On almost every street corner in Budapest you will find a butcher’s shop selling everything from chicken feet to tripe (and all of the routine meats in between).
But in some of these small local shops, you will also find a hot food counter selling dishes containing the shop’s own meat, made to local recipe.Therefore, if you’re looking for a true Hungarian experience (standing up at a counter while you eat hearty dishes of meat, bread and pickles), then these are definitely the spots for you.
One such establishment was on Mester Utca, a street in the 9th District of Budapest, and around the corner from our apartment. Lured in by the smell of the food on two separate occasions, we tried our hand at Hungarian blood sausage, which tasted a lot like haggis in my opinion, as well as spicy red sausage and a chicken stew made with bacon, green peppers and onions and accompanied with the small and unusual nugget-like Hungarian noodles.
As it was obvious we were tourists, the owner (with whom we had an awkward transaction when ordering as he didn’t speak a word of English) also brought us over a free paper plate of beef curry which was tender and delicious and highly appreciated.
Prices here weren’t as cheap as we would have liked for a locals’ place, but the portions are hearty enough to keep you going until dinnertime. You are also guaranteed to have a truly Hungarian experience, whether the heavy fayre leaves an unpleasant after-taste in your mouth or not.
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