First, let me give credit where credit is due. I would not have gone to Samantha's if it were not for two things - Amy suggesting we eat there after reading Tom Seitsema's chat and my reading Tom Sietsema's Fall Dining Guide. If you follow this link, you will see that I even posted to Tom's chat last week and thanked him personally, cause I really loved Samantha's. Can you guess which post was mine??

Samanatha's is located on a small building by the intersection of University Blvd. and Piney Branch Rd. in Silver Spring. We drove over there for lunch a couple of weekends ago because I had a serious craving for some pupusas. The restaurant looks pretty nice on the inside, which you probably wouldn't normally expect from the look of it on the outside. Staff are all in uniform and wearing ties. I imagine the small dining room get's pretty crowded, but that Saturday afternoon, it wasn't even half full. If Samantha's was in Dupont Circle, there would be a constant line out the door.

I have to admit though, Amy and I didn't exactly brank out and try a lot of different food at Samantha's. Mostly we just ordered pupusas. They are $1.50 each, which is an extreme bargain and they're a lot larger than other pupusas I've had. We also ordered the queso fundido to start with. It was not your ordinary queso made of Velveeta and onions. It was actually made of real cheese and peppers, which is nice. Sometimes, though, you just want Velveeta and onions. :) We ordered a couple of each kind of pupusa - chicken, pork, queso, and beef. To say the least, it was more than either Amy or I could eat. I barely finished three.

Since it was lunch time, I only ordered a single margarita just because I wanted to try one. It was made fresh. I don't think they used any mixer to make this margarita unlike most Mexican restaurants around here. (Take a hint Cactus Cantina)

I'm looking forward to going back to Samantha's and trying their other dishes. They had your typical Tex-Mex dishes like you'll find at Rio Grande Cafe and those types of places. I have this feeling though, they will put those places to shame. I especilly want to try their chimichanga.

Samantha's
631 E. University Blvd
Silver Spring, MD 20901

Map
(301) 445-7300

Hours:
Sun-Thu 11am-11pm
Fri-Sat 11am-Midnight

Dress Code: Casual
Reservations: not taken
Parking available on location.