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Hungarian
Restaurant Review
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Certificate through Restaurant.com $10 buys you a $25 Epicurean certificate.  |
Newly Minted With Old World Tastes January 20, 2006 My wife and I just dined at the new Epicurean Hungarian Restaurant in Hillside to celebrate her birthday. It opened just a few weeks ago. We liked it so much, we went again the next night. (No, we do not own stock in the restaurant!). The first night, it was just my wife and I. The next night, when my wife's Hungarian friends wanted to take her out for her birthday, they also went. In turn, I took an American friend who was in our wedding near Budapest. He loved it so much that he is hoping to bring his parents and several friends in the next few weeks. The Short Review Authentic Hungarian food, inexpensive prices, classy but not pretentious, good choice of wines, big place, friendly wait staff. There is a room with big tables that can handle a small party or reception, a separate bar, and plenty of parking. more below Presently, the wait staff has four Hungarians and a few Americans, though the cooks and chef are all Hungarian. All are very enthusiastic, and the nonHungarians already can claim a favorite meal or dessert. The bar has a huge TV for watching football, soccer, or, of course, the White Sox. It is owned by the guy who started Paprikásh Restaurant on Chicago's north side (you might've seen him on WTTW - Check, Please!) The Food Expect to bring home food. We enjoyed csirke paprikás, bird's milk, lángos, brassói aprópecsenye, gulyás, fish soup and more. (Please forgive my mixed translation). The Cost For two people, with a glass of mid-range wine each, we paid about $45. Compared to Paprikásh (Chicago's other Hungarian Restaurant) Unlike Paprikásh, the parking is much better, nonsmokers will feel more at ease since the bar is not as close to the main dining area. It misses Paprikásh's urban intimacy, but gains ease-of-access. Because both restaurants were opened by the same person, you'll find the menu similar. However, as this new place develops and the local tastes are established, I expect things to be tweaked. Where Just east of Wolf Road on Roosevelt. If you remember Leona's, this is in the same location. See the address above. About Tamás Bosze Tamás is the owner, and the former owner of Paprikásh. Comparison's will be made, and Tamás knows this. If you eat there, don't be surprised if he stops by your table and says hello. He loves what he does, the people he serves and is passionate about life. While our meal was being prepared, he gave the 10 cent tour. He and his wife explained where the dance floor was going to be and other changes as the place becomes more established. We're watching the Epicurean, expecting good things, and for it to become a center of Hungarian culture for the near-west and western Chicago suburbs. December 1, 2006 Update: An all-you-can-eat buffet has been added for lunches, many new pastries, a few new dishes, and they are recycling the chairs used in Field's famous Walnut Room Restaurant. Gift Certificate through Restaurant.com $10 buys you a $25 certificate. See Hungarian restaurant directory and also Hungarian Social Club Directory for Illinois and Chicago area restaurants and social groups. That Hungarian's in My Kitchen : 125 Hungarian/American Recipes Linda F. Radke, Sylvia Mednick Weiss (Introduction), Mary E. Hawkins (Editor) Paperback - 179 pages 4th edition (July 1997) Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes for New World Cooks Yolanda Nagy Fintor Hardcover: 190 pages Easy 45 Hungarian Recipes by Csilla Keszeli Paperback: 112 pages |
