We are somewhat creatures of habit. Most Saturday evenings when in Budapest, unless invited out or at a concert, the opera, the ballet or, occasionally, the theatre (we have to know a play really well to see a performance given in Hungarian), we find ourselves in Rosenstein, a long established and highly regarded family-run restaurant close to Keleti pályaudvar, the Eastern Railway Station.
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| The welcoming lights of Rosenstein |
This has, over several years, become a routine - eagerly anticipated throughout the week - and where we are welcomed by the exceptional staff, greeted by the owner and given the same table which is large enough to accommodate up to two others on the occasions when we invite friends to join us.
The menu is wide and varied with dishes to tempt the most discerning palate. In addition, a ‘Specials’ board, which changes every few weeks, is a further temptation. But now, in November, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Martin which, traditionally, includes the cooking of geese. For this, each year, the restaurant has, over and above the normal menu, its specialty Saint Martin dishes (we apologise to those who prefer not to eat meat - there are always excellent vegetarian options).
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| The Feast of Saint Martin at Rosenstein |
In all the years of dining at Rosenstein we have never been disappointed, nor were we this last Saturday when after a first course (one of us goose confit, the other a mixed salad) we both opted for the roast goose breast which could not have been more delicious.
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| Roast goose breast cooked to perfection served with a Tokaji sauce |
Normally we resist a pudding. But on this occasion we were intrigued by the description, roughly translated, as chocolate goose leg. Any resemblance to any part of a goose was, perhaps happily, not immediately recognisable but the taste, of the lightest chocolate enveloping sour black cherries, was out of this world. Utter perfection!
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| The chocolate pudding, we shared, with additional ice cream |
Rosenstein rightly deserves its reputation, built up over more than a quarter of a century and during which time it has received numerous awards. Everyone, from the celebrities whose pictures line one wall, to the traveller coming from the train station in search of dinner, is afforded the warmest of welcomes. It is, in our view, a Nemzeti Kincs (National Treasure) and long may it thrive.
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| Rosenstein continues to win many awards |
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| The celebrities gallery in a corner of the restaurant |
I have never had goose, curiously I watched an episode of Iron Chef America where goose was to be utilized in five different ways. I did once have peasant and that was the best dish I have ever had.
ReplyDeleteDarling Linda,
DeleteWe can certainly recommend goose as not only delicious but also a welcome change to chicken of which we tend to eat rather a lot. On this particular occasion, the goose was served with a quince sauce which was a perfect accompaniment.
Yes, we like pheasant too but it can be rather fiddly with so many small bones, not to mention the gunshot pellets. A relative used to make pheasant pie which was a delicious treat and very much a flavour of autumn.
Hello Jane and Lance, Your post reminds me of my great-aunt Sari (I think she was born in Hungary), who also roasted a goose as her contribution to the family Thanksgiving. When it was held at my house, I always made a stock later from the carcasses of chickens, turkey, duck and goose, that had an unusually rich flavor.
ReplyDeleteI used to have some favorite restaurants in Taipei, but many have closed or are too difficult to get to, especially when considering the constant rain here. I am not really a restaurant person anyway, preferring to relax at home.
--Jim
Darling Jim,
DeleteIt does sound as if your great-aunt could have been Hungarian. Her name would certainly suggest so as first names are often shortened with an 'i'. So, Feri, Sari, etc.etc.
The stock sounds perfect. Luckily here we can get lots of chicken and turkey bits and pieces which make wonderfully delicious stock material for sauces and gravy.
We can well understand a preference for relaxing at home than venturing out to a restaurant. Now, after so many years, Rosenstein has become a home from home for us, so it is just like eating at home without the shopping, the preparing and the washing up!!
Hi again, That last comment was from me. I don't know why Google is now always reverting to not-signed-in status on blogs, and so the comments are rendered anonymous. If we are supposed to think that they are not tracking our every move so closely any more, we are not so easily fooled.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Darling Jim Again,
DeleteWe always recognise your comments. Endlessly kind and thoughtful whether they arrive 'Anonymously' or via 'Parnassus', we are always delighted to hear from you.
