Reviews | Martin O Regan

Whiling away the time

Posted on March 27, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

The Clock

Hickery Dickery Dock

Martin went into the clock

The clock struck one

So he had a soup

Hickory Dickory Dock

(A not so traditional children’s rhyme)

This Buda pub, just up the street from the back entrance to Déli train station, on Nagyengyed utca is a comfortable place to find oneself. There isn’t anything too surprising about the prices considering that it advertises itself as a restaurant/pub. The draught beer is all above 500huf. The bottled beer has one under. Guinness, and this is what first attracted me to this place some years ago, has now passed the 1000huf mark. In fact, it’s a little bit more still. But never mind, I wouldn’t recommend it. When I asked for a pint I was told there wouldn’t be any till November; it was a draw* I was unwilling to wait for. Instead I opted for Dreher Bak in the bottle, a potent affair, and perused the menu.

There is a wide selection of the usual Hungarian fare. Meat, in different styles with the usual trimmings. I won’t here elucidate. I was hungry but had not intended to run too high a bill so after flirting with the main courses all in the 1800huf to 2200huf range – steak higher, of course; salads surprisingly not that much lower – I chose a soup. It wasn’t necessary to splash out. I would be heading home in a while and to plenty of food in the fridge. As it was another soup would be waiting for me – thankfully different. What I chose at the Clock was a veal ragout with sour cream. Nice? Yes! Very nice? Hmmm, yes. The best ever? Take it easy!!! I may have to turn into Johnny Depp in “Once Upon A Time In Mexico” if that were to ever happen. In truth, to sum up the dining experience: it was pleasant, efficient, quick as was necessary, and the staff, at least my waitress ‘for today’ was comfortably friendly. By that I mean she didn’t have to try – no fake smile cracking her frown – she was a natural. On good days, on bad, I’m sure she’d have her moods but she struck me, as first, professional.

The place itself is all indoors so forget it if you want the garden-terrace ambiance. Down the street there is a pizzeria place, good as I’ve heard – the verdict is forthcoming, and they have that outdoor appeal. Here it’s enclosed in a typical Irish-y pub feel, the theme here being clocks, the big one looming above, on entering, on the ceiling; the shelves all around covered with them, pictures, wallpaper, real old devices.

The Clock is not short of clocks so if you have a funky phobia, forget it, but if you’re a little malicious and like to set alarm clocks in appliance shops, this may have that quirky appeal, though I haven’t test-driven any of the clocks here on offer so don’t take my word on their functioning.

To the front and left of the entrance runs the bar with a smattering of tables off into the corner while to the right another cluster of tables and chairs. It’s all cosy without being cramped. It is nice. I would recommend it so, if you have the time, and if you don’t, try out The Clock.

*In this case draw means “the draw on the pint” meaning how much has been taken from the keg that particular day.

©TheHairyTeacher2013

For a song

Posted on March 26, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

Rigó Jancsi’s Cukrászda in the 12th district came as a surprise. That a colleague of mine had posted or “checked himself in” there on Facebook was how it came to my attention. You see it’s easy to miss; a poke in all ways, the 4 tables inside overly optimistic given the real floor space, not that the passage way from door and along the L counter is impeded, and I got to see why. Like 2 or 3 others I sat with cake and coffee, but what surprised me was the entertainment in the form of the constant flow of people in and out – and where there are people characters emerge.

Like the Yanks who spoke fluent, at least to my ears, Hungarian but conversed among themselves in English. A reminder of this country’s history of emigration.

But apart from the people the place itself is also worth noting, the business I mean. Some call the interior retro, I call it old-fashioned. It hasn’t changed much in all the years so it isn’t like it’s tried to look this way. It is original. Not many these days.

The staff is all friendly, engaging people – the banter flows, smiles flashes, and all in the name of top service.

However, people, furnishings, staff and all, it was the prices that took me aback. This is the 12th district so I expected to be drawing blood for little luxuries but at 280huf for a cup of coffee and cake I was more than pleasantly surprised. I was almost suspicious. Something had to give. In truth, it didn’t. The illusion come reality remained with me right out the door and onto this page.

