RESTAURANT REVIEW : Satisfying A Hungary Appetite

Beneath the mighty junction of the Simi Valley and the San Diego freeways, Mission Hills is oddly sleepy. Traffic on Sepulveda is so light at high noon you could stage a gunfight in the passing lane. But surprise--there’s life in the restaurant scene ‘round these parts.

The Fast Hungarian, for instance. But let’s get some misconceptions out of the way right now. It’s not named for a former Olympic great--that was Paavo Nurmi, the Flying Finn. Owners Miklos and Eva Perehazy decided on the name because they thought it might attract the lunch crowd. (What next? The Speedy Serb? The Rapid Rumanian?)

It’s not really what I’d call a fast-food place, though, nor does it look like one. It’s a cluttered, boxy little cafe with a woodsy outdoor patio. Take the patio if you are prone to claustrophobia--there are only two inside tables, tiny ones squeezed pretty close together. And don’t even think about sitting at the lunch counter if you’re taller than five feet because you’ll face a serious risk of bumping your head on the ceiling.

The menu is basic: a few sandwiches, some burgers and four or five Hungarian specialties that Eva prepares daily. The most satisfying choice is chicken paprikas, stewed chicken with a sour cream sauce. The sauce is pink from sweet imported paprika, and you’ll love it on the wonderful little dumplings, known as galuska in Hungarian. It’s fun to watch a Hungarian chef make them by dropping dough into scalding water through a special colander. They taste of egg yolk and fresh flour and are highly addictive.

Goulash-- gulyas to the Magyars--comes in two forms. One is a soup: a ruddy, oily broth with large chunks of potato, thick slices of carrot and soft, buttery pieces of stew beef. The other is a stew, deep red from paprika and thickened with flour and cream for extra body. Eat the whole bowlful . . . for extra body.

Of course there is stuffed cabbage--dense, dry cabbage rolls stuffed with finely minced meat and rice. Here they are smeared with sour cream and served on a bed of mild sauerkraut. Hungarians soak their sauerkraut, by the way, to reduce the sourness. The result is a taste sweetly reminiscent of food in a Hungarian csarda or country inn.

There are no true Hungarian sweets here, just a drab strawberry shortcake with a cream substitute and some supermarket chocolate cake. (I said the name of this place was the Fast Hungarian, not the Fat Hungarian.)

The Fast Hungarian, 10720 Sepulveda Blvd., Mission Hills; (818) 898-3616. Open for lunch and dinner from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. No alcoholic beverages. Parking lot. No credit cards. Lunch for two, food only, $8 to $15.