I also heard of one near Kossuth ter, I think in front of the Ministry of Justice, and one at the Werkele housing estate in the 19th district on Thursday afternoons. All the sellers we chatted with at the Szimpla Haztaji Piac were exceedingly friendly and happy to chat. While crowded, we never had to szimplakert haztaji piac wait in line.

Most sellers had samples out to try. While not an organic market, there were a few sellers of organic vegetables and baked goods. There were a surprising amount of sellers offering vegetables, fruit, a lot of cheese makers, baked goods, honey, sorp...I bought some red wine goat cheese from Hortig Rezso and Bertok Zsuzsa (20dk for about 500 huf).

They had a wide range of interesting cheeses, like orda, green pea, walnut, almond, thyme, paprika, dill and garlic; and can be found weekdays at the Rakoczi ter market (except Mondays). But there must have been 6-7 cheese producers there. Eggs were 30-35 huf each, about 5-10 huf cheaper than the average now. I also purchased some roasted pumpkin seeds with garlic (small bag for 220 huf) to use the next time I bake bread.

The ambiance was very relaxed, aided by a live cool jazz band, a kids program and workshops. Many people did as we did, and bought a lot of bits and bobs, ordered some coffee at the bar, and took it to a table in the back garden and had brunch. I had a turos taska, organic olive and onion pogacsa and a pumpkin seed pogacsa with a coffee and later a tall cold lemonade. It was almost like being back at the organic market in Amsterdam.

While I still plan on doing most of my shopping at the Hunyadi ter market on Saturdays, I could very well just hang out at the Szimpla Piac on Sundays.

Source: Treehugger Dan's Positive Blog

Treehugger Dan's Bookstore & Cafe is Hungary's premier English language secondhand book store; purveyor of Fair Trade organic coffees and teas; and promoter of English language culture hosting weekly events such as concerts, theater, book launches and wine tastings.