New Hungarian restaurant in Detroit?

**kryptonite** · August-16-10, 09:45 AM

A friend of mine asked me if I had heard of a new Hungarian restaurant in SW Detroit that recently opened. She said the reviews have been excellent and she was wondering if I knew where the place was.

I have not heard of a thing, but I told her if it's true that someone on Detroityes would know about it.

Anyone heard anything?

**amika** · August-16-10, 12:01 PM

I'd love to know too!

**jh0** · August-16-10, 12:43 PM

Do you mean this place? Hungarian Rhapsody?

**guito13** · August-16-10, 03:24 PM

Originally Posted by jh0

Do you mean this place? Hungarian Rhapsody?

That place is good :-)

Would love to find a place closer to downtown that I could hit up for lunch!

**DetroitPlanner** · August-16-10, 03:36 PM

Originally Posted by guito13

That place is good :-)

Would love to find a place closer to downtown that I could hit up for lunch!

How about Kovacs?

**1KielsonDrive** · August-17-10, 12:53 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

How about Kovacs?

Kovac's hasn't been a Hungarian restaurant for many years, if it ever was at all.

**DetroitPlanner** · August-17-10, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

Kovac's hasn't been a Hungarian restaurant for many years, if it ever was at all.

Holy smokes has it been that long since I've been there? They used to have great chicken soup and Hungarian fare for lunch.

**1KielsonDrive** · August-16-10, 12:46 PM

Rhapsody has been there for a long time. Not likely the place they're talking about.

**kryptonite** · August-16-10, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

Rhapsody has been there for a long time. Not likely the place they're talking about.

I asked her about the Rhapsody, but she thinks she heard about a new place and that it was SW Detroit area.

I wonder if she is getting the Rhapsody confused with some other place? But, if there's a new Hungarian place, I would love to know and check it out.

Pingu · August-16-10, 03:17 PM

I know this doesn't help, but it reminds me of this restaurant we went to when I was a kid. The owner and his wife and little boy travelled for three nights through the forest, hiding from the Russians, to escape to Austria, and then to the west.

He didn't play up the Hungarian thing, it was a typical burgers and shakes mom & pop kind of place, but there was plenty of goulash and such on the menu. The father was very upbeat, good humored, and outgoing and loved this country, but the little boy grew up shaky and damaged, those three nights in the forest did a number on him.

**Frumoasa** · August-16-10, 04:19 PM

I would love to find out about a new Hungarian place in SW! We actually went to the Rhapsody on Sunday...delicious but pricey. I love their cauliflower soup, cucumber salad and pineapple lemon cake. Most of the Hungarians I know [[my husband speaks Hungarian and worked in Hungary for years although he was born in Romania.) do not live in SW Detroit any more. I even asked the pastor of the Hungarian church we sometimes attend if any church members still live in Delray and he said no..the last few passed on within the last few years. If there's a new place down there, I would gladly support it, so please let me know!

**Packman41** · August-16-10, 06:50 PM

Are you guys talking about the Hungarian American Cultural Center in Taylor?

There dining room is open to the general public and you do not need to be a member to enjoy the food there.

We go there several times a year and when our friends from Chicago [[he escaped communist Hungary in 1956) come to Detroit they insist on going there.

http://hungariandetroit.com/index.ph...mid=50&lang=us

If there is another place that has opened, then I'd like to know.

**Downriver Gal** · August-16-10, 07:45 PM

I'd love to hear about another Hungarian place too. There's the Rhapsody, the El Dorado, the Cultural Center, and the Strudel Shop in Allen Park. That's about it for Hungarian, as far as I know.

**Packman41** · August-16-10, 08:28 PM

@Downriver Gal: +1 on the Strudel Shop in Allen Park.

during the holidays they can run out of strudel so it is best to call ahead and guaranty your order. Eat it fresh - the best or next to best is to buiy it frozen and then bake it yourself. Trick is to put it in the oven frozen rather than letting it thaw out first. That way the pastry crust stays nice and crisp and flakey. It is the genuine article, NOT pie crust that is passed off as "strudel" crust. Magyars [[Hungarians) prefer cherry.

**gazhekwe** · August-16-10, 08:20 PM

Is the Hungarian Kitchen still around? Wyandotte, I think.

**1KielsonDrive** · August-17-10, 12:52 AM

Originally Posted by gazhekwe

Is the Hungarian Kitchen still around? Wyandotte, I think.

Long gone. Tore it down years ago. Too bad. The food was excellent.

**kryptonite** · August-17-10, 06:43 AM

Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

Long gone. Tore it down years ago. Too bad. The food was excellent.

Hungarian Kitchen in Wyandotte closed about four years ago.

Are you thinking about Al's Hungarian Lounge on West End/South St., across from Szabo's Market. They had great food. It closed around 1993, the building burned before too long, the building was torn down, there is just a grass lot there now.

Al's had live Hungarian music, with a beautiful Cymbeline [[or something like that) in the performers corner. Al took a trip to Hungary in post-Soviet days and was very pleased with the changes, he came back to Detroit, shut down the place and moved back to Hungary. That's the story I heard.

**amika** · August-17-10, 08:51 AM

There is a little place in Berkley MI that serves some hungarian food too.

Ellie's Grill & Coney
[[248) 691-4441
2033 Coolidge Hwy
Berkley, MI 48072

Its a tiny place just south of the Little Ceasars.

**smogboy** · August-18-10, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by amika

There is a little place in Berkley MI that serves some hungarian food too.

Ellie's Grill & Coney
[[248) 691-4441
2033 Coolidge Hwy
Berkley, MI 48072

Its a tiny place just south of the Little Ceasars.

I've eaten there a few times. Tasty stuff. They also carry Macedonian and some really good Polish food too. As to its authenticity, I couldn't tell you since I'm not of that descent but as a diner I liked the food, presentation and dining experience. It's not a huge place; a counter and a few booths but it's cozy and quaint.

**jcole** · August-17-10, 10:12 AM

What about this? Hungarian-American Cultural Center Goddard Rd. Taylor

littlebuddy · August-18-10, 11:19 AM

Went there last friday after my mother's fureral. The food was excellnt, although nobody was really in the mood for eating. Was there a place Downriver called The William Penn Club?

**amika** · August-18-10, 12:15 PM

Yes it was in downriver - the william penn was a club that also had a restaurant for its members. My grandparents used to take me there frequently as a child. I believe the william penn closed about the same time that the Rhapsody opened.

The guy who ran the restaurant in the william penn [[Steve) eventually left & opened the Rhapsody in Southgate on northline.

On many occasions my grandmother would say that losing Steve was their biggest mistake at the William Penn.