The tortilla's thinness makes it ideal for folding, sliding under closed doors, and illustrating theories that the Earth is flat and made of corn. Voyage to the edge of deliciousness with today's Groupon: for $25, you get $50 worth of Mexican and Latin American cuisine at Samantha's Restaurant in Silver Spring.
Authentic recipes hailing from Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba, and beyond pepper the extensive menu at Samantha's Restaurant. Begin savory siestas with a dish of yuca con chicharron, which piles tender strips of fried pork and shredded cabbage atop soft cassava wedges ($7.95), before partaking of the lomo saltado's hearty feast of tenderloin tips, vegetables, and french fries suffused with a zesty Peruvian-style sauce ($16.50). A party of fresh shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, and fish mingle, mambo, and debate the accuracy of seafood's portrayal in the media in a sauce suffused with Spanish herbs, white wine, and garlic in the zarzuela andaluza ($17.95). Mexican dishes such as enchiladas ($10.95–$13.95), burritos ($11.95–$13.95), and fajitas ($12.95–$26.95) keep cravings closer to the border, and an array of Mexican beers ($3.95) and margaritas ($6.25/glass) invoke the air of a mariachi quartet without the constant howling of a hungry sousaphone.
Samantha's Restaurant
Samantha's Restaurant melds a variety of Latin American culinary traditions into a single menu rife with fresh seafood, sizzling fajitas, and stuffed poblano peppers. Washingtonian magazine highlighted the masitas de puerco, a traditional Havana dish of bitter orange-marinated pork, as well as the "peppy mariachi soundtrack" that fosters a lively atmosphere. As appetizers of citrus-and-ginger-infused ceviche disappear like a repossessed magic kit, diners can turn their focus to mesquite-grilled fish or a refreshing cocktail from the fully stocked bar.