Monday, February 9, 2009

Gluten Free in Budapest




We loved Budapest! And eating Gluten free was very easy. I carried around a card explaining Celiac Disease and the need for a strict gluten free diet in Hungarian. It was obvious that Europeans have a much better understanding of both the Celiac Disease and the diet. Every time I presented the card the restaurant staff nodded and said, "Yes, no problem".  And I enjoyed a number of ethnic dishes including gulyás, gulyás stew, chestnut puree and lots of pork. Pork must be the national meat in Budapest and unlike the lean white meat we get here, Hungarian pork is red and very fatty, which was delicious! We took a tour of several markets including the Central Market Hall with Carolyn Bánfalvi, a food and wine expert who wrote The Terroir Guide, Good Wine Budapest, my primary guide book to Budapest! Carolyn is an American, living in Hungary with her husband and two children. She arranged dinner reservations for us and took us on a day tour of the markets.

8 comments:

Quirky Nomad said...

Hi! Thank you for this great gluten-free blog. I suspect that I might have Celiac Disease. I have been labeled as a "picky eater" my whole life, and unfortunately learned to accept that label instead of looking for healthier options. I've always intuitively avoided bread and other products containing wheat, but have been eating it a lot because of the convenience. After a serious allergic episode, I decided to get this checked out and design a diet that works for me.

I came across this entry while searching for gluten-free Hungary. I have a trip coming up and was getting anxious, thinking that going out to eat would be a hassle, not to mention frustrating experience. But your post made me more optimistic. Thanks!

sweetpea said...

Hi Ana,
Thanks for the comments. I would be happy to email you some additional tip and links if your interested, just let me know how to contact you. We are going back again in January. It is a wonderful city and I think you will find it very easy to navigate gluten free!

Anonymous said...

Hi Ana,
I just came across your blog during my search for gluten free restaurants in Budapest. I am an American Expatriate living in Budapest with my family. My mother-in-law and nephew, both of whom have Celiac's disease, are coming to visit us separately in December and January. I was wondering if you can recommend restaurants and anything else that might be helpful to me when taking them around town. Also, how did you get a card explaining the gluten free diet and how did you get it translated in Hungarian??? Any help would be much appreciated!! My email address is julie @thegarbarinos.com. Thanks, Julie

Anonymous said...

Great post Sweetpea!
We are going on a Danube Riverboat Cruise in a couple weeks, our first stop Budapest in a hotel for 2 nights. You mention having a card "explaining Celiac Disease and the need for a strict gluten free diet in Hungarian".
I am gluten-intolerant and wondering where I could obtain such a card ?? How I wish I could speak Hungarian! HELP!

sweetpea said...

http://www.celiactravel.com/gluten-free-cards/19-hungarian.html

http://www.celiactravel.com/imgs/hungarian.gif

sweetpea said...

Hope those links work. If you provide an email address I can send additional information to you. Do not worry about the language, almost everyone speaks English, especially in restaurants!

Nathan said...

Do you by any chance remember the names of the restaurants you went to? My wife and I are traveling there and have a pretty tight budget, but she is GF so I need to make sure she enjoys the food as much as I can. My email address is n.vandegraaff@gmail.com Thanks!

CNL said...

I came across your blog when I was searching on the internet for glutenfree restaurants in Budapest, as I am planning to visit the city for a few days and to visit some friends. I would like to take these friends out for dinner in a glutenfree restaurant. Any tips are very welcome. My email address is cnl543@gmail.com.

Many thanks in advance!

Warm regards,
Cindy