Albany Restaurant Week kicked off this April with 17 restaurants participating, offering 3 courses for $20.17, a deal too irresistible to pass up.
Budget-conscious, and with only so many hours in a day, I scoured the menus posted online, narrowing it down to the 3 most intriguing options. After deliberation with my friends, we ultimately settled on Ama Cocina.
While it may have been a missed opportunity to try some place new, I’d only been to Ama Cocina once and was excited to get another opportunity to try some more menu options. On a rainy Thursday evening I met up with some long lost high school friends and caught up over 3 courses of mexican fusion.
Choosing my first course was the most difficult of all 3. My friends all opted for the Chicken Tortilla Soup for their first course, which looked and smelled amazing, but knowing the guacamole at Ama Cocina is THE BEST it seemed like there was only one option for me. Even though it meant choosing the healthier option, guac salad was my first course choice. For my second course, and the main entree, I opted for Beef Enchiladas Roja with rice and beans and Signature Brownie Bites for dessert. In true Erin fashion, I couldn’t resist a house margarita, despite the fact that it was not a part of the restaurant week menu.
The Beef Enchiladas included 3 small portion enchiladas, which was to be expected for a 3 course meal. Presented in a cast iron skillet covered in red sauce, sprinkled with cheese and a sprig of cilantro, the enchiladas earned a 10 out 10 for appearance alone. I personally prefer green sauce when it comes to enchiladas, so I wasn’t completely sold on the roja sauce. Not that it was bad, leaning more toward the sweeter side, I would’ve preferred a spicier sauce.
Never one to resist chocolate, myself along with 2 of my friends chose to get the brownie bites. A somewhat misleading menu item, the brownie “bites” turned out to simply be a single brownie covered in hot fudge and whipped cream. The melted chocolate was hot, with a spicier undertone that I couldn’t quite figure out, but could likely be attributed to something like cinnamon or nutmeg. Only one of us resisted the chocolate temptation, ordering the tres leches, a massive piece of cake covered in bright berries.
The biggest struggle of the night came at the conclusion of dinner when it came to splitting the check. Since we all ordered from the restaurant week menu, getting four separate checks was not an option. Luckily our waiter was flexible, giving us a pen to write out the different amounts to charge each card. Once again, I left Ama Cocina satisfied, stuffed, and already planning my order for the next time I find myself downtown.
Did you go anywhere for Albany Restaurant Week? Let me know in the comments!
As always, see you on Instagram 🙂