I wish I could have captured the beauty of Evanston, IL’s Bat 17 nachos. Somehow though after maybe 2-3 minutes of being served they disappeared and what you see is all that was left.
Bat 17 is city-renowned for their massive sandwiches, but you would be making a grave mistake to not order these nachos (and then take your sandwich home in a box – seriously you will be full). Made with tortilla chips that are freshly baked in-restaurant each day they remained thin, crisp, warm and showed no sign of soggying in those glorious 2-3 minutes of eating.
I’ve been a home cheese shredder, microwave nacho maker my entire life, but there’s something about a plate of restaurant nachos with queso cheese (as seen above). The cheese sauce was perfectly dipped so that each chip somehow was covered in queso, one jalapeno, a little black beans, “free-range” chicken breast, and ground beef almost to a point that each one felt like an open-faced sandwich that you would pick off a server’s plate at a catered party.
If I could point out one flaw it would be the separation of guacamole, salsa and sour cream in separate mini-bowls for dipping. How can I also have the appropriate amount of those toppings on my dream nacho open-face sandwich? Without going through the meticulous trouble of fork and knifing one each one?
My take in those unforgettable minutes was to eat as fast as possible dipping and pouring the guac, sour cream and salsa so that I could get as much as possible before anyone else could eat more than I. I
sn’t that the beauty of ordering nachos at a bar/restaurant to start your meal?
So this past Friday was actually International Nacho Day, unfortunately it's not listed on the calendar so some of you may have missed it. I didn't. But, I did go to the Willows which I've already written about to celebrate so I decided to write about my most anticipated nacho adventure at the Ocean Mist. The Ocean Mist is by far my favorite bar in RI because it is right on the water- the views are incredible and the waves crashing on the shore is one of my favorite sounds. Every Tuesday is reggae night and let's just say I frequent there so often to the point that sometimes I leave my tab open only to restart it the next week. I do it on purpose I swear. Anyways, I've been dying to try the nachos at the Mist for awhile now. But, every time I've gone in for the infamous brunch on Sundays there's been over an hour wait and when you're hungover that just doesn't cut it. But, this past Sunday we were celebrating my good friend Sarah's birthday and I decided that I was going to be patient and enjoy a few mimosas while we waited for our food. The Mist is truly a locals spot, the vibe is so laid back that anyone who steps foot inside feels comfortable. The only thing that was not comfortable was seeing the bathrooms in the daylight. Anyways we all got started with some bloody Marys and mimosas as we perused the menu. Chili nachos was a unanimous vote at the table as an appetizer and I was overjoyed. As overjoyed as one can be on Sunday morning after binge drinking. So, we ordered the nachos and our entrees.The nachos arrived only about 40 minutes later which was a great surprise for my stomach as I had been preparing for an hour wait. Although, we ordered the loaded nachos we were surprised to see that all of the toppings came on the side. However, it was a bit coincidental that when the nacho was first created in Piedras Negras, Mexico in 1943 its only toppings were cheese and jalapenos which is exactly what these nachos were topped with.Black beans, salsa, chili and sour cream were served on the side. For atheistic appeal I decided to dump all of the toppings onto the nachos for the picture. The nachos were very good, although I wouldn't say great. The serving of chili was small and the serving size of the nachos themselves was also on the smaller side. I prefer when nachos have all of the toppings piled high on top of them smothered in cheese. I do not love making it an art project and preparing them myself. But,because it's the Mist, I'm raising the grade a wee bit, I'm giving them a 7.3/10. There she is!
