Time Out Budapest excerpt October 2012

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4 Time Out Budapest October 2012

Everyone knows these days Budapest hasbecome one big lm set. Thats great, i youdont mind spending all day waiting or a spe-cial eects team to detonate an M4 Battle

tank, beore you can park your car outside theoce. Anyway darlings, the trailer or the thin the wonderully ridiculous Die Hard series iseverywhere on the internets. In A Good Day

to Die Hard, Budapest doubles or Moscow.And Bruce Willis doubles as an actor whodoesnt just phone his lines in, but caresabout, you know, the work. And speaking odoubles, was that just a double or Bruciesbrother who was said to have completely

trashed his Budapest apartment?Speaking o trashed apartments, the sel-

styled all-American badass MichaelMadsen is part o the cinematic gem that isMagic Boys. Finally released, not long ater itsproducerGbor Koltai was reed rom housearrest or tax raud(!), we will withhold judge-ment until seeing i or ourselves. Still on the

topic o visitors rom Hollyweird, Budapest Filmhas been hosting a series o seminars with badboys such as Oliver Stoneand Hunmericanscreenwriter Joe Eszterhaz. Among his otherachievements, Eszterhaz scripted the lm thatis requently voted the worst turkey o all time,

Showgirls. 60something Eszterhaz and ellowpensionerAndy Vajna lost no opportunity oryukking it up onstage about the un they hadback in the day, researching Las Vegas strip-

tease clubs. Eugh.Its enough to drive a girl to whisky, but not

to cook with it that could land you in trouble.At least i youre a publican. Budapestsscotch and haggis consuming communitywere thrown into a tailspin recently when the

Hungarian Customs Agency announced theywould be closing down the Caledonian pubor two whole months, or the very grave sin ohaving an open bottle o scotch in the kitchen.Aside rom the act that open bottles o scotchin the kitchen are the basis o Celtic cuisine,(and a good time had by all), you might think

that customs would have better things to do.Yes,you might think that but Mitzi couldntpossibly comment. In any case, thanks to lastminute lobbying and some media coverage,

the Caledonian remains open, or now. But getyour neeps and single malt down you whileyou can. Och aye! This said in Mitzis bestHungarian/Scots accent o course.

Meanwhile, I see thatScott AlexanderYoung, who usually spends his every wakingmoment shilling his AXN TV series MaxsMidnight Movies, has penned this monthscover story, about what goes on behind closeddoors in Budapest. The members club BrodyHouse eatures prominently. But does Youngpause to consider that one o Brody Housesleading lights is about to surrender to thecharms o domesticity? Man about town, poloplayer and Brody House ounder PeterGrundberg is not only an expectant parent,with his inamorato the lovely actress KatiaBokor, but the two have announced theirengagement. Will pending parenthood andnuptials cramp his considerable style?Somehow we doubt it.

Bon vivants, celebrities and emissariesrom tinseltown may come and go, but thecapital remains a great place or those partial

to a drink or our. As anyone who studies theproperty market can tell you, the rise oBudapests ruined garden bars is in part due

to the crash and the reluctance o banks tooreclose and sell on. It seems banks andproperty owners would rather there wassomeone just paying the upkeep and or the

time being they orget about any meaningulyield. So it is, that on street ater street inBudapest you nd these magnicently shabbybuildings, with their aded glory, waiting orsomeone to bring them back to lie. Well, onemans trash is another mans treasure. It maybe its the ruined garden bars and their asso-ciated artistic endeavours, not the city plan-ners or bureaucrats, who actually hold the key

to the gentrication o the city. Who else willtake what were drab and oreboding streetsand bring them back to lie with young soulsull o energy and activity. Goodness! Thatsounded ever so serious didnt it? Well,beneath the veneer o tough, worldly cyni-cism, Mitzi cares darlings, she really does.

In any case, new bar openings around townin the last ew weeks have included Egy-kett Frccsliget with the Egy-kettBorbisztro restaurant part set to open at theend o October. Urimurihas fung open itsdoors next to Baldasztis, as soon will Zona(which also belongs to the Baldaszti group)over in Buda. Kzrt Bar (the old Rumpuncsbuilding on Erzsbet square) is already pack-ing them in, and the 8th district has its rstruined garden bar,Szuper8 with a surpris-ingly nice interior. Your dedicated correspon-dent intends to try them all and get back toyou about the ones she can remember

through a og o Frccs (wine and soda water).So until next time, remember, i you dont

have anything nice to say about anyone, comeand sit next to Mitzi Molnar.

