Artisanal. If I had to sum up Mezcal Tequila Cantina’s nachos is one word, that would be it. Fortunately the perks of having a nacho review website is that I can use more than just one word, a whole bunch even. You will find a whole bunch of them about this delicious piece of art below.
The fine chefs here are Nacho Artisans, masters of their cooking art. A man makes nachos, but an artisan crafts nachos. They don’t play around with these bad boys. While most artsy nachos are just three chips on a plate covered in some Mexican refuse, at Mezcal they somehow manage to meld art worthy of Diego Rivera with a meal worthy of Chairman Kaga.
Woodcut of a Nacho Artisan at work.
Since they make all their nachos just for you, they are more than willing to craft them to your personal specifications. Jalapeños too spicy for you, they can take them off. Not a fan of lettuce on nachos, boom, no lettuce. Want chicken instead of ground beef, not a problem. Having been there multiple times, I’ve gone from the standard all the way to nachos made just for me. I will admit, I have gotten nachos there where they were delivered to me with the cheese burnt or the ground beef a little greasier than I would care for, but these instances were few and far between. When you eat somewhere a hundred times, one or two issues are not a big deal compared to 98 or 99 delicious meals.
While the focus here is primarily nachos, I would be remiss to mention the other fantastic aspects of the place. Mezcal has the best guacamole you’ve ever eaten, made fresh just for you. If this isn’t the best stuff you’ve ever had, visit an olfactory doctor as there is something wrong with your tongue. You know those places that send some sad guy over to your table to make the guac right in front of you, and then you have the awkward moment of everyone either watching him do his thing or just rudely ignoring him as you continue talking? This is not one of those places. They have a dedicated guac station, or guac forge if you will, where the avacados are rendered into deliciousness that you may either watch or just be surprised when a heaping stone bowl of it shows up at your table. They make three different flavors, and while they’re all good, the house guac is the way to go.
If you are of drinking age and care for tequila, you probably noticed that Mezcal Tequila Cantina has “tequila” in it’s name, and over a hundred twenty kinds at it’s bar. If you think you can drink them all, sign up for their Tequila Club and win fantastic prizes as you work your way through their selection. Not to brag, but last I knew I was the only male to ever complete the challenge and had the record for fastest completion, and that’s a fastest completion record you don’t have to be ashamed of talking about.
If you want to visit, you will probably need a reservation, which you can make either off their website or via Opentable. You should also use their complementary valet, don’t forget to tip, as the street parking at night or in the winter is hard to come by.
The long and short of it, or what I will describe as the chips and cheese of the matter, is that these nachos are great, both as food and as art. Chips are tasty, toppings are tasty, meat or no meat, they are tasty. You can get a single portion for one or a double portion for two, as nothing says “I Love You” like sharing nachos. These nachos are a masterpiece in the flesh, or chips, and I know if I were taking you out for a plate, this is where we would go.
UPDATE: There aren't a lot of places that let us see behind the scenes, or "The Chip Curtain", at how the nachos are made, but Mezcal is now one of them.