With its selection of pogácsa, cakes and other pastries at prices that would shock the farmer’s daughter this has become a surprising new favourite, which must be put into perspective considering my history as a beer drinker rather than a cake-eater.

Thumbs up – expectations high.

I hope the next visit will not disappoint!

…it didn’t!!!

(Ad infinitum???)

©TheHairyTeacher2013

Moka pokey

Posted on March 26, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

A step off the main drag, Margit Körút style, at the corner of Varsányi Irén and Eröd utca(k), this one’s new to me, but I gather, also to the neighbourhood.
The first thing I noticed was its relative modesty from outside, a chalkboard and a small sign bare indication. If I hadn’t been told of this place I may never have found it – but aren’t such places sometimes the best.
Well let’s see.
On entering: a low table to the left, two small tables to the right, and a bar curving out in front makes it, as the exterior, certainly not boasting swank. A stairwell winding up suggests seating out of sight and this is pleasing considering everything downstairs is full, with one-a-table being a jam.
There’s free WIFI just in case the laptops accompanying nearly every single customer haven’t aleady given the game away, but these days that’s par for the course/to be expected.
I order and settle upstairs. Cosy seats, low tables, not the best for writing on, but it does force me to unwind, and that is what I do, caffeine to hand.
The general atmosphere is subdued, gentle, placid and the staff are suitably laid-back, friendly, and curious. Chalked up on the wall is a food menu but I regard it only as a snap Hungarian lesson, I’ve just come from food…home-cooked…the best:)
But what has me really kicking back and letting go, beyond the confines of my armchair is the music; a mix of Jazz, slow blues, and old R&B (the good stuff when singers had voices not just funky names). To top it all off the sounds are omitting from a record player, the real deal – vinyls, needle caressing, and not a scratch to be heard. What manner of preservation is this! Almost unholy, what with my Hits 5 playing like a seance snippet off of Paranormal Weekly these days, well like it would if I had a record player. I’m not HD me, I’m all for da mood. Like smoke in a dark and dirty Jazz bar, I miss some of the things which are now considered bad for me.
As I finish my coffee I laze, I inhale, and I promise to return. It’s a wee bit on the parsimonious in terms of overall space but just to huddle up to the vinyls and speak about times past, I could offer up my peg leg – again!
Moka…tis no joke!!!

©TheHairyTeacher2013

Without a shadow, well maybe…

Posted on March 16, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

A cafe half hidden by the flyover outside and on the wrong side off Fő tér, in Óbuda, this place is worth more than a mention. It could be another functioning kocsma like the ones in the underpass nearby but it has prettied itself up with a simple choice of furnishing: wooden chairs, simply cushioned benches, and the decor of brick work and plaster. From outside it could almost be mistaken for a Pékség/Bakery or Cukrászda/Confectionery due to the display cabinet in the window. On close inspection one notices the meleg sandwiches on offer and begins to realise that there is more beyond.

It’s a tidy affair inside with enough seating for a comfortable 20 and with lights low hanging as well on wall-mounted fixtures one gets the feeling that a little thought was put into making this a little more.

If making the most is to be referred to as a means to encouraging entrepreneurialism then maybe this place should be included in the books. No glitz or glam, yet spotless. Not easy to find that combination in these days of crude commercialism and utter depravity.

My advice: if you’re ever near here and tired of the streets, pop in. It’s surprisingly cheery, even when quiet. In fact, with WIFI and solitude it could be numbered among my offices on the go these days.

Warning: Unlike some of the bars in leafy suburban Budapest, which holds their own surprises…this place can begin to fill up early evening (and midweek) and gets a little on the noisy side so if it’s a quiet chat you’re after maybe look elsewhere. However, if drinks, or chatter around you are your thing, try Perszé Presszó.

