Amano
Downtown Caldwell is enjoying a renaissance. New shops are springing up around the Indian Creek Plaza and Skating Ribbon. The Grit 2C restaurant, Boise’s Flying M and Rediscovered Books have opened. Around the block from the plaza a new Mexican restaurant, Amano, serving up regional specialties occupies the site of the old Bird Stop.
Everything about Amano from its spare design to its use of authentic ingredients makes it distinctive. The sounds of Mexican music fill the air and the homage to the restaurant’s historic architecture (1902) is palpable.
Amano means by hand and restaurateur Salvador Alamilla is serving regional Mexican dishes inspired by the tastes and smells of the kitchen where he grew up. He came to Idaho a decade ago and began his cooking career washing dishes at On the Border. Soon he became a line cook and began to feel the first inklings of running his own restaurant. He went to work at Whole Foods Market, where he rose from cook to kitchen supervisor to executive chef. Along the way the idea of having his own place formed.
The Alamilla family comes from Michoacán. Salvador was five when they emigrated to Orange County, California, and he lived most of his youth in Santa Ana. Salvador met his future wife, Rebecca, a former teacher, and moved to Idaho a decade ago. Rebecca handles the schedule and social media. Amano’s renovation was wholly local: Salvador’s dad upholstered the cozy new booths; Betsy Petersen, a local designer, gave the space its overall look and feel, and the historic beams were hand-stenciled by Chris Fonseca, who also did the Amano sign.
Salvador wants his customers to feel the excitement about Mexican dishes that he did as a kid. He uses Masienda, a company that sources its Olotillo, an heirloom corn, from Oaxaca and “pays farmers a very decent wage for their product.” Everything—tacos, tortillas, tostadas—is made to order just as if you were eating at Mom’s house. Amano uses a molino, a machine that grinds the nixtamal (cooked corn). He works with local suppliers including Purple Sage and features a variety of wines from nearby Sunny Slope, local ciders and beers. He also serves LA Birria tacos (braised beef ) inspired by the food truck scene.
Like Italian chefs who want nothing so much as to re-create the tastes and flavors that their nonnas (grandmothers) cooked, Amano showcases cooking with authentic Mexican heritage. Salvador’s menu pays homage to his family’s traditions: “My mom’s food is in everything we cook,” he says. His mom helps out on the weekends. Saturday and Sunday brunches have a distinctly Mexican vibe: from Concha French Toast to Huevos Divorciados and Menudo. The goal is to make sure “whatever we do, we are going to do it by hand.” The mole is a family recipe that goes back generations. He adds, “Unlike most moles that are on the sweet side, ours is spicy.”
On a recent visit I tried (devoured) three dishes: fresh mahi mahi ceviche, chicken mole and carne asada with a salsa de molcajete. Bold, simple and direct citrus flavors enlivened the ceviche; savory spices accented the rich dark-brown mole; the marinated carne asada came with a pungent green sauce. Even the beans had a hint of heat and the rice reminded me of orzo.
Grit 2C | @grit2crestaurant
Flying M Coffee | @flyingmcoffee
Rediscovered Books | @rdbooks
Amano | @amano_caldwell
Betsy Petersen | @betseypetersen
Purple Sage Farms | @purplesagefarms
Sunny Slope Winery | @sunnyslopewinery
