Hungarian
2021-01-29T05:42:55.401Z
Wind gushes down Broadway, pushing stressed students toward their dorms as they tuck their hands in their coat pockets and their ears in their hats. Twelve coffee shops offer these students a momentary haven filled with the smells of fresh coffee and tea. COVID-19 indoor dining restrictions prohibit students from hauling their books and laptops to these shops, but warm drinks in disposable cups keep the shops alive and Morningside Heights and Harlem residents toasty.
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2020-10-16T05:03:33.868Z
Back when Columbia was in-person, I made a regular habit of walking down Amsterdam to the Hungarian Pastry Shop. My trips usually started the same way: I would order and attempt to pay at the counter (with the cash I withdrew specifically for this event), only for the server to tell me, once again, that you pay when you leave. I’d take up too much space walking down the narrow corridor between tables and utter a consistent stream of apologies, primarily directed at the chairs I hit in my wake. I’d excuse-me my way to a table, pull out my laptop, and see that it had 9 percent battery remaining—barely enough to open a saved PDF, let alone write my essay. I’d confront the truth I’d known all along that intense productivity was not my top priority in coming here.
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2019-11-06T04:01:46.835Z
Unbeknownst to you, the man sitting next to you in the Hungarian Pastry Shop the other day was, in fact, writing a character based on you for his MFA creative writing thesis.
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2019-08-21T18:18:06.735Z
First-years may be required to have sizeable meal plans, but that doesn’t mean every day has to include eating at John Jay. The Columbia bubble encompasses a variety of eateries, both old and new, and the number of choices in the ever-changing food landscape can be overwhelming. However, among the multitude of muffins, bevy of beverages, and deluge of delis, a few Morningside Heights staples and newcomers stand out.
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2017-04-11T05:40:39.556Z
When I stick my head out the sixth floor window of my room and look to the left, I see the façade of St. John the Divine. When the hour is right and I look the other direction, I catch the sunset falling over Riverside Park.
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2016-12-13T12:00:04Z
Welcome to Morningside Heights, the neighborhood that Columbia and Barnard call home. "MoHi" is bounded on the east and west by two parks: Morningside Park and Riverside Park, respectively. The area has been referred to as the "Academic Acropolis," because of both the numerous academic institutions and its location on one of the highest natural points in Manhattan. The development of the area began in the 1890s—around the same time that Columbia moved its campus uptown. The University played a major role in shaping the landscape of the neighborhood, and today Columbia owns much of the local real estate. While the University dominates much of the neighborhood, MoHi has a lot more to offer.
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2015-02-16T23:55:08Z
Recently, the Hungarian Pastry Shop was shut down for health violations, but don't worry, if you're hungry for a croissant and some coffee, it's back up again. Apparently, most people aren't too worried about health grades (anything's better than the meal plan, right?) as Casey Tolan reports:
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2014-08-24T17:15:13Z
An iconic Morningside Heights eatery saw its doors shuttered last week, but it reopened within days.
The Hungarian Pastry Shop, located on Amsterdam Avenue between 110th and 111th streets, was shut down Wednesday after inspectors from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found evidence of rodents in the restaurant, as well as improperly stored utensils and improperly cleaned food surfaces. The inspection racked up 48 points for the restaurant—far more than the 28 necessary for a C grade—and the restaurant was temporarily shut down.
But after two more inspections, the city gave Hungarian a clean bill of health and authorized it to reopen on Friday.
Owner Philip Binioris said that after basement renovations on Thursday and Friday, the restaurant was safe, as reflected by the later inspections. The vast majority of the violations, Binioris said, were in Hungarian's basement, in which no food is stored.
"None of our food ever goes downstairs," he said. "Our food production area was not targeted."
Rodent droppings were found in the basement and in an empty space under the sidewalk that had accumulated debris over the years. That space, which is part of the basement, was walled off during the renovations.
"We built a wall in 24 hours," Binioris said. "And we cleaned out three decades' worth of accumulated junk."
Hungarian, which has been owned by the Binioris family for 36 years and has been in operation for 51 years, is located in a building that was probably built around 1910, according to city data.
"Things deteriorated," Binioris said. "Things that should have been taken care of in the past hadn't been. We're taking care of it now."
The restaurant also brought in a full-service exterminator and fixed holes in the wall and structural damage in the basement with bricks and concrete.
"Our customers should feel safe," Binioris said.
Hungarian now has a "grade pending" rating, with more inspections to come in the next few months.
"We're going to do the best we can to create a healthy environment for our customers, and hopefully that will be reflected" in the future inspections, Binioris said.
