The best langós in Budapest?

On a deserted car park in the outskirts of Budapest we found the best langós in Budapest. Well, at least that´s what our hosts Janko and Marco told us. And without having any prior experience, we have to admit it – they were delicious. With a calorie intake of at least 1000, and a feeling of a brick weighing down our tummies, we loved every bite.

A traditional langós is a piece of deep-fried bread filled with sour cream, garlic and cheese. But these days, you could also find a variety of other ingredients like black caviar, bacon, mushrooms, ham, chicken or cottage cheese. But nota bene, no Hungarian would ever touch that. They have only been created for the tourists in an attempt to make an extra buck, according to our hosts.

How was it traditionally prepared?

The name lángos comes from the Hungarian word láng, meaning "flame."

Historically, lángos was not deep-fried. When bread was baked in wood-fired ovens, bakers would take a piece of the bread dough and quickly bake it close to the fire or at the front of the oven before putting in the main loaves. The result was a flat, slightly charred bread that was eaten warm, often topped with lard, garlic, or sour cream.

Later, especially during the 20th century, the deep-fried version became more common because it was easier to prepare at markets and street-food stalls without large baking ovens. This is the version most people associate with lángos today.

In our book, you could read more about our food adventures in Eastern Europe.

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