For mechanic recommendations, try
here. Bottom right of the linked page.
Getting a recommendation from AAA is better than no recommendation at all, but I don't know how they decide what shops are approved. Maybe it is only mechanics who agree to charge AAA a predetermined fee for services and quality is not taken into account. May be the best mechanics in the world. I don't know, but I haven't used a AAA recommendation to decide where to bring my car. I have always relied on recommendations from reasonably knowledgable coworkers or neighbors.