Samantha's
Jul 28, 2005
This was the best damn dish I've eaten in a long time. I know it doesn't look like much from the pathetic photography (please ignore the shadow cast from my hand in in front of the flash) exhibited here, but it was delicious. Saturday afternoon, Amy and I went to Samantha's because Amy had a craving for some pupusas. Who was I to deny her?
Instead of just blindly ordering something new off the menu, I asked our server what he recommended. He immediately pointed me to a dish on the specials menu -- tenderloin tips with rice, cilantro sauce, black beans and tomatoes. It sounded simple, but sometimes the simplest things on the menu end up tasting the best.
Amy ordered 5 pupusas as well, which upon ordering, our server looked at us like we were nuts. "You want 5 pupusas?!" He had to double check, but I informed him that I intended to share them with Amy. In case you've never had pupusas at Samantha's, they're quite large.
So back to the tenderloin tips. The smell of this dish when it was first brought to the table made my mouth water. Bright colors of green, red, and purple from the cilantro sauce, tomatoes and pickled red onions made the dish visibly appealing. The tender steak, grilled on a kabab with peppers, onions and mushrooms, is matched with cilantro and mole sauces, pickled red onions, tomatoes, and black beans giving a robust flavor that I've never quite tasted before. I'd practically finished the dish when Amy exclaimed, "You know for the past 10 minutes you've done nothing but moan over every bite of that dish! Are you planning on talking to me at all during this meal? Oh, and you told me you were going to share these pupusas with me."
I'm sure Samantha's is great and that the server was nice, but it bugs me when servers/cashiers/etc. make "comments" about whatever I'm ordering or buying. Sometimes I think they're doing it just to make sure you know what you're in for ("Our pupusas are enormous...some people find it's best to start with two and work your way up from there"), but some are just letting their opinions shine through. Sometimes, even though I know it's "wrong," I'll go ahead and order two starches with a meal. I hate it when I get attitude or comments when I'm treating myself. I mean, it's my money, my stomach, you know?
Posted by: Audrey2025 | Jul 28, 2005 at 09:59 AM
Their food is so good, full of flavor and authentic. In addition to the pupusas we had the ceviche, chiles rellenos and enchiladas. Each one was served with delicious black beans and rice.If you have not tried it, go go go!
Posted by: Alex | Aug 02, 2005 at 07:57 AM
Ditto on Samantha's. I've had the appetizer pork dish with yucca. Try their saltados - combination of veggies, meat and *fries* - really good!
Posted by: Dave | Aug 04, 2005 at 01:58 PM