Review: The Matador Grande Nachos

A few weeks ago we went to a restaurant in a neighboring city called The Matador, a local chain of Tex-Mex style restaurants. I have been there numerous times and have always enjoyed their food. Some friends mixed up our meet-up time and arrived early, ordering a plate of nachos. I was sooooo tempted to try them but ultimately decided to order something else.

Not 3 days later I was invited to eat lunch there again by some colleges at work. Any guesses on what I had this time?

Oh yes, the nacho-y goodness was flowing freely.

Ingredients (Online menu available)

• Corn tortilla chips
• Grated/melted cheeses: cheddar and monterey jack
• Black Beans
• Pico de Gallo
• Guacamole
• Sour Cream
• Green Onions
• Sliced grilled beef steak (other meat options: shredded chicken or pork chorizo) 

First impressions

The nachos came to the table hot and piled high (about 6" high to be precise).  The server used the popular "2 plate method" since the top plate was too hot to handle without a pad. They used the tried and true method of nacho prep: put the chips and all the hot ingredients on a plate and put it under a heat lamp. This slow-melts the cheese and keeps the hot ingredients hot. Finally, remove from heat when ready to serve and add cold ingredients. 

Joy of Eating

These nachos are almost into the "amazing" category but not quite. They need a bit more spice and flavor although I was pleased with the overall taste and quality of ingredients. The beans were firm (i.e. not old and squishy) and all the vegetables were fresh. Guacamole can be difficult to get right Matador has always come through, as they did in this instance.

I didn't quite make it through the entire dish, which means this is easily meal for 2 or an appetizer for 3-4.

Nachoness Index

• Visual Presentation: 9 points
• Quality of ingredients: 14 points
• Overall nachoness: 45 points
• Chance of causing world peace: 13 points

Total: 83 points out of 100 possible points

Will it help resolve world problems?

Most likely. The experience would definitely be relaxing and satisfying.  

Parting Thoughts

The only area of improvement here would be to add more spices to bring out the flavor of the meat and cheese. The steak used was quality meat but all I could really taste was salt and some pepper on the meat. I'm still looking for that 90+ point plate of nachos!

Stay Cheesey! }B^)

Review: Taco Bell Nachos BellGrande

When I was a young teenager my sister got a job at Taco Bell. My friends and I would ride over frequently to get free/discounted food. Now, 20+ years later, it is time to review quite possibly my most frequently eaten nacho dish, the Taco Bell Nachos BellGrande. I literally cannot count the number of times I have eaten this.

Nachos BellGrande loosely translates to "Large Nachos" or something, since the "bell" part doesn't really work in Spanish. Granted, I am not an expert in any language other than English and that in itself is quite an exaggeration.

The image from their website shows you what you get for this amazingly low-cost nacho-

Taco Bell also serves the Nacho Supreme, which look like a smaller version of Nachos BellGrande, and Triple Layer Nachos, which looks like Nachos Supreme but with a red sauce (looks like enchilada sauce?) instead of sour cream. I will have to review at another date.

In 2012 Taco Bell also announced their XXL Steak Nachos, which should significantly raised the bar for fast food nachos but it was short lived and is no longer offered. They have also had various other forms of nachos over the years.

Ingredients

• Corn tortilla chips
• Liquid nacho cheese (as opposed to grated/melted real cheese)
• Sour cream
• Ground beef
• Re-fried beans
• Diced tomatoes

First impressions

For this particular experience I had to take my order "to go" and eat it at work due to scheduling constraints.

The nachos, no matter "dining in" or "to go" are served on a black plastic plate and clear-plastic lid. They are also served with a plastic fork.

After removing the lid I was treated with the oft-repeated basic nacho goodness that can only be experienced in Mexican fast food, although I use the term "Mexican" loosely.

Joy of Eating

It took me about 10 minutes to drive back to my office with my meal so the chips were a big soggy in places. I will discount that for this review because they would no doubt have been crispier if I had eaten them at the restaurant.

The first bite surprised me. Salt. Lots of salt. Did I miss something? I don't remember them ever being this salty.

Second bite... Much less salt. Hmmm, must have been an over-salted chip or something.

Third bite (and subsequent bites)... much lower salt levels. Chalk it up to an anomaly.

