The Samosa House

After passing it so many times on the way to work, I finally decided to stop into Samosa House for lunch. My previous experience with Indian in LA had been terrible, but my previous experience with Indian food in general had been excellent. Depending on who you ask, the sign out front advertising vegetarian/vegan food could be seen as a boon or a bust. The food was served cafeteria style and the combo meal gets you rice, three choices from the troughs, and some freshly baked naan. While the restaurant was called the Samosa House, a samosa did not actually come with the meal and had to be ordered extra.

Occupying the first few troughs were afew dishes somehow composed of different types of meat substitutes. Since most authentic Indian dishes do not actually contain meat, the prospect of getting a fake of an imitation was not one I found appealing. Given that, I decided to go with the dhaal, pakora, and my favorite: the saag. Anyone knowing me roughly ten years ago would have been stunned to find out that not only was I eating pakora made of cauliflower, but that I would actually list a dish made of spinach as my favorite. While the made fresh naan was given to me immediately, the samosa was only later delivered to my table. As a drink, I served myself water in a cup that felt as if it was, and was confirmed to be by the writing on the bottom, made of corn. Just like yesterday, they were trying to be environmentally friendly, but unlike yesterday they hadn’t put in on the marquee.

The main dishes were good and flavorful, but nothing special. The true standout was the garlic naan, which was just as good as the made to order bread would suggest. After eating the main part of my meal I turned at last to the samosa, which looked more to me at first like a Mediterranean spinach pie and was served with two different chuttneys. As I dipped the samosa in the first and took a bite I was quite distressed to realize that the chutney was cold. As I gave up the first sauce and dipped in the second I was foiled again by a failure to bring the condiments to the correct temperature. The only way that I was able to get over my disappointment was to simply eat the samosa plain. It was good and was particularly distinct by the daring use of nutmeg. The Samosa House was a fine eating experience in general, but one in which the title food of the restaurant played quite a minor role.