At Acamaya in New Orleans, sisters Ana and Lydia Castro explore their Oaxcan heritage through cuisine. James Beard-nominated chef Ana puts a menu of hot and cold Mexican mariscos. Diners will find oysters, ceviche, crab sopes, octopus, tuna tostadas, and even more seafood. “This restaurant is a perfect New Orleans restaurant. I would say it’s like a very contemporary, like modern take on Mexican fare that is informed by like bounty of the Gulf of Mexico,” says Ana. Here, she goes through some of the dishes with her staff.
A day at Acamaya starts at 10 a.m. to prep for the evening’s service. Chef de cuisine Daniel Levy can be found in the kitchen breaking down a scamp grouper for pescado del dia. Levy studied with chef Josh Nilad, known as “the fish butcher,” at Saint Peter in Sydney. Ana put Levy in charge of this menu item for his knowledge and passion for seafood.
First up is the blackened flounder “Veracruz-style,” which has been on the menu since the restaurant’s opening day. “We sell a bunch of it. Like a bunch, of bunch, of bunch,” says Ana. She begins the dish by sautéing tomatoes, olives, capers, pepperoncini, and onions in one pan and searing the fish in another. The blackened seasoning is a familiar flavor to locals. She then tops the finished dish with a “super nice” olive and a sprinkle of lemon zest. “We haven’t been able to take it off the menu,” she says.
Even though Ana calls passionfruit ceviche “so 2000 and late,” she still thinks it belongs on the Acamaya menu. The fish is topped with jicama, shallots, and shio koji for extra umami. “Ceviches are my favorite because they’re delicious and simple,” says Ana.
Moving on to one of the few non-seafood dishes on the menu, Ana explains: “If I had my way, we wouldn’t have a carne asada on the menu, right? The menu has to have a good balance of things that are like challenging to people and things that are comforting to people. If I’m gonna have a tartare dish that has a vinaigrette made of crickets, I’m also going to serve. A beautifully seasoned steak, that it’s grilled, that it’s served with tortillas and a very nice salsa.” Levy demonstrates how they prepare the steaks for use in both dishes, separating the sinew from the meat and using the smaller parts to chop up for tartare.
Ana introduces Ronnie Rodriguez, who is the director of masa production for Acamaya. “He cooks every single tortilla that is served in this restaurant,” she says. After pressing the dough into a tortilla, Rodriguez heats them on a griddle until they puff up, and then he stores them on a rack to cool.
“I would like any guest to walk away with was a new found sense of empathy and the realization that Mexico is a neighboring country, and we have way more things in common, and like that, we have differences,” says Ana.
Watch the latest episode of Mise en Place to see how Ana and her team at Acamaya blend Mexican and Cajun flavors to create what she calls “the perfect New Orleans restaurant.”
