Review: Huber's Cafe

July 25, 2017 Nachonomics

Chips, Cheese, Black Beans, Sour Cream, Scallions

Established in 1879, Huber’s Cafe is the oldest restaurant in Portland Oregon, and boy does it look it. Not in a negative way mind you, but it does look like the sort of place a gangster in a period piece would get whacked. What I’m saying is that it’s the kind of restaurant your grandparents or great aunt would love, and while those places usually have great turkey dinners and meatloafs and steaks they are typically lacking in nachos. If there weren’t any nachos though, why would we be reviewing them here?

Essay: Cricket Nachos - The Nachos of the Wisconsin State Fair

July 15, 2017 Nachonomics

It’s summertime again in America. Today, more men and women will go to the fair than ever before in our country’s history. With hundreds of new fair foods more than the record highs of 2013, near 2,000 families today will buy something deep-fried and sugary, more than at any time in the past four years. This afternoon 6,500 young men and women will try a new kind of never before tasted order of nachos there, and with interest in nachos more than double what it was just four years ago, they can look forward with confidence to a nacho filled future. It’s summertime in America, and with the crazy new nacho offerings from the Wisconsin State Fair, our country is prouder and stronger and better. After checking out this year's sampling of nachos, why would we ever want to return to the nacho free past we were less than four short years ago? Let’s examine this year’s offerings.

Review: Koto Grill and Sushi

June 15, 2017 Derek Sotak

Tuna, Cheese, Tobiko, Spicy Mayo, Jalapenos, Tomatoes, Avocado, Olives, Grilled Chips

When you go to the spookiest town in the United States (Salem, Massachusetts, with Spooky Town being a close second with its Creepy Crawlies Pet Sitting and New Skeleton Gazebo) to attend a live reading of horror stories you don’t expect nachos to just fall into your lap. Especially when the reading is at a sushi restaurant, historically a type of restaurant not well known for nachos. Sometimes though there might just be a little bit of witchcraft in the air and fate will smile upon you, as happened with Koto Grill and Sushi.

The Nacho Cheese Botulism Outbreak: A PSA

May 25, 2017 Derek Sotak

There has been a lot of news recently about a certain gas station in California that happened to sell a certain pasteurized process cheese product of the nacho variety that happened to contain the Clostridium botulinum bacterium and that also happened to kill someone and send nine others to the hospital. Now there are many myths about dying from eating gas station nacho cheese going back to ancient Babylonian times, but when human lives are on the line it’s time to separate the fact from the fiction and let you know the skinny on Botulism. Also, what are you doing eating nacho cheese from a gas station to begin with?

Review: Plaza Azteca

May 15, 2017 Derek Sotak

Chicken, Chorizo, Applewood Smoked bacon, Refried Beans, Pico De Gallo, Sour Cream, Guacamole, Jalapenos

How often do you go out for Cinco de Mayo? I mean, yes, once a year, because that’s how often it is, but what I’m talking about here is how many times HAVE you gone out for Cinco de Mayo in your life? Perhaps you are some sort of young person and have the stamina to go every year and make a fool of yourself, or maybe you are like me and just don’t have the patience to wait in line forever so you went out this year because you hadn’t been out on actual Cinco de Mayo in who knows how many years and figured, hey, you write for a nacho website, you ought to get on the ball here right? Right indeed, so I decided to hike up my pants, empty my nachos stomach, and head out to Plaza Azteca on the evening of May 5th.