Cucina Twist (Wakefield, RI)

The greatest part about being at home and celebrating a sibling's graduation is the excuse to go out to dinner every night of the week.  The second greatest thing is having a grandfather around who likes eating just as much as I do.  "Don't be shy, Katie, you eat that last nacho." Music to my ears.  It usually sounds something like this. "Kate, save some for everybody else or aren't you getting a cheeseburger too?"  Well little Liz graduated high school on Tuesday and we went out after for drinks and appetizers at Cucina Twist after the ceremony.  Traditionally, an Italian restaurant I was pleasantly surprised to see "Loaded Nachos" listed under appetizers.  I was told that it was Liz's night and she was allowed to order whatever she wanted.  I started off with a Blue Moon and a shirley temple while we waited for Liz to decide.  She chose Brushetta, Calamari Giovanni, a few grilled pizzas, and..... then looked over at me and said, "Kate- nachos? I knew we were sisters for some reason.  The appetizers arrived and by some miracle the waitress knew just where to place them.  It was the most interesting presentation I have ever seen.  Now the menu claims to serve tri-colored chips, but all I saw was orange and I loved it.  Orange is one of my favorite colors and it just jumped ahead of yellow after doing such a great job at pleasing my taste buds.  The orange chips were layered with a cheddar-jack cheese, tomatoes, jalepenos, black beans, corn, fresh salsa and sour cream.  We ordered the chili on the side-Liz is still pretending to be a vegetarian.  The nachos were fresh, crunchy, and proportionally covered with toppings.  The serving size was great, everyone at our table of 12 was able to have a few bites and then some.  The chili was good, not excellent-could have been a bit spicier.  The only improvement I would make to the nachos is add some extra cheese to the bottom layer.  You could tell someone in the kitchen made an effort to layer the nachos well and they did, but a few chips were lacking cheese in the underbelly.  If you're ever at Cucina Twist I would definitely recommend trying these orange nachos and a side of the Calamari Giovanni-it's to die for. I'm giving these babies an 8.2/10.