Hungarian has received some bad health ratings in the past—including a 50-point inspection last year—but it had never been shut down before. Getting closed "scared the shit out of us," Binioris said.
Like many other restaurateurs around the city, Binioris believes that the health inspection system needs to be reformed. Health department representatives made four trips to Hungarian in three days, Binioris said, and each day the restaurant "racked up a few thousand dollars in fines."
"The grading system is a horrible system," Binioris said. "The health department is a revenue source for the city the way it is currently run It's a great way for the city to make fast money."
"They're not just looking to provide a safe environment, which is what their main mission should be—without a doubt, they're out to generate revenue," he said. "I wouldn't mind more oversight if I felt their motivation was altruistic."
Binioris said the system should be changed to have a "regular inspector who's familiar with the area," instead of the current "subjective" system.
"Every different inspection has a different inspector, and every different inspector has different criteria they are interested in," Binioris said. "Some people are very persistent about food temperature, others about general cleanliness. It depends on who you get.
Several students said that health inspections grades don't have a big impact on where they eat.
"Most of the restaurants I eat at have been shut down," Daniel Carpenter-Gold, CC '12, said. "It happens."
Mustafa Hameed, a postbaccalaureate student at the School of Continuing Education, said that Hungarian is a good place to get coffee and study.
"So long as it isn't visibly gross, it's not much of an issue," he said. "I take the health code stuff as a suggestion—it doesn't deter me from going."
casey.tolan@columbiaspectator.com
... The Hungarian Pastry Shop, located on Amsterdam Avenue between 110th and 111th streets, was shut down Wednesday after inspectors from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found evidence of rodents in the restaurant, as well as improperly stored utensils and improperly cleaned food surfaces. The inspection racked up 48 points for the restaurant—far more than the 28 necessary for a C grade—and the restaurant was temporarily shut down.
But after two more inspections, the city gave Hungarian a clean bill of health and authorized it to reopen on Friday.
Owner Philip Binioris said that after basement renovations on Thursday and Friday, the restaurant was safe, as reflected by the later inspections. The vast majority of the violations, Binioris said, were in Hungarian's basement, in which no food is stored.
"None of our food ever goes downstairs," he said. "Our food production area was not targeted."
Rodent droppings were found in the basement and in an empty space under the sidewalk that had accumulated debris over the years. That space, which is part of the basement, was walled off during the renovations.
"We built a wall in 24 hours," Binioris said. "And we cleaned out three decades' worth of accumulated junk."
Hungarian, which has been owned by the Binioris family for 36 years and has been in operation for 51 years, is located in a building that was probably built around 1910, according to city data.
"Things deteriorated," Binioris said. "Things that should have been taken care of in the past hadn't been. We're taking care of it now."
The restaurant also brought in a full-service exterminator and fixed holes in the wall and structural damage in the basement with bricks and concrete.
"Our customers should feel safe," Binioris said.
Hungarian now has a "grade pending" rating, with more inspections to come in the next few months.
"We're going to do the best we can to create a healthy environment for our customers, and hopefully that will be reflected" in the future inspections, Binioris said.
Hungarian has received some bad health ratings in the past—including a 50-point inspection last year—but it had never been shut down before. Getting closed "scared the shit out of us," Binioris said.
Like many other restaurateurs around the city, Binioris believes that the health inspection system needs to be reformed. Health department representatives made four trips to Hungarian in three days, Binioris said, and each day the restaurant "racked up a few thousand dollars in fines."
"The grading system is a horrible system," Binioris said. "The health department is a revenue source for the city the way it is currently run It's a great way for the city to make fast money."
"They're not just looking to provide a safe environment, which is what their main mission should be—without a doubt, they're out to generate revenue," he said. "I wouldn't mind more oversight if I felt their motivation was altruistic."
Binioris said the system should be changed to have a "regular inspector who's familiar with the area," instead of the current "subjective" system.
"Every different inspection has a different inspector, and every different inspector has different criteria they are interested in," Binioris said. "Some people are very persistent about food temperature, others about general cleanliness. It depends on who you get.
Several students said that health inspections grades don't have a big impact on where they eat.
"Most of the restaurants I eat at have been shut down," Daniel Carpenter-Gold, CC '12, said. "It happens."
Mustafa Hameed, a postbaccalaureate student at the School of Continuing Education, said that Hungarian is a good place to get coffee and study.
"So long as it isn't visibly gross, it's not much of an issue," he said. "I take the health code stuff as a suggestion—it doesn't deter me from going."
casey.tolan@columbiaspectator.com
