The red, white and green ribbons hanging in the restaurant should give you your first clue. They are the colors of the Hungarian flag… and also the Italian!
Posto 896 owner Peter Fabian-Zomora, the Transylvanian-born owner, chef and sommelier, offers the only Hungarian restaurant in Southern California – albeit with an Italian twist.
For Peter, it’s all about culture and bringing his heritage to the table.
He grew up on a large farm in Hungary where he cooked with his grandmother, and sourced vegetables from their own garden, chickens from their roost, pigs from their own sty and even wine from their own vineyards.
He helped his beloved grandmother take the waters at Beyus, which led to a interest in volcanology, which then led to college in Naples, where he learned Italian cooking.
He laughed when saying, “Real Hungarian grandmothers and real Italian grandmothers are exactly the same. ‘Work, work, work, eat, eat, eat.”
And eat we did!
Peter honed his craft upon coming to California in such famous restaurants as Ago and Cafe Roma. (Ago is owned by the same family that owns Tuscanova in Calabasas.)
At Posto he’s combined his Hungarian roots with his Italian savoir fare to present the best of both.
Having grown up in a Hungarian household, I was anxious to see if Posto lived up to my grandmother’s recipes.
It did – and more.
Though he offers both cuisines, Peter’s pride in his Transylvanian roots shines through the most, and the dishes reflect that.
There is the traditional chicken paprikas with homemade nokedi (dumplings), schintzel and of course, goulash. But the winner overall on this side of the menu was by far was the mushroom paprikas. Now I’ve had this prepared by the chef at the Hungarian Embassy in D.C., and Peter blows theirs’ away. I’ve taken family to Posto twice, and each time we’ve all ordered the same dish.
We start with the beet salad, another traditional favorite, which is large enough for three, and flavored with an insanely good balsamic vinaigrette, and also with the traditional Hungarian cucumber salad.
This time around we sampled the Italian side with lasagna alla bolognese, which was meaty and rich.
Where Peter’s Italian knowledge comes in the most is in the wine collection. Learned at Robert de Niro’s L.A. restaurants, his knowledge of wine and vintages is superb – and he chose an excellent vintage to accompany each of our courses.
We had several delightful full-bodied Italian wines, including the Brunello di Montalcino and a lovely Sangiovese.
But to cap off the evening with dessert we had Hungary’s most celebrated wine – Tokaji Assu – the “wine of kings and king of wines.” This delightful dessert wine was the perfect accompaniment to our desserts, which celebrate both sides of the menu.
We had a light-as-air tiramisu, and a traditional Hungarian zserbo, a layered dessert with apricot jam, walnuts and chocolate frosting.
Definitely save room for dessert.
Also take time to dine. This is not a meal to be rushed, especially since Peter explains the history of each dish, each wine, and its Hungarian roots.
For instance, did you know that Agostan Haraszthy was a Hungarian immigrant who is widely known as the “Father of California Viticulture,” founding Sonoma’s oldest premium winery.?He championed the region before it became world-famous.
You’ll enjoy more than dinner at Posto 896. You’ll get some history, some humor and some amazing food.
Posto 896 is located at 15615 Ventura Blvd. in Encino. Reservations are recommended at (424) 415-0611. Posto can also accompany large parties, groups or meetings in a private room that seats up to 40. For more visit posto896.com.
