It’s raining and thundering today in Los Angeles, which means it’s the perfect time to finally write about Parsnip. Here on a quieter stretch of York Boulevard in Highland Park, Aracelly Flores and Anca Caliman are cooking up Romanian comfort food with a California point of view.

The Astronomer, June, and I came in for dinner on a Friday evening. After placing our order inside, we grabbed a table on the sidewalk and settled in for some eastern European cooking.

Every table contained a condiment jar filled with pico verde, a spicy and vinegary brew brimming with onions, chiles, and dill that tasted terrific atop just about every dish.

First up were a duo of dumplings. The baseball-sized bulz ($5), polenta dumplings filled with cheese, red peppers, and sauerkraut, were served with sour cream and benefited from the table-side pico verde. 

Equally hefty and homey were the gomboti ($5), potato dumplings with cheese, parsley, and green onion.

Our favorite starter was the plachinta ($6). The feta- and dill-stuffed flatbread’s fluffy texture was reminiscent of Indian naan, while the filling was purely Romanian.  

Next up was a bowl of chicken paprikash served over barley ($10). The 
creamy tomato red pepper sauce had a stick-to-your-bones quality to it, while the red cabbage slaw rounded out the richness. 

My favorite dish of the evening was the generously portioned bowl of slow-roasted pork shoulder plopped atop creamy polenta with an apple onion sauce ($11).  A double punch of pork and polenta can be too rich, but there’s nothing a bit of vinegary red cabbage and pico verde can’t solve. 

For dessert, a slice of the house-made salted caramel walnut cake and a slice of the pear polenta upside-down cake.

‘Tis the season for braised meats, hearty stews, and all the dumplings one can eat.

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Parsnip
5623 York Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90042 
Phone: 323-739-0240

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Two years ago: Kin Khao – San Francisco
Three years ago: Slacker.
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Six years ago: Conquering Fears: Last Call for Rabbit Heads at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport
Seven years ago: Mariscos La Puntilla – Mazatlán
Eight years ago: The Pie Hole – Los Angeles (Downtown)
Nine years ago: {swoon} Caramelized Bacon and Salted Caramel Bread Pudding at Crème Caramel LA
Ten years ago: Don Chow Tacos – Los Angeles
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Thirteen years ago: Kanoyama – New York City