On Saturday, Gy and I went to Csákvár, a 45-minute drive northwest of Budapest. The skies were a bit overcast, and the occasional rain drop marred the beautiful contrasts of settling fields and acres upon acres of sunflowers. Csákvár is a small village, population just over 5,000, and is home to an Esterházy castle (Esterházy being a noble family from the Kingdom of Hungary dating back to the Middle Ages).

But we didn’t go to Csákvár for the sunflowers or the castle.  We went for the Cukrászda in the village center. Csuta Cukrászda to be exact, where you will find the 2010 ICE CREAM OF THE YEAR! I feel that should be capitalized.

I foolishly forgot my fancy cam, so I had to take pictures with my iPhone 3Gs, which didn’t do such a bad job.

Csuta Cukrászda is located right in the center of the village. If you are driving there, which I assume anyone reading this blog would be doing, you basically enter the town, drive about 1/2 km down Kossuth u. and you will find it.

The purpose of the trip was to try the ICE CREAM OF THE YEAR!, which I think is as good a reason as any to take a day trip these days. The ice cream name is Házias Vidámság, which means “domestic cheerfulness.” Someone is going to ask, “well what’s in it,” but it was hard to tell.  If I said, “deliciousness,” that wouldn’t really settle the question. But I could definitely taste plum and maybe cinnamon. But I don’t want to guess. Just try it if you go, it will be worth it.

I indulged in a second scoop as well, but I forget the name. I think it was some kind of vanilla and cookie. It was delicious too. As you can see, the scoops are not American sized, which is a good thing. And I think each scoop was around 150 HUF, which right now is just less than 70 cents. Györgyi also had the ICE CREAM OF THE YEAR! in addition to a few others: cantaloupe and a chocolate cake ice cream.

The Cukrászda itself is located in what seems to be a little village house. The interior has 4 or 5 tables, lined with regional art work, a coat and newspaper stand. Above the ice cream and cake selection, trophies for ice cream wins are proudly displayed. In the back, there is a small garden with more tables, and a gym for working out your sugar buzzed kids.

When I went back inside after taking a few pictures, I noticed that Gy had ordered a second round. Pretty classic. Espresso and another chocolate cake scoop in a cone, this time.

For purely journalistic reasons (look what sacrifices I make for you, Internet!), we decided to take home a few of their cakes. It would be wrong to recommend driving that far out of the comfortable city if we didn’t give people the whole picture, right?

Gy had a classic Hungarian cake called Mézes zserbo in addition to a chocolate, punch & sprinkles cake (not official name). I had a chocolate cream and some kind of chocolate ball with fudge in the center. They were all delicate and creamy. You can tell that they are made fresh and with the kind of care taken by someone who is really passionate about what they do.

If you are looking for a quirky afternoon trip, or are in the mood for a great ice cream stop when on your way from Budapest to Vienna or other northwestern Hungarian towns, I highly recommend pulling into Csuta Cukrászda. Spending an afternoon in a small village with one of life’s little pleasures is never a bad use of time, even for you most hardened of city-dwellers.

Csuta Cukrászda
8083 Csákvár, Kossuth u. 20.
(22) 255 398