We have long since abandoned hope of ever understanding how social media in all its guises actually works...or does not work. It is a miracle to us that across this virtual sea, like-minded individuals across the globe can still find each other.:):)
It's a wonderful thing to have a restaurant like this, that maintains its standards over the years, where you are known, welcomed and always leave satisfied. I hope it continues thus for many years to come. I doubt that I will ever be in Budapest, but should it happen, I will insist on going there!
ReplyDeleteDarling David,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Yes, we absolutely agree that it is the consistency of standards that make us return time after time and which, sadly, many restaurants simply do not deliver. At Rosenstein, the owner is the chef and all the members of the family are involved. That, we think, makes it very special and it is interesting to note that the restaurant is filled with locals as well as tourists.
Perhaps we shall eventually tempt you to make the journey to Budapest ....there are many delights in this magical city.
Dear Jane and Lance, I enjoyed reading your post and your description of your experience eating goose on St. Martin's Day. I thought of something I should write to you.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend was born in early November, so it's close to St. Martin's Day. Plus, his name is Martin. So we usually go to a restaurant to eat goose and celebrate him.
There were four of us with the two guests to have lunch together. But we also saw that almost everyone in the restaurant ordered goose.
It was delicious. We got prune dumplings with the meat.
Rosenstein really has inviting lights. I like the opening picture too.
Thank you for visiting my blog and your words there. Éva
Darling Éva,
DeleteThank you for your kind and thoughtful comment.
What a wonderful tradition it is to celebrate your own Martin's Day feast with goose. We generally think that the thought of roasting a goose in one's own kitchen is overwhelming and so it is often avoided. This makes eating goose at a restaurant a really special treat and, doubly so when you are celebrating a birthday too. Win Win.
Hi Jane and Lance. That restaurant sounds wonderful! I can't read the menu obviously, but the food certainly looks and sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteDarling Jeanette,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
The reverse of the menu had the dishes listed in English but we thought that the Hungarian made our post look exotic.:):) Although Hungarian is a near impossible language to learn, our food vocabulary is very good....no surprise there!!
Everything was delicious. We were somewhat doubtful about the "Goose Leg Cake" but that turned out to be a triumph of chocolate mousse and sour cherries...thankfully!
Oh, you have entertained me for HOURS!!! My "between Eight-and-Twelve" Furnace checker-upper is to appear momentarily I am told, and I have whiled the morning with three cups of Eight O'clock and this rich, sumptuous post.
ReplyDeleteI was immediately caught up with memories of Dear Kinsey Milhone, whose only foray out into cuisinical things was an occasional Quarter-Pounder and visit's to ROSIE'S CAFE for whatever fragrant concoction the determined proprietor could urge or Noodge upon her--I see you have a possible lost relative there in your Rosenstein (you know my clickety brain's quirk of associating things with arcane other things at the drop of a Nokedli).
My thoughts skewed to her encounters with several arcane Paprika-laden dishes urged on her by Rosie, but also they went to DEAR Mrs. Kowalski, set down somehow into our tiny Mississippi Delta community, and thriving in a little country store which stocked "Kabaza" and "Versely" right in the case with the Souse and Baloney. We learned to love those foreign flavors and she gave me several cooking lessons for Dumplings and started the whole community on stir-frying cabbage instead of boiling it to mush, bless her. (I think I was the first non-Asian in the whole area to have a wok).
Your sparkling evenings out---both dressed in your mysterious, seductive BLACK come to me as brightly as the Dinner Clubs of Forties Movies, with the ladies' gloves encircled by a diamond bracelet from an admirer. A float of Chanel in the air from the patrons and the scent of that goose---I know they take a while to roast; do you while away the time with a second Martini or toy with a fabulous salad until the bird arrives? I've cooked pert nigh every game there is, but never a goose---Dickens whetted my salivaries at an early age, but Turkey or a big old Roasting Hen for us. Even our ducks were the wild kind---dark of meat all over and rich with rendering fat--though we raised our own hundred or so over the years, they all went to the lake miles away (tale of transport told in LAWN TEA way back in time) and we didn't ever eat one of "ours" that I know of.
I've intruded on your afternoon quite enough with my reminiscent blather as I await the forces of Prometheus to sort out our fire. I'll close with my chosen charming thing for the day: I SO LOVE that the first item on that tempting menu translates to "DRAGONFLY FOR TWO." Please say you've ordered that.
