Budapest is merging its two trending gastronomic movements, street food and vegan, to set up another annual meat- and dairy-free snack hub in the Jewish District. Food-truck portal Vegan Garden has just reopened for the spring, bringing chili non carne, magic mushroom burgers and aubergine shakshukas. We speak to key vegan chef Kristóf Steiner, one of the prime movers behind the venture.
Bustling by day and especially after sundown, lengthy Dob utca is where the urban crowd goes drinking and dining, and where tourists merge with savvy locals. Wedged between the street’s iconic eye-shaped mosaic and a much-photographed mural depicting a heart is a metal gate now opening out into a haven of vegan cuisine.
Launched last year and aptly called Vegan Garden, this convivial culinary space provides a permanent parking spot for food trucks selling concoctions from around the world, Mexican, American, Indian, even Hungarian, all plant-based.
The highlight is a truck, purple and white, run by vegan gastronomy celebrity and founder of English-language blog White City Boy, Kristóf Steiner, who has also written a trio of easy-to-grasp vegan cookbooks. His new outlet, Kristóf’s Kitchen, is a welcome venture among the Vegan Garden eateries.
“I offer ten of my popular international dishes here that are normally not found in one place,” explains Kristóf. “Among the treats are Indian palak paneer, but instead of its ordinary ingredient, cheese, we make it with a very exciting smoky tofu. Then we also have the so-called hummus mashawsha, served with whole chickpea pieces and a spicy topping of onion and garlic. For breakfast guests I offer shakshuka with chickpea omelette.”
Eating out at Kristóf’s is undoubtedly a culinary journey around the globe and what he has cooked up for Vegan Garden are not the classic grab-and-go treats you would see at any food truck. “Our hedonists’ plate is a combination of three or four courses from the menu. For dessert, I serve a vegan cheesecake and sweet treat called Snickers. I simply refer to it as death by chocolate,” he jokes.
Based in Tel Aviv most of the year, Kristóf had to recruit a team of similarly passionate foodies to take care of the truck’s daily operation and maintain service standards and food quality. This also ensures that his eatery on wheels won’t lose its original concept, driven by Kristóf’s never-ceasing appetite for innovation.
“I always try to add a new twist to my own recipes and I never make a dish twice the same way,” he says.“Using available ingredients during a particular season is what matters. I expect the same creativity from my staff so they can add their own personality to each recipe. This way my business won't turn into a vegan chain where everything is standardised.”
While Kristóf used to have a vegan kiosk in a food court elsewhere in Budapest, rolling out his new serving station at a vegan-only space is a dream come true. “When I think that any time that I'm in Hungary I can have a feast here with my family and friends here, that makes me feel good.”
And this is where most vegans would concur. Vegan Garden is not only for those going fully plant-based, but omnivorous visitors who don’t mind cutting down on their meat consumption will also be in for a treat. Specialising in Mexican food, Vexicana sells vegan quesadillas, while Las Vegan’s offers burgers free from ingredients of animal origin.
You’ll also find smoothies, ice cream and the Hungarian’s favourite kürtőskalács chimney cake, a rolled pastry, dusted with cinnamon, oats or chia seeds, perhaps even featuring the colours of a unicorn. In stylish and sustainable fashion, all treats are served on eco-friendly plates.
