The original Novak’s Hungarian restaurant in Albany, OR (the original one, off the highway) was probably the only place I ever found in Oregon that made baked goods taste the way I thought they should. American chocolate cake is “fudge-y”; Hungarian chocolate cake is not.

If you have consumed Gypsy Johns, and prefer them (light chocolate cake, rich chocolate/sour cream frosting), you understand. It’s like a secret society handshake.