Even from a young age, Victor Ochoa has always been around a kitchen.Â
When his father, Gilberto, purchased a humble Milledgeville restaurant from a cousin in 1994, the transaction introduced the 11-year-old Victor to a kitchen he has overseen for most of his adult life. Today El Amigo, the city’s oldest Mexican restaurant, stays true to Gilberto’s recipes, offering tacos, fajitas, and other Mexican standards in the style of the family’s home state of Jalisco. Although Gilberto has since largely passed the restaurant on to his son, the younger Ochoa has continued the flavors that have kept El Amigo afloat for more than 20 years.Â
“Restaurants are always hard — it’s a lot of hours and stuff like that, but we’ve managed more than 20 years, so we must be doing something right,” said Ochoa from a booth in El Amigo’s dining room. “Ever since [my father] moved, he always worked in restaurants, and he finally got the opportunity to buy this one. … A few of the items have stayed the same from when we took over, but the other recipes come from him: it’s probably about 50-50.”
While El Amigo offers the tacos, burritos and margaritas found at nearly every Mexican restaurant north of the border, the restaurant also ventures into dishes that are less than common in American cuisine. Inspired by traditional street food in the family’s native Jalisco, El Amigo offers a range of dishes for those with more adventurous palates.Â
“If you ever go, get the street tacos,” said Ochoa of the southwestern state. “We are the original Mexican restaurant here in Milledgeville, but I’d say we’re also the most authentic. We have street tacos from pastor to cow tongue to chorizo and all that stuff, and they’re really flavorful. It’s good stuff.”
Although El Amigo's dishes are largely based on traditional Mexican fare, a good restaurant owner is always searching for fresh flavors, and Ochoa is no exception. While still staying close to his father’s original recipes, the seasoned cook is planning a few additions to El Amigo’s menu.
“We’ve got some new dishes and a new menu coming out, and we’ll probably be done with that in a few weeks,” he said. “We’re doing a little remodeling just to brighten the place up, so we’ve got a few things going on. A few of the new items go from Baja fish tacos to some more refreshing salads, and I’ve got a few other ones that I’m working on. I wish I could just snap my fingers and go, but it just takes time.”
Although still in the process of finalizing El Amigo’s new bill of fare, its young owner expressed excitement for the new dishes he already has nailed down. From working as a dishwasher, bartender, server and cook, Ochoa has learned nearly everything there is to know about the restaurant business, and although he has experienced El Amigo from every station in the restaurant, the joys of making authentic, flavorful food remain the same.
“Here, it’s got to be the fajitas,” said Ochoa of one of his favorite meals at the restaurant. “The fajitas, burritos, salsas, and all that stuff just have a great flavor. It’s not just because I’m Mexican, but anywhere I go I have to try the Mexican food because I really do love it. … The shrimp cocktail is really good and real refreshing. Here in America you just boil the shrimp and dip them in some cocktail sauce, but we make it a little differently…”
After more than 20 years working at El Amigo, Ochoa has gradually added his fingerprint to the establishment. Although the owner has found success in a notoriously difficult and mentally taxing industry, he cited El Amigo’s customers as his favorite part of owning the restaurant.Â
“I’ve always been in customer service, and I enjoy talking to people and making sure they get the service they deserve,” he said. “We treat everybody the same. You can ask any of my employees what I’m big on, and they’ll tell you it’s customer service. I’ve been in it since I was 11 years old, and I don’t think I could do anything else now.”
El Amigo is located at 2465 N. Columbia St. It is open every day from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant can be reached by phone at 478-453-0027.
