If I dreamt up my idea of a perfect Indian restaurant it would be exactly like Samosa House. The prices are reasonable, the food is outstanding, the staff is very friendly and knowledgeable, the atmosphere is warm and sunny, and there is not an ounce of meat in the whole damn place! The concept basically takes the idea behind India Sweets and Spices--a buffet-style spread with an accompanying grocery store--and makes it good. Whereas Sweets and Spices tend to be dingy and extremely unwelcoming, Samosa House is just the opposite. Let's start off by talking about the signature dish, the samosa!
These samosas are completely vegan which is a rare find as most samosas use dairy in the dough. When you dip a corner of the perfectly flaky crust into one of the accompanying sauces (cilantro or tamarind) you get a one heavenly bite. At $1.50 a pop these are a great deal--I know because I recently tried to get a bunch of samosas in the valley for a Slumdog Millionaire themed Academy Award party and it was too pricey for this gal's tight budget!
Onto the main shebang...Samosa House offers ten different entrees that rotate throughout the week. I think the best way to go is to order a combo plate. For $7.99 you get your choice of 3 sides with raita, rice, and two pieces of flat bread (which is really like an Indian tortilla). But wait, you are vegan and you don't eat the yogurt-based raita! No problem, the kind people at Samosa House will let you have a fourth choice of entree instead!
In my experience, out of the ten entree choices usually six to eight of them are completely vegan. All the staff members know exactly what each dish contains so you don't have to worry about accidentally chowing down a plate full of ghee. On a recent visit I got this small feast of (clockwise from upper right corner) cauliflower curry, jackfruit, grilled eggplant, and potato curry. All of it was ab-fab.
Samosa House's jack fruit is the same delectable texture as the jack fruit at Pure Luck. It is delicately seasoned and has quickly become a major favorite at our office. So much so that when we order lunch from there we always get one box filled only with it.
If I'm not very specific about the details of each dish, it's because I don't really pay attention. When I go into Samosa House I just point at the four things that look the most scrumptious and I have yet to find a single dish that doesn't completely hit the spot. On one occasion they had this crazy good soy crumble dish (seen below in the upper right corner.) I couldn't really pin point any specific flavors but whatever was in it made one awesome little dish. Also seen below are a lentil dal and some chana masala. I just drooled on my petty cash envelope thinking about those crumbles.
In addition to all this good food, Samosa House also offers your usual array of lassis and a case full of Indian sweets. They also sell a pretty big variety of imported candy like Bounty bars and my favorite-pre-vegan-candy-in-the-whole world: Kinder Buenos. When you're done stuffing your face you should do some shopping in the market for jars of lime pickle or extremely cheap spices. And look out for me because I can't seem to stay away!
Samosa House
11510 W. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
310.398.6766
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12 comments:
Oh wow I need to get back there asap! They are super nice there, too!
Just got try this place for the first time the other day myself... loved it! The food was yummy, the market was packed with exotic goodies I've never seen at the other Indian shops in the area, and most impressively, the nice lady behind the country fully understood what vegan meant and helped me pick out my food accordingly. The jackfruit rocked my world too!
"behind the country"?
um, meant to say:
"behind the counter"
:)
Yeah unlike the employees at many other Indian shops around town where they treat you like you just shot their mother, the samosa house crew is upbeat and friendly!
i wish this weren't like a trillion miles away from me!! (actually, it's probably only like 8 miles)
Indian is one of my fav. ethnic cuisines... Samosa house sounds wonderful! Did you know Whole Foods sells vegan samosas at their buffet bar? Spicey and fried, but very good :-)
kirby--8 miles in L.A. translates to a dubrillion hours in traffic. but maybe one of these days i will see if samosa house goodies can sustain the long trek from west side to east and we will have a feast!
laci--i did not know that about whole foods! but i am going to look into that right away!
i really like this place but my husband doesn't. he says the food is bland and not hot enough. i guess maybe that's because he's english and is used to better curry lol.
i am glad i am not alone in loving it, though. i think the jackfruit is AMAZING.
That's a lot of food! OMG, it'd be gone in 60 seconds. Samosas are the best things. They are at the top of the list of fave Indian food. That's a pretty cheap price for one. Good to know!
Me too!
Sounds like my kinda place. From my experience with Curry Hill near Madison Square Park (NY), the Vegetarian or Vegan Indian places where always way better.
omg. That is sooo good. (emphasis on the soooo) I need to eat vegan Indian like NOW!
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