Comforting pierogi, crunchy samosas, fluffy bao: Just about every culture has riffed on the concept of making a tasty food even more delicious by surrounding it with dough.
Fortunately you don’t have to travel the globe to savor the multitude of variations of stuffed dough. Oak Park and the other near west suburbs are home to eateries that bring the flavors of the world to you. Follow us on a stuffed-dough crawl of our favorite spots to, well, stuff ourselves.
Pierogi: Eastern European Comfort
Hearty stuffed dumplings are the ultimate in comfort food, and every Eastern and Middle European country claims a version as their own. Pierogi from Poland are arguably the most popular here in the Chicago area. Some might say it’s because Chicagoland has one of the largest Polish communities outside of Poland, but we think it’s because pierogi are so wonderfully warming. Filled with everything from potatoes and cheese to sauerkraut and mushrooms, then boiled and sometimes finished with a quick pan-fry, these bites are a taste of home, regardless of where home is.
Sawa’s Old Warsaw
9200 West Cermak Road, Broadview, IL
Coming to Sawa’s Old Warsaw is like a visit to a Polish babcia, or grandmother, who shows her love by laying out a feast of every dish she’s perfected over the decades. At this buffet-style restaurant you can make an entire meal of just the homemade pierogi—potato, cabbage, cheese, meat—but then you’d be missing out on the sausage, potato pancakes, pickled vegetables, stuffed cabbage… Fortunately you can go back to the buffet for seconds (and thirds!).
Polish immigrant Walter Sawa opened the restaurant in 1973, and the decor is like a time capsule in all the best ways.
Tata’s Pierogi Factory Outlet
3010 Willow Street, Franklin Park, IL
The founders of Tata’s first sold their pierogi at street fairs and festivals. By popular demand, they opened a restaurant in Elk Grove Village, as well as Tata’s Pierogi Factory Outlet in Franklin Park. While the latter is low-frills in appearance, the house-made pierogi are first class all the way. You can get individual pierogi to eat then and there as well as boxes of frozen dumplings to relish at home.
Fillings range from traditional potato-and-cheese and blueberry to innovations such as jalapeño and Philly cheesesteak. Vegan and gluten-free options are available, as are potato pancakes, stuffed cabbage rolls, and other complementary dishes. Our advice: Grab a variety of frozen pierogi so that you can sate any and all cravings at home, and treat yourself to a few hot ones while you’re there.
Empanadas: Hand Pies for All Occasions
Baked or fried pastry pockets, empanadas originated in seventh-century Spain, but many would argue they were perfected in Latin America, with each country contributing their own twist. Mexican empanada crust is made with masa, a specially prepared type of corn flour; Colombian empanadas use cornmeal; the El Salvador version is wrapped in plantains rather than dough. They can be filled with just about any food you can think of, making them an ideal portable breakfast, lunch, snack, or even dinner.
Mulata Kitchen & Coffee
136 North Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, IL
Cristiane Pereira founded Mulata Kitchen & Coffee as a love letter to the cuisine of her native Brazil, so of course its menu includes pão de queijo, moqueca de peixe (fish stew), and feijoada, the country’s national dish. Delectable as those are, it’s the baked-daily empanadas that are this café’s standout. Fillings include beef, spinach, guava-and-cheese, and hearts of palm.
Open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. every day except Sunday, Mulata is a sunny, casual spot for a bracing to-go breakfast, a convivial lunchtime break, or an any-time-of-day pick-me-up. You definitely want to pair your empanadas with one of the custom coffee blends, a hot matcha, or an iced latte.
Empanadus
7 East Burlington Street, Riverside, IL
22 West Calendar Court, La Grange, IL
The team at Empanadus clearly believe in specializing in one thing and doing it very, very well. Here that one thing is empanadas, with nearly 20 fillings. Favorites include beef with onions, olives, and hard-boiled eggs; spinach and mushroom with béchamel sauce; apple with brown sugar and cinnamon; and the ultimate Chicago-Argentina crossover, Italian sausage with cheese, bell peppers, and olives. Don’t forget the sauces: chimichurri, spicy chimichurri, habanero, and criollo, an onion-based salsa.
The counter-style shop has a few café tables for dining in, but we suggest bringing a box of mix-and-match flavors to a friend’s for a laid-back get-together or taking a bundle home for an easy dinner.
Ravioli and Other Stuffed Pastas
Petite, usually square, and commonly filled with ricotta, spinach, or ground beef, ravioli are arguably the best-known Italian stuffed pastas, but they’re hardly the only ones. Ring-shape tortellini are often served in broth; crescent-shape mezzelune are frequently made with a heartier buckwheat-and-semolina dough; cannelloni and manicotti are pasta tubes. You’ll find some sort of filled pasta at just about any Italian restaurant, and at many other types of eateries as well. Once you’ve sampled it as made by culinary artisans, however, you’ll never take it for granted again.
