Special Feature Post: "5 Star Nachos?"

At this point, I've eaten 20+ plates of nachos at various locations.  I have no intention of stopping any time soon, especially since I haven't found the "prefect" nachos upon which I'll be able to don my highest possible rating of '5' upon.  If I were you, I'd be wondering, "Geez, what the hell kind of magical nachos is he looking for?"  And if I were me (which I am), I'd be saying this:  "Why don't I just show you, you cynical person, by using the nachos I've eaten so far to illustrate what I'd consider 5 star nachos?"  So here it is, bits and pieces of nachos I've eaten so far that together would create the "perfect" plate!  Now if I could only get all of these taquerias to get together for a corporate merger…

1. Meat:
Angel's Rock House (Finley, CA) Chicken Nachos: The best chicken I've had anywhere, by far!

2. Chips:
Taqueria Vallarta (Felton, Santa Cruz, or Capitola, CA):  Homemade (deep fried corn tortillas), thick and crispy at the same time.  Dangerous!

3. Cheese:
Pretty much Anywhere that uses the right amount of real cheese like Monterey Jack wins here, but I'm going to call out the Burrito Factory (San Jose, CA) on this one because their plate of  "Nachos Con Carne" with Chicken is so pretty and has just the right amount of cheese.

4. Salsa:
Taqueria Vallarta (see above) makes an excellent pico de gallo that I'd put on top of any nachos I've had so far.

5. Sour Cream:
Since pretty much all of the sour cream that I've had tastes pretty much the same, I'm going to go for presentation.  Tu Mero Mole (San Jose, CA) gets the nod on this one with their pretty grid pattern gracing the top of their Chicken Nachos.

6. Guacamole:
Andale (Los Gatos, CA) Grilled Chicken Nachos:  Who can beat that nifty little corn chip bowl of guacamole perched on top?  And the guacamole was the good stuff, mainly avocado, not all thinned out like some other places serve it.

7. Extras:
Orale (Campbell, CA) Small Chicken Nachos: The best simple combination of "extra goodies" on top of their nachos (black olives and jalapenos)

8. Presentation:
Casa Lupe Restaurant (Campbell, CA) Nachos with Chicken: Not just a handful of chips with the other ingredients piled on top.  These were individually "constructed" and placed onto a plate with care - easy to eat and every single one had all of the ingredients - nice!

Hypothetical Rating: 5 out of 5
Rating Notes: If only...