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Hungry in Hungary: The Sweet

| Hayley Pogue

After the salty beef burger, I wanted something sweet. Of course, it makes sense then that we would go to The Sweet, a shop with gelato, cakes, cookies, you name it. I got a slice of salted caramel cake.

Although it was good, it really wasn’t anything special and I wouldn’t buy it again. The Sweet has a cute shop, though, so it may be worthwhile just to stop in. Another night, I tried a scoop of their gelato and it really upset my stomach (even though I’m not typically sensitive to dairy!). It upset my mom’s stomach, too.

If you do choose to go, their cake pops looked pretty tasty and so did their other cakes. This cake was good for sharing!

Hungry in Hungary: Karaván Street Food

| Hayley Pogue

After visiting Szimpla Kert, we developed some serious drunchies and wandered into the food truck area that is directly next to the pub.

My mom went to the vegan food truck and got a mushroom burger (pictured in the background) while I went to the food truck that sold various types of burgers, all of which came with this bun that reminded me of an unglazed donut.

The burger itself was cooked really well, but it could have used some sort of sauce or condiment – I ended up using the sauce that came with my mom’s meal!

This was a super fun experience, and I highly recommend visiting the food trucks to postgame the pub. Snacks 500-3000Ft.

Hungry in Hungary: Szimpla Kert

| Hayley Pogue

Considered by many to be a must-visit in Budapest, we visited the ruin pub Szimpla Kert after lunch. We grabbed some beers and my brother and I got our parents drunk off of pálinka, which is a traditional fruit brandy. My mom was convinced that it was tequila.

They have bar food upstairs, but we chose to stick with their drinks and instead go to the nearby food trucks for dinner…

Hungry in Hungary: Menza

| Hayley Pogue

After successfully completing a Game of Thrones themed escape room and visiting the House of Terror, we built up quite the appetite.

We walked on over to Menza, a Hungarian restaurant that had options for every palette. I went with a creamy garlic soup and an avocado prawn salad.

I was a bit perplexed when I received my soup, because I didn’t really know how to go about this whole thing. On top of the soup, there was a piece of fried bread topped with sour cream and cheese. Do I take the bread off and dunk it into the soup? No, because then I would get grease on my fingers. Do I cut the bread and then dunk each piece into the soup? That proved to be a bit challenging because the bread was tough to cut. My mom ended up essentially shoving the bread into the soup and cutting the bread within the soup. The dish as a whole was really filling, and I could only eat about 1/4 of it before oh-so generously donating the rest to my dad.

I wouldn’t order it again, but it was a memorable experience.

Okay, I loved this salad. The dressing was really light and flavorful, and the shrimp were nicely cooked. I think more could have been added to this salad, though, and I ended up taking some of the goat cheese from my mom’s salad to liven up my own.

Menza had a more sophisticated ambiance, and I had an overall pleasant experience there. Nothing special, but I think their burgers looked tasty! Mains 2690-4990Ft.

Hungry in Hungary: bigfish

| Hayley Pogue

Still fighting the jet lag, we headed to bigfish for some dinner. The restaurant is a bit overwhelming; there are some options for meals, and some options to take fresh fish away to cook at home. You order at the counter and then find your seat, and pay at the end of your meal. My mom was going to get the lobster until she found out she had to choose her own live one from the tank!

I opted for the paella, which was tasty but lacked acidity – I think it could have benefitted from a squeeze of fresh lemon.

I wouldn’t say that bigfish is a must-visit, but it’s definitely a good option. Reasonably priced with sides at 770-1200Ft, other mains 3600-4900Ft.

Hungry in Hungary: Desszert Neked

| Hayley Pogue

After lunch at Dobrumba, I was NOT about to have “just another” dessert. Nope, I needed something special. So, I went with a recommendation from Lonely Planet and visited Desszert Neked.

I’m honestly not sure what this cake was, but the man behind me in line told me that it’s a traditional Hungarian dessert. It had the texture of a sponge cake, and had chocolatey-caramel filling in-between the sponge cake layers. The cookie-like things on top were very special, and can only be described as caramel disks that were chewy yet crispy.

For a great dessert, make sure you visit this unique spot! Cakes 760-1080Ft, ice cream per scoop 350Ft.

Hungry in Hungary: Dobrumba

| Hayley Pogue

After landing in Hungary around 11 AM, we dropped our stuff off at our hotel and headed to lunch.

We found a place called Dobrumba, a Mediterranean restaurant located on a cute street not far from our hotel. Rather than ordering individual meals, we opted to go for a selection of appetizers, both hot and cold.

The standouts were: the garlic shrimp, the soft bread, and the dip with pomegranate seeds. All of the dishes we ordered were fantastic, though, so you really can’t go wrong! We also received a complimentary zucchini soup, which was phenomenal. Dobrumba is a must-visit!

Mains 2200-4800Ft.

The Journey Begins

| Hayley Pogue

Thanks for joining me!

My name is Hayley, and my friends and family often consider me to be the biggest foodie they know. I’ve decided to start a food blog for the sole purpose of sharing my experiences with food with the world, and hopefully being able to provide some solid recommendations for places to eat in various cities.

I have a huge sweet tooth, but besides that I tend to focus on healthy eating! I think that healthy eating can be as fun as it is beneficial, and I’m looking forward to broadening people’s beliefs about what it means to eat healthy. Eating healthy isn’t necessarily about cutting out certain food groups, or deeming some foods as “bad” while others are “good”; instead, I believe there are “always foods” and there are “sometimes foods.” Food shouldn’t make you feel bad. Be happy. Eat happy.