Agi’s Counter brings Hungarian delicacies to Crown Heights

By Scott Lynch

Even though it’s only been open for about a week, it feels like there’s already a lot of history to Agi’s Counter, a sweet little cafe that’s been attracting crowds to Franklin Avenue for its Eastern European-inspired pastries, sandwiches, and other all-day delights.

The chef and owner here is Jeremy Salamon, who named the place after his 94-year-old Grandma Agi, a holocaust survivor who fled Hungary when the Soviets rolled in 1956, and has always been a large presence in her grandson’s life.

“Like any good Jewish grandmother,” Salamon tells Brooklyn Magazine, “Agi was always overfeeding you, always making too much food, always telling you to take stuff home and pack it up for lunch the next day.”

Grandma Agi

Agi didn’t teach Salamon how to cook, though. That honor fell to his maternal grandmother, Arlene, who taught him how to hold a knife and bake a cake and make dinner for 50 people. “But Grandma Agi really taught me about Hungarian culture, my roots, and how to appreciate my heritage and my family,” he says.

Salamon has been actively planning the Agi’s Counter concept for at least six years, since his days running the kitchen at the Eddy in the East Village (he’s also worked at Locanda Verde, Prune, and Buvette). A long trip around Eastern Europe, a series of pop-ups under the name Fond, a successful $65,000 pandemic-era Kickstarter later, and Agi’s Counter opened its doors last week, coincidentally on the site of Salamon’s very first Fond pop-up, the former Butter and Scotch space on Franklin Avenue.

The food here is what Salamon describes as “Eastern European inspired”—and what I describe as “delicious.” There are several sandwiches available, including a breakfast-only beauty called a leberkäse, which features a fat slab of pork pate, a semi-runny fried egg, a slathering of crazy-rich pear mostarda, and enough pickled peppers to wake you up in a hurry.

Leberkäse, $15 (Scott Lynch)

For something a little lighter in the morning, there’s also a torched grapefruit, which comes sugared and strewn with rye streusel. At lunchtime, you might try Salamon’s Jammy Egg Mousse, an open-faced number starring the creamiest egg salad I’ve ever had in my life. Other sandwich options include the Ritzy-Titzy with poached chicken, the egg-and-cheddar pogacsa, and a tuna confit with horseradish and crispy potatoes.

Jammy Egg Mousse, $11 (Scott Lynch)

There are sides such as cracked beets in fermented honey and a “Lovely Salad With So Many Herbs,” as well as more substantial dishes like cheesy, paper-thin palacsinta (sweet crepes), and a paprika pork sausage plate with butter beans.

Cracked beets, $7 (Scott Lynch)

Salamon says he expects to start dinner service in January or February once he gets his beer and wine license, probably just three nights a week, for which he’ll make “a schnitzel, a vegetarian schnitzel, and 13 different vegetables.”

The pastry program is vital to the whole drop-by-for-a-snack vibe at Agi’s Counter, so Salamon hired his old Locanda Verde buddy Renee Hudson to run that part of the operation. Hudson, a native Brooklynite, nails her versions of these Hungarian and Austrian treats.

The layered Gerbeaud cake is phenomenal, with its messy dark chocolate topping and jolt of apricot jam. The Ferdinand buns are fluffy and sticky.

Ferdinand bun, $6 (Scott Lynch)

The cinnamon, coffee, and walnut twists go great with a cup of coffee, and the caraway shortbread is perfectly balanced so that the nutty anise flavor just sort of sneaks in towards the end of each bite. There are also weekly specials, like a Sachertorte on Fridays and Hungarian doughnuts on Sundays.

Cinnamon, coffee, and walnut twist, $5 each (Scott Lynch)

Caraway shortbread cookies; $2.50 each (Scott Lynch)

The restaurant itself is bright and cheery with a nice big open area up front and a long counter running toward a small dining room in the back. The design is by Michael Groff, another of Salamon’s friends, and it so successfully blows out the narrow Butter and Scotch space that it took me a while to realize exactly what had been here before.

Go early, though, if you want to check it out this weekend. The place has been mobbed, and the pastries are selling out quickly. “The Crown Heights community has been incredibly welcoming,” Salamon said “The neighborhood has spread a lot of love. I’m really excited to be here.”

Agi’s Counter is located at 818 Franklin Avenue, between Eastern Parkway and Union Street, and is currently open on Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.