As usual I ate them by using the chips as my utensils to eat the other ingredients and didn't even need the fork this time, even with the slightly soggy chips at the bottom of the cheese.

Overall flavor was not bad but relatively bland with a touch of salt. The cheese was not spicy but that can be fixed with a touch of Taco Bell hot sauce, which I forgot to ask for in this case.

Nachoness Index

• Visual Presentation: 4 points
• Quality of ingredients: 5 points
• Overall nachoness: 20 points
• Chance of causing world peace: 8 points

Total: 37 points out of 100 possible points

Will it help resolve world problems?

Most likely not. The only world leaders that might take offense at this dish are Mexican or other Central/South American countries that might see this as an affront to their culture. The rest of the world would just laugh at it.  

Parting Thoughts

I am surprised that Taco Bell has kept this dish pretty much constant for the past 20+ years, not deviating in the least. They have added and discontinued several other nacho dishes over the years but this has been a perennial favorite.

It remains one of my top 10 fast food items of all time.

Stay Cheesey! }B^)

Review: AMC Theaters Nachos

After having the Super Nachos previously, I had to go back to try the basic movie theater nachos. Instead of Lincoln Square (a Cinemark Theater) my schedule dictated that I try out a local AMC theater and their "Movie Nachos Combo". I will have to go back to Lincoln Square to see if their nachos are better than AMC.

This time I paid for my nachos out of my own pocket. It was only a $1 more to add a dock-your-jet-ski-sized Coke to I picked up one of those as well (more on this later).

Ingredients

• Tostitos "Bite Size" tortilla chips
• AMC Movie Nachos Real Cheese (i.e. semi-liquid nacho cheese)

First impressions

I didn't quite know what to expect here so it should have been no surprise that a national chain-theater used mass-produced ingredients in their basic nachos. I just wasn't expecting them to be prepackaged chips and cheese, each in a different container. The separate containers for chips and cheese obviates a problem that the Super Nachos experienced where the cheese soaked into the chips, making them a little soggy. This is simply not possible with separate containers.

The prep time was incredibly fast: as long as it took the attendant/cashier to grab the chips and cheese packages and put them in serving box. After a quick pit-stop at the napkin/condiment table to remove the tops I was ready for my movie nacho experience. I find it amusing that theaters always put a salt shaker at their napkin/condiment tables, as if the popcorn didn't already have a month's worth of salt in it...

Joy of Eating

This movie nacho experience started off with a problem: I walked into the theater just as the trailers were ending, which means the house lights were turned off and I would have to eat my nachos in the dark. This turned out to not be a problem since there was one container of chips and another of cheese. The process was simple:

1. Find chip big enough to dip (some chips were broken and simply to small to effectively dip)
2. Dip in cheese
3. Eat
4. Repeat

HOLY SALT BATMAN!!!

The salty cheese compounded with the already salty chips satisfied my salt intake for the week. Or possibly the month. After a few minutes the cheese was simply inedible so I continued to work on just the chips. It tasted like someone took some cheese sauce and then poured in a couple teaspoons of salt as a joke. Yes, it was that bad.  

The Coke I purchased earlier came in handy to get rid of the massive salt taste in my mouth but the sugar in the Coke caused suger-overload and made it so I couldn't finish the drink either.

In the end I finished the chips and about 1/4 of the drink. I tried the cheese one more time just to make sure I didn't miss something and ...WHOA... yep, still salty. 

Nachoness Index

• Visual Presentation: 3 points
• Quality of ingredients: 1 points
• Overall nachoness: 5 points
• Chance of causing world peace: 0 points

Total: 8 points out of 100 possible points

Will it help resolve world problems?

No, in fact it might hurt the peace process. If world leaders were served this dish they might pull out a culturally significant ceremonial weapon of some sort and threaten your life. I know I would.

Parting Thoughts

I gave these nachos 3 out of 10 on presentation because of the separate containers alone. That allowed for quick service, easy visually-impaired eating in a darkened movie theater, and no "soggy chips". This also contributed to the overall nachoness.

Did I mention the cheese was salty? Wow. This pulls the scores for ingredients and nachoness VERY LOW and is an experience I will not be repeating. Save yourself the trouble next time and get the big tub of popcorn at the movies. I'm sure you'll get less salt that way.

