BOISE, Idaho — The New York Times releases a list of "America's best restaurants" every year, and one Idaho restaurant made the list.
Amano co-owner and chef Salvador Alamilla still can't believe his restaurant made the New Times' list of the top 50 restaurants.
"It still feels like it's not real," he said. "You look up to these restaurants, and you're inspired by these restaurants, and you don't ever think that something that can happen to us or a community like this."
The restaurant at 702 Main St, Caldwell, was the only establishment from Idaho to make the national list.
"I feel very proud for the team," Alamilla said. "I look at my wife and my mom and my aunts and the people that work here. And all of their hard work has led to this moment."
A moment that began long before Salvador and his wife, Becca, opened their doors in 2019.
Alamilla told KTVB that he was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and at the age 5, his parents brought him when they migrated to the United States for a better life.
"I grew up in Southern California, but I've lived in Idaho for about 15 years now, where I met my wife and we have three beautiful kids," Alaminna said.
He continued and said that he was studying to become an Architect, but his dream changed, and he opened a restaurant, whose name means "by hand."
"Whenever I was talking to somebody about what they remember most about growing up, it was always like a homemade tortilla made amano," he said. "So a homemade tortilla with some salsa, something very simple, but made with love and by hand."
Alamilla said it wasn't easy, and his journey in the restaurant business started with washing dishes. Before he even began cooking.
"There were moments when you feel defeated, and you lose track of the dream," he said. "But I always had people around me like my wife that was always like, what about that restaurant that you wanted to open? Let's talk about that."
He continued and said the story wasn't about him.
"I had this dream to open up the restaurant, but it's always people around me that are continuously pushing this dream forward," he said.
Alamilla was also a finalist for a James Beard Award earlier this year.
KTVB asked him if he had any advice for young chefs out there.
"Keep fighting for your dream and surround yourself with people who will keep supporting you," Alamilla said,
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