Hungry for Hungary

The UES has always been the place to go for Hungarian food...though unless you're Hungarian, you probably don't know what Hungarian food is, much less crave it.  There used to be a ton of Hungarians in the 80s on the East side, but it seems like they're spreading out.  I think most of them are going to the outer boroughs, but it looks like some of them have moved about 6 blocks below me.  I'm not sure if Andre's Cafe decided to open a smaller second branch or move all their operations down 30 blocks (after some online snooping, I'm thinking it's the former), but whatever the reason, I'm happy there is an outpost nearby.

I didn't do much too much this weekend, so yesterday I decided I needed to get out of the apartment to get some fresh air and coffee.  I took a little detour on the way to the coffee house and stumbled upon Andre's Bakery.  The woman behind the counter had a great Hungarian accent and I watched her have a hug and nice little conversation with an elderly Hungarian patron.  After witnessing their exchange, I figured I was in a legit place and decided to pick out a few things.  I chose a cheese puff, apricot linzer tart, and apple cake to munch on with my coffee.  I thought the cheese puff would be my one savory treat, but it was actually a sweet, flaky pastry filled with the kind of cheese you would find in a danish.  Not bad, but not nearly as good as my other two treats.  The shortbread on the linzer tart was soft and not of the dry, crunchy, stick to the roof of your mouth style that is the downfall of most shortbread.  The apple cake, however, was my favorite.  It was all apple filling with just a little cake on either side.  The cake part was hard-packed and moist - almost like a combination between cake and pie crust.  All three desserts came to a total of about $9, which is within a reasonable price range for a Sunday treat.