GYOR FOOD AND WINE

(55 wines tasted to date at the end of this blog)

My bus from Balatonfured arrived about 1 pm in Gyor.  Since I had not eaten breakfast I looked around for a nearby restaurant and found Kristaly.  This place gives a whole new meaning to soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch.

When I entered the restaurant I noticed that each and every table with diners seated at it held a huge metal bowl of soup.  The waiter took me to a table and before I could order here unbidden came my own soup.  My guess is that there is about a gallon of soup there.

The only menu was outside on the wall.  I had no clue what to order so I pointed to a fellow two tables away and told the waiter I would have what he was having.  (this method worked well in China, where few waiters and waitresses spoke English.  You were usually seated family style around a table with several other Chinese diners.  You looked around and pointed to what another person at the table was eating and that was what you got).

It looked like my neighbor was eating breaded fried fish, because he was dipping a piece that he had cut off into what I thought was tartar sauce.  When my entrée arrived, the breaded fried fish turned out to be cheese.  Two large triangles about ¾ inch thick were heavily breaded and crispy deep fried.   As I cut into one of them the semi melted slightly oozed out.  A little dab of mayonnaise on it and into the boca.  What an improvisation on a grilled cheese sandwich.

I had two or three bowls of the soup.  A mushroom broth with spätzle and carrots.   Fine fare.

I take you from that lunch to the fanciest dinner I have had thus far on my trip.  The night before I left I went to the Kisfaludy Wine bar and Restaurant.  TripAdvisor ranks it high.  I can see why.  As part of the chef’s credentials, aside from working in Paris for several years, he spent about three years working for Gordon Ramsey.

I chose the ‘diamond’ tasting plate. It had among other things caviar, an obscenely large serving of foie gras, a soft creamy cheese topped with a ginger-pumpkin fume, sliced ham with a fruity topping, a pot of cheese topped with preserves (that cheese was so strong it could have gotten up and walked around the plate), and several more items.  I have a two minute audio on my phone of the chef explaining each of the items on the tasting plate.

Each item was paired with a wine.  My first wine was a lovely light summer wine.  Floral bouquet and fresh.  The second was an interesting Riesling.  It had a strong grapey flavor not usually associated with the grape.  The wine held its own with the ham. 

Next came a pinot noir rose.  Never had one before.  This one had a pinot nose and pinot grape flavor.  What was interesting about this wine was its exceedingly dry finish.  It was a perfect foil for that really strong cheese.  The dry finish of the wine took away the strong cheese flavor that clung to the palate.

The next two wines were reds.  The first one was a fresh merlot that I began as I worked on the foie gras.  I then proceeded to drink the second red which was a Malbec.  If you put this Malbec, a product of Hungary, next to one from Argentina you would be astounded at the difference between the same grape grown in the two different countries.  To be sure terroir and other factors truly influence how the grape will taste in the bottle.  This one was more of a neighbor of a cabernet.  The nose and a bit of cherry and the taste hinted at a Cab.

The final wine was a Syrah.  Full, fruity and luscious.  I finally had to give up on the tasting plate, reluctantly leaving the last two items untouched.

During the dinner chef Csaba came out several times to chat about the food and wine.  Somewhere in one of those visits we started discussing the merits and demerits of Chardonnay.  I explained that I was a traditionalist and really enjoyed the heavily oaked French Chardonnay.  I said that I would also definitely drink an Australian Chardonnay.  But when it came to California Chardonnays I said that I thought the wine producers had bread much of the true nature out of the wine, probably I thought for the palate of the American customer.

He became animated.  He told me he had just finished writing a chapter in his upcoming book about Chardonnays, whereupon, he disappeared into the restaurant and reappeared holding a large balloon glass of wine.  “My favorite Hungarian Chardonnay”, he said, “on the house”.

I sniffed and sipped and told him it was truly a delightful wine.  The bouquet was lightly fruited.   The taste was as clean as could be and reminded me of a fine ‘Chablis’ I drank forty years ago.

We wound up with a ‘picture taking ceremony’.  He is the one standing.  I am the one seated and wondering if I’ll be able to stand up.