Pining for Pogacsa

It was a chilly grey afternoon in Budapest and a friend and I were sipping some whiskey in the Parliament Café near Kossuth ter. We heard some French speakers in the booth across from us during the brief hushes in our chat.

These visitors to Hungary wanted something to snack on. The bartender kindly offered them counsel on the available nibbles, first explaining this country's beloved pogácsa.

I piped in. "That's a truly Hungarian thing to eat. Maybe not the healthiest thing - but wonderfully salty and filling."

Needless to say, these tourists chose the pre-packaged croissant despite my pleas.

It seems these days it's more and more difficult to find a decent pogácsa. The best kind are flaky yet heavily laden with oil, which you can break off and eat in cross sections. The worst, mostly seen in supermarkets, seem to be nothing more than a baked bun with some sort of afterthought sprinkled on top.

My favorite is the 'sajtos' or cheese pogácsa. The cheese on top is usually toasted and crunchy. There is also the infamous "tepertős" pogácsa, made with a load of FAT and more than a smidgin' of pepper. I'm not the biggest fan of those and neither is my heart.

I've found an incredible sajtos pogácsa at a bakery on Moricz Zsigmond körtér, just to the left of the McDonald's. Now when I'm in the area, I go in for a 'pogi' even if I'm not hungry, because they're such a treat. Check it out!