WHEN YOU'RE HUNGRY FOR HUNGARY.Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic EASTERN EUROPEAN restaurants aren't particularly popular here in subtropical sub·trop·i·cal adj. Of, relating to, or being the geographic areas adjacent to the Tropics. subtropical Adjective of the region lying between the tropics and temperate lands Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . But that hasn't stopped Csardas from being a kind of Hungarian headquarters in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. for a number of years, drawing heavily from the expatriate Hungarian community here as well as a few tourists and the curious, adventurous local foodies who want to experience an authentic Hungarian meal. An old friend with Hungarian lineage suggested a dinner rendezvous there recently, resulting in six of us partaking of the Saturday evening buffet feast where, for around $20 apiece, we nibbled on salads, sipped soups, munched a variety of traditional main dishes and sampled pastries and other desserts to our palates' (and stomachs') content. The tab also allows wine, bubbly, beer or a soft drink. That particular Saturday night there were Hungarian-style bean and chicken noodle soups, cucumber salad, beet salad, house-produced pickles, scalloped scal·lop also scol·lop or es·cal·lop n. 1. a. Any of various free-swimming marine mollusks of the family Pectinidae, having fan-shaped bivalve shells with a radiating fluted pattern. b. potatoes with sour cream and sausage, stuffed cabbage, chicken paprikash Noun 1. chicken paprikash - chicken simmered in broth with onions and paprika then mixed with sour cream chicken paprika dish - a particular item of prepared food; "she prepared a special dish for dinner" , pork goulash gou·lash n. 1. A stew of beef or veal and vegetables, seasoned mainly with paprika. 2. A mixture of many different elements; a hodgepodge. , fried meatballs, langos (fried garlic bread), pogacsa (bacon and cheese mixture) and breaded mushrooms. A separate table of endings included cherry and apple strudels, palascintas (crepes), plum dumplings and several pastries and Hungarian seven-layer cake. Just to give the experience a little extra touch of authenticity, Hungarian television was playing in a strategic spot in the dining room on one of those big, new flat screens. One weekday evening at Csardas, I was enjoying the du jour du jour adj. 1. Prepared for a given day: The soup du jour is cream of potato. 2. Most recent; current: the trend du jour. potato soup when the owner, Julius Jancso, looked at what I was spooning up with gusto and said, ``That's junk!'' He said he had another soup that was much better. Later he qualified his unusual description of his own kitchen's fare by explaining that he, personally, was not supposed to eat potatoes for medical reasons. He had the waiter bring out a bowl of zucchini soup, very tasty, not a puree pu·rée or pu·ree tr.v. pu·réed or pu·reed, pu·rée·ing or pu·ree·ing, pu·rées or pu·rees To rub through a strainer or process (food) in a blender. n. , but with finely julienned zucchini in a milky broth. Yes, it was superior to the potato soup which, it so happened, I liked anyway. On that same night, I told the waiter I was torn between ordering the pork ($12) or veal ($14) goulash. Half joking, I said, ``How about half and half?'' ``Sure,'' he said. And that's what I received, a heaping plate of goulash, half veal and half pork, and very satisfying. And in case you're thinking this guy gets special treatment, let me assure you, we were just two people who wandered into Csardas that night. There was no reservation made in advance, no suggestion that I was reviewing. My anonymity was intact, believe me. Owner-host Jancso, a short, gray-haired man who also publishes the West Coast edition of the American-Hungarian Journal, has operated Csardas for a dozen years and evidently owns the property. He'll often put some of his restaurant's freshly baked Hungarian-style bread in a brown paper bag and give it to customers as they leave. No charge. Just another little expression of thanks. Like the extra bowl of soup. From his Csardas restaurant, a touch of true Hungarian hospitality. Larry Lipson, (818) 713-3668 larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com CSARDAS Food: Three stars - Wine: Two stars - Service: Two and one half stars Where: 5820 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. Hours: Open for lunch, dinner and snacks from noon to 10 p.m. daily, serving lunch to 5 p.m. weekdays and to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Recommended items: Zucchini soup when available, goulash soup, potato soup, chicken paprikash, stuffed cabbage, goulash plate (pork or veal), cucumber salad, seven-layer cake, strudel (character) strudel - Common (spoken) name for the commercial at sign, "@", ASCII 64. , plum dumplings. How much: Starters from $4 to $6, entrees from $12 to $16, desserts from $3 to $5. Beer and wine. All major credit cards accepted. Wine list: No actual list, but bottles of Hungarian wine are placed on each table. The waiter said they are all priced at $17 each. We rejected the merlot one time with no problems and found the Hungarian cabernet sauvignon Cab·er·net Sauvignon n. 1. A variety of black grape used to make red wine, notably in Bordeaux and the Napa Valley. 2. A dry red wine made from this grape. [French. acceptable. Egri bikaver (bull's blood) is somewhat questionable. House wine is listed on the menu at $4 per glass. For the sweet tooth, there's always the famous white Tokay wine from Hungary in stock here. Corkage cork·age n. A charge exacted at a restaurant for every bottle of liquor served that was not bought on the premises. corkage Noun a charge made at a restaurant for serving wine bought elsewhere : $3. Reservations: Taken. Call (323) 962-6434. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Csardas' manager, Sandor Kiraly, presents some of the 18 different buffet choices available at the Hungarian restaurant, located on Melrose Avenue Melrose Avenue is a well-known Los Angeles street that starts from Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and ends at Hoover Street in Silver Lake. Melrose runs north of Beverly Boulevard and south of Santa Monica Boulevard. . Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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