As for the staff: friendly? Perszé! 🙂

©TheHairyTeacher2013

Hello, I must be sitting

Posted on March 16, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

Sitting, nestled between the two Mammuts on the Buda side of the city, this little treasure can easily be missed by those who are more image-conscious. Before its face-lift it was little more than a glorified kocsma with games machines flashing and whirring and buzzing, and to be frank little has changed. What it has got and has always had as long as the weather holds is outside seating and though you might find yourself sitting, inhaling the fumes of the passing cars (as an ex-smoker I still like to flirt with the lung damage) there is an undeniable atmosphere worthy of it all. The footpath that the tables encroach upon is a busy thoroughfare so as far as people watching goes Buda-side; this is oddly one of the best. Across Szena tér the other bars are either locked away underground or without the promise of such flow. Trombitás at Moszkva/Széll Kálmán tér is hidden behind stained glass and Fasor is too far out. Right here, right now…well, wait up…

That was an ad for Cheerio some time past. These days farther down Lövőház utca on the pedestrianised part, there are other bars like Gyöngye and Shakesbeer, which have got their acts together, but even so, and along with the newer entries on that side of the street, Cheerio is the stalwart in what was reliably a boring stretch between the looming monotony of two sides of a commercial centre. In the market itself there are the pokey joints, teeming with life, but for today, at this point, a little on the reminisce, Cheerio has the vibe, the buzz, the dirt required to be included. I still wouldn’t rate it inside; one could view it as a point of its consistency, I expect!

©TheHairyTeacher2013

A taste of Italy

Posted on March 15, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

A lunchtime menu attracted me to this place seeing as its reputation precedes it in terms of price. And yes, while the main courses begin in the high 2000s and soar it’s the drink that’ll catch you. The only red in glass is a generous 650huf per “deci” (100ml/10cl) while the water is even pricier. Still, prepared for that, I wanted to enjoy this. Then what of it?

The place is pristine and service implied. The only fault early on was a horrible buzzing made by the air-conditioning. It was turned off on request, if somewhat reluctantly. Silver trays serve as place mats and the whole thing is too Upstairs-Downstairs (or Downton Abbey) for my liking. The cutlery is set up with the intention of being worked through, and the serviettes are folded and propped. Not a place I’d bring my daughter – the bull in the china shop image prevails, though the rebel heart would almost delight.

I imagine regaling her future husband with what may, or may not, be an embarrassing story. If she’s truly my daughter she wouldn’t bat an eyelid. Beneath her such finery would be, but not beneath me it would seem.

The waiter was a friendly chap, verging on a professional courtesy, but he engaged, held eye-contact, and played his part unobtrusively. He knew we were there for the menu!

Coming then to the food. On first impressions I saw only average – presentation aside – and in taste I felt that while competitive, it wasn’t high end as the prices would suggest. Okay so I had the menu of minestrone soup, a main course with pork, fried potatoes, and a ragu sauce, which could explain the simplicity, but my partner’s pasta, while certainly tasty, was only that. In fact it was the sauce that saved it. Maybe we were expecting too much, but it seemed overly simple considering the prices. That the ingredients are fresh is a given – this is the stronger selling point, I imagine, and on this note I’d have to conclude that overall it was worth the experience.

Nevertheless I do, with bias, think Andi could have made as good, if not a better, job at home. And perhaps this is not really a criticism as it is in Italian culture to love home-cooking anyway.

Finally, dessert was a caramel cream pudding with an alcohol twist. Tasty but the chocolate sauce was too buttery. Ahh, what the heck! A good destination for the menu but if intent on good Italian food in the city I suspect there could be better.

http://www.ristorantekrizia.hu/

©TheHairyTeacher2013

To pin it down

Posted on March 15, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

What can be said about Anker klub, in the köz of the same name, in the up and coming hubble and bubble that is the rejuvenated 7th district, Király environs, can be said of many of the other student frequented, minimalist decor, pub/eateries in the city.

Like a good Hollywood romance there is a template – variables in this case being but location and size. Each one defines itself as unique but each one finally succumbs to being a rehash of an original which in the pubs’ case may amount to Castro, Madach tér, but I’m not sure.

What then can I say of Anker in particular? Service is suspicious, almost unfriendly, but that follows the templates of these moody studenty gaffs all across the city.

The food when cooked well is of a reasonably good quality – I would serve it to my child if she hasn’t gnawed too much table already – but the standard is again inconsistent. Some days cooked well with complementing presentation, other days one would have to wonder as to the mentality of a person who would even dare to serve up burnt sausage as done.

