Hanabi

"Hanabi’s parents are shoving off to Prague and Budapest in a few months to keep the image of the American tourist alive. So, with a father-son dinner meet up on the schedule, we figured we’d get them ready for that Eastern European cuisine by visiting Cafe Europa in the Richmond district. Also, it nicely fits with the desire to try a more diverse selection of neighborhood haunts rather than just the big hits. Cafe Europa is a nice mix of Czech, Hungarian, Polish, German and Russian cuisines. Pops and Hanabi are huge fans of these and it literally runs in the blood. One dish in particular stands out for me, and that’s Goulash. The ubiquitous Hungarian dish which is essentially a beef stew served over either egg noodles, rice or potato dumplings. I personally like it with spaetzle. The big difference between Goulash and a basic beef stew is the addition of smoked paprika. I can’t even begin to adequately extol the virtues of smoked paprika. The deep red color it lends to a dish is a good start though.