should take them for dinner) we went back to Remiz.  This was a very good decision

On my recommendation, Tamas got the spareribs.  He was not disappointed (and got to act super manly tearing them apart with his bare hands)

Mine was a little more exotic:  Breaded, pan-fried catfish with tagliatelle (between fettucini and papardelle). The sauce was fantastic.  Clearly Hungarian--spiced with paprika (only the nice, very spicy kind) and finished with cream.  And just a hint of truffles.  Anyways, it did a fantastic job of pairing with the catfish

And, while I didn't try to take pictures of everyone's food, Tamas's dad was sitting right next to me so I snapped a shot of his weiner schnitzel.  Yes, you read that correctly.  That entire thing is just one giant weiner schnitzel.  And I had a bite, it was delicious

Anyways, nothing terribly exciting, but it was a great meal and a great night out.  Good times were had by all

Noah out

Gellert Baths

So, Tamas and his father showed up last Saturday afternoon.  First thing they wanted to do?  Head to the baths, of course

While I really enjoyed Rudas Baths, the ones I went to with my friends, Gellert Baths are something different altogether.  Rudas is mostly contained within one large room within an old, old building.  The pools are small, the lighting is dim, and it's very laid-back.  Gellert, on the other hand, has some class

Within the luxury Gellert Hotel, these are some seriously nice baths.  Here's a picture of the hotel, as well as the lobby (and a shot of our two heroes):

After changing, we went outside.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day (serendipitous, as Sunday would prove to be cloudy, windy and cold).  Gellert caters largely to tourists, so the whole place has the feel of a resort.  Not unwelcome, of course

Ahh yes, the statuary.  Stunning, gorgeous, almost certainly hundreds of years old.  I image this piece probably predates the city of Seattle:

As you can see, someone put their towel on it XD

The complex also had a significant indoor area, including one of the more stately swimming pools I've ever seen:

But don't worry, there were still classic-style baths to be found:

In addition to that pool shown in that picture, the inside complex further featured very traditional bathing suites.  Traditional both in the series of cool, warm, and hot pools (plus a steam room), and also traditional in the sense that they were segregated by gender.  In other words . . . well, you're all welcome that I didn't take any pictures in there ;)

Regardless of the setting, there truly is no feeling like sitting in a pool of hot water or an intense steam room for as long as you can stand it and then going and jumping into an ice-cold pool.  It's something special

Good times were had by all

Noah out

Siete de Mayo

Hey guys,

It's actually been a busy last few days for me (Tamas is in town!!) so I have plenty of things to post about, but I thought I'd write this one up first, seeing as it's the one with an actual date attached.  More to come in the next few days!

Anyways, as the token decent Mexican restaurant in town, Iguana recognizes its awesome responsibility to hold a Cinco de Mayo party (this year, on Siete de Mayo).  And it comes through pretty hardcore.  We didn't show up until around 10 (the party started at I believe 3pm), but the place was packed:

 (DJ in the back, of course)

Not only that, but they closed off the street in front and had the whole block set up to party:

But, like I said, if you're the only Mexican restaurant in town, you have to make a good show of it, right?  They had bars set up under tents the length of the block, and had an outdoor grill going (made me feel bad about already having had dinner, but that's the subject for another post).  Margaritas were of course the drink of choice:

Yeah, I know Heather will give me crap about drinking frozen margaritas, but it was a street festival.  I stand by my decision

On another note, the drinks were pretty expensive for Hungary--900ft per drink, or about $5.  This actually kind of upset me, as I'm used to paying about a third of that for drinks, until I actually did the math and thought about it.  $5 drinks at a street festival?  In the States, I feel like you'd be lucky to get anything for less than $12.  Budapest is pretty cool like that :D

Noah out

Madrid-Barca

Hey guys,

So last night, I went out to join the guys from the office and watch the Real Madrid - Barcelona game.  The original plan was just to converge on Bek's apartment, but apparently it wasn't being broadcast on any of the channels he gets, so we ended up going out to a bar to watch the game

Man, lucky Bek.  If I lived right around the corner from this kind of place, I'd be here all the time.  Tiny, hole-in-the-wall basement bar, with friendly-but-distracted staff and very reasonable prices:

Not that I don't enjoy going out to clubs with the guys (Budapest has some pretty awesome, chill clubs) but this is definitely my scene.  Like I said, if I lived where Bek does I'd be a regular here

Anyways, the game was great (ended in a 1-1 tie on two very cool goals), but Barca had won the previous match 2-0 so they advanced no problem.  It was still a ton of fun to watch, and an absolute joy to watch Barcelona's ball movement.  Just gorgeous.  Great way to spend a Tuesday night

Cheers!