Il Vicolo Trattoria
116 North Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, IL
With its white tablecloths and brick walls, Il Vicolo is warm, inviting, and familiar in the best possible way. But the chefs ensure the dishes taste anything but ordinary. The house-made pastas include ravioli stuffed with rich burrata and served with a creamy pesto and toasted almonds and lobster-stuffed ravioli in a bright basil-accented tomato sauce.
Beyond ravioli, Il Vicolo offers grilled wild-caught salmon, spinach gnocchi, two types of risotto, and six varieties of thin-crust Neapolitan-style pizza, among other standbys. There’s also a full bar plus cannoli, tiramisu, and an assortment of gelati for dessert.
Victory Italian
100 South Marion Street, Oak Park, IL
Victory Italian declares on its menu that it makes “the best ravioli around,” and plenty of fans agree, praising the bold, authentic flavors. House-made, the ravioli are available filled with meat or cheese and topped with marinara or vodka sauce. Another type of filled pasta on the menu, Aunt Angie’s Stuffed Shells, is also homemade, filled with spinach, ricotta, and mozzarella, and accompanied by vodka sauce.
Since man allegedly cannot live by pasta alone, the menu includes other beloved Italian-American favorites such as chicken marsala, eggplant Parmesan, and sea bass piccata. Everything is enhanced by the spirited vibe of the staff and the surroundings. In winter there’s a cozy fireplace, and during the warm-weather months you can eat alfresco on the spacious covered patio.
Samosas: Crisp, Spiced, and Snackable
Like hot dogs in the U.S., samosas are sold by street vendors throughout India. And as with hot dogs in the U.S., every region has its own take on them that denizens insist is the best. Stuffed and deep-fried till golden, these triangular treats are commonly filled with a mix of boiled potatoes, peas, and a glorious gamut of chilis and other spices, then served with chutney. Variations abound, and samosas are also popular throughout the rest of Asia and East Africa. Regardless of provenance, they’re a textural delight, with the crispy exterior complementing the soft, sumptuous interior.
Kama Bistro
9 South La Grange Road, La Grange, IL
With its sophisticated dark walls, handsome wood tables, and hand-carved artworks, Kama Bistro seems an unlikely spot to find street food. But its hand-folded, from-scratch samosas, filled with perfectly spiced potatoes and peas, prove that the snack makes an ideal starter for an elegant sit-down dinner. Several other stuffed doughs also appear on the menu, including keema naan (flatbread filled with spiced ground lamb) and paneer ravioli, a delicious demonstration of the restaurant’s fusion approach.
You can also enjoy classic curries, malai kofta (potato-and-paneer dumplings), and tandoori-grilled dishes alongside eclectic options such as steak tacos cooked with coconut. Happily, samosas go great with all of them.
Dumplings and Potstickers: Delicious Variety
East Asia is home to a trove of dumplings. China’s jiaozi, which include potstickers, begat Japan’s gyoza, known for their exceptionally thin wrappers. Mandu from Korea are sometimes filled with kimchi for extra punch, while buuz, the national dish of Mongolia, are hearty meat-filled fare. The dumplings can be steamed or boiled as well as pan-fried, and all manner of vegetables, meats, and seafood can be tucked inside the wrappers—so many options, so much tastiness.
Katy’s Dumplings
1113 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL
As its name suggests, dumplings are the core offering of Katy’s Dumplings. Not only can you choose from numerous varieties, but for many types you can also specify whether you’d like them steamed, baked, or pan-fried. The wrappers for the pork with chive dumplings are made with flour and spinach, while the beef with scallion wrappers are made with flour and beets. Those who hanker for spice will want to order the Chengdu dumplings, topped with red chili oil.
While Katy’s Dumplings is the local go-to for dumplings, many also clamor for its hand-pulled noodles. They’re a highlight of numerous chow meins and soups, including the if-you-dare super-spicy beef tendon soup. Carb-loading has never been so flavorful.
Bao and Buns: Fluffy Little Pillows
How much people in China love bao? So much that in Mandarin, the word can also mean “treasure.” With a leavened dough that’s sweeter and plumper than that of dumplings, these steamed, filled buns are a treasure indeed. Also known as baozi, bao are a popular street food not only in China but also throughout other Asian countries. In the States they’re a common component of dim sum, their pillowy softness yielding to rich fillings such as pork, mushrooms, and chicken.
Kyuramen
118 North Marion Street, Oak Park, IL
Ramen is the focal point of Kyuramen’s menu, but customers wax rapturous when describing its bao as well. In keeping with the eatery’s casual, contemporary vibe, the bao has been given a modern interpretation. The fluffy, amply sized steamed bao serve as sandwich buns rather than encasing the filling. Choose from braised pork and fried chicken, each topped with fresh vegetables and accompanied by the house sauce.
Kyuramen offers other varieties of stuffed dough as well, including spicy chili dumplings and deep-fried balls filled with lobster and chashu (braised pork belly). Any and all are an ideal complement to the numerous ramen options.
One World, Many Filled Doughs
For all the various shapes, cooking methods, and flavors, one thing is universal: Stuffed doughs deliver comfort and joy in a most delicious way. Check out our suggested spots to see which type is your favorite, or share any we missed online @exploreoakparkandbeyond.