Arrival in Budapest
Although the Malev flight was delayed an hour, it was still only a 50 minute flight. I checked in at the Marriott, switched from an unbreathable smoking room to a non-smoking room, then set out to dinner. I chose Baraka, which had a lot of nice write ups, and was not disappointed at all.
Upon arriving I was greeted by a gracious host, and seated in a beautiful minimalist interior. He was very helpful with the menu, which was very innovative. For starter I decided on sliced wild duck breast with a salad of greens, bean sprouts, green beans, and black beans, with a coconut vinaigrette. The host helped me with the Hungarian portion of the wine menu, and I settled on a Harslevelu to begin, a white wine with good fruit, from the Tokay region, but also with defined acidity and minerality. It literally exploded in taste with the food. For the main course I decided on grilled lamb chops with a tamarind sauce and wild rice. With this I had a Hungarian red nicknamed "Bull's Blood", which is a blend of Bordeaux varietals grown in Hungary and a local red grape. It was amazing. For dessert I had black Asian rice with coconut cream, mango ice cream, and these amazing fruit called dragon fruit, which were vibrant red with black seeds, about the size of a plum, and tasted somewhat like a melon. I had a late-harvest Furmint along with it.
Coincidentally, a couple was doing a photo shoot of the restaurant while I was there, and although they currently live in Croatia, they are from the South. The guy is from Atlanta actually, and his girlfriend is from NC. We had a great conversation about stuff happening in the world, and as anyone with half a brain would be, also despise Bush. We exchanged emails so I hope we stay in touch.
It just so happens that Budapest is having a wine festival this weekend, so guess what I will be doing :-)
Upon arriving I was greeted by a gracious host, and seated in a beautiful minimalist interior. He was very helpful with the menu, which was very innovative. For starter I decided on sliced wild duck breast with a salad of greens, bean sprouts, green beans, and black beans, with a coconut vinaigrette. The host helped me with the Hungarian portion of the wine menu, and I settled on a Harslevelu to begin, a white wine with good fruit, from the Tokay region, but also with defined acidity and minerality. It literally exploded in taste with the food. For the main course I decided on grilled lamb chops with a tamarind sauce and wild rice. With this I had a Hungarian red nicknamed "Bull's Blood", which is a blend of Bordeaux varietals grown in Hungary and a local red grape. It was amazing. For dessert I had black Asian rice with coconut cream, mango ice cream, and these amazing fruit called dragon fruit, which were vibrant red with black seeds, about the size of a plum, and tasted somewhat like a melon. I had a late-harvest Furmint along with it.
Coincidentally, a couple was doing a photo shoot of the restaurant while I was there, and although they currently live in Croatia, they are from the South. The guy is from Atlanta actually, and his girlfriend is from NC. We had a great conversation about stuff happening in the world, and as anyone with half a brain would be, also despise Bush. We exchanged emails so I hope we stay in touch.
It just so happens that Budapest is having a wine festival this weekend, so guess what I will be doing :-)