Budapest’s new Find Food blends healthy eating and authenticity

Behind the counter stands Gábor Török and “Joci” Gergely Csóti, who met three years ago at Bors Gasztrobár. Gábor graduated with a degree in hospitality and catering, and worked in the countryside, as well as at Semmi Extra and Stika as a chef. He tells us about their kitchen and mission in a competent, enthusiastic way, describing every detail: they work with street food but break away from the basic fast-food formula (they don’t use a deep-fryer at all). Instead, they aim to use modern kitchen technology and French techniques: they thicken the pottage with starch instead of flour, and obtained a blast chiller which they use to increase the shelf life of foods even further. However, they will rarely need this latter function, because since their opening on March 16th, business is booming: more and more people drop by for a sandwich, pottage, soup, or just a cup of coffee, which is largely due to the students of the nearby University of Veterinary Science and McDaniel College.

The influence of Bors and Hokedli are easy to notice in the foods, alongside some important inspiration from Jamie Oliver (one of his cookbooks decorates the counter), for healthy, “reform street food”. Additionally, the composition of the menu is affected by personal reasons, as well: Gábor is lactose intolerant, so regular milk is replaced by alternatives.

Thanks to the masses of foreign scholars, the restaurant’s most popular item is the quick-to-make sandwich (890 HUF), although more and more students take a liking to cooked food – either soup (which costs 1,390 HUF with a sandwich) or pottage, which also costs 890 forints, including toppings. The ciabatta of the saucy, filling sandwiches are smeared with their homemade green and red pesto; the jalapeño in the slightly pungent, delicious pulled-pork sandwich comes from the chili farm of Sárréti Udvar, but they also have chili from the elderly neighbor lady. We also tasted a sandwich with chicken and one with avocado cream, although the selection includes a salmon version, as well.The foods reflect a health-conscious approach, but the boys don’t overdo the trendy stuff. They make gluten-free dishes every once in a while, but the kitchen isn’t sterile – they use traditional flour to make the desserts. Find Food always has lactose-free and vegan options, and when it comes to sandwiches and toppings, they deliberately use chicken thighs instead of breasts. “Everyone eats chicken breast with chicken breast, so other body parts are treated as scraps in Hungarian slaughterhouses. This doesn’t mean that chicken thighs are bad, but the demand is different. But we think thighs are tastier: first, we seal in the juices at a high temperature, then braise the meat at a low temperature to keep it saucy and more flavorful, unlike chicken breast, which we can only flavor on the outside,” Gábor explains.

In addition to soups, the restaurant also offers daily specials, which at the time of our visit was barbecue spare ribs and corn pottage with chili and smoked cayenne pepper, and thickened with mayonnaise. However, they also had ratatouille with rice, French lentil pottage, cold fruit soup, chicken soup, and cream of broccoli soup with pesto. They have had pork chops with polenta and Indian chicken curry on the menu, and on weekends, they offer more traditional yet innovative Hungarian dishes, such as beef stew with bulgur or fried catfish with cauliflower puree and cheese sauce. As for international cuisine, they try to stay authentic and make Mexican chili beans with red beans and beef neck, thickened with cocoa; the curry is prepared with traditional Indian ingredients; and since many of the students are German, they also sell currywurst with hash browns.

The drink selection features the artisanal beers of Szintézis and Italian Carraro coffees, and the dessert was egg- and honey-free vegan carrot cake with chopped Turkish hazel on the day of our visit. Everything is prepared for takeaway, but nonetheless, we can sit down and eat at the counter. In addition to the helpful, friendly service, the guys provide every visitor with free hand sanitizer and refillable lemonade, as well.
Find Food
Address:
Budapest 1078, István utca 5
Opening hours:

Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm; Saturday, 9am - 3pm; Sunday, closed
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