Food

Cheap Eats 2012: Surfside

Cheap Eats 2012

With its frozen margaritas, reggae soundtrack, and wooden roof
deck, this Glover Park hangout makes you feel closer to the beach than any
other place in town. The Cali-Mex menu reads like it’s laid-back, too, but
David Scribner is a serious chef who pays attention to the little things.
There’s not a trace of fake cheese in the warm queso dip, and tortilla
chips are freshly fried. Shrimp tacos feature plump, grilled crustaceans
topped with house-made pineapple salsa and lime-infused sour
cream.

Even the healthy stuff—ultra-fresh salads with toppings such as
grilled salmon and grilled pineapple—is satisfying. For dessert, we like
the chocolate-iced vanilla cupcakes from the bakery Something Sweet, run
by the wife of Surfside owner Bo Blair.

Also good: Guacamole and chips; steak and
veggie quesadillas; carnitas tacos.

Ann Limpert
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.