The Love Of Food: Ama Cocina

Mexican food is never not an option for me. Just last week I had mexican for dinner 3 out of 7 nights of the week and honestly I am not upset by it one bit! After wanting to try Ama Cocina for months, I finally got the chance to stop in.

Ama Cocina is built on the idea of combining the three most important things in life – love, laughter, and food. Their menu is a bright combination of mexican favorites like chips, guacamole, and tacos, with more eccentric dishes like duck empanadas and yucca poutine. Of course like any good mexican restaurant there is no shortage of tequila. A lengthy tequila menu means that the perfect margarita is right at your finger tips.

Unlike typical restaurants where you can expect some chips to snack on, Ama Cocina gives you an appetizer of spicy popcorn. Of course, if you should choose to order chips and guacamole, don’t expect just a regular old basket of chips. First, you get to select from signature, sweet, or savory styles of guacamole and the spice level (we got medium). Then you’re served a heaping bowl of guacamole with large tostada’s. We chose to smother our massive chips with guac and eat them like toast with peanut butter. Usually a duo that eats the whole bowl, my boyfriend and I were both surprised when we were posed with the option for leftover guac. The waitress didn’t seem at all shocked by the fact that we hadn’t finished our appetizer and let us not that the amount of lime used in their recipe keeps the leftovers nice and green.

For the entree I got the carnitas tacos. Unfortunately at Ama Cocina the taco options are not mix and match, meaning you can’t get one carnitas and one chicken, which was quite disappointing when trying out a restaurant for the first time. There is an option to get 6 tacos with 3 varieties which is great option for sharing, but be warned that the tacos are pretty filling especially after all that guacamole. That being said, the carnitas tacos were amazing. Piled high with pork, smoked bean puree, pineapple salsa, fried jalapeños, and lime crema, despite getting full I just couldn’t resist eating it all.

A colorful atmosphere On my next visit I might just fill up on the fun sides like jalapeño goat cheese corn bread nuggets, fried green plantains, and the 3 for $15 dips (hello baked street corn dip). Have you been to Ama Cocina? Let me know your favorite dishes in the comments!

See you on Instagram, @erin.eats.upstate.