Have you ever wanted to eat at a Tiki Bar? Have you ever wanted to eat fish on your nachos? Have you ever wanted to drink a drink out of the trepanned skull of a monkey? Well, if you happen to be down in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, now you can!
So you’re on The Outer Banks (Known colloquially as OBX) on vacation. You want to go swimming in the ocean, but you can’t because it’s a shark feeding ground. You want to go to the Wright Brother’s flight memorial, but it’s 110 degrees out with 110 percent humidity when the sun is out. You want to eat some excellent Southern BBQ with a side of hush puppies and Cheerwine, but that’s what you had for lunch, and even you can’t rationalize eating that twice in one day, even while on vacation. What does that leave? Mama Kwan’s Tiki Bar and Grill.
Best shouted aloud as “Mama KKKKKWWWWAAAANNNNNSSSS!!!!”, I mainly picked this place because it was fun to say, and I had never been to a Tiki Bar before. But you know what they say, come for the fun to say name (See the now closed Finius T. Flubberbusters), stay for the fact that every tiki drink you get you also get to keep the glass that it came in. And because they’re by the ocean they had Blackened Tuna Nachos. I really don’t know if their location to the ocean is related to them having a fish based nacho order, but it may.
Anyhow, fish tacos, totally a thing that people have heard of. Fish nachos however, what the what? And what is this culinary “blackening” of which they speak? Well, “Blackening” according to Wikipedia:
“Blackening is a cooking technique used in the preparation of fish and other foods. Often associated with Cajun cuisine, this technique was popularized by chef Paul Prudhomme. The food is dipped in melted butter and then dredged in a mixture of herbs and spices, usually some combination of thyme, oregano, chili pepper, peppercorns, salt, garlic powder and onion powder. It is then cooked in a very hot cast-iron skillet.
The characteristic brown-black color of the crust results from a combination of browned milk solids from the butter and charred spices.”
Yep, these bad boys are topped with fish covered with burned up stuff, which tastes like fish covered in burned up stuff. This may be your thing, it’s not mine, but even I have to admit that it is pretty tasty. By themselves I think the fish would have been great, and I don’t even really like fish, but unfortunately when combined with the rest of the nachos, something was a little off. Maybe it was the lime sour cream, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I can’t say for sure. These aren’t bad, but there is some piece of them that’s preventing them from being great, and I’ll be damned if I can figure out what it is. Also, don’t serve your salsa in a little plastic disposable cup, you’re pretty much flat out saying that it is garbage, at least use a ramekin. Take some pride in your salsa.
If you’re in the Outer Banks and want some nachos covered in something that scuttled around in the sea, maybe check out some other tasty nacho location in the area. However if you want some nachos covered in something that swam around in the sea, and you want some tasty tropical beverages and need some tiki glasses, check out Mama Kwan’s. Also check out the Loco Louie. Drink three and get the whole drink set!
He can still see evil out of his third eye.
