Editor’s Note: Fork & Dagger is 828newsNOW’s anonymous restaurant review series, written by our independent Grub Scout—no freebies, no press perks, no agenda. Grub Scout pays full price, visits unannounced, and takes notes on food, service, atmosphere, and value. Each review reflects a recent, honest experience rated on our 1‑to‑5 fork scale. We aim to help you discover standout dining spots—from casual diners to white‑tablecloth affairs—one bite at a time.
Ay Caramba in North Asheville isn’t just another Mexican restaurant — it’s a Latin American menu that rewards ditching your usual order.
I was pleasantly surprised by the wide array of options. I’m bad about always opting for fajitas at these places, but the menu quickly moved me away from my generic mindset with that.
Pro tip: if you see fries on the menu, go that route. It’s usually far more interesting.
I was joined by a couple folks this trip, which was fun because it’s an excuse to order even more food.
We started with a Pacifico on draught and a couple Coke Zeros, nothing interesting there, but sometimes you just need simplicity.
One of my party ordered one of the house specialties, the La Favorita — grilled chicken, steak, shrimp, onion, tomato and bell pepper served on a bed of rice topped with queso. She thought it was tasty, but that there was too much queso. I disagreed … I love the abundance of queso. In fact, I’m eating the leftovers of it as I write this.
Another chose the mixed steak and chicken fajitas, which contained the usual suspects of ingredients, but with the addition of zucchini, which we all thought was just great.
I chose the Torta Cubana because I hadn’t had a Torta in years. It’s a massive, multi-layered Mexican sandwich traditionally featuring breaded steak (milanesa), roast pork, ham and chorizo, topped with melted Oaxaca cheese, refried beans, avocado, tomato, onion, pickled jalapeños and crema on a toasted telera. It was served with a great big pile of crinkle-cut fries. Perfectly diner style. I would absolutely order it again.
There is also a nice salsa bar, and you can order tableside Guacamole or queso for your endless tortilla chips.
Though there’s nothing particularly special about this place, it’s very comfortable and just plain good. A nice spot for a family dinner or a good hang with friends. I enjoyed it.