Scene& HerdTime Outs new Gossip ColumnistMitzi Molnarreports


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October 2012 Time Out Budapest 5


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BehindClosed

Doors

While millions are drawn toBudapest every year as touristsand thousands of expatriatesmove here every year, some ofthis citys most fascinatingpeople and places remainclosed to them. This special

report lifts the lid on the townsprivate clubs, secret societiesand a fascinating inner life

BUDAPESTTHE SECRET

CITYby Scott Alexander Young


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Never speak disre-spectully o Society...Only people who cantget into it do that.Oscar Wilde

Youve tried every-

thing rom sippingve star Tokay atGundel, to downingUnicum shots in 7thdistrict ruined gar-den bars. Youve eat-en in at least one oBudapests Michelin

starred restaurants, and blazed a trailthrough the seven-night-a-week night-lie. Yet still you have a eeling thatyoure missing out on something: asense that this mysterious, enigmatic

city is concealing something romeven the most persistent o investiga-

tors. Well, theres a lot going on BehindClosed Doors that you wont nd writ-

ten up in the standard guidebook.Hence this introduction to the secretcity: We give you the clues, but its up

to you to crack the case yoursel.Lets begin where you may wish to

end up, with Budapests very own pri-vate members club - Brody House.This has been running since 2009,when two enterprising real estate andcreative entrepreneurs, WilliamClothier and Peter Grundberg, decided

that what this city needed was a meet-ing place or creative and successulindividuals rom both home andabroad. That idea has now grown intoa veritable phenomenon here inBudapest: one that straddles every-

thing rom polo matches to booklaunches; rom big, hedonistic parties

to private art showings. Their privateclub reaches out to a surprisingly widearray o Budapest society, with mem-bers that run the gamut rom highnance to Bohemia, lm producers toa proessional magician. Indeed,Brody House may well challenge someo your preconceptions about privatemembers clubs.

I dont care to belongto any club that willhave me as a member

Groucho Marx

Lets start by pointingout what Brody Houseis not. For one thing, iyour idea o a privateclub is usty old gen-

tlemen in three piecesuits, hidden behind

their newspaperswhile they snore in

leather armchairs, Brody House maycome as a revelation. On the other endo the spectrum, neither is Brody likeone o those London media and

adland clubs, uelled by over-priceddrinks, orbidden substances inhaledin lavatory stalls and massive, collid-ing egos.

Instead, a trip up the stairs at theirBrody Sandor premises is a little bitlike visiting someones private home,

where salons are regularly held. Thatsomeone would have to be someonearistocratic, with the connections andresources to be a drawcard or soci-etys best and brightest. These salonsshowcase some o the most talentedand interesting speakers and perorm-ers rom Hungary and abroad. Oneweek that might be a trio perormingBaroque music, the next someone giv-ing a talk about Hungarys stolen art

treasures. Speakers and perormersare drawn rom this countrys rich tal-ent pool, but also rom a wide ranginginternational network.


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Home home on the Al-gonquin,where the fnde sicle smart set playWhere seldom is hearda one syllable word,And no-one mispro-

nounces pt...Dorothy Parker

M

ost otheseevents areollowedby dinner.Napkinson the

tables pro-claim that

I you accept an invitation to dinner,you have a moral obligation to be

amusing. Now o course not everyonethat sits down to dinner will giveDorothy Parker a run or their money,but the conversation is consistentlylively, even sparkling.

Conversation possibly isnt the mainattraction at Brody House Ents par-

ties. These events are usually packedand stand or loud music, party peo-ple, energetic dancing and a thumpinggood time. These parties are open to

the general public, and tend to sell outast. They embody that octane glam-our that is so much a part o theBudapest scene. And Peter Grundberg

and William Clothier added anotherjewel in their crown recently, withBrody House Studios, opening up anyday now on Vrsmarty utca in the 6thdistrict. In this case, studios meansexactly what it says as in artists stu-dios. You can sip your drink in a shel-

tered courtyard, while around you art-ists in their studios go to work oncanvas or clay. I the sight o suchactivity doesnt engender the creativeimpulse, its hard to imagine whatwould.