Darling Rachel,
DeleteThank you so much for your wonderfully heartwarming comment on this chilly Budapest evening.
We learn so many new and wonderful things from your posts, thoughts and comments, but one thing we knew all along and now have confirmed is that Google Translate does NOT work very well in Hungarian.:):)
We did not have the "goose tasting plate for two" and are absolutely unsure what we would have done with a Dragonfly for two [not much meat on that as an aged relative would say]. Nevertheless, the "rillettes' [thankfully in French and like a paté, also French] was delicious especially accompanied by the home-baked sour dough bread [no translation needed]. If Mrs.Kowalski had served that dish, then surely Kinsey Milhone would have come running or, at least, walking quickly to try it out.
Our daily help only the other day noted that black was the favoured colour for attire in the Hattatt household and she urged a more colourful ensemble to lighten the dreary days of a Budapest autumn. So, we ventured into grey for Rosenstein and, alas, no gloves although we continue to search for long, opera length gloves to accompany our Tabarros [made in Venice by the lovely Monica Daniele]. Whilst one of us is purely soap-scented, the other is drenched in Chanel No. 5, the perfume of choice for several decades.
So, there you have it....every last detail except that our table seats four and we would have had been delighted if you had been there to experience your first goose delicacy with not a dragonfly in sight.
P.S. The duck at Rosenstein is also good.:):)
We weren’t in Budapest long enough to find this lovely restaurant. It looks and sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteDarling Marie,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Oh, it is such a pity that you did not manage to sample the delights of Rosenstein. The restaurant is not very centrally situated but the power of social media brings many devotees from far and wide including plenty of locals.
The food was indeed delicious and we shall go for a repeat perfeormance this Saturday. Goose soup to start this week we think.
Jane and Lance, reading this description of a favorite restaurant and of the foods enjoyed was lovely given that I have only had duck, chicken, pigeon (squab sounds better), and turkey but never goose or even pheasant. It is very nice to have a favorite restaurant where you re recognized and warmly welcomed. We are within walking distance of many places to dine in downtown Nashua, and while we do enjoy dining out we do not do it often enough to be considered "regulars." That dessert would have been my choice as well. Dorothy aka beatrice
ReplyDeleteDarling Dorothy,
DeleteThank you for your kind comment.
It is interesting that many people outside Hungary have not tried goose, yet it is a very common item on the menus of most Hungarian restaurants. Served as it was with a quince sauce and cabbage stuffed pasta, it was totally delicious without being overwhelming.
We feel very lucky to be able to enjoy the regular treat of dining out which is much more affordable in Budapest than in England, even in a more modest establishment. Sometimes, the prices charged in England seem out of proportion and this does encourage one to eat at home. But, it is so wonderful to not have to do the washing up!
The dessert sounds simply wonderful!
ReplyDeleteDarling K,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
The pudding was advertised as "goose leg cake" and that intrigued us. In the end it was a chocolate mousse filled with sour cherries. The combination was perfect!
Oh my! This looks like such a lovely spot -- and your meal looks absolutely delicious. It's cold here in Michigan -- that roast looks so warming!
ReplyDeleteDarling Jeanie,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
You are absolutely right, the anticipation of a delicious roast goose dinner was so welcome on these decidedly chilly Budapest evenings.
Rosenstein is a lovely place to eat. Crisp white tablecloths, shining cutlery and glasses and staff who are attentive but not overwhelming. The food is always first class. It is family owned and run and it feels like home.
I've never had goose, but it certainly LOOKS delicious.
ReplyDeleteDarling Kirk,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
You are not alone. There seem to be a lot of people who have not tried goose....perhaps it is not usually on a menu. In Hungary, goose, usually accompanied by braised red cabbage, is a regular menu choice. Perhaps you will now be tempted to try!
It looks amazing. I have never tried goose, but I have had duck.
ReplyDeleteDarling LInda,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Looking at these comments, we are surprised that so many people have not eaten goose. It is often on menus in Hungary as well as duck. Both are exceptionally delicious but whereas duck is relatively easy to cook at home, goose is more problematic. So, it is a treat to eat it at a restaurant.