Noah out

Remiz

Hey guys,

[Warning:  Yes, this is the longest post I've written in a while, possibly in the whole blog.  Yes, it's about food. Just accept it]
So, today I decided to treat myself to a nice dinner out!  I've been wanting to go to Remiz (man, it's hard to type that instead of "remix" . . . silly muscle memory) pretty much since I got here.  I think I included this picture in like my first or second post:

So today I finally pulled the trigger.  This was an *excellent* decision

So Remiz is located near where the trams all spend the night, which is in fact what the word "remiz" means.  This garage is, presumably for cost-saving reasons, located pretty far out of the city.  One of my guidebooks described the restaurant as "one of the city's finest!  If only it were more centrally located".  However Central Pest's loss is my gain, as the place is only an 8 minute walk from my house (in fact, I go jogging by it every other day)

The whole menu looked absolutely fantastic--it's described as "Modern Hungarian" cuisine, which is basically an attempt to take traditional Hungarian foods (stews, hearty meat dishes, etc.) and make them a bit more refined.  And believe me, Remiz looks like it does exactly that:
http://www.remiz.hu/remiz/remiz_etlap_en.html

I was also lucky enough to come in the spring/summer, while their grill is running.  From what I could gather, since the grill is outside they only have it going during the warmer months.  It's a pretty cool setup:

In fact, after my dinner I went out and chatted a bit with the chef.  The restaurant was pretty slow (Sunday late afternoon) so I didn't feel too bad.  Plus he was a super nice guy!

Anyways, right, the food.  First came the salad:

Now it doesn't look too exceptional, but let me tell you . . . Hungarians are not big on the whole vegetable thing.  I haven't actually seen a proper salad that I didn't make for myself in weeks.  So to get some nice arugula, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and a balsamico reduction was pretty special

Also, you know what was hiding under there?  Caper berries!  Man, I guess I never thought about it until I couldn't get them, but I really do miss capers as an ingredient (and yes, I've asked around--both Alessandro, my Italian friend, and Attila, my Hungarian friend, say that they're really uncommon in Hungary)

Anyways, that was of course just the appetizer.  While everything on the menu looked fantastic, I went for the selection platter from the "Lava Rocks" section (i.e. the grill, but you gotta admit it sounds cooler their way)

So, the sampler platter came with the following:  "BBQ" sauce (more on that later), chicken breast, spare ribs (for which they are apparently well known) foie gras, and a salad.  Oh, and by the way, cost about $20.  Dining outside of the center of the city is awesome.  I'll break it down:

The sauce was very interesting.  I put the word "BBQ" in quotation marks because, as an American, I feel like I have to take an authoritative stand on what is and isn't BBQ.  It was actually sour-cream-based (or, more probably creme fraiche), and when I went out and talked with the chef he confirmed it's sour cream/creme fraiche, ketchup, dijon, and a bunch of spices (I didn't ask and he didn't tell).  So it wasn't a traditionally barbecue sauce, but it definitely worked--the sourness was really nice to cut the meatiness, and the spices whatever they were paired very well with the smokiness from the grill

I actually ended up using the sauce with the chicken, although on the menu it's paired with the ribs.  I guess I'm just more of a fan of sauce with chicken, and have always subscribed to the "dry rub is king" theory for ribs.  The chicken didn't actually need the sauce, I didn't think.  They butterflied the breast and must have barely had it on there, cuz it was still moist and flavorful.  And ribs definitely didn't need it, they were flavorful and delicious all on their own.  I later saw another diner eating them entirely with knife and fork . . . I don't care.  I'm American, dammit, and we eat ribs with our hands ;)

As for the foie gras?  Delicious.  I've never had it on the grill, which took away some of the creamy texture you get when you just sear it, but the smokiness of the grill was a really nice cut to the richness.  I didn't indulge, for obvious reasons, but this was the kind of foie gras I wanted to pick up and take a giant mouthful of.  That's pretty cool

Anyways, one final note.  The perceptive among you may have realized that I got a salad for an appetizer when I had already ordered an entree that came with one.  Curious both in the sense that I like to try as much of a variety of things as possible and that I'm a poor intern who doesn't have money to waste on redundant appetizers

So, what happened was, after I'd ordered, the server asked if I wanted an appetizer.  I said he could simply bring the salad out first, meaning the salad that came with my entree.  He thought I was ordering a new one.  When the entree came with the salad on it, I had a little moment of "Ooooooooh"

Sure enough, the bill came with the salad added on.  However, when I explained this to the cashier (in Hungary, the cashier is separate from the server), expecting maybe to get a bit of a discount, he said, "not a problem at all, I'll take that off" and left before I could even say, "wait that's not necess--oh, well ok"

Don't worry, I made up for it in the tip (25% of the bill before he comped the salad)

Moral of the story?  Definitely heading back there

Noah out