Good Uzbek food is hard to find in this city. In fact, as far as DZ knows, there’s only one place to get it, and that’s at Russian Tea Time. There, among specialties from all over the former Soviet Union, you’ll find Uzbekistan’s best-loved baked dumpling: the samsa. This hefty fist-sized pie, made of ground lamb wrapped in pastry, probably has an etymological connection to Indian samosas, but it’s much less complicated, spice-wise. Traditionally stuck to the side of a clay oven wall and peeled off when finished, this tasty bundled meal is seasoned only with onions, garlic, salt and coriander. Tea Time-owned by Russians from Uzbekistan-does a nice job on its samsas, with only two major differences from the ones you’d get in an Uzbek bazaar: they replace the mutton-and-fat filling with lamb, and their $9.95 price for two (which also includes carrot salad) inflates the bazaar price by 1,000 percent. You can also find Russian Tea Time samsas at Treasure Island stores for $10 a pound.
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