Samantha's

Address: 631 University Blvd., E., Silver Spring/Takoma Park, MD 20901

Phone: 301-445-7300

Neighborhood: Silver Spring/Takoma Park

Cuisines: Tex-Mex, South American, Peruvian, Mexican, Salvadoran

Opening Hours: Open Sunday through Thursday 11 to 11, Friday and Saturday 11 AM to midnight.

Nearby Metro Stops: Silver Spring

Price Range: Inexpensive

Dress: Informal

Noise Level: Chatty

Reservations: Not Needed

Website: Click here to open in new window.

Best Dishes Chicken tamales; carne asada; Salvadoran-style whole trout; masitas de puerco; seafood pupusas; black beans.

Price Details: Appetizers, $3.95 to $10.95; entrees, $10.95 to $25.95.

The menu is primarily a mix of Mexican (terrific carne asada) and Salvadoran (seven kinds of pupusas) cooking, but it also borrows from other Spanish-speaking countries. Masitas de puerco—cubes of pork marinated in garlic and bitter oranges, then seared until crusty—are a Havana tradition done right. Milanesa de carne—a thinly pounded, breaded steak served with rice salad and beans—transports you to a Buenos Aires cafe. From Spain comes gambas al ajillo, a gratin of shrimp sizzling in a garlicky butter sauce. It arrives with a baguette, and it’s hard not to blow your appetite swabbing up the sauce.

Entrées are so generous that they can be stretched into a day or two of leftovers.

Open daily for lunch and dinner.