On a recommendation, we went out for a ridiculously-fancy dinner with my cousin (L) and her boyfriend (E) while in Budapest. It was at Costes, a restaurant with a Michelin star, and they pulled out all the stops. It was the second-most-expensive meal of our relationship (that we paid for), and I left feeling like I would next need to eat in 2015. (Sadly, that feeling passed.) It was a four-course dinner, plus three ‘surprises’ and wine pairings for the guys. And on to the food pr0n:

Surprise #1

Flavored Butters: Regular (off-white), Paprika (dark orange), Pesto (green), Olives (brown), Duck fat (light orange)

Surprise #2

Amuse-bouches: (Forgot to take photos!)

• Cone of salmon tartare
• Macaroons with campari filling
• Can’t remember!
• Can’t remember!

Course #1

(Forgot to take photos!)

• Ravioli with ricotta and spinach filling (L and B)
• Foie gras with watermelon (E)
• Perch with pumpkin, squash, and sage (me)

Course #2

John Dory ceviche with kohlrabi and tapioca (L) Sea bass with artichokes, potato gnocchi, and Italian lard (E and B)

Veal with carrots, ginger, and gem lettuce (me)

Course #3

Lamb with zucchini, goat cheese, and lamb tortellini (L and B) Cheeses with jams: fig, chestnut, sherry, grape(me)

Pigeon prepared two ways: with beets and with coffee (E)

Dessert

Cheesecake with lemon verbena, made to look like a peach (L and me) Selection of chocolates (B)

Passionfruit custard with lemon cream, fondant, and pineapple sorbet (E)

Surprise #3

“Petits Fours:” aloe vera juice, chocolate biscuits, pistachio fudge

Favorites

• Mine were the pumpkin things in course #1 and the fig jam in course #3. There wasn’t anything I disliked, except maybe the macaroon with campari, but only because I don’t like campari.
• B refuses to pick favorites: he liked the balance of it all, he says. He thought the wine pairings were great too.

Definitely an excellent experience, if you’re up for saying goodbye to a paycheck or two. We’re much pickier about what we eat, since this meal: for example, breakfast is out for at least a few months.