I am visiting my parents and am taking them on a two-day trip to NYC. First it's the Metropolitan Opera tonight and then tomorrow would like to take them to a Hungarian restruant.
Are there any good suggestions for an authentic Hungarian dining experience? My father is Hungarian so I know he would really love the surprise.
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Caterina's 53rd Street between 1st and 2nd Ave.
Hungarian and Italian- neighborhood place.
There is an excellent pastry shop in Queens that has a branch in Manhattan-
Andre's - 2nd Avenue between 84th and 85th. I have only had their pastries-
excellent!
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Andre's has sandwiches and a few other things- not Hungarian specialties.
They started as a bakery in Queens and are still known for their pastries and strudel.
I don't know anyone who has eaten a meal there- only dessert or taken out pastry.
Not a specifically Hungarian restaurant, but Nook on Ninth Ave at 50th serves a decent goulash, and is generally a nice experience.
A quick search for Hungarian in Manhattan turned up only this place, which I know nothing about.
There are some pretty good Austrian places around, though, if neighboring cuisines are acceptable. For high end, try Cafe Sebarsky in the Neue Galerie. For a hipper, cheaper vibe try Cafe Katja on the Lower East Side. Both are very good.
Oh, there's also the Hungarian Pastry Shop up by Columbia. I'm not a big fan of their pastry's, though, and it's not really a restaurant. More of an old-school place for grad students to get lots of strong coffee on the cheap.
It's my understanding that Andre's does have food (like stuffed cabbage), although yes, it is best known for its strudel. Nora Ephron has raved about their cabbage strudel.
I think the Austrian places would be good to look into--I'd recommend Blaue Gans, which is the same people as Cafe Sabarsky (and Wallse).
Hungarian Pastry Shop had terrible, not authentically Hungarian pastries 15 years ago when I was up at Columbia. While I have no more recent data points to judge from, I'd definitely pass on that one.
There used to be various Hungarian delis on the Upper East Side, and there is (was?) a Hungarian bookstore in the E 70s.
Wallse is wonderful. I just looked at the current menu, and it is very Austrian right now (nothing Hungarian). Salzburger Knockerl's on the menu though! Whoo!
Cafe Sabarsky sometimes has Dobos Torte, I think, which remains my favorite Hungarian cake. It can get very, very crowded, though.
Sadly, I still haven't been to the Blaue Gans.
For other Central European fare, there is the Cafe Steinhof in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It's mostly Austrian (Goesser beer, etc.) but they've got things like chicken paprika. It's probably a bit out of the way, though; there are far better restaurants if you're going to Park Slope from Manhattan! There's another Austrian place near BAM, too, which is completely slipping my mind.
New York magazine's web site has a helpful restaurant search (comprehensive, decent brief reviews, and free). Hungarian isn't one of the searchable cuisines, however! http://nymag.com/restaurants/
The Hungarian community has largely left New York, specifically, the Upper East Side. There's still a bookshop, a community center, a pastry shop, and a butcher, but the restaurants are gone. Caterina's, mentioned above, seems to be the only place to get a Hungarian meal, but the reviews are equivocal. There are probably good places in New Brunswick or elsewheres in NJ but unless you have a car...
I'd suggest taking your parents to one of the many fine non-Hungarian restaurants in NY, and do your research for a future visit.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fornebufox
The Hungarian community has largely left New York, specifically, the Upper East Side. ...
And we are so unhappy since they closed their last restaurant up here a few years ago. Mocca was one of our favorites from the day that they opened sometime in the 80s in a spot that had formerly been occupied by a Hungarian bakery/restaurant that was our breakfast meeting point for some number of years.
As far as the First Hungarian Literary Society reference is concerned, if it exists at all it is up in an apartment and not on the street. The only restaurant on the block is Quatorze.
