Last week I had a business lunch at Il Terzo Cerchio near on Dohany u. near Blaha. One could not have asked for a better renovation - the high-domed brick interior is really beautiful. Recently relocated from smaller premises, Ben wanted to go and have is gorgonzola fuszili. Unfortunately, the dish did not make the move with the restaurant. The riccotta stuffed ravioli with sage and butter was very good, but for about 6 pieces at 2400 huf it was outrageaously expensive. Pizza and pasta are two of the cheapest dishes you can find, usually under 1200 huf anywhere in Budapest, but at Cerchio's they average 2400. The waiter, while friendly, did not seem to speak
either Hungarian or English very well, and he forgot (and we never received) half our order.
Going with the Italian theme, we split a very good bottle of Nero D'Avola 2007 from from Caruso & Minini in Marsala, Sicili. Nero D'Avola is Sicili's most popular red grape, but until the 1980s, commercial use of Nero d'Avola was dedicated almost exclusively to fortifying weaker reds in France and northern Italy. Often, wines from this varietal were syrupy, with an alcohol content reaching 18%. The grape is often compared to Syrah. I was excited to find a good full-bodied red wine (14% alcohol) this week and it went down a treat. At 4500 huf (retails for about 7.5 euro in Italy) it was also the cheapest on the wine menu. I am going to be on the lookout for Nero d'Avola in the future.