So i you dont nd the challenge olively dinner party conversation intimi-dating and would like to insinuate yourway into this little enclave o highachievers, how would you go about it?While Brody may have thrown o manyo the trappings o traditional mem-bers clubs, the rules or joining broadlyspeaking remain the same. You have

to be recommended by a member, and

then that membership has to be sec-onded and approved by management.But beore you get that ar, its sae toassume that youd like to visit theirpremises and meet some o the mem-bers. Well, you could start by joining

the biggest club o all (Facebook, nowwith a billion riends) and subscribe toBrody Houses updates. You will seewhich o their events are open to thepublic.

The other way might be to bookaccommodation in one o their suites,which are adjacent to the clubroomsupstairs on Brody Sandor utca. While

you are their guest, you are a de factomember o the club, so you can join inon a Brody dinner or the like. It certain-ly wouldnt hurt to be a dab hand with aPolo mallet either. The Brody team arealmost all enthusiastic players.

Most o Brodys events are held inthe international language (English)but attended by a goodly share oHungarians and expatriates. Whatabout Hungarian speakers specical-ly, who is catering or them? Well, orparty reptiles, there is one indispens-able website, which is Havervagy dothu. Havervagy means pal or buddy in


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Hungarian. This is a private networkwhich invites mostly young Hungarianproessionals to parties and clubnights. They also organise fashmobs,as you can see rom their website. So iyour idea o a good time is being parto a heaving, sweaty mob o body-con-scious Hungarian hedonists, thiswould be a good place to start. Alongsimilar lines, keep your eyes peeled(primarily on Facebook) or partiesheld by Citymatine. These are parties

that take place in dierent locationsaround the city, such as abandonedvillas or on top o buildings, mist otenduring the summer months. Theyre alittle like the Acid House parties o yes-

teryear, and are sometimes shut downby the police. But i being a party guer-rilla is your scene, they may well be theones to watch.

For more intellectual pursuits, maywe recommend two dierent organiza-

tions? One is the Common SenseSociety, which bills itsel as Hungarysbest hub or intellectuals, the sociallyconscious, entrepreneurs and publicpolicy experts. (Or wonks as they areknown in the US.) Their meetings areheld regularly in the gracious sur-roundings o the Ybl Palace, either in

the cigar room or ballroom dependingon how many people are expected.Membership starts at just Ft6,000 ora student membership, ranging up toin the 100s o thousands or sponsors.They are aliated with the EuropeanEntrepreneurship Foundation, and

with another Common Sense Societybased in Washington, where that com-modity is arguably in short supply.Programs and events range rom read-ing groups to entrepreneur programsand discussions about HungarysConstitution.

For those o a literary bent, HadikIrodalmi Szalon is the name o thegame. This is an intriguing mixture o aliterary society and a talk show, whichis held monthly at the Hadik Kvhz,at Bartk Bla t 36, Budapest XI.Every month the discussions revolvearound topics based on recent local lit-erary events and o course, the per-sonal taste o the organisers. So ar all

the events have been held inHungarian, but dierent languagesmay be added to their repertoire inuture, especially i the show goes on

the road to dierent locations aroundBudapest. Indeed, Hadik Irodalmi

Szalon has already travelled abroad toplaces with great signicance in con-

temporary European literature, suchas Brussels and the Frankurt BookFair. The birthmother o the whole ini-

tiative is Anna Juhasz, daughter o theamous Hungarian poet, FerencJuhasz. Literary agent and promoterAnna, together with her ellow organis-er, artist and architect Gaspar Bonta,ondly hope to restore contemporaryHungarian literature to the same levelit enjoyed in the 1920s. A noble aim,and one that deserves support in bothwords and deeds.

Defnition o drunk:Feeling sophisticatedwithout being able topronounce it.Anonymous

I however all that intellectu-alism has served to makeyou thirsty, then considergoing or a drink in the oneBudapest bar where all o

these various kinds o mov-ers and shakers come

together more than any oth-er. That would be Boutiq Bar

on Paulay Ede utca, number 5. Thisplace bills itsel as a NeonSpeakeasy, and while everything theysell across the counter is legal, and

there is no illegal gaming going on in

smoky, backstage rooms, (at leastthat were aware o) there is some-thing o the secret drinking club aboutit. Whats more, the best team o bar-

tenders in the town, hands down, con-coct mixed drinks and cocktails that

take you back to the days o ur coats,cigarette holders and three martinilunches.

So even i you cant quite crack thecase o secret Budapest, at least youcan console yoursel with a good,strong drink. Ater all, only God canmake a gentleman, but anyone canmake a cocktail.

Time Out Budapest excerpt October 2012

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