This sounds and looks quite wonderful, and I understand very well that you have made this your Saturday evening routine and look forward to it every week.
ReplyDeleteThe celebrity gallery at Rosenstein certainly shows a picture of the two of you, especially now that Lance is a famous author!
Here in Stuttgart, we have a Rosenstein park and a Rosenstein palace at its heart, once the residence of the king and queen of Wuerttemberg, nowadays a museum of natural history. It is a park I regularly and happily walk in on my way home after the routine check-up for my eyes.
My Mum usually makes roast goose this time of year, and most of all I love the stuffing - if she'd just put a bowl of that on the table, some sauce and a few home-made dumplings, I wouldn't even need the goose (although I admit it is delicious).
Darling Meike,
DeleteThank you very much for your comment.
Yes, we think ourselves lucky that we can enjoy this treat each week and it is certainly anticipated with great pleasure.
We are not to be found on the celebrity wall of Rosenstein [yet:):)] where we would be in the company of Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons. Indeed, Jeremy Irons has been in Budapest quite regularly for filming and attending art/photography exhibitions.
How intriguing that there is a Rosenstein park in which you regularly walk. We shall now think of you each Saturday as we make our way by trolleybus to the restaurant:):)
And, how wonderful your mother's roast goose sounds. Like you, we very much enjoy stuffing as an accompaniment to roast meats. That does not seem to feature very much here and we regularly bring packets of 'Paxo' back with us from England. That and Twining's tea are what we miss.
Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteLovely meal. How wonderful the restaurant keeps cooking, and people like yourselves keep patronizing it says a lot for the establishment. It's not always easy for a restaurant to win awards, they have to be consistent.
Love goose and tender it has to be.
Darling Margaret,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
We have been in Budapest for 25 years now and have, as you may imagine, seen a number of restaurants come and go in that time. It is, as you say, a credit to the consistency of service and food that Rosenstein not only keeps going but is thriving. There is always something new to tempt regular customers as well as having the favourites that people like to see and enjoy on the menu. Perhaps that is one of the secrets of its success.
Well, Margaret, you seem to be unique in our commenters as having eaten goose. Well cooked, we agree, it is delicious.
It feels a very long time since I visited your blog - but then mine has been neglected far too long. I realised the other day that I had bene writing it - on and off - for 18 years! Next year I hope to come to Budapest on my motorcycle - at least that's the plan!
ReplyDeleteDarling Mark,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
We have been away for far too long and we very much admire your record of 18 years in Blogland. It is wonderful to reconnect with our old blog chums, so do keep on posting!
We are delighted that you may come to Budapest next year and are sure that you will find much of interest. At least you can be sure of a good meal at Rosenstein. Whatever, do let us know when you are coming. It would be fun to meet in the real world.
That sounds like of the most interesting meals ever - but I am not sure what all was offered. There is so much more out there in the world - we will never see - if it weren't for blogs!
ReplyDeleteDarling Sandie,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
The other side of the menu was written in English, but we thought that the Hungarian looks so much more exotic:):) Essentially, the specials on offer are goose soup, roast goose and and a 'goose leg cake' which was an amazing concotion of chocolate mousse and sour cherries. Yes, a feast for St. Martin as well as ourselves.
And, you are so right about how Blogland takes us into so many other worlds. Although we may never experience some of the things in reality, nevertheless, we can travel and learn from the comfort of home.
Dear Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment on my latest post!
Like you, we are creatures of habit, always going to the same favourite places. And why not?
Rosenstein sounds like a wonderful place. I'm sure you know a word or two of Hungarian, but I'm still glad to read in your replies to comments that the other side of the menu was in English.
The goose dish looks delicious and who can say no to chocolate pudding? xxx
Darling Ann,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
In this world where so many seem to crave for new things all the time, it is refreshing to hear that you too seek out the familiar and cherish vintage items. We feel that by returning to places whether it be countries or restaurants, one makes a deeper connection and it raises the experience so much.
Yes, our food vocabulary, unsurprisingly, is very good in Hungarian. We only wish our conversational abilities were anywhere near as good. In fact this menu requires little interpretation because it is goose, goose and, of course, goose.:):)
We returned this week and repeated everything...we decided that the chocolate pudding was even more spectacular the second time around!