Chow: Halušky And Deep-Fried Burgers At Korzo Haus
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The weather is cooling off just enough that heartier fare is in order. Korzo Haus, a Slovakian restaurant in the East Village, is deep-frying burgers and halušky, a traditional Eastern European dish. CHOW.com Contributing Editor Alex Van Buren filed the following report. I often use the Chowhound boards to help me find new dishes for this segment, and Chowhound Seth Gordon suggested this deep-fried burger at Korzo Haus in Alphabet City.
It’s a patty with cheese, pickles, mustard, and bacon, wrapped in dough and deep-fried. Seth likes it because, as he says, it’s “a really well thought out sandwich. It’s not just the burger equivalent to a corn dog.” He’s right: The texture is really interesting and the fried dough is almost as soft as a brioche.
Korzo Haus is run by two Slovakians, Otto and Maria Zizak. They met in second grade, and kept in touch until Maria moved here nine years ago to be with Otto.
Their fried burger is solid, but I actually fell for the halušky, a potato-egg noodle. Otto says that in Slovakia a cook is judged for his halušky. Slovaks who come in to Korzo Haus will tell him what is wrong or right about his version.
Here they serve two types. One is mixed, pressed through this Army-issue halušky maker, boiled, and tossed with bryndza, a feta-style cheese. It’s topped with bacon, and it’s the version of the dish that Seth prefers.
But I like the other type of halusky. Chef Steven Reese was trying to figure out a new kind of French fry, so he deep-fried halušky and tossed it with rosemary oil. The result is great-- almost like hushpuppies in texture, and the rosemary really brightens the dish. I like them with a pint of the house ale, which is a little hoppy. You can get all a burger, a pint of beer and the halušky before 7pm on weekdays for 14 bucks.
Korzo Haus is at 178 East 7th Street between Avenues A and B. For more dining recommendations, visit CHOW.com. I’m Alex Van Buren of CHOW.com, for food, drink and fun.