Samantha's - View this location on map 'This festive restaurant pulls recipes from all over Latin America.It might be set next to an auto-repair garage on a dreary strip of highway, but inside this family-run joint you re greeted with a peppy mariachi soundtrack, tables packed with extended families, and a basket of tortilla chips with fresh salsa. The menu is primarily a mix of Mexican (terrific carne asada) and Salvadoran (seven kinds of pupusas) cooking, but it also borrows from other Spanish-speaking countries. Masitas de puerco cubes of pork marinated in garlic and bitter oranges, then seared until crusty are a Havana tradition done right. Milanesa de carne a thinly pounded, breaded steak served with rice salad and beans transports you to a Buenos Aires cafe. From Spain comes gambas al ajillo, a gratin of shrimp sizzling in a garlicky butter sauce. It arrives with a baguette, and it s hard not to blow your appetite swabbing up the sauce. Entrées are so generous that they can be stretched into a day or two of leftovers. Open daily for lunch and dinner.' Washingtonian 631 University Blvd., E., Silver Spring, MD Budget, Restaurant

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