I know, I know. I'm slacking. I'm in a deep hole with tons of food pictures, and it's looking like I will never catch up. The good news is I'm graduating on Sunday, then doing a bunch of awesome travelling through the summer (Vancouver, HK, Tokyo, Kyoto, Beijing, Manila). Which means even more food pictures... I'll figure something out though.
So onto the first dinner in Budapest, aka night of foie gras indulgence. We went to the much-loved Cafe Kor, around the corner from the St. Istvan Cathedral. The place has been around for a long time, and has a reputation for delivering solid, realiable versions of classics with first-rate service. I also read it's frequented by a lot of expats and tourists, but is still a great place to eat. The restaurant was quite a bit smaller than I was expecting, and very bustling. I heard maybe 4 or 5 different languages going on at other tables. They had a big board on the wall with what must have been 20 specials, so I'm assuming their menu must change with some frequency. Anyway, I was extremely eager to eat some foie gras, after hearing that it is Hungary's national delicacy. 
foie gras pate - Huf 2380 Simply put, this was the largest serving of foie gras I've ever seen. I would have expected about 1 of these slices for an appetizer, and 3 was just monstrous. Mike and I had quite a bit of trouble eating it all. It was very good, with a nice smooth texture and a strong livery flavor. The accompanying bread, not pictured, was delicious - loafy and perfect for picking up the spread. 
fresh salmon carpaccio with red caviar - Huf 2190 Mike had this huge plate of salmon carpaccio for an app - again, probably the biggest carpaccio serving of any kind that I've seen in my life. I only had a bite and it was quite good. Red caviar seems to mean ikura, I guess. Mike cleaned the plate off. 
roasted foie gras with apples, cranberries and potatoes - Huf 3580 I couldn't resist ordering a foie gras main dish - I wanted to try both cold and hot ones. And after that huge appetizer, I was almost scared of the foie gras overload that was about to confront me. This foie gras main was really frickin' good though - reminiscent of the foie gras dish at Aqua in SF, with a touch more char to it. I was extremely full but I managed to down the foie and most of the potatoes, which had soaked up lots of the foie gras oil and flavor. The apples were good for cutting the heaviness every few bites. I wish I was in town for a bit longer; there is a ton of stuff on Cafe Kor's menu that I'd like to try. They're supposed to make a mean version of goulash, and they had a bunch of interesting meat/potato stuff that I'd enjoy. Perhaps next time...