We can now add Romanian food to Highland Park's ever-growing array of international cuisines. Parsnip, a tiny cafe on York Boulevard, is a great value, even in a part of town with a lot of wonderful, inexpensive food. A $9 bowl of chicken paprikash, a mild and creamy stew served over polenta, was enough for both my lunch and leftovers for dinner. Entrees come with either polenta or veggie barley pilaf. I especially loved the pilaf — it had that perfect grain-salad balance of being hearty enough to fill you up while also containing no filler and avoiding heaviness. I had it over the “red red braise,” a stew made of beef braised with red wine and tomatoes. There are also bulz — Romanian dumplings a little like arancini, made with polenta instead of rice — salads, wraps and lovely homemade soups, as well as a few sweets, including a dessert dumpling made with potato and served with apple sauce. I'll be back for the stuffed flatbreads, and dips that look as though they may broaden my eggplant dip horizons.

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