Hungarian banks, comedians and food.

Conceding a persistent Eurocentrism, I find this utterly fascinating, but first, on another Magyar note, do you know the origin of the comedian Louis C.K.'s stage name?

C.K.'s stage name is an approximate English pronunciation of his Hungarian surname, Székely (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈseːkej]).

As usual, I'm now craving goulash -- not the beef and paprika soup, which is fine, but Székely Goulash.

Kraut and pork and paprika.

Yummers.

Goulash in the melting pot, at American Dirt.

On the corner of an otherwise nondescript strip mall just outside of New Brunswick, New Jersey, I encountered this storefront:

Nothing particularly special about it in the grand scheme of things—nothing that jumps out, just from viewing the exterior.

But the name is distinctive. Magyar. For those not in the know, Magyarország is the word for Hungary…in Hungarian. The word we know to describe this formerly large territory comes from the Roman Catholic Latin word used in the Middle Ages, Hungaria, which is no doubt easier for most Anglophones to say. But “Magyar” is the Hungarian word for the Hungarian language, as well as the demonym Hungarians would use: from their linguistically isolated position in Central Europe (neither Germanic nor Slavic), they refer to themselves as Magyars.

For the same reason that I still receive inquiries about my brewing company from ethnic Albanians ...

The name is a tacit shibboleth. Since most Americans who aren’t auditioning for Jeopardy are unlikely to recognize the word “Magyar”, this bank clearly intends to attract those who are in the know—who can make the connection that Magyar is about Hungarians.

There's more. Go read it.

Joe Zawinul, his symphony, the Roma and food.

A few weeks ago, I picked up the late online.org/">Joe Zawinul's symphony, Stories of the Danube. The fifth section is called "Gypsy," as in the Roma people, to whom Zawinul traced at least part of his own lineage as a part Sinti (guitarist Django Reinhardt is the most famous Sinti musician).

Oddly, all this struck me rather forcefully on Sunday while dining at the German Cafe in French Lick, because I ordered delectable Zigeunerschnitzel, which features a hearty paprika sauce. The German word translates as Gypsy Schnitzel, and as it turns out (unsurprisingly) is not as savory in connotation as the meal in French Lick.

We are against the word "Zigeuner"

The Roma (including Sinti; read this report from Cologne) were viewed as racially inferior, and harshly treated in Nazi Germany. It is believed that 25% of the approximately one million Roma living in Europe before World War II died in the Holocaust.

For deeper reading, this book is 20 years old, but invaluable: Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey, by Isabel Fonseca.

Zigeunerschnitzel may be politically incorrect, but enlightenment through cuisine remains an option, as in this encouraging story about Roma cooking.

Introducing Roma Cuisine, The Little-Known 'Soul Food' Of Europe, by Meghan Collins Sullivan (NPR)

 ... A development group in Slovenia has just opened the first large-scale Roma restaurant in Europe. Romani Kafenava in Maribor, Slovenia, began serving up traditional Balkan Romani dishes like stews and grilled meats in April.

Why Slovenia? About 12,000 of the small country's two million inhabitants are Roma. With more than 3,000 Roma, Maribor – Slovenia's second-largest city — has the biggest concentration of Roma in the country. As is the case with many countries in Europe, the Roma have long been ostracized here.