Prices are learning towards city centre but a Brunch menu does seem generous. One quib – in the drinks choice of this set menu, coffee or tea is not on offer. The cynic in me sees the catch: 1650huf (at weekends/ 1250huf weekdays) for drink, main, and dessert, plus the added expense for a basic coffee. Still it is value for money provided the chef is firing on all cylinders.

A spacious affair, venting exposed, it certainly has the lived in feel. Not quite ruin pub but leaning there. In all worth a shot and its location is everything except on a sunny day! That is, unless you like the shade.

Stone free or stone mad!

Posted on February 27, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

Up in the hills which comprise the 12th district the Stone Kávézó Söröző is run of the mill. Modern decor, indicative of youth-club culture, its strength is it’s at a transport hub, where the 112 and 102 bus terminus cojoin.

With a Tesco in proximity, looming in fact above the eyeline, the cafe itself offers street life, quiet-suburb style.

It is a cosy affair with prices that won’t make one feel like one of Fagin’s gang has just lightened your pockets and, considering the wealth of the neighbours, this comes as a relief.

There are a few things marked on the menu; though a list is provided, the majority are not priced, suggesting their lack. A meleg szendvics,a pizza, some beer, a chat – this place could work.

That I’ve never seen a crowd mid-week is typical of residential Budapest where families stay at home. As for the weekends, that’s up to you. Personally, I wouldn’t make the trek up here if it were just for this, but that I have to has allowed me the opportunity, and yes, I can imagine sitting here pre- or post- class as the weather warms up- pondering- as to what – that remains to be seen.

https://www.facebook.com/kavezosorozo.stone

Everybody’s place

Posted on February 27, 2013 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

Martin’s Bistro in the 2nd district is not only a pleasure by namesake (not The Hairy Teacher!) but also by service. The staff is pleasant and professional. The menu is user-friendly with a compact choice, and a surprising number of fish dishes considering.

The location is questionable, tucked away as it is and, by fact, a failed spring board for previous businesses with the same culinary ambitions. Still, having got there the reward was awaiting.

The dish I chose was grilled wild salmon with creamy garlic spinach and potato ravioli, cooked succulently, hinting at red to the centre…hmmmmm. What was more surprising was the tenderness of the steak which my girlfriend ordered (Argentine braised steak with roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables and fried onion sauce). It practically melted in the mouth, not an experience I’ve had much in Hungary when it comes to beef, especially steak.

The evening panned out perfectly with even the chill accompanying us on the homeward track endearing, so satiated were we.

Warning: the portions are not Hungarian Étterem in size but all the better to enjoy the taste and not just the gluttonyJ . As for the latter, for the month of February every Thursday is/was Torkos Csütörtök depending on when you are reading this), and so everything comes/came at half-price.

“I just love it when a plan comes together!” Hannibal Smith, The A-Team

Set the scene at A Table

Posted on October 8, 2012 by martinoregan • 0 Comments

It has a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’. It’s small with a rather cramped appeal but this somehow allows it to always feel full. The counter on entering whets the appetite with its impressive display and if one is interested in take away or sitting in there is the choice. The traditionally French twist, the baguettes, the croissants, the éclairs, the croque monsieur et madame all fit. I remember when it first opened I had the fear it might fail on this Franco-feel, Trianon still burning in many a Hungarian heart. However, not enough of them, it would seem, care to, at least this, associate the food and culture with the travesty of war – and that’s a good thing. Thriving, I would say, A Table is as much a testament to Hungarian open-mindedness as it is to any good business plan. Being Buda side is obviously a plus with the up and coming all vying for real estate this side of town, and, with the traditionally wealthier classes hereabouts, any business plan with such culinary aspirations was bound to have a greater chance of success. Still it is nice to see its progress in slotting into the life of Retek utca and long may it continue. That I hold some of my classes here nowadays does in no way compromise me in regard of this critique…unless it gives me a discount. Oh how principles are thwarted by the promise of power!!!

A note to the negative: It can get cramped in here as mentioned but on a cold winter’s day this may turn out to be a little biased to the side of endearing. However, on a scorching summer’s day, with air-conditioning coming in the way of an open window this place may become stifling for many. That said give me the smell of croissants and other butter pastries at the death of my light over the stale stench of a butt-filled ashtray, or rancid spilt beer, any day.

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