Barbara's Hungarian Ewing's best kept secret

Barbara's Hungarian Food is
a small restaurant tucked in
the corner of Serenity Plaza on
Parkway Ave in Ewing.

Upon arriving the customer
is greeted by a warm
smile from a waitress that is
eager seat them and take their
orders. The room has the feel of
a country cottage with 12 plain
wood tables with white legs
that seat four to six patrons, the
walls are decorated with Hungarian
textiles, embroidered
tablecloths, handkerchiefs and
dresses, as well as photos of
Hungary. Adding to the cottage
ambience is the fact that the
food is served in white Corelle
tableware with blue designs
around the top edge.

Barbara herself stands
at the stove or grill cooking up
delicious, traditional Hungarian
dishes and if you're lucky
she'll have some extra of whatever
she's making and give you
a little sample.
The menu is in both
English and Hungarian and
consists of entrees like breaded
pork cutlet, chicken breast with
mushroom sauce, a variety of
stews or "paprikas," stuffed peppers
and cabbage. Most entrees
include the customer's choice
of dumplings or "spatzels,"
mashed potatoes, white rice
with peas or "parsley potato."

One standout dish was
the pork with sauerkraut which
goes wonderfully with dumplings.
The pork is cut into bitesized
cubes and mixed with
sauerkraut in a small amount
of soupy sauce with a blend of
different spices. All of the ingredients
are cooked to perfection,
the sauerkraut is not too
crunchy or too soggy and the
pork is so tender it melts in your
mouth.

The dumplings are not
the big ball, mushy ones found
in a typical southern "chicken
and dumpling" dish, but are
more similar to gnocchi, only a
bit smaller. This dish with a bit
of sour cream mixed in makes
for the perfect winter meal; it is
hearty and comforting.

For desert there is a
choice between cottage cheese,
apple or cherry strudel (which
is kind of like a pie) or cottage
cheese or peach jam crepes.
The crepes are a little thick and
floury but taste delicious nonetheless.

If for no other reason,
go to Barbara's for her chicken
soup; the only way you'll find
anything remotely as good is if
you slave for hours over a stove
making it yourself or are lucky
enough to have a relative do it
for you. Barbara's soup is made
from scratch and has huge
chunks of chicken and carrots
and halved celery stalks. Also
floating around in the delicious
broth are lots of tiny noodles.

So next time you have
the sniffles, rather than getting
out the usual can of Campbell's
Condensed Chicken and Noodle
Soup, take a trip to