Jonas Restaurant

Ever since I moved downtown, and just a block and a few flights up, from Jonas Restaurant I've been meaning to eat here. It has taken me over a year to accomplish this, however, as the restaurant is closed on Sundays and Mondays, and between 2-5pm on the other days, making it inconvenient for my particular lifestyle of eating between lunch and supper on weekdays. It's also difficult to convince people on a Tuesday night that they should "do Hungarian". I would easily ask someone if they wanted to do chinese, sushi or Indian. Hell, it would be easier to ask someone out for Ethiopian. But most people don't know a lot about Hungarian food. When I was working graveyard security by my lonesome, I had nothing better to do than research every cuisine known to mankind. This was a cuisine I wanted to acquaint myself with.

I have a friend who likes to occasionally take herself out on dates. She highly recommended it, so I took her advice and ventured solo into the little neighbourhood Hungarian restaurant. To my delight, it was completely empty. I know it has a bit of a loyal following, despite its lackluster location, so I was not perturbed at all by the lack of customers so early in the evening. There was tradtional/folk/classical Hungarian music playing, and quaint little artifacts on the walls, like clothing, plates and pictures. The lighting was fairly dim, and it felt peaceful.

My waiter was a young guy, and he was relatively attentive, and helpful when asked. However, I got my bread with a little bowl of hot peppers and no explanation. I thought, "Maybe Hungarian people eat their bread and butter with hot peppers" so I put a pepper on my bread and ate it. My mouth was burning a little uncomfortably, and when my waiter returned I asked him what was up with the peppers and bread? He then explained that the peppers were not for the bread, but rather to add some heat to the food if desired. So I felt a little silly. The restaurant is licensed, but the selection is limited. For beer there was Traditional (I'm assuming Big Rock), Kokanee, Pilsner Urquell and Lowenbrau, and I was happy to order a Lowenbrau. There are three red wines and two whites, which, I later overheard, are all Hungarian wines. I ordered the Bean Goulash to start.

I realized I had never actually eaten goulash, only read about it, because I had no idea how good it tastes! It is very different from the dreaded American Goulash with the tomatoes, ground beef and elbow macaroni. This version has beans and stewed chunks of beef in a base presumably tomato based and thickened and flavoured with paprika, and a dollop of sour cream. My first spoonful was an indication of the general quality of the food here... good things to come!

There are many interesting things on the menu, such as cabbage rolls, pork schnitzel, breaded catfish, beef stew and breaded cheese. There are also daily specials. Today was something to do with chicken livers, and I'm just not ready for that. I will have to go on a Thursday when it is creamed lentils and roasted sausage. But for today, I went with the entree that has fascinated me ever since I started learning about Hungarian food: Chicken Paprikash. This is, as the name reveals, chicken in a paprika sauce. I made it once, from a recipe I found online and it was a hit. But I wanted to know what it was like when served up by an authentic home-style Hungarian joint.

All of the entrees come in a small or regular size. This is a trick. I will always choose a regular size when my other options are small or large. The small may be too small, and the large may be too large. But the regular here is plenty of food! The large regular Chicken Paprikash is $16 and I couldn't finish it. But it was lovely. Chicken thighs are served in irregular bite sized pieces, cooked perfectly tender and moist in a paprika sauce topped with a dollop of sour cream. It is served with a generous portion of dumplings, which I was a little wary about because I think dumplings are something you only like because you grew up on them. But I was impressed by the small spaetzle-like dumplings as I mixed them around with the sauce. When I made this dish at home, I left the chicken thighs whole, and made big starchy dumplings that nobody liked. If you google "chicken paprikash with dumplings" you will see all kinds of variations, but I think Jonas does it right. They also serve a Mushroom Paprikash, which the vegetarian in me would enjoy even more! This cuisine could very well grow to be a European love of mine, along with German cuisine. It took me a long time to try Jonas Restaurant, but I will definitely be going back.

As I left, an old couple made the same mistake I did with the hot peppers. But as the old man took his first bite of potato, I overheard him say, despite still struggling with a burning palate, "Take a bite of those potatoes. They are simply wonderful!"

Jonas Restaurant
937 6 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
403-262-3302
http://www.jonasrestaurant.homestead.com