Searching for a great restaurant can be a challenging task for diners interested in various cuisines, as the flashiest restaurants often fall short in terms of quality and authenticity. The real places to find good ethnic food are places where one would not ordinarily look. Here are a these hidden gems that should not be missed:

Caribbean Feast:

When first pulling up to Caribbean Feast on Hungerford Drive, one’s initial reaction may not be overwhelmingly positive. The restaurant is located in a dinky strip mall about 20 minutes away from CHS, and customers are greeted by a cheap door chime as they enter.  After walking up to the counter to order from the menu written on the back wall, you might start to have feelings of disappointment.

That is until you try the food, however. After ordering a meal at the counter, servers will bring the food to your table in a large platter. The menu comes straight from Jamaica, with traditional fare like jerk chicken, oxtail, curried goat and sides like sweat potatoes, collard greens and creamed spinach.

Monday through Friday Caribbean Feast offers lunch specials from $5.15-$8.50, but the best way to get the most bang for your buck, is to go in a group of 4 to 5 people. For the all

day, everyday price of $25.99, a group can get 1.5 Jerk Chickens, four large side orders and five pieces of cornbread: true good value and a guarantee for leftovers.

Joe’s Noodle House:

The name “Joe’s” is hardly synonymous with quality Chinese food, but that’s exactly what Joe’s Noodle House on Rockville Pike brings to the table. 

Customers may be taken aback by the barebones atmosphere, but the food is top notch. One of the best qualities of Joe’s is its variety. Their menu has over 100 choices, from the traditional General Tso’s Chicken to more exotic dishes like jellyfish salad. Most of the dishes range in price from $7.50-$12.50.

The best value item is the House Noodle Soup.  For less than $8 you can get a hearty broth with beef, seafood, vegetables and, of course, noodles.

La Limeña:

Despite being hidden in the corner of Ritchie Center on Rockville Pike, La Limeña has grown into a thriving restaurant, offering some of the best Peruvian cuisine in the area. The mundane strip mall location masks the excellent atmosphere in the restaurant, which is clean, sophisticated and authentic.

La Limeña serves a number of unique dishes that one has likely never had the opportunity to try. They serve a delicious Peruvian drink for $2.50 called chicha morada, with purple corn, apples, pineapple, cinnamon, lime and sugar. Another signature dish is anticuchos, which contains kebabs of beef heart, and is available for $7.95. Although beef heart may sound off-putting, the dish is actually bursting with flavor and more tender than one would expect. Other highlights include yucca fries, empanadas (meat pie) and alfajores (cookies filled with caramel cream).

With its stellar food and welcoming environment, La Limeña has the elements of a more expensive restaurant, even though most of its entrees can be purchased for $6-$11. Rotisserie chicken can be ordered for as little as $5, while the most expensive item, a 10-ounce N.Y. steak, is $15. The only noticeably cheap detail in the restaurant is that food is served with plastic silverware, although this hardly takes away from the dining experience.

Minerva:

Quality Indian restaurants are a limited commodity in this area, especially ones with reasonable prices. Minerva Restaurant, located at the intersection of Frederick and Shady Grove Road, is one of the few restaurants that offer a fantastic cuisine that won’t break the budget.

Minerva boasts a menu of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian food, with a great variety of chicken, lamb and seafood curries. All of the curries are excellently prepared, with creamy sauces and delicious spice combinations. Chicken tikka masala is one of the best curries on the menu, while the masala dosa (crêpe filled with potatoes, served with spicy chutney) is a standout among the vegetarian dishes.

Prices at Minerva are very affordable for an Indian restaurant, as most curries are available individually for about $10 and are served with rice or naan (Indian pita bread). Customers can also purchase a meal for about $12, which also comes with appetizers and dessert. Minerva also has all-you-can-eat lunch buffets during the week for $10, and $12 on weekends.

While there may be more expensive and well-known restaurant options in the area, few of them can beat the authenticity and prices of these hidden gem restaurants.