If Samantha’s restaurant is Long Branch’s best kept secret, then maybe Long Branch should keep this one to itself. The University Boulevard cafe dishes out bland, boring Mexican-styled food at unsavory prices.
Hey, at least the tortilla chips are decent (and free). The thin crisps are served with a warmed salsa that’s more like runny tomato sauce with a spicy kick. Flavor-wise, the salsa packs a light wallop. As far as texture goes, it’s easier to slurp with a straw than scoop with a chip.
The tacos al carbon platter ($12 at dinner) offers two soft flour tortillas topped with grilled chicken or another animal of choice, plus a leaf pile of fresh cilantro. The tacos have so much herb that a diner wouldn’t know whether to eat them, or to roll ‘em up and smoke ‘em.
The tacos’ small grilled-chicken chunks are bland, as are the accompanying refried pinto beans and Mexican-styled rice.
The stuffed shrimp platter ($18 at dinner) is another dull dish. Four fried shrimp arrive stuffed with a mound of crabmeat and topped with a boring beige sauce. While the crabmeat is nicely crabby, the shrimp is tough and barely discernible beneath everything else.
Add to that an uninspired clump of boiled rice, plus steamed carrots and broccoli served cold, and it’s an overpriced snooze.
Service is prompt and the clean, quaint interior is appointed with framed Toulouse-Lautrec-ish posters. But the parking lot — a dark, dingy patch of asphalt sandwiched between the restaurant and a shanty liquor store — is a demolition derby any night of the week.
Don’t bother.
Samantha’s, 631 University Blvd E, Silver Spring, (301) 445-7300.
August 21, 2008
11 Comments at "Dining: Samantha’s"
Wow, Jen, sounds like you guys hit them on a bad night.
I (and plenty of my friends/family) have eaten at Samanthas for lunch and dinner countless times and consistently experienced excellent food at reasonable prices, though perhaps a bit expensive forthe neighborhood. The Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema consistently gives Samantha’s very good reviews and every year they make Washingtonian Magazine’s Cheap Eats list. You were dead on right about the parking lot, though. Pretty snug.
Samantha’s is one of the best restaurants in the area. The Penguin must have been in a bad move. Because not only are the prices very reasonable, the food is excellent, and the portions are great.
The pollo asado is simply wonderful. The salmon, the shrimp, the ceviche are all first class. And they make one of the best, and largest, mohitos, in town.
The staff is friendly, the ambiance is perfect.
What’s up, Penguin?
I completely agree with the penguin. The food is bland and overpriced (for what you get, location, etc).
If you’re used to mediocre “Mexican”/”TexMex” food I guess it would be then an OK place, otherwise a definitely NO.
Yeah, the location isn’t great, but I do like the food a lot.
Agreed, Jennifer. Without trying to be disrespectful to people who enjoy the latin food in the DC area, this place is bland and boring. It would be shut down in a week in a city such as NYC, LA, Houston or Chicago which has a latino community that expects and demands better latin food than what is sold in this city.
This place is mediocre and overhyped and I am glad you are willing to publish it in print because I am not sure why it is as highly regarded as some seem to think it is. Is it better than the other mediocre or bad latin restaurants in the area? Yes, perhaps it is better than most but is it good? I don’t think so. The handful of times I have been here, I remember being mildly impressed with the service but nonplussed about the food. There is really nothing exceptional about the food here. If you don’t have a wide frame of reference for this type of food, I suppose it is solid fare but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.
For comparison, Oyamel in DC is pretty good. The flavors are bright, bold and in most cases, very authentic. The problem is that it is insanely expensive and the prices are wildly out of whack with what it is, traditional Mexican food. Oyamel, interestingly, would also not do well in the aforementioned cities, not because of the taste but because of how ridiculously expensive it is, for what it is. If you want top notch Mexican food, you can only get it in Riverdale, MD.
In my previous observation(s), I see most of the cook staff at these “Mexican” restaurants are of Salvadoran descent (I am of half Mexican and Salvadoran descent, BTW. Not that it necessarily matters)and IMHO, that is why this food tends to be mediocre at these Mexican restaurants. Salvadorans can cook Mexican food but but, at least in this area, it usually is not authentic. Salvadoran food is wonderful but it ain’t Mexican food. I always come out feeling at these DC Mexican restaurants that this is Salvadoran food mascarading as Mexican food.
Ultimately, as I mentioned in previous reviews, I really wish the bar for latin food were raised considerably in this area. Quizas, Quizas , Quizas, algun dia.
I just realized I didn’t make sense with my Riverdale, MD comment above. If you want top notch Mexican food at a reasonable price, you can only get it in Riverdale, MD.
Piero, I’ve always enjoyed Samantha’s but have only ordered the authentic Salvadoreno items for the reasons you list above.
Por favor, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps you can tell us which restaurant to go to in Riverdale?
PS…Thanks to your post, I will have that song stuck in my head for the rest of the day! And while we’re on Mexican trivia…I wonder how many of the Penguin readers know what an Oyamel is? Go search on Wikipedia…the answer will be very interesting, especially if one loves gardening or gardens.
As I was searching for this addresses to post here, I found this excellent post.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/315142
There are several good places along Kennelworth Ave in PG County including Los Tres Reyes and La Sirenita. The neighborhood is full of Mexican immigrants and there are all kinds of restaurants, groceries, and stores that cater to them. It’s a very vibrant area and the food is terrific.
This is Mexican food, not Salvadorean or watered down Tex-Mex — far superior to what you get in most places in the city.
Tres Reyes, 5403 Kenilworth Avenue, Riverdale, MD, 301-779-6060
La Sirenita, 4911 Edmonston Road, Hyattsville, MD, 301-864-0188
Editor’s note: Thanks for the intel, Piero! — JD (Feb 19, 2008)
Wow - this is a tough crowd. I just found The Penguin today and I’m glad I did. I’ve only been to Samantha’s once and I thought it was pretty good, but agree that it is a little over priced. We really like Fajita Coast located in Four Corners where the old Fred and Harry’s used to be. The tacos al carbon are the best! The green sauce that comes with it is the best!
I think you got it all wrong, Samantha’s is a gourmet Latin American restaurant not just a place for tacos.There is a real chef in the kitchen who shows creativity and finesse in his cuisine. Their weekend specials are fantastic, last night we had an appetizer taco with ceviche and guacomole, a grilled red snapper with seafood sauce and salmon stuffed with spinach and mushrooms all delicious, plus a marvelous flan for dessert. Other times they do a Latin version of fresh trout with shrimps, scallops, red and green pepper, corn and cilantro — to die for. Try it again and be adventureous in your choices.
,
Mina Schwartz
Silver Spring, Md.
I Disagree with you Jennifer they may serve Mexican food but if you went there to really eat you would get the juicy trout or one of there steak dinners I’m sorry for someone to write a bad review for ordering something as ordinary as a taco (which you can buy anywhere even taco bell) doesn’t get my respect Quality Food Great Value
Editor’s note: Thanks for your thoughts, Lucy. My take on Samantha’s is this: If they can’t make something as simple as a beef taco, then I don’t want to know about their more complicated dishes. Gotta learn to boil water before you can cook an egg. — JD (May 13, 2008)
Holler back.