Kolbice, we were savouring the pronunciation in front of the stand in the Downtown Market on Hold Street, and within minutes, we were also savouring the taste of the sausage-filled bread cones, which are a perfect fusion of Hungarian flavors, rich sauces and crispy little sausages.
The seed-sprinkled, whole wheat bread cones and its fillings – homemade mini sausages (in spicy Hungarian and Bavarian flavors), fresh sauerkraut and cheddar cheese sauce – come from Pilisszentiván. The idea was to create a practical Hungarian street food, which breaks away from the typical grease-laden offerings. The name "Kolbice" is a mixture of the Hungarian word for sausage, kolbász, and ice cream, referring to the cone shape of the treat.
Let’s face it: the biggest hungaricum, the fried sausage, we're used to enjoying at the butcher or the market tucked in a slice of bread with a dollop of mustard. It is definitely not a clothing-friendly lunch, and if we don't want grease all over our outfit, we better have a bib on, or arrive in pre-greased wear.
But now it's possible to eat a saucy sausage on the go without the worry. The answer hides in the fragrant, seedy bread cone used by the folks at Kolbice. The slogan "Rural flavors for the city” pretty much sums up the solution.
The ingredients of the basic Kolbice are whole wheat, seed-sprinkled Kolbice bread cone, filled with the classic ketchup-mustard-mayonnaise trio and six grilled, crispy, gluten-free, mini pork sausages. At this point, the dish costs 990 forints, but we can always order three toppings, as well, including fresh sauerkraut, onion and pudding-think cheddar sauce (100 forints per topping). For the extra careful (read: clean) eat Kolbice even more decently with tiny wooden forks. After all, at Kolbice, sausages and cleanliness are not mutually exclusive.
The idea and the ingredients both come from Pilisszentiván, but luckily, Kolbice opened its first eatery in Budapest back in February, as well. The first Kolbice stand is on the ground floor of Hold Street’s Downtown Market, but since then, the brand expanded and now we can eat their delicious sausage cones at four locations in the city, the others are at Ráday Street, Budafoki Street and Dohány Street.
We don't want to go overboard but this new Hungarian delicacy is truly perfect. Every ingredient works well together, and nothing is missing. Kolbice was present at several summer festivals and became a real hit with festival-goers, which is really no surprise. They also plan to offer miniature versions in some of Budapest's better pubs, as well as beer and wine bars. We fell in love with these sausage cones at first bite – grab one and you'll be smitten too.
