Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Discovery XII

The last time I went to a Hungarian restaurant was probably in nineteen seventy-something. And the restaurant in question, Transylvania in Greville Street Prahran (with thanks to Jane Clifton for her evocative memoir of Melbourne dining way back then) was probably not even Hungarian, being named after a region in Romania. The only vegetarian dish on the menu was deep-fried crumbed mushrooms served with rice and tartare sauce. This was fine by me as they were absolutely scrumptious.

So when it was proposed that we try out The Hungarian in Bridge Road Richmond for Discovery XII, it seemed too good to be true. Except that sadly the crumbed mushrooms (and the Monsterschnitzel) are not available on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Luckily there were other vegetarian dishes to choose from and I opted for the crêpes - one with mushroom ragoût and one with potato and cheese. Nice tasty comforting food. As an alternative I could have had 'Veganoff' (vegetarian stroganoff with broccoli and green peas) or the mushroom ragoût served with nokedli. Definitely a more wide-ranging choice than at the dear old Transylvania, and something to look forward to next time.

The rest of the party went carnivore with pork knuckle (with chips rather than the traditional mashed potato), and stuffed cabbage. Again, tasty and comforting rather than innovative.

The real discovery of the evening was Dreher beer. We could also have had Hungarian shiraz direct from the barrel, a quirky feature in the corner of this very pleasant, unassuming, red-and-white-checked-tableclothed little neighbourhood restaurant.

Picture of Dreher beer at The Hungarian restaurant
Dreher at The Hungarian
 

No comments:

Post a Comment