Does this woman serve Budapest’s best lángos fried-dough treats?

The markets of each city district are special places: locals go there to buy vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, and dairy products, sometimes every day. Hungarians are usually quite loyal to their local markets, and so it takes something extraordinary for someone to go out of their way to visit another neighborhood’s market, but after learning about Lacikonyha up in Újpest Market, we were happy to make the trip to northern Pest. It’s been 32 years since Jolika Nagyné Pintér opened her eatery here, and what started as a simple stand soon developed into a dining destination with six different profiles (nowadays we are talking about two locations). Jolika chose a career in the hospitality industry because of her grand uncle – originally, she wanted to be a doctor, but her life took a different turn. She met her husband because of her hospitality work, at the health spa resort on Margaret Island. Than an unmissable opportunity arrived to start running a food booth, and the couple found themselves at a market in Újpest, with lots of experience in the hotel business but none in operating an eatery.

Over the decades this has certainly changed, and it didn’t take long for them to become experts of Hungarian bean soup, grilled sausages, and especially lángos. Jolika became an icon of the eatery, as many people “recognize” her, and her fame extends beyond the Újpest Market – one time she was visiting somebody in a hospital, and a patient who spotted her expressed a craving for the famous bean soup of Lacikonyha. Another time, she was talking about her eatery while traveling, and when some nearby people overheard the conversation, they excitedly exclaimed that they knew Lacikonyha and have tasted their well-known specialties. Of course, during 32 years, a huge number of visitors became regulars, and Jolika knows each of them: when they visit her, she knows which flavors they prefer, and if she should pack another portion for them for takeaway.

Jolika also keeps an eye on new trends, and if she sees something she likes that could fit into her booth’s selection, she goes for it, so the whole place becomes more friendly and welcoming. That’s why she built a terrace for Lacikonyha and its sister eatery Lángosos, a charming locale featuring colorful chairs under the shady trees, and that’s how a mini-playground popped up in front of the place. And let’s not forget about the water bowls for thirsty dogs.

The selection of Lacikonyha ranges from vegetables to hearty ready-cooked meals; you can order almost anything that is filling, essentially Hungarian, and can be served for a reasonable price. For a “small” lunch special, you have to pay 600 forints, while the big version costs 790 forints. For a “cabbage cake”, you have to pay no more than 380 forints, a Brasov-style roast can be yours for 880 forints, and in the meantime you can drink tasty artisanal syrup-sodas instead of the factory-made varieties. To get started on our feast, we had a cold fruit soup with ice cream, and than we dug into a lángos – after all, that’s one of Jolika’s specialties. For a basic lángos, we have to pay only 280 forints, while if you want cheese and sour cream on it, that’ll set you back 480 forints – and it’s pretty much the best 480 forints you can ever spend. The sour cream is real and so thick that if you hesitate for a few minutes, it starts to harden. We tried another lángos with sour cream and greaves, and we didn’t wait a single minute before greedily devouring it. The famous lángos of Újpest isn’t greasy or oily, it’s just thick enough that every bite is satisfying without being too chewy, it’s generously topped, and it won’t make your stomach hurt afterwards. This high level of quality for Hungary’s most standard street food is not a surprise – after all, they’ve had 32 years to perfect their recipe.

But we can’t talk about a lack of innovation when it comes to these eateries: luckily, they do it in the best way – they keep the old favorites, but also add some new dishes to the menu from time to time. One of them is the stuffed lángos selection, among which the one named Kinizsi (680 HUF) was our favorite: they fill it with mustard, horseradish, and smoked trotters, and then comes the hot oil! Even though we loved it, our belly was full – but this left us with another reason to return. Jolika welcomed us back anytime, and she will recognize us, just like how she greets each of her visitors: with a big smile, no matter if it rains or snows.

The market is on the verge of a major renovation, so we don’t yet know if Lacikonyha will continue for another 32 years at booth number 105. Jolika admitted that there are times when she thinks that a modernization is long overdue here, and that she should finally retire, but at other times she can’t imagine herself not cooking for all of her regulars. As we watched her keeping busy in the kitchen, we can hardly imagine that the new market would lack Jolika and Lacikonyha.

UPDATE: The place ceased in 31st December, 2017.