AMANO — Restaurant in Caldwell

Amano ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Located in downtown Caldwell, on the site of what used to be a bank (the vault is behind the green curtain), inside a historic building, Amano is one of my favorite new restaurants of 2019. Sal and Becca Alamilla are the owners;Sal is the chef. Their staff are well-trained, informative, personable and gracious. KM and I visited for the first time on 10/11/19. The experience far exceeded our high expectations.

Amano is a craft Mexican kitchen. Tortillas are made from organic, heirloom Oaxaca corn that is ground in-house with lava rock. The menu features the local harvest of Idaho, craft cocktails, premium tequilas and Mezcal, handcrafted beer and wine from the Sunnyslope wine region.

The made to order guacamole and chips were beautifully presented and perfectly seasoned. We ordered a side of salsa and we were offered mild, medium or hot. KM prefers mild, I prefer hot, so we compromised on medium. The mortar and pestle salsa was fire roasted tomatoes and was unlike any I have had before. It was flavorful and had a heat that builds.

KM’s La Flor cocktail, which featured tequila blanco, jamaica simple and lime, was as delicious as it was beautiful. When you purchase a craft cocktail at Amano, you receive a punch card that is a miniature version of the front of the drink menu. Once you have tried all 9 cocktails, you receive your 10th for $1.

The Quesadilla de Flor de Calabaza is an organic blue corn tortilla filled with squash blossom, queso oaxaca, cojita, queso fresco,crema and toasted tomatillo sauce. Even without the salsa, it Wes very flavorful.

The Esquites (grilled corn with mayonesa, cojita, tajin and cilantro) was the best version of this dish that I have ever had.

The L.A. Birria tacos are a house specialty and the item that I was most excited to try, as this is an item that is very hard to find. I have actively sought it out in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, to no avail. I loved this dish so much that it is hard for me to imagine returning to Amano without ordering it every single time.

The Baja Cali Fish tacos are beer battered mahi-mahi, topped with habaneros slaw and crema. I appreciate that these tacos are made from high-quality mahi-mahi. Everything about these tacos was on point. These fish tacos were some of the very best I’ve ever had. For those who are heat adverse, I would recommend you consider removing the sliver thin habanera slices before you consume your fish tacos.

The refried rice and beans were delicious. Even though the refried beans were not made with lard, they had good flavor.

For dessert, we shared an order of Arroz Con Leche (rice pudding) with seasonal fruit compote. The evening we were there, the fruit compote was a mixture of blueberry and raspberry. The portion was generous and the flavors were wonderful.

Amano is open for lunch and dinner. They also serve brunch. Chef Alamilla is working on a new Fall menu that I look forward to trying. I intend to eventually try every single item on the menu, always with a side of L.A. Birria tacos of course. Be sure to check out their Instagram.

Highly...

Amano “Happy One Hour” is one hour before and one hour after dinner. 702 Main Street and 7th, downtown Caldwell near Indian Creek Amano is located in a previous bank setting. Street parking without meters has come back to the downtown area, there are also parking lots on the Indian Creek Steakhouse side, north of the restaurant and on the south side just over the passenger bridge. The restaurant has received numerous awards and mentions in the press for creative, authentic cooking and this September celebrated its 5-year anniversary. They will be moving to a new spot of their own in 2025 at the Indian Creek Plaza, so it was a pleasant surprise to find the original location will still be open till the end of 2024. I’ve been here only on a couple of occasions; one time was a special event where the chefs and mixologists showed off their talents to other corporate chefs. At that time, the short rib and lavender cake were over the top and still in my memory bank from years ago. A version of the cake is currently on the menu at $16. It’s indulgent, you should experience it. It’s also light, as a friend once described the taste, “It’s like angels dancing on your tongue.” The full menu is also available, but I decided to try the specific tastes not downsized from the regular menu with a refreshing drink called the La paloma cocktail $10. It’s a combination of tequila, lime, agave, cucumber and grapefruit plus grapefruit soda. This is a perfect summer drink, a little sweeter but not syrupy, compared to the traditional margarita. A Taco de papa $5 was my favorite, the taco was a little spicy, the mashed potato so delicate and flavorful. The Taco de Carnitas, $6 left me wanting another one, was very well balanced, the meat extremely tender. The Bean & Cheese Burrito at $10 when it came to flavor and texture was perfect. Beans not mushy, melted cheese just right. Of course the flour and corn tortillas are made in house. The blue corn version I’ve had before with different dishes is outstanding. Just a quick note on the staff. While sitting at the bar, I had one person bring over the silverware, napkin and water, another took the order, the bartender made the drink and food was brought out piping hot by different individuals. You get a sense that each placed the customer first, keeping the flow of food and drink a priority. The setting does not remind you of a bank, look forward to seeing what this family and team does in a new place close by. As a side note, Chef Owner Sal Alamilla, has been nominated for the James Beard Awards in this region, for 2022, 2023 and 2024. This restaurant should be at the top of your list for experiencing the direction downtown Caldwell has been taking as a destination, and the nearby plaza is an attraction for people gathering to have...

Let’s start by saying, my wife and I love Mexican food. We are California transplants to Idaho and needless to say we are always searching for authentic Mexican food. We’ve tried quite a few in our southwest corner of Idaho and most left us longing for home.

Not that we’ve been totally skunked. Our favorite bean n cheese burrito (we both adore these) spot is Los Betos. These monstrosities barely fit in the bag and at $6 and some change are easily two full meals. And the tortillas are the best.

So, after our friends treated us to Anderson’s Reserve, a hidden gem steakhouse (another topic) in our hometown of Sweet, we decided to return the favor.

We’d heard about Amano and were interested in checking it out.

Now, this isn’t your average Mexican restaurant. You won’t be ordering a bean n cheese here. The menu is small but there were a decent assortment of appetizers and main dishes. Be forewarned. This is what I would call a ( let’s go somewhere indulgent and close our eyes when we pay the bill, type establishment.)

That said, it seems lately all our dinners out are like this. Sign of the times, I guess.

Main dishes are in the upper $20 to $40’s so, Taco Bell it ain’t. But, since I sold a kidney earlier in the day we proceeded to order.

We decided to go with a corn dip appetizer to get the ball rolling. Sounded good. It a good while to get it-the place was definitely hopping’- and when it arrived at the table…. Hmmm no chips. Interesting, a dip appetizer to share with no (did I mention no free chips and salsa? We’re obviously not in Kansas, Toto) chips. Oh, they do SELL chips. They just don’t GIVE chips.

Rubbing the scar where my kidney had been, we ordered some chips. At last they arrived, fresh and hot. All 6 of them. But were they really chips? No, there were 5 or 6 whole (taco-size) tortillas in the baskets. Hmmm… I paused once again, but not for too long as I greedily snatched a piece of the deep fried gold before they were all devoured. Okay, I’m being a bit facetious as I am want to do, but seriously?

You can see from my five stars I didn’t let a few chips sink the ship. Oh contraire.

The main dishes were delicious 😁. I had the carnitas which were perfectly cooked and like butter in the mouth. Came with cheese over cactus (I’m sure there’s a much more appetizing name, but it escapes me) and good ol’ rice n beans. Can you see my smile.

My wife ordered a spicey dish that I originally wanted but my conscience (my wife) suggested it would been too spicy for me. She’s always right 😉.

Everyone’s meal was fabulous and we all shared the tres de leche cake for dessert. It was absolutely amazing.

Was it worth...