Tandoor Samsa

-Grubbing in Chicago(land)  
Uzbek Pastries in Buffalo Grove

Here's an interesting stop up in the Northwest Suburbs. I know I've said it many times but there's some gems to be found in the strip malls of the city's suburbs. Tandoor Samsa caught my eye as I was browsing a list of places within Buffalo Grove. There seems to be a decent selection of Central Asian restaurants in town and Tandoor Samsa was interesting bc it's named after a savory pastry.  

Locals Favorite in Buffalo Grove 

According to the Central Asia travel website, samsa is Uzbek slang for samosa. These buns are made with a flaky pastry and stuffed with ground beef and lots of onion which makes them juicy. Samsas are almost always baked as opposed to the fried samosas of South Asia. Typically they're baked in a tandoor oven which is how Tandoor Samsa does theirs. They offer a nice selection of Central Asian comfort foods many of which are packed to go in the refrigerated case up front. That tells me there's a decent amount of Uzbeks in the area. On my visit there was a couple others who stopped in to take some samsas to go as there was no indoor dining at the time. I followed their lead and took six to go figuring I'd drop some off to friends or family. These come filled with ground beef, potato, and onion and are very similar to the pasties found in the U.P except they're only about a 1/4 in size. A not so spicy red sauce comes served on the side which helps give it some extra flavor. A universally loved dish that just happens to be called a number of things depending on exactly where they come from. 

Samsa at Tandoor Samsa

Tandoor Samsa

706 S Buffalo Grove Rd
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
(847) 947-8284
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