Yorkville Meat Emporium (2nd Ave at 81st St) apparently sells potato bread and stuffed cabbage, but sadly most of the former patrons have passed away. And if you are interested in finding the Hungarian versions of Playboy and Cosmo, go to Blue Danube Gifts on East 83rd Street ;)

should you come, just ask where to get a galuskaszaggató:-) (I don’t like the grandma-style, it’s too hard for me…)

I just remember very fondly the variety and vibrance of the restaurants of Raday utca around the turn of the millennium. (Andras Török’s Guide to Budapest and the Finnish Sankarimatkaajan Budapest were great reads, although I can’t remember anymore whether they recommended any restaurants.) I’m sure I missed many bastions of haute cuisine in the city but I was just so pleasantly surprised by the friendliness, innovation and high level of service I found in a string of eateries along that street and nearby. I loved the cafe / bar Paris Texas for example. My next visit is long overdue - but when I do get around, I will definitely tell you which places currently appeal to me.

Another matter is that I’m happiest when I stumble on places that are not packed with busloads of fellow travellers. I’ve grown to appreciate neon-lit street kitchens and anonymous little places. And, inevitably, the most memorable travel-related meals tend to take place when visiting friends abroad, whether enjoying the freshest seafood in a crumbling palazzo in Venice, a supper of ham and cheese prepared by the housemaid in a highrise in Rio de Janeiro, or a plateful of homemade mämmi (yesterday in Toronto, among several generations of Finnish-Canadian immigrants gathered together for the Palm Sunday service).

t3v and Eszter: thanks for the galuska tips - I agree that an afternoon with someone’s grandma would be the right way to learn… or maybe a video clip…

The one with the fabulous goose legs (Roasted Goose Leg with potatoes Bataszeki style and red cabbage, steamed in Törley sparkling wine, Martonvasarhelyi style) was Vörös Postakocsi on Ráday u. I ate there several times, as I was staying in a very nearby hotel on Kálvin tér.

The medieval place was Sir Lancelot.
The restaurant at Hotel Gellert was superb, albeit twice as expensive as the orhers. Nonetheless, the service and food were first class, and dining al fresco on their terrace was very enjoyable.

this nice bar is called For Sale (Vamhaz korut is the name of the street), the other restaurant I don’t know.

Anna, I find your blog really great:-)

This is the traditional way these “dumplings” are done. Hungarian chefs do it like that (and so does my granny)!

A few years ago I had a Croatian-American neighbor. We did some Christmas baking together and I realized that the delicacies she learnt from her mom the very same Austro-Hungarian treats I learned to love when I spent some time in Austria as a student. Actually, a very dear friend from Vienna gave me the wonderful Die Gute Küche by Plachutta and Wagner, *the* Austrian cookbook, as a wedding present. It’s wonderful… IMHO, the most delicious cakes and pastries and in all Europe hail from Austria, Hungary, and Germany.

You should give tours of New York … I loved the food trip through the city.

This post reminds of a book I’ve been meaning to buy called, “The Lost Art of Baking with Yeast: Delicious Hungarian Cakes and Pastries” by Baba Schwartz.

Even though we’re in Canada and our background is Italian, I was lucky to have a father who made sure that our food horizons were as broad as possible.

I remember trying beautiful Hungarian food as a little girl. It’s been awhile as most of the places are either gone or in parts of the city that I never make time for (sadly).

But you’ve reawakened that desire. Thanks, Anna. And thanks for the tip about Chili&Vanilla. I will check that out.

By the way, there is a book by a Canadian writer, published in February 2006, called “Paprika: A Spicy Memoir From Hungary” by Joanne Sasvari. You may be interested!

Sadly, I think Mocca is no more - I think I heard it passed away last year.