I took a friend visiting from the East Coast to Amor a Mi de Mexico Para El Mundo — known to its many fans as simply Amor a Mi — to give her a taste of how unique Mexican cooking can be here in the SF Valley. And she ordered French toast.
Now, I’d say that’s the sort of thing an East Coaster would do, the Mexican restaurant equivalent of a West Coaster going into a New York Little Italy pizzeria and consuming their slice of pepperoni and cheese with a knife and fork. But then, French toast is on the breakfast menu at Amor a Mi in Burbank. So … why shouldn’t she order it?
It goes by the name “Frenchicano Toast” — and it’s actually pretty amazing, a thick loaf of fluffy brioche dipped in a barley “curd” called cebada, browned and topped with a mix of freeze-dried berries, passion fruit flavored whipped cream and powdered sugar. It’s substantial; the two of us could barely make a dent in the toast, and it tasted just fine as a takeout dish later on.
And like the handful of breakfast dishes served at Amor a Mi, the French toast nicely blends cuisines, creating a Mexican fusion unlike anything else in the Valley. There’s an avocado toast flavored with garlic aioli and Mexican chimichurri spice, jazzed further with queso fresco, pickled onions, cilantro, black lime powder and, of all things, gooseberries. And, yes, it does include avocado.
The chilaquiles come with either a green or red sauce, avocado and add-ons including chicken, hanger steak, lamb barbacoa and shredded chicken tinga — a meal to keep you full from breakfast to dinner.
Amor a Mi is a modest café compared to our old-school Mexican cantinas. And unlike those cantinas, the Amor a Mi experience is not built around fish bowl sized margaritas or shots of tequila and mezcal. The beverages listed under the heads of “Sips and Brews” are all non-alcoholic — alcohol-free wines and beers, along with “mocktails” described as a “Phony Negroni,” an “Aguachile Mocktail” and a “Jamaica Highball.”
There are also two “fermented” beverages — Tejuino made with fermented corn and unrefined cane sugar, and Tepache (fermented pineapple and sugar).
The drink menu says they hope to offer alcoholic beverages in the future — a pity for the non-alcoholic drinks add to the quirkiness of the joint. I mean, how many Mexican restaurants offer ceviche de camarones flavored with housemade Japanese ponzu sauce? Or sourdough spread with intensely caloric bone marrow? That last one is a lot more French than Mexican.
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When it comes to the post-breakfast menu, Amor a Mi is dominated by its tacos, at the heart of which is the model filled with huitlacoche, one of the most obsessed about ingredients in the Mexican cookbook. Huitlacoche is a fungus that grows on corn. It’s been described as the Mexican truffle. And it does indeed have the earthy flavor that characterizes French and Italian truffles. Just not as intense. It’s a little smoky, and a little sweet.
The term “umami” often pops up — but then, when in doubt, “umami” always works.
In the case of the Amor a Mi huitlacoche taco, there’s a strong mushroom edge, mixed with garlic, onions and jalapeños, topped with a guacamole salsa and a queso fresco, served on a blue corn tortilla. Corn fungus on a corn pancake – it has a certain internal elegance.
But to me, it doesn’t have the intensity of the proper meat tacos — the lamb barbacoa in particular makes itself known with every bite. The pork rind chicharron has a reassuring crunch mixed with the funk of pig meat. The tortilla on the ribeye taco has a chicken crust, which is also an exercise in the wonders of texture.
And if you want to dig deeper into the taco cosmology of Amor a Mi, the taco Arabe is made with Jidori chicken “oysters,” with a Mexican tzatziki on a pita bread variation called khubz made with Sonoran flour. It’s a cousin of the corn bao bun used with the smoked Kurobuta pork belly China Poblano taco.
Considering the fascinating combinations cobbled together at Amor a Mi, when they finally have margaritas, we should expect tequila and mezcal with a lot of quirk. In the meantime, a slather of guaca-salsa does just fine.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
Amor a Mi de Mexico Para El Mundo
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Address: 2007 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank
- Information: 818-433-7493; www.amorami377.com
- Cuisine: An affable neighborhood café, with a quirky menu that ranges from Mexican-style French toast for breakfast, to Jidori chicken tacos and sourdough spread with bone marrow.
- When: Breakfast and lunch, every day; dinner, Friday through Sunday
- Details: Exotic Mocktails; reservations helpful
- Prices: About $25 per person
- On the menu: 5 Breakfast Dishes ($16), 7 Tacos ($8-$14), 3 Mariscos ($16-$22), 3 Mains ($29-$34), 4 Desserts ($4.50-$12)
- Credit cards: MC, V
- What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.)