United Magyar House

A group of eleven of us met here without a reservation and they had no problem serving us a delicious meal of cauliflower chicken soup, breaded pork chops, potatoes, pasta, and apricot crepes for dessert. The wine was incredibly cheap. The Hungarian Merlot was much better than the famous Egri Bikavér Bull’s Blood wine. The only bad thing is the lighting, which is rather bright. Everyone loved the experience.

Szeretlek Magyar Haz!!! (Translation: I love you, Hungarian House!)
Hungary is a small, rich country with intense history. Never in conflict with other countries, Hungary is known for it’s beautiful architecture, even more beautiful women, great food, and sexuality (Studies have demonstrated that Hungarians are the most sexual ethnicity). I know all of this is true because I am 100% Hungarian and first-​generation in this country. Okay, that also means I am biased but all ethnicities/​races are.
I am always searching for more Hungarian culture in the Melting Pot that is Los Angeles and the Magyar Haz (Hungarian House) is the place to be if you are Hungarian (or even if you aren’t).
My first visit there was with my 100% Persian boyfriend in tow and it was a wonderful experience for both of us. The building is a lovely historical building that is over 100 years old with strong Hungarian folk-​art decorating every inch. I was immediately greeted by the director, Mattie Klare; whom welcomed my boyfriend and I with a raspberry syrup seltzer (a Hungarian delicacy and favorite) and wonderful conversation We were speaking in Hungarian but even my boyfriend whom doesn’t speak a word of Hungarian was laughing and enjoying himself. The Hungarian House offers folk dancing groups for children and adults (all Hungarians have folk-​danced at some point in their lives) and the best part is that it is free to take part in the Wednesday night practices (8pm) or to even join the group! You can’t beat free dancing and exercise! The dance group is so welcoming and offered us Hungarian wine and desserts/​cake just for attending the rehearsal. The group instantly makes you feel like you are best friends.
The Hungarian House also has movie/​dinner nights on Fridays during which you can watch a Hungarian film alongside a home-​made Hungarian dinner. Wash that down with a strong Palinka (Hungarian liquor) at the bar. (Hungarians are big drinkers with a huge tolerance!).
The Hungarian House is quick to welcome anyone, even telling my Persian boyfriend that he is welcome and Hungarian at heart for dating me. The next day, I even had Facebook requests from the group members.
Absolutely lovely and suggested for all Hungarians (or not) interested in eating Hungarian food drinking Hungarian spirits, and meeting some sexy Hungarians!

My girlfriend is a Hungarian that is really glad she doesn’t live there anymore. We have many friends who have been to Budapest and loved it. They go on and on about how nice and beautiful it is and she just complains and rants about what a horrible shithole it is and how everyone is a complete asshole and how if her parents only lived here she would never go back ever. Every time I show her anything remotely Hungarian she grumbles and talks about how only fat old ladies do this or that and some horrible anecdote about someone screwing someone else over or whatever.
Anyway, it was 9:30pm on Friday night and I wanted to go out to eat somewhere. I noticed that Unilocal has a specific «Hungarian» section under restaurants so I clicked on it just for the hell of it. I couldn’t believe that there was a Hungarian restaurant near my house — United Magyar House. I also couldn’t believe that my girlfriend hadn’t heard of it. Actually, we lucked out because the restaurant is supposedly only open on Fridays, though they have other events during the week and on weekends. I had my girlfriend call to make sure they were going to be open. Check this out: a guy answered the phone in Hungarian. She spoke to him and determined that the place was open until midnight. I was all ready to go and she was game, but reluctant. In fact, the longer we took to go, the more second thoughts she had. I imagine she was just thinking that doing any Hungarian things would make her turn into a «refrigerator lady» (a short square-​shaped woman) when she gets older.
So we set out and went to United Magyar House. The place is huge. It’s a cultural center! If you go, pull into the parking lot on Ardmore. It’s a different world when you walk inside. There were a bunch of people all talking in Hungarian and some old dudes playing chess and weird cards. AWESOME. We walked towards the kitchen and a really nice lady came out and greeted us very kindly. My girlfriend was taken aback. I guess it’s rare in Hungary to be treated nicely by someone who isn’t part of your immediate family or that you haven’t just paid for sex. The woman described the two dishes she was making that night: chicken in a mushroom and cream sauce with rice and another dish that was stuffed paprika with potatoes. I went with the former and my girlfriend went with the latter. As we made our way to a table near an awesome wall with a painting of Hungarian village life, my girlfriend remarked about how nice the lady was and how nice and friendly the whole place seemed.
It’s not fancy. It’s a community center that serves nice dinner, guys. If you don’t know or care about Hungary at all, don’t go and then come on here to leave a one-​star rating like a stupid asshole (see the Csardas reviews). It’s a cute little Hungarian outpost/​haven in America. The food was very, very delicious. I loved it. My girlfriend loved it. Dinner for the two of us was $ 17 TOTAL. I had a Corona at their bar for $ 3. My girlfriend said that the old men playing cards were incredibly profane. I pulled out a bunch of event fliers for her to translate for me. One was for a Hungarian social group. It said that they were forming the group to prove that Hungarians, contrary to popular belief, were actually capable of helping one another. I have a feeling that the warm atmosphere at United Magyar House changed my girlfriend’s mind about Hungarians in general. They’re having langos and other goodies there next week. I can’t wait to go. Neither can she.