And even if isn't salty enough, just remember this: you can always add MORE salt at the condiment table.

Stay Cheesey! }B^)

Review: Lincoln Square Cinema Super Nachos

Last month I went to see the new Avengers movie with a bunch of friends from work at the Lincoln Square Cinema, a Cinemark Theater, in Bellevue's Lincoln Square. We were given food vouchers from work. I have no problem buying over-priced theater food with someone else's money.

On the menu they had "nachos" and "super nachos". Well, how can you see a super hero movie without trying out the super nachos?

I was delighted to see that it was more than the typically-VERY-bad theater nachos-

Ingredients

• Corn tortilla chips
• Liquid nacho cheese (as opposed to grated/melted real cheese)
• Black olives, sliced
• Sour cream
• Guacamole
• Generic red salsa (most likely medium spice)
• Optional: jalapenos (I usually decline jalapenos)

First impressions

The ingredients were mostly canned, not fresh, so it didn't look too bad. It was served in a convenient paper bowl. 

Joy of Eating

The first problem I ran into was that there was a LOT of cheese, possibly more cheese than chips. If this was real cheese, as opposed to liquid cheese out of a can, this would not be as much of a problem since real cheese is easier to eat with chips. I couldn't find any forks at the condiment/napkin counter and I did not ask the counter staff. They probably had forks available but I was in a hurry to watch the show. 

Flavor was not as bad as I thought it would be. The cheese mixed well with the sour cream, guacamole, and salsa which gave a mixed palette of flavors.

The eating experience degraded quickly: within 10 minutes the chips had begun to absorb the liquid cheese at an alarming rate making them very flexible. This made it very hard to scoop up ingredients with the chips without a fork (doh!). Note to self: ask for a fork next time.

I ate the entire thing myself but this could easily accommodate 2 people. Since I was hungry the nachos were finished before the lights went down for the main show. I can't imagine trying to eat these in the dark without a fork.

Nachoness Index

• Visual Presentation: 3 points
• Quality of ingredients: 4 points
• Overall nachoness: 15 points
• Chance of causing world peace: 5 points

Total: 27 points out of 100 possible points

Will it help resolve world problems?

Probably not but I doubt it will hurt. If world leaders were served this dish they might try it but I doubt they would eat the entire thing. 

Parting Thoughts

As far as movie food goes this was pretty good. It is definitely better than the typical bag/bucket of popcorn but probably similar in terms of calories due to the large amount of liquid cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.

I will need to try the generic movie nachos next time to get a sense of the lowest-possible rating.

Stay Cheesey! }B^)

My history of nachos and the Nachoness index

No, this is not the history of where nachos come from or to detail the origins of corn chips. I am only an expert in my personal view of nachos.

One day my friend Drew made an incredible comment while we were eating some tasty chips-

"What would this world be like if the world's leaders would sit down and partake of some nachos? This food alone has the potential to end most world problems!"

OK, he didn't say exactly that (my memory is a little fuzzy 20+ years later) but the sentiment is there: how much better would the world be if world leaders could sit down and enjoy a tasty dish with incredible potential?

My fascination with nachos began when I was about 10-years-old. After moving to the Medford, Oregon area my family found a new favorite restaurant, Linda's Mexican Restaurant, which the internets say has closed down. They had an incredible plate of nachos on the "appetizer" part of their menu. I say "incredible" because it was truly an amazing work of art: for $10 you received a platter of nachos weighing nearly 3 pounds piled high with chips, 3 kinds of cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, guacamole, sour cream, shredded meat of your choice (beef, chicken, or pork)... the list does on and on.

I have been trying to replicate that experience ever since.

This blog is dedicated to the pursuit of finding that perfect plate of nachos to facilitate world peace, plain and simple.

What good would a geek-centric nachos website be without a nachos scoring system?

Here is my first pass at a scoring system, the "Nachoness Index"-

• Visual Presentation: 10 points
• Quality of ingredients: 15 points
• Overall nachoness: 50 points
• Chance of causing world peace: 25 points

Total: 100 points

Will it be possible for a plate of nachos to score 100 points? Maybe... I will need to be completely blown away.

Stay cheesey! }B^)