Trip to Hungary

November is when Hungary - and many other countries in Europe - celebrate the feast day of Saint Martin who, the story goes, hid in a goose pen to avoid being ordained bishop but was betrayed by the honking of the geese.

The feast day is Nov. 11. and in the not so distant past, Budapest restaurants would mark the occasion for a few days by serving goose specialities in a country that is one of the major European producers of fattened goose liver and other goose products.

But tourism is big business in Hungary, and with an abundance of geese available at a time of the year when they are ready for slaughter, many restaurants now celebrate "Saint Martin's Day" for almost the entire month - and diners don't seem to get at all tired of it.

This month, for example, it was possible to sample fresh fried goose cracklings - made from the fatty skin of the goose - at Budapest's relatively new Noir et L'or restaurant (17 Kiraly Street), which despite its French name has a mostly Hungarian menu. Goose cracklings are standard fare in Hungary, but those at Noir et L'or are fresh cooked, which makes them particularly delectable.