Lunch Box has fast food, Hungarian style

The Lunch Box is the newest eatery in Lakeview. It opened near the end of last month and specializes…

The Lunch Box is the newest eatery in Lakeview. It opened near the end of last month and specializes in Hungarian cuisine that's a lot older than Canada.

For owner, chief cook and bottle washer Sarolta Cseke, it also represents the roots she and her family are putting down in this country.

Originally from a small village in Hungary, Cseke and her husband immigrated to Canada in 2004 in search of a better life.

"When you're an immigrant, you have to find a connection in your new country," she said. "I want roots here for my family and for me."

With sons Matyas, 9, and Paul, 5, at school full-time, Cseke decided it was time to plant those roots herself. The result is The Lunch Box at 562 Lakeshore Rd. East, about a block from where she lives.

The space she rented had never been used for food preparation, which meant a full reno. Luckily her husband Gabe is in construction, and he brought in a crew to do walls, flooring, and almost everything else that needed doing. The result sparkles.

Pride of place in the kitchen goes to a computerized oven that Cseke says can do anything she wants it to.

She needed no help figuring out what she wanted to serve. The style is fast food, but Hungarian style à la Cseke. Some prep work is done ahead of time, but everything is freshly made to order as a customer wants it. There are deli items and a range of hot foods that change daily. A typical day's choices could include cabbage rolls, chicken paprikash, veal schnitzel and beef gulyas (goulash) served over nokedli, an egg pasta Cseke makes herself.

Matyas and Paul are huge fans of their mother's cooking.

"The crepes with nutella are best," said Matyas.

Paul agreed but put in a good word for the french fries.

As far as Gabe is concerned, it's the gulyas that's his favourite. Then again he said, "She cooks everything excellent."

The restaurant is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, eat in or take out. The Lunch Box also does catering. Prices are generally under $6 for a meal.

"Every day we get more people," said Cseke. "Once they come, they come back again."