The faded grandeur of Budapest's beautiful Palace District – the downtown section of District VIII – is a lively inner-city hive of urban living, and a hub for gastronomical and cultural activities. While this part of town is usually filled with university students and locals going about their daily routines, regular special events here such as beer and wine festivals are drawing increasingly more people to appreciate this enchanting neighborhood. The ongoing series of "Palace Picnic" events are increasingly successful, and the next edition – on August 8, 9, and 10 – focuses on two Hungarian culinary icons: "lecsó" and "fröccs".
What is "lecsó"?Lecsó (pronounced "letcho")
is a very popular Hungarian dish – there
are
about 300 known recipes, although most Magyars who cook it have their own special style featuring
different spices and vegetables. A
s a
traditional summertime
meal
in Hungary, lecsó
is
essentially
a stew of tomatoes and paprika, but meat can be added like frankfurters or Vienna sausage (known here as "virsli"). Smoked chunks of meat are often added,
and sometimes lecsó is eaten with a fried egg. Rice or big hunks of fresh white bread are usually served with this zesty Hungarian staple.
For this weekend's festivities,
Palace District restaurants Don Leone, Zappa Cafe, Fiktív Gastropub, Darshan udvar, and Nothing But The Blues Pub are all cooking up huge pots of their special lesc
ó
recipes, and they will offer bowlfuls on
their terraces.
Those who print out and bring
this coupon will receive
a
free lecsó sample
on Friday night between 6pm and 8pm. On Saturday, organizers aim to make the world's hottest lecsó, and from 6pm there will be an eating competition for those who dare to take part. On Sunday there'll be a cooking competition between noon and 3pm.
What is "fröccs"?
Hungary's most revered
summertime thirst-quencher
is known as fröccs (pronounced fruutch) – a type of wine spritzer prepared with many different proportions of wine to water, chosen depending on the drinker's desired consumption levels. Usually
fröccs
is
made with ros
é
or white wine (and occasionally with
red wine), mixed with varying amounts of soda water,
with many different playful names for the different compositions of each concoction. Here are some of the most well-known recipes: 300 ml Nagyfröccs ("Big Fröccs"):
2 dl wine and 1 dl soda water
Kisfröccs ("Small Fröccs"):
1 dl wine and 1 dl soda water
Hosszúlépés ("Long Step"):
1 dl wine and 2 dl soda water Half-liter Háziúr ("Landlord"): 4 dl wine and 1 dl soda water Házmester ("Caretaker"):
3 dl wine and 2 dl soda water
Viceházmester ("Reverse Caretaker"):
2 dl wine and 3 dl soda water
Sportfröccs ("Athlete's
Fröccs"):
1dl wine and 4dl soda water 1 liter Krúdy Fröccs (named in honor of bibulous Hungarian writer Gyula Krúdy):
9dl wine
and 1dl soda water
Avasi Fröccs (named after a Hungarian hill dotted with many wine cellars):
7dl wine
and 3dl soda water
Polgármester ("Mayor"):
6dl wine
and 4dl soda water
Alpolgármester ("Deputy Mayor"):
4dl wine
and 6dl soda water
Maflás ("Silly"):
5dl wine
and 5dl soda water
Sóherfröccs ("Cheapskate Fröccs"):
1dl wine
and 9dl soda water
There's also something called the Macifröccs ("Teddy Bear Fröccs"),
where different types of flavored syrups are added.
For this weekend's Palace Picnic, several Hungarian wineries will quench the thirst of visitors with refreshing fröccs served in all possible proportions. In addition to
the wine drinks, there'll also be an uncommon selection of spritzers made with
vodka, whiskey, and beer.
How to get thereThe Palace Picnic "Lecsófröccs" Festival will be held in the open areas of District VIII around Mikszáth Kálmán Square, Krúdy Gyula Street, and Szentkirályi Street.
Entry is free, while food and drink are offered at various prices. Check out the official Facebook page for more details.
The Kálvin Square metro stop (for lines M3 and M4) and tram stop (47 and 49) is a convenient gateway for accessing this area. From the other direction, disembark from trams 4 or 6 at the Harminckettesek Square stop, and you're just a few minutes away.
