Cheap Eats 2013: Samantha’s
Quick reviews of ethnic cuisines you can experience for less than $25 a person, tax and tip included.
Carne Asada from Samantha's. Photograph by Scott Suchman
To call this place pan-Latin suggests a slick spot with
colorful drinks and cooking that’s more American than Latin. But this
jumping restaurant really aims to do it all—with dishes from El Salvador,
Mexico, Cuba (a good masitas de puerco), even Spain (the shrimp
in olive oil summons a tapas bar). Start with the pupusas—there
are seven varieties of the griddled pancakes, with nary a spit of
grease—then zero in on the carne asada.
See all of our 2013 Cheap Eats picks.
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Executive Food Editor/Critic
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